Every week the farming town of Aberdeen, Idaho, bustles with would-be Latino business owners hovering over laptop computers in the local library. These entrepreneurs, who’ve never used email, the Internet, or a keyboard are learning how to embrace the digital age with help from nonprofit organizations the Northwest Area Foundation supports. Less likely than whites to use the Internet, these Latinos are learning skills that can lead to higher wages and more jobs.“This is an effort to bridge the technology gap between Latinos and the rest of the population,” said Sonia Martinez, community development specialist at Partners for Prosperity and founder of the Latino Economic and Development Center (LEAD). “We are working with entrepreneurs who have opened small businesses that don’t have websites or any kind of technology to make their operations more efficient.”
The National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), a Foundation grantee, landed a federal Latino Tech-Net grant to provide bilingual training for 15,000 people in 10 states. LEAD, another Foundation grantee located in Blackfoot, Idaho, is one of 12 NALCAB members nationally chosen for the computers. The goal is to boost Internet usage among low- and moderate-income Latinos who would then expand enterprises and create 2,100 jobs over the next three years.“Many people who come to class ask, ‘How can I get online business exposure?’ We show them how computers are important to growing their business and how to streamline their operations,” added Martinez.The main computer lab in Blackfoot is equipped for classes with eight desktop computers, printers, scanners, projectors, and software. An additional five laptops are taken to the rural Aberdeen library once a week to teach Latinos who can’t make the 40-mile trip to Blackfoot. Digital technology training focuses on basic computer skills, Quickbooks accounting software, Excel spreadsheets, Internet marketing, website development, and online banking. This is an example of how Foundation grants support nonprofits that help low-income populations build the skills and gain the knowledge they need to create prosperity for themselves and their families.
The free courses are aimed at Latinos, but anyone interested in building prosperity can participate. That’s especially important in Aberdeen, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in the southeast part of the state that values education, sports and hard work.
[1] “Latinos and Digital Technology 2010.” Pew Hispanic Center. Web. 07 Sept. 2011.
