New York opened $12 million in new digital equity grants this week through its state economic development agency, Empire State Development, aimed at groups that help residents get and stay online. The move lands during National Digital Inclusion Week, and it arrives with something New Yorkers can use right now: a free Digital Equity Resource Finder, live in open beta, that maps more than 1,000 local resources for getting connected, from senior centers to library branches with assistive technology.
- What’s new: Empire State Development (ESD) opened two grant pools worth up to $12 million total, plus a public Resource Finder tool and a bigger push to tell people about the state’s low-cost internet law.
- Who can apply: Nonprofits, libraries, schools, housing authorities, health care providers, colleges, Tribal governments, and local or state agencies.
- Who benefits today: Any New Yorker can search the free Resource Finder right now to find nearby help with devices, Wi-Fi, or digital skills classes.
- Deadlines: November 10 for the larger Digital Equity Grants, December 8 for the smaller IDEA grants.
Two digital equity grants, different sizes
Empire State Development says it split the $12 million into two separate requests for applications. The Digital Equity Grant offers up to 10 awards of $1 million each, for a total of up to $10 million, and it’s meant to sustain and expand regional or statewide programs that already have a track record. Those grants run 18 to 24 months, and applications close November 10.
The second pool, called the Innovations in Digital Equity and Access grant, or IDEA, totals up to $2 million. Individual awards range from $100,000 to $250,000, cover 12 to 18 months, and are meant for newer approaches that build on something that has already shown promise. Applications for IDEA close December 8.
Picture a librarian we’ll call Teresa, an illustrative example and not a real person, who runs a small digital-skills program at a Southern Tier library branch. Under the IDEA grant, she could apply for enough money to hire part-time help and expand her waitlisted classes, instead of starting a new program from nothing. Both grant types require applicants to support at least one of five goals: digital literacy and skills, awareness of affordable broadband, access to devices and tech support, online privacy and safety, or accessible government services. Groups apply through the state’s Consolidated Funding Application portal, and partners can team up under a single lead applicant. ESD says it has already awarded nearly $9 million to 33 grantees through ConnectALL’s Digital Equity Program, and the agency’s release notes New York is now the only state still running its own digital equity grant program after federal funding for the effort ended last year.
A map of local help that didn’t exist before
Alongside the grants, ESD opened a public beta of the Digital Equity Resource Finder, an interactive map and directory covering more than 1,000 resources statewide. Listed entries include centers that serve older adults, after-school programs, digital safety workshops, library branches with assistive technology, and digital skills modules offered in multiple languages. Users can search by address, look up an organization by name, filter the map by resource type, or just browse a list. Because it’s a beta, ESD is asking people to flag missing resources or request features as they use it.
That matters because, right now, finding this kind of help usually means calling around: a library here, a nonprofit there, maybe a call to 211. A single map doesn’t fix a shortage of services in a given county, but it can save a frustrating string of phone calls for someone who just wants to know where the nearest help is.
Why It Matters to You
- If cost or confusion has kept you offline, the Resource Finder lets you search your own address today, free, for a nearby library, senior center, or nonprofit that can help, no application or waiting period required.
- If English isn’t your first language, the state’s outreach materials are now available in 11 languages, and officials say they’ve already reached more than 1 million eligible New Yorkers by text and video about the state’s low-cost internet law.
- If you run a library, school, clinic, or nonprofit that already does this kind of work, you can apply for up to $1 million through the Digital Equity Grant or up to $250,000 through the IDEA grant to keep it running or grow it.
- This is a new beta tool and a new round of grants, not a finished fix. ESD hasn’t said how complete the map is in every county, and there are no results yet from this specific funding round.
Telling people about the state’s low-cost internet law
New York also expanded outreach around its Affordable Broadband Act, a state law that requires internet providers to offer a low-cost subscription tier to eligible consumers. ESD says the state has reached more than 1 million eligible consumers through text message campaigns aimed at SNAP recipients and multilingual video ads running on DMV kiosks. New outreach materials are now available in 11 languages, and people and organizations can order the printed materials for free.
New York City has run a related, separate effort worth knowing about. StateScoop reported that the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation launched “Get Online NYC” this spring, a $2.4 million campaign with its own resource-finding tool covering more than 450 locations citywide. It’s a reminder that this kind of outreach is happening at both the state and city level, with different tools covering overlapping ground.
What we don’t know yet
A few things are missing from this announcement. ESD hasn’t published outcome data, such as how many people the prior $9 million in grants actually reached or how their digital skills changed afterward. The release doesn’t say how complete the Resource Finder’s listings are in rural counties versus cities, and since it’s explicitly in beta, gaps are likely. Nobody has published the actual price of the low-cost broadband tier required under the Affordable Broadband Act, and reaching 1 million consumers with outreach messages is not the same as 1 million people signing up for cheaper service. And a simpler, no-tech alternative exists for anyone in a hurry: calling a local library or dialing 211 can connect residents to help without using any app or map at all.
If you want to see what’s near you, the Resource Finder is live now. If you help run a library, school, or nonprofit that already does this work, the Digital Equity Grant closes November 10 and the IDEA grant closes December 8. Questions go to [email protected], the address ESD listed for both programs.
Sources
- Empire State Development: Empire State Development Announces $12 Million in New Digital Equity Funding Opportunities (Oct. 7, 2026)
- Niagara Frontier Publications: ESD $12M in new digital equity grant opportunities (Oct. 9, 2026)
- StateScoop: ‘Get Online NYC’ campaign includes digital resource finder (Apr. 1, 2026)