Program leader Hiwot Hailu (standing) supports a class member in Digital Charlotte's Accelerator program.

News Briefs: Digital Charlotte is looking for five community groups

Digital Charlotte is looking for five good community organizations in Charlotte. Exactly five of them.

The fourth cohort of the Program Accelerator kicks off in September, and it’s designed to support organizations that can help strengthen levels of digital inclusion in their communities. The program has already supported almost a dozen other Charlotte organizations that help people obtain the digital and media literacy training they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

In the program, community organizations work with students, faculty, and staff members in Digital Charlotte, the Knight School of Communications at Queens to deliver a six-week basic course in digital literacy. The program invests $60,000 in each cohort, with support from Google Fiber and the Knight School. It includes project coordination, a paid lead trainer, and at least two Knight School students to serve as teaching students.

Program Accelerator leaders recognize that community organizations incur costs to manage the program, so it includes a $1,000 cash award to cover administrative costs. Upon completion, each participant — typically eight to 12 students per organization — receive a certificate of completion and a laptop computer. The organizations also receive training in the Google for nonprofits program, which supports organizational development.

More details are available at the Accelerator program’s application page. Deadline for applications is Aug. 13, 2018.

Photo above: program trainer Hiwot Hailu answers a question from an Accelerator class participant. Photo by Alvin C. Jacobs, copyright 2016.