Pittsburgh was recently named a 2025 Visionary Digital Inclusion Trailblazer — a meaningful recognition of the City’s leadership and the coordinated, cross-sector effort to close the digital divide across our region.

Digital equity does not happen by accident. It requires sustained strategy, trusted partnerships, and on-the-ground implementation that reaches households, small businesses, and community institutions.

At Neighborhood Allies, we are proud to have contributed to that broader ecosystem effort through six years of focused digital inclusion work.

Today, we’re sharing our Digital Inclusion Impact Report, which documents that implementation experience and the outcomes it produced from 2019–2025.

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Moving Beyond Pilots

Launched in late 2019, Neighborhood Allies’ Digital Inclusion Program was designed to bridge the digital divide through three interconnected strategies:

• Expanding access to devices and connectivity

• Building digital skills and workforce readiness

• Supporting small businesses and community-based organizations

Over time, the work evolved beyond short-term pilots into sustained, scalable delivery rooted in neighborhood partnerships and measurable results.

[ View a timeline of our Digital Inclusion work and progress ]

Implementation That Matched the Moment

When the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital inequities, the program pivoted quickly delivering devices, Wi-Fi hotspots, and internet access while continuing to invest in digital literacy and economic mobility pathways.

The program ultimately integrated into Neighborhood Allies’ broader Economic Mobility portfolio, aligning digital access and skills with long-term financial stability and opportunity for families and entrepreneurs.

Grounded in Data. And in People

The Digital Inclusion Impact Report captures both quantitative outcomes and lived experience. It documents results across individuals, households, nonprofits, and small businesses, while also lifting up the partnerships and infrastructure that made those outcomes possible.

While the Digital Inclusion Program sunset at the end of 2025, its legacy continues:

• Stronger partnerships across sectors

• Expanded digital access and capability in focus neighborhoods

• Lessons learned that inform future digital equity investments

A Resource for What Comes Next

We are sharing this report in the spirit of knowledge-sharing and continued progress. Digital equity requires coordinated leadership from local government, nonprofit partners, funders, and community institutions. We are grateful to the City of Pittsburgh and the many coalition partners who advanced this work alongside us.

Recognition matters. But sustained implementation and documented impact is what moves communities forward.

We invite you to explore the full Digital Inclusion Impact Report or the Executive Summary and join us in continuing to build a digitally inclusive region.