Steve Case-backed PowerUP powers down, digital divide remains
From Wednesday, October 30, 2002
With over $100M in donations from corporation and foundations during the life of this initiative founded by Steve Case with $10M in startup money, PowerUP will be powering down as of tomorrow leaving the nearly 1,000 community-based technology centers across the country to fend for themselves, according to this New York Times story (registration required). The Boys and Girls Clubs of America will step up to the plate for many but others may not fare as well.
When Stephen M. Case, then the chairman of America Online, and many other high-technology executives announced an initiative called PowerUP less than three years ago, they said that their donated millions would help bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.
"We must take steps now so that in the Internet century, no children are left behind," Mr. Case said...."We recognize that there are many projects under way in communities across the nation that seek to bridge the digital divide," Mr. Case said in November 1999, "but they are fragmented and lack the scale necessary to attract significant resources. PowerUP will help knit these initiatives into a national tapestry and jump-start a crusade that can change the lives of millions of kids, bringing together an unprecedented combination of people, skills and resources."
...Some experts in bringing technology tools to the poor said that there were problems from the start. Larry Irving, a former Clinton administration official who was a prominent strategist in digital divide efforts, called PowerUP a " McDonald's-style, top-down franchise operation," which he said is not the best method for community development.