The United Way of Racine County is partnering with Microsoft to create a new equity-focused technology fund, the nonprofit organization announced this week.
The fund, which will officially launch on Dec. 1, will help local nonprofits address disparities and support under-resourced communities through the use of technology.
As part of the fund, nonprofits will be able to apply for grants of between $1,000 and $15,000 to help create equitable access to technology, information and/or opportunities for their client and use technology to mitigate barriers to success for clients in an effort, to increase in job-readiness skills, earning potential, educational attainment for students in preschool through 12th grade, and increase access to and utilization of physical and/or mental health services
A total of $140,000 would be able to nonprofits through Equity Through Technology Fund. It’s anticipated that at least ten organizations will receive funding to serve a combined total of at least 500 Racine County residents, a spokeswoman with nonprofit said Wednesday.
It was recently reported that Microsoft is donating a total $200,000 to the United Way of Racine County to bolster programming and STEM education efforts as part of its multi-billion data center development in Mount Pleasant.
“Technology is an integral part of our daily lives,” Ali Haigh, president and CEO of United Way of Racine County said of the effort. “This fund will utilize all of its capabilities to create more opportunities and paths to services for marginalized populations in areas like mental health services, education and increased wages and job readiness to name just a few.”
Bob Reitinger, Microsoft’s datacenter community affairs regional lead, echoed Haigh’s statements.
“We are proud to partner with United Way of Racine County,” Reitinger said. “They have a proven track record of creating impactful change in Racine County, and we are confident that the work that comes out of this new fund will facilitate better outcomes for under-resourced populations in our community.”
Information about the fund, including how to apply, can be found at UnitedWayRacine.org/ETT.
