When thinking about digital opportunity, it’s easy to jump straight to training programs, job support, and digital skills. But none of that is possible without one key ingredient: a fast, reliable internet connection. At digitalLIFT, our mission is to help communities build digital confidence, skills, and opportunity – and in Texas, much of that work is strengthened by the solid foundation of connectivity provided by GFiber (formerly known as Google Fiber).
In cities across Texas, digitalLIFT has partnered with local organizations to deliver digital literacy training, capacity-building programs, and resources that help people thrive online. In many of these same communities, GFiber has been expanding access to high-speed, affordable internet, ensuring the infrastructure is in place for those programs to succeed. When our efforts intersect, the results are transformative. Access meets action, and opportunity follows.
“Access to high-speed internet at home is no longer a luxury. It’s a basic need,” says John-Michael Cortez, GFiber’s Government and Community Affairs Manager in Texas. “For individuals and households to fully participate in all aspects of life – education, employment, healthcare, and civic engagement – they must have access to reliable, affordable internet.”
From Connection to Capacity
In communities like Del Valle, this combination of resources has sparked real change. During the pandemic, GFiber supported AVANCE-Austin, a parent-child education and family empowerment nonprofit, by helping bring services online and supporting digital skills programs. Building on that foundation, digitalLIFT is now working with AVANCE-Austin through the generosity of Methodist Healthcare Ministries to expand capacity-building programs, ensuring the digital skills training that began out of necessity can grow into a permanent community asset.
Stephanie De Leon, Senior Development and Communications Manager for AVANCE-Austin, shares how the organization provides holistic support, including tech skills and access, to their clients.
“Through our partnership with digitalLIFT, we’re ensuring families have equitable access to technology and the skills they need to navigate online resources,” says De Leon. “digitalLIFT supplies our teams with free devices and internet hotspots to distribute to families, plus staff training in tech skills and leadership. These tools allow us to meet families where they are and help them build stronger, more connected households.”
AVANCE-Austin and digitalLIFT are collaborating on a two-year project to bridge the digital divide for under-resourced families in Central Texas who are enrolled in AVANCE-Austin’s two-generation programs. AVANCE partners with more than 40 community organizations each year to fulfill its mission of walking alongside families to achieve social and economic justice.
Last year, AVANCE Home Visitors supported families over nine months as they searched for nearby food pantries, registered children for school, and applied for new job and educational opportunities. Before this partnership, AVANCE provided warm referrals to connect families with resources. Now, families receive the tools, training, and confidence to access those resources directly, creating healthier families and communities.
“Before, we could tell parents where to find help,” adds De Leon. “Now, we can give them the technology and knowledge to take that next step themselves. That’s the difference between access and empowerment.”
AVANCE-Austin Collaborates with GFiber to Meet Families’ Basic Needs
In a significant stride toward digital equity, AVANCE-Austin has also partnered with GFiber, NTEN, Human IT, and digitalLIFT to provide essential technology resources to under-resourced Travis County families. This collaboration addresses the digital divide by offering Chromebooks, internet hotspots, and comprehensive digital literacy training, ensuring families have both the tools and knowledge to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
From September 2024 to May 2025, AVANCE-Austin distributed over 350 technology devices, 25 hotspots, and upskilled 10 staff members as Digital Navigators. They also hosted basic digital literacy workshops to meet ongoing community needs, a tangible example of what happens when connectivity meets capacity and community partnership.
“What we’re seeing isn’t just partnership – it’s exponential impact,” says Skye Downing, Deputy Director of digitalLIFT. “When funders, community leaders, nonprofit institutions, and connectivity providers align, it catalyzes change and the entire ecosystem thrives.”
Together, these efforts are not only closing the technology gap but creating a model of shared responsibility: one that proves digital equity is achievable when communities work in unison toward lasting progress.
Partnerships that Multiply Impact
Our Texas work is strengthened by long-term local collaborations. The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), for example, has benefited from GFiber’s decade-long commitment to providing free internet to thousands of public housing residents. This service, combined with refurbished devices from Austin
Free-Net and digitalLIFT training resources, helped families stay connected to school, work, and essential services during the pandemic – and continues to support their daily lives today.
We also work alongside organizations like E4Youth, which gives underrepresented students hands-on experience in technology, storytelling, and media arts. With GFiber providing essential sponsorship and support, and digitalLIFT contributing training tools and program-building expertise, we’re helping these students not only learn digital skills but apply them to shape their futures.
Innovating for Digital Equity
GFiber’s approach – equitable, transparent service with no gimmicks – challenges the status quo. That commitment to fairness and accessibility complements digitalLIFT’s mission: equipping communities with the skills, resources, and confidence to thrive in a digital world.
From Austin Free-Net to Bastrop County Cares, from distributing desktops to hosting tech-training events, our reach in Texas is wide and deeply rooted. The thread connecting it all is partnership: with connectivity providers, local agencies, and community leaders who share our vision.
Building Digital Futures Together
As digitalLIFT continues to expand our Texas presence, we’re proud to work in places where strong infrastructure already exists and to help transform that connectivity into real-world opportunity. By layering our training, program development, and capacity-building work on top of Google Fiber’s broadband investment, we create ripple effects that touch individuals, families, and entire neighborhoods.
It takes a village to bridge the digital gap, and we’re honored to be part of a network that’s making it happen!
Join us in building digital confidence across communities! Partner with us to create lasting change in your community. You can also grow your organization’s impact with our online courses. These hands-on resources turn digital equity goals into sustainable action.
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