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Austin proclaims Digital Inclusion Week, honors GTOPS grant recipients
Summary
Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes and city officials marked Digital Inclusion Week with a proclamation and recognized organizations receiving 2025 GTOPS grants, outlining program totals and the city’s commitment to digital equity.
Austin officials on Sept. 25 proclaimed Digital Inclusion Week and recognized recipients of the city’s Grant for Technology Opportunities Program (GTOPS), highlighting efforts to expand Internet access, device availability and digital skills training across the city.
Vanessa Fuentes, Austin’s mayor pro tem and representative for District 2, opened the event and said the work of GTOPS grantees matters because “These aren't just nice to haves anymore. They are essentials for staying connected every day through education, work, and health care.” Fuentes read a proclamation declaring Sept. 25, 2025, a day of recognition for Digital Inclusion Week and GTOPS recipients.
The city framed digital inclusion as an economic and equity priority. Anne Eaton, assistant director for the Economic Development Department, said the department supports programs “that boost workforce skills and training” so more Austinites can participate in the local economy. Steven Apodaca, chair of the Technology Commission, presented summary figures for GTOPS and related programs as provided at the event: the GTOPS mini pathway has awarded 27 grants to 14 organizations totaling $270,000; the GTOPS capacity pathway has provided 88 grants to 42 organizations totaling more than $210,000; and a related core grant program since 2001 has awarded 231 grants to 176 organizations with total funding of over $4,000,000. Apodaca said those figures “represent lives changed, opportunities created, and futures transformed.”
Fuentes and others read and presented a city proclamation recognizing the week and calling attention to remaining barriers including affordability, device access and digital literacy. The proclamation stated the city’s commitment to “keep the spotlight on the great need that still exists to find long term solutions to help overcome the physical, financial, and educational barriers” to digital equity.
Council members and commission leadership also read the list of 2025 GTOPS honorees aloud. Organizations named during the ceremony included Art Spark Texas; Austin Children’s Museum; Austin Speech Labs; Building Promise USA; Business and Community Lenders of Texas; Changing Expectations Corps; Compudot; Dress for Success; Foundation Communities; Nonpareil Institute; Texas Folklife Resources; The Arc of the Capital Area; Seva; The Muse: The Museum of Human Achievement; Walking by Faith Prison Ministry; Economic Growth Business Incubator; Austin FreeNet; Universal Technology Movement; Hindu Charities for America; Brave Communities; Diversity, Awareness and Wellness and Action (DAWAH); Latinitas; and Art Curatorial.
The event emphasized the city’s ongoing grant support for community organizations and the role of digital access in workforce development and civic participation. No council vote or formal ordinance accompanied the proclamation; the event consisted of remarks, recognition and the reading of the proclamation.
