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"EVERYBODY'S GONE SURFING"... TRILLIUM'S INTERNET ACCESS PROJECT |
 t took us a while to get our feet wet, but now that we're in the water, we want everyone to join us! Anyone who has gone 'online' with their own Web site will probably agree that almost immediately new ideas and applications just jump out. First we put our guidelines on our site, then listed each grant. Right away, we realized that we had a wonderful opportunity to increase our capacity to develop links between our grantees, and to disseminate new learning from the projects we are funding.... The Internet Access project was born! Under this initiative, a grant from Trillium will enable the grantee to apply for technical and/or financial assistance to gain access to the Internet through e-mail or the development of their own Web site. Visitors to the Trillium site will be able to access grantees directly through a hypertext link (and vice versa). This will enable groups interested in a specific project to learn more about it directly from the project itself. We hope that grantees will post their evaluations and reports, as well as any other information that results from their work. We think the Internet is a terrific way for groups to introduce themselves to each other - and who knows what will happen after that! Our first step in this project was to survey current grantees to see how many are already online, and to assess the degree of interest for those who are not. We found that approximately 30% are currently online and, among those who are not, there was much excitement about the prospect of getting assistance in accessing the Internet. Based on the information gained through the survey, we designed an application form to walk applicants through the process of getting online by assessing their equipment and training needs. Those organizations that responded to our survey have all received this application form, and the first applications were approved at our November Executive Committee meeting. Funding decisions are based on the degree to which the Internet will enable applicants to enhance the effectiveness of their organization or collaborative and contribute to knowledge in the field. As well, we require a commitment from applicants to developing the necessary skills and to maintaining their site. Trillium is willing to provide assistance for start-up and online costs for three years or the duration of the grant, whichever is longer. In the future, applicants for Trillium grants who reach the full proposal stage will be provided with an Internet Access application form with the standard proposal format. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide this support to non-grantee organizations. If you are a current grantee and missed the announcement of this program, and wish to know more, please contact Rich Brown through e-mail: rgbrown@trilliumfoundation.org; or at (416)961-0194 ext.214. |
