Sioux Falls nonprofit to help connect residents with federal internet subsidies

A Sioux Falls nonprofit will soon hire a “digital equity navigator” to help residents secure federal high-speed internet subsidies that were made available in 2022 but have largely gone unused by those in the city who qualify for them. 

The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation announced its $50,000 connectivity donation to South Dakota Voices for Peace on Thursday.

Foundation Vice President for Community Investment Patrick Gale called digital equity “one of our community’s most pressing challenges.”

Gale is also a member of Connect Sioux Falls, which works to bridge digital gaps in the city. 

“Expanding the number of households who can access the internet will also help develop our workforce by offering connections to job and training opportunities, it will strengthen the health of our community by offering easier access to healthcare resources and support, and it will enhance the vitality of our city by creating connections and sparking innovation,” Gale said.

The new Voices for Peace employee will work to connect residents to benefits from the Affordable Connectivity Program, which went live on Dec. 31, 2021 and offers up to $30 a month to help eligible households pay their internet bills and also offers a one-time $100 voucher for the purchase of a laptop, desktop or tablet computer.

Those whose incomes are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible, but there are several other criteria under which a person can qualify. Several companies offer internet service through the program, including Midco Communications, which is a financial supporter of Connect Sioux Falls and a leading provider for the city. Midco offers eligibility details and sign-up information on its website, as does provider Bluepeak.

Enrollment hurdles exist, however. A Pew Charitable Trusts analysis published in February pointed out that verifying eligibility can take 30-45 minutes online if there are no snags with documentation, and 45% of applicants are initially rejected.

Broadband connectivity is a statewide concern for South Dakota. Gov. Kristi Noem and lawmakers have pumped millions of dollars into connectivity to help bridge a broadband gap in the state’s rural areas, but those efforts do not help individuals pay their broadband bills.

Rural and urban residents nationwide are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program, and the monthly subsidy can amount to $75 a month for residents in qualifying tribal areas. 

In the urban enclave of Sioux Falls, 25,000 people are eligible for the federal subsidy, according to Taneeza Islam, executive director of South Dakota Voices for Peace. Only 18% of them have taken advantage of the subsidies. 

Minorities, people with low incomes and those with less education are seven times more likely to lack home internet access or mobile devices at home than white, educated and higher income families, Islam said at the press conference announcing the funding award. 

A Connect Sioux Falls report from 2021 noted that a third of households with annual incomes below $35,000 had no internet access. Just 3% of households with incomes of $75,000 or more a year lacked access.

The new funding stream will allow the Voices for Peace to hire a full-time employee to “focus entirely on helping our community’s most vulnerable enroll in this important program that will no doubt impact economic and social success for generations to come.”

The connectivity work began before the Thursday award. More than 200 households enrolled in the federal program between January and May through the efforts of Voices for Peace and partners Connect Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls School District, Caminando Juntos and the Teddy Bear Den. Islam said via email that her nonprofit’s outreach team led those efforts. The hiring of a full-time digital equity navigator will allow that team to continue working on other projects throughout the community, such as helping people to enroll in Medicaid as it expands in South Dakota. 

According to a recent study from Connect Sioux Falls, around 15% of households are classified as “unconnected.”

Information on how to connect to the program through Voices for Peace is available at this link.