October 30, 2002
A Lack of Money Forces Computer Initiative to Close
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/30/technology/30POWE.html?todaysheadlines

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.
But tomorrow , with nearly 1,000 community-based technology centers financed
across the country, the national offices of PowerUp will close and the
centers will be left to fend for - and finance - themselves.
Other groups, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, will keep many
of the centers open with local financing, and many other initiatives to
bridge the gap between the techno-haves and have-nots survive. Those
familiar with the fizzle of the once-promising project say it is a
disheartening side effect of the stock market slump.
A spokeswoman for PowerUP, Denise Keyes, said, "It was never the intention
for this to go on" indefinitely, and that the centers were always supposed
to become self-sustaining. "This seems like a natural transition time," she
said.
Over the life of the organization, total corporate and foundation donations
were estimated to be as much as $100 million, said Jerry Dovalis, executive
vice president of Mr. Case's Case Foundation.
Mr. Case had taken a prominent role in introducing the initiative, providing
$10 million in start-up money.
"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."
That tapestry included the Case Foundation; the Waitt Family Foundation,
started by the founder of Gateway computer, Ted Waitt; the AOL Foundation;
the Corporation for National Service; the National Urban League; and
America's Promise, the group founded by Colin L. Powell.
Corporate sponsors climbed on the bandwagon, as well: not just technology
companies like Microsoft, Cisco System, Hewlett Packard and Sun Micro
Systems, but als PowerBar Inc., which pledged to provide its snack bars to
the centers.
Mr. Dovalis hailed the start of 957 technology centers by PowerUP as
"historic." He said, however, that the organization was a creature of its
times - the high-flying days when dot-com parking lots were chockful of
Boxsters and portfolios were flush.
"The model that was launched in late 1999 and began taking flesh and form in
January of 2000 was a model that had its bloodlines in different economic
times," he said. "The model isn't necessarily the best one for these
economic times."
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.
"I've been in this area for about 10 years - the one thing we've learned is
local efforts work best," he said.
Ultimately, the tapestry unraveled. "It's a partnership," said one executive
involved with PowerUP. "It was never supposed to be one person at the
banquet table saying month after month `Here's the check.' "
Many groups are still providing technology services to the poor and
disadvantaged, with programs financed by AOLTime Warner, Intel, Microsoft,
Gateway and others, and by groups such as CTCnet, a grassroots national
network of community technology centers.
To Mr. Irving, "there's still a need out there" for such programs.
Although they are scrambling for backing, those who maintain the PowerUP
sites say they are grateful.
"It was an absolute blessing for us," said Robbie Callaway, the senior vice
president of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which runs 434 PowerUp sites
within its clubs.
At the Cowan Community Center in Whitesburg, Ky., the coordinator, Stacy
Dollarhyde, said of the 10-computer site that PowerUP built for them,
"There's going to be challenges, definitely, to keep it up and running."
But Ms. Dollarhyde, whose building had an electrical fire yesterday that
forced her to send the HeadStart students home while things aired out, said
adversity is not a stranger.
"We're in Appalachia," she said. "You kind of have to take what you get and
be thankful for it, and build on that."

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