Centri Tech Foundation

Social justice innovation awards in september 2023, the Centri Tech Foundation, in partnership with morgan stanley, announced six winners of the 2023 social justice innovation awards (sjia), a program now in its second year and supported by morgan stanley that aims to identify and invest in breakthrough ideas for social justice. Over 2022 and 2023, ctf provided $2.75m in financial investment along with support to 11 leaders who are promoting opportunity and inclusion across a spectrum of issues from mental health, access to technology, education, public benefits, rehabilitative justice, and cultural heritage preservation.2023 awardees received $250,000 and bespoke support to develop their innovations. They also were invited to join a 9-month fellowship cohort designed to promote collaboration, build leadership capacity, and increase their access to networks. The fellowship commenced with an in-person convening in Washington, d.c., in late september. From november - december 2023, the cohort connected with leading experts for strategic sessions focused on technology, leadership and management.- ctf and the sjia fellows attended a day-long event at morgan stanley, which included a fireside chat featuring ctf chair, rey ramsey, and morgan stanley global head of talent, susan reid. The event was preceded by a closed-door session for sjia fellows and select morgan stanley executives to discuss generative ai and inclusive entrepreneurship.- ctf chair rey ramsey led a leadership management strategy session focused on the dynamic management map and inverted pyramid models, offering a platform for fellows to discuss leadership challenges and gain insights from the group.in november, ctf officially launched the 2024 social justice innovation awards, extending a call for nominations to a national network of subject matter experts and social justice practitioners. In early 2024, nominees will be invited to apply for the awards, with the external review and selection process slated to begin in late spring 2024. Winners will be announced in late 2024.

Digital integrators program:building on our digital integrators program, ctf designed the community skills connect initiative to deliver digital workforce skills training, information, and resources to low-income job seekers. In fall 2023, ctf received support from verizon's community enhancement award, a $1 million national initiative to ensure communities have access to the tools and skills to navigate an increasingly technological world. As one of 10 grantees, ctf will use the grant to implement this initiative in the cities of Washington, dc, philadelphia, pa, and baltimore, md.look ahead 2024: ctf will launch community skills connect, a new digital workforce development initiative to connect jobseekers in baltimore, md, philadelphia, pa, and Washington, dc, to digital skills training opportunities and local workforce development resources. Working with community partners in each city, the initiative aims to help underserved job seekers navigate the local digital workforce development ecosystem and access opportunities such as digital skills training, reskilling and upskilling programs, and training for Tech careers and entrepreneurship. Additionally, a partnership with Centri life, a digital platform, will connect residents to local pathways for economic and educational opportunities. This initiative is supported by the verizon community enhancement award, athe community skills connect initiative will partner with and promote the efforts of three, on-the-ground organizations that are connecting residents to the internet, digital skills training, workforce development opportunities, and wraparound support services as a means to expand digital access and increase economic opportunity.via Centri life, a web-based platform, community skills connect will help jobseekers discover and access local training opportunities for digital literacy, digital skills, reskilling, and upskilling; earn credentials; identify pathways for jobs and careers; and apply for jobs. The platform will feature curated information, services, and resources, including practical tools, in-person events, and a virtual career series for Tech entrepreneurs. Outreach and engagement will be facilitated by a train-the-trainer module.

Digital advancement institute:the Centri Tech Foundation seeks to leverage investments in technology access and adoption to build an inclusive digital economy. By extending affordable, reliable high-speed internet to every american not only where they work and learn, but also where they live, leaders can implement bold strategies that drive technology-based economic development and expand prosperity for all. This approach is called digital advancement, a new mindset that believes when people are connected, our shared possibilities are limitless. In october 2023, we released v2.0 of the digital advancement municipal index ("muni index"), a tool designed to measure u.s. cities' progress toward shared prosperity. Using 16 indicators from four categories technology, socioeconomics, education, and housing, the muni index captures and compares a city's overall prosperity and digital equity metrics across nearly u.s. cities with populations over 65,000. Our refreshed index includes updated data for 540 cities, fresh insights, and new visualizations.look ahead 2024: ctf is committed to sharing more data and insights with communities to help enrich strategic decision making and improve quality of life. Ctf will continue to work with external stakeholders to iterate and amplify the municipal index via engagement and knowledge sharing. In winter 2024, the digital advancement institute will present the muni index at the net inclusion conference, which will gather 1300 attendees in philadelphia, pa. In spring 2024, ctf will update the tool with 2022 public data from the us census. As states prepare to disburse federal funds for digital equity in the coming year, emphasis will be given to leveraging the tool to help stakeholders respond to and prepare for those opportunities. To help cities progress along the index, the digital advancement institute will share resources, as well as access to data and expert networks, engaging partners across government, the private sector, philanthropy and nonprofits.

Junior housing & community development fellow:for the third year in a row, ctf implemented a 10-week summer program (july 3- september 11, 2023), providing instruction and applied learning in the areas of community development, affordable housing, broadband technology, resident services, and impact investing sectors. The student fellow was a rising cal poly Tech graduate student and a track and field athlete.ctf facilitated site visits to charlotte, nc, new york, ny, and Washington, d.c., to meet with community development and affordable housing professionals and organizations. The program concluded with the candidate delivering a capstone project presentation to Centri and morgan stanley leadership focused on a mock community development project in jackson, ms, aiming to provide affordable low-income housing to tenants ranging from 30% of the area median income to 80%. For 2024, the junior housing fellowship will continue to partner with cal poly Tech during the academic year and summer. In addition, the program seeks to expand to local universities in the Washington, d.c. Region.