Harnessing the Power of the Internet to Improve Lives
Broadband alone does not guarantee outcomes such as greater economic opportunity, workforce participation, or improved health. To ensure that connections will create these benefits, digital opportunity programming is necessary. We must make sure Maine people have access, devices and skills to improve their lives through connectivity.
MCA has launched the Digital Opportunity Fund, a campaign to raise $15 million over three years from private and philanthropic donors, to do just that. Be part of improving Maine’s future, one person at a time.
Get In Touch​
​
Maggie Drummond Bahl
Sr. Director, Digital Equity & Partnerships
mbahl@maineconnectivity.org
(207) 209-3841
The Work
89% of Maine’s people identify as being impacted by the digital divide.
The "digital divide" is the gap between those who have affordable access, skills, and support to effectively engage online and those who do not (National Digital Inclusion Alliance). ​Digital opportunity is critical for economic mobility, access to educational and employment opportunities, healthcare, and civic engagement. It is also vitally important for community resilience and future-readiness. In Maine:
1 in 4 residents lack reliable internet access or the digital skills they need.
Major barriers to healthcare access can be reduced through telehealth and online services, particularly for the thousands of low-income, aging, and disabled Mainers that face more barriers to getting online.
Labor shortages require immediate attention, but with 92% of jobs now requiring digital skills, digitally disconnected people are locked out of these opportunities, limiting both personal and business growth. (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
Communities can boost economic resilience by participating in the innovation economy, but connectivity and digital skills are essential for this economic growth today.
Access to many government programs and services is increasingly dependent on the internet.
Natural resource-based industries such as forestry, fishing and aquaculture, and farming are vital to the state’s economy, but may struggle to innovate and access new markets when they are digitally disconnected or lack the necessary skilled workforce.
“The termination of $35M of federal funding to support technical assistance and education on Friday, May 9, 2025, stalls this programming and disrupts the opportunity that connectivity presents for Maine people and the state’s economy.”
The Programs
Connectivity Hubs
The Connectivity Hubs program provides capital grants to community anchor institutions – such as libraries, community centers, municipal and Tribal buildings, and affordable housing developments – to expand or create spaces that provide workforce training, education, and telehealth services in areas most impacted by a lack of access to high-speed internet. Funded Connectivity Hubs are already delivering impactful programming based on their region’s identified needs. In 2025, the Stonington Connectivity Hub began offering Healthy Harvesters, a fishermen’s health and wellness program incorporating telehealth and digital skills. The Maine Department of Marine Resources conducted training at the Connectivity Hub to meet the identified needs of fishing families having difficulty navigating new online reporting requirements. MCA seeks to provide the opportunity for place-based solutions to community challenges to all parts of the state.
​​​Current Status: MCA awarded over $8 million to 10 Connectivity Hub sites in 2024, which are now at various stages of construction or implementation. Additional funding will allow MCA to fund Hubs in the 9 counties not yet served by a hub. The need is high, with over 70 concepts submitted for initial review during the grant application process, and many communities who did not receive funding continue to look for ways to complete their projects.
Digital Opportunity Networks
The Digital Opportunity Networks program builds digital skills and access into organizations, programs, and processes that are already reaching people who face the most barriers to connectivity. The program will capitalize trusted Maine partners to advance the goal of reaching 50,000 people with digital skills, devices, technical support, and internet safety education. Funded projects will enable greater impact on economic, education, workforce, healthcare, civic, and social outcomes for the people served.
​​Current Status: MCA expected to award over $5 million to this program before funding was terminated in May. During the application process, MCA received $15.8 million in requests from 25 applicants, demonstrating tremendous need in each Maine county, the Wabanaki Nations, and among statewide organizations and agencies working with important populations. Funding for this program will support the most impactful proposals, addressing urgent needs in regions and populations across Maine.
​​​​Affordable Housing Connectivity Pilot
Over 42,000 people live in subsidized housing in Maine and face significant barriers to connectivity, which could facilitate better economic, workforce, educational, and other outcomes. Therefore, residents of affordable housing are a key focus for MCA and our partners. They represent a concentrated population impacted by the digital divide, including low-income households, older adults, individuals with disabilities, veterans, English language learners and those with low literacy, individuals who are racial and ethnic minorities, and Tribal members. MCA conducted a housing survey in 2024 to gather data on barriers and opportunities from housing providers, with the intent of funding up to $500,000 in pilot projects to identify best practices.
Current Status: MCA previously allocated $500,000 in state funds to support pilot projects, but this program is on hold while MCA assesses whether these state funds need to be utilized for initiatives already underway for which federal funding has been terminated. If additional funding can be secured, this program could launch now.
Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners
Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners (RWBP) sustain and maximize the benefits of broadband infrastructure investment in all corners of Maine. In 2024, RWBP provided 2,730 digital skills trainings to 4,639 participants; 1,990 people participated in internet safety education events; and 702 devices were distributed to those who need them.​​
Current Status: In Year 3 of programming, 18 partners are implementing programs to support communities and individuals most impacted by the digital divide, including device programs, digital navigator support, and digital skills training. ​​​​​​​​​ A federal grant of $11M awarded to these partners that would have funded their work through the next four years was terminated in May as well. Without additional funding, MCA cannot sustain the innovative and impactful RWBP network.
Public Education for Access and Devices
MCA identified access to digital resources and devices as major barriers during the development of the Digital Equity Plan. In response, MCA developed Tech Help for ME, an interactive online tool that individuals can use to find existing digital resources at nearby locations like libraries, adult education facilities, and Connectivity Hubs. To address device needs, MCA is partnering with give IT. get IT. in a campaign called Maine Tech Share, designed to increase device donations from Maine businesses and institutions for refurbishment and redistribution to those in need. Further, MCA has developed overarching educational and digital inclusion campaigns that will help all partners share resources and best practices and tackle barriers to access at scale.
Current Status: Funding for these programs will allow MCA to launch and sustain important tools to connect people to digital resources and generate substantially more donated technology for refurbishment. The federal grant to support these campaigns was terminated in May, forcing MCA to put other programming on hold in order to develop and launch these important initiatives.
Core Partners
MCA works closely with other nonprofits and state agencies in Maine that are part of the digital opportunity ecosystem, which existed for decades before MCA was created. These core partners, including the National Digital Equity Center, give IT. get IT., the Maine State Library, and Maine Adult Education, represent a well of expertise and knowledge in how to reach people in need.
​Current Status: Beyond MCA's ability to fund these core partners, there is an acute need for the long-term sustainability of this work. In 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a $13.7M grant to the National Digital Equity Center in partnership with the Maine State Library, Adult Education Association, and Maine Community College system. This award has also now been terminated, and MCA’s available funding for core partners will be fully expended in June. Additional funding is necessary to support core partners in their essential work.
The Call To Action
Capitalization of the Opportunity Fund to deliver programming and engagement across all 16 counties and Tribal nations is critical for the success and utilization of connectivity, further supporting the sustainability of MCA’s infrastructure investments, which total over $250M of public and private funding to date
MCA’s Opportunity Fund ensures that Maine’s digital ecosystem will be able to:
-
Distribute 50,000 no or low-cost computer devices to covered populations by 2029
-
Provide 50,000 people with personal digital skills assessment or training, and
-
Reach at least 50,000 Maine people with internet safety and education programming.
To measure donation impact, MCA assumes conservatively that the people reached through these programs will NOT overlap, meaning each $1 million gift to the Opportunity Fund will secure MCA’s ability to help at least 3,333 Maine people. If a degree of overlap is assumed, meaning a person could gain access to a free or low-cost device AND/OR digital skills assessment or training AND/OR internet safety and education programming, our impact goals remain the same, but this means a $1 milion gift could positively impact upwards of 5,000 Maine people.
The Opportunity Fund offers donors the ability to positively impact both the short-term and long-term economic, educational, health, and social well-being of an individual for around $300.
($15M/50,000 = $300 per person reached)