Technology Matching Fund grant winner: InterConnection

Seattle IT celebrates InterConnection, a 2023 Technology Matching Fund (TMF) grant winner that is working to bridge Seattle's digital divide, one laptop at a time.

InterConnection, a non-profit organization based in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, won a 2023 Technology Matching Fund (TMF) grant of $35,100 to provide digital devices to hundreds of Seattle residents. This innovative organization receives donated electronics from businesses and the community and refurbishes, scrubs, and readies them for new users. The program provides a high-quality laptop and mouse, a one-year warranty, and ongoing technical support for every device it distributes.

"Our work has a uniquely exponential effect in the community in that we partnered with other Technology Matching Fund grantees to provide devices for their programs to close the digital divide," said Morgan Costello-Hostsettler, Partnerships & Programs Director at InterConnection.

InterConnection is a certified Microsoft Refurbisher, follows R2 compliance practices, and is an electronics recycler. Throughout the years, InterConnection's charitable reuse program has provided affordable technology to over 300,000 people and prevented millions of pounds of toxic computer components from entering landfills, protecting our environment.

"The 2023 Technology Matching Fund grant enabled us to distribute 264 devices so that organizations like the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the Downtown Emergency Service Center, and Northwest Education Access, to name a few, could get devices and training to the people in our community who most need them," said Costello-Hostsettler. "Our grant gives these organizations the needed equipment to continue the work they are already doing, launch new programs, and provide digital access to more people in our community. It's truly a synergistic project."

To learn more about Interconnection or to find out where to donate equipment, visit www.interconnection.org.

The Technology Matching Fund Grants are part of the City's Digital Equity Program. TMF was established in 1997 to support the community's efforts to close the digital divide and encourage a technology-healthy city. Over $5 million has been awarded since 1998. The fund continues the legacy of Bill Wright, a Central District community leader who embodied the program goals of creating digital equity and opportunities for all, and of using technology tools to engage residents, improve communications and strengthen communities.

The City of Seattle's Information Technology Department (Seattle IT) oversees the City's Digital Equity Program. To learn more about digital equity programs like the Technology Matching Fund Grant program and past winners, reduced-cost cable and internet opportunities, and other programs, visit www.seattle.gov/tech. Seattle IT is a trusted partner that provides secure, reliable, and complaint technologies, enabling the City to deliver equitable and responsive services to the public.