TechCoop Mission and Goals

Missions: To eradicate the digital divide in Durham, Orange and Wake Counties of North Carolina by maximizing efficient and prolific use of existing facilities, equipment, personnel, programs, funds, volunteers, experience and corporate, institutional, government and partnerships in order to facilitate the design, implementation and on-going support of programs aimed at bridging the technology achievement gap through serving Triangle citizens who are homeless, unemployed, underemployed, have low-incomes, live in poor urban or rural communities, have limited education particularly as it relates to information technology, and/or have limited access to technology infrastructure.

Goals: To make a special effort to serve those demographic segments of the population that are statistically more inclined, or at risk to suffer the ill effects of the digital divide. Those at risk populations include: African Americans, Latinos, senior citizens, physically or mentally challenged, women and girls, and pre-Kindergarten aged children, to name a few.

  1. To assist nonprofits who serve at risk populations
  2. To eliminate the concept of competition between IT agencies by allowing and nurturing specialization and cooperation
  3. To provide full life cycle support for agencies and other recipients of computers
  4. To create and support community technology centers and initiatives
  5. To educate and train the public and digital divide sufferers
  6. To develop viable partnerships with corporations, computer retailers, government and nonprofit agencies
  7. To become an information clearinghouse of technical products and services suitable for nonprofits and low-income individuals.
  8. To market the heck out our efforts
  9. To train birth-to-Kindergarten child care workers
  10. To train teachers
  11. To keep kids from low-income families academically competitive with their peers
  12. To ensure that access to technology is safe (i.e. no bus riding and no cyber pedophiles)
  13. To prepare students for the end of grade tests in computer technology
  14. To reduce the number of underachieving and failing students in public, charter, and home schools
  15. To ensure that everyone living in the Triangle has reasonable opportunities to obtain access to frequent use of information technology
  16. To provide folks with a basic technology vocabulary
  17. To remove the fear and stigma from technology and establish trust and comfort
  18. To work closely with the faith-based community
  19. To effectively recruit, manage, and reward IT volunteers (banquet?)
  20. To review and establish best practices
  21. To assess and document the current technology infrastructure and the future needs of agencies through surveys and site visits.
  22. Exchange information regarding funding

Last modified: 2003 Oct 11 -- JHH