The Miami Connected launched in the spring of 2021 with the goal of making Miami the most technologically inclusive community in the United States. The idea was born in the midst of COVID-19 when hundreds of thousands of children were expected to attend school online during the greatest health, social, and economic crisis of our lifetimes. The digital divide was nothing new, the urgency was clear: those without access were literally left behind.

We estimated approximately 100,000 students were without high-quality internet at home. We knew we needed to act, but to truly address a problem at this scale we needed to mobilize businesses, government, and philanthropy to stand together as a united front. With bold seed funding from Ken Griffin, The Children’s Trust, TD Bank, The Miami HEAT, The Miami Foundation, and in partnership with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor Frances X. Suarez, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, we launched Miami-Connected as a cross-sector partnership.

During our first year, Miami Connected prioritized getting disconnected individuals signed up for broadband internet. The success of this program has been a team effort, made possible through deep collaboration, profound generosity, and relentless solution orientation from all involved.