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Good practice Imported

PowerOn — Technology Distribution for LGBTQ+ People Facing Homelessness and Poverty

United States of America · Washington · See the United States of America profile · See the Washington profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 72/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

LGBT Tech's PowerOn programme has distributed more than 2,000 devices worth over $400,000 through 107 partner centres in 30+ US states, helping LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness or poverty get online, find housing, and apply for jobs.

2,000+ devices
Devices distributed (cumulative to 2024)
$400,000+ USD
Value of technology distributed (cumulative to 2024)
107 centres
Partner centres (as of 2024)
30+ states/territories
US states/territories covered (as of 2024)
~400,000 people
Estimated individuals reached (as of 2024)
100 people
Recipients who completed schoolwork using the technology (2023)
257 people
Recipients who found stable housing using the technology (2023)
335 people
Recipients who applied for jobs using the technology (2023)
25 people
Homeless LGBTQ+ youth given first mobile phones under the original Connect 4 Life pilot (2014, Washington, D.C.)
PowerOn — Technology Distribution for LGBTQ+ People Facing Homelessness and Poverty PowerOn — Technology Distribution for LGBTQ+ People Facing Homelessness and Poverty

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
LGBT Tech (LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute)
Period
2014-2026
Keywords
LGBTQ+ inclusion, device donation, homelessness, digital literacy

Context

LGBTQ+ people in the United States face disproportionate digital exclusion: LGBT Tech and independent LGBTQ+ media report that a large share of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, and that a much higher share of LGBTQ+ adults live in poverty than the general population, cutting many off from the devices and connectivity needed for school, healthcare and job-hunting.

Objectives

PowerOn, run by LGBT Tech, addresses this by distributing donated and purchased laptops, tablets, smartphones and printers through a national network of LGBTQ+ community partner centres, rather than shipping devices directly to individuals.

Activities

The program began in 2014 as Connect 4 Life, a joint effort of LGBT Tech, Straight But Not Narrow, Human-I-T and The Trevor Project that gave 25 homeless LGBTQ+ youth in Washington, D.C. their first mobile phones; it was renamed and scaled nationally as PowerOn in 2015, and is now backed by corporate partners including Apple, AT&T, Comcast NBCUniversal, Google and Meta.

Results

As of 2024, PowerOn had distributed more than $400,000 worth of technology and over 2,000 devices, reaching an estimated 400,000 LGBTQ+ individuals in need of technology, through 107 partner centres across 30-plus US states and territories. In 2023 alone, recipients reported using the technology to complete schoolwork (100 people), find stable housing (257 people), and apply for jobs (335 people).

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Inferred as medium: over $400,000 worth of technology distributed cumulatively through a donated/purchased-device model backed by multiple corporate partners, smaller in scale than a national infrastructure build.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Inferred as long: the programme has run continuously since 2014/2015 (10 years) while scaling to its current partner-centre network.
Staffing & skills
Run by LGBT Tech (LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute), Delivered through a national network of 107 LGBTQ+ community partner centres rather than direct-to-individual shipping

Conditions for success

  • Distribution through trusted local LGBTQ+ community partner centres
  • Corporate funding partnerships (Apple, AT&T, Comcast NBCUniversal, Google, Meta)
  • Founding collaboration across multiple organisations (LGBT Tech, Straight But Not Narrow, Human-I-T, The Trevor Project)

Where it fits

Governance type
nonprofit-run national programme with corporate partnership funding
Scale
national (US), 107 partner centres across 30+ states and territories
Income level
targets LGBTQ+ people facing homelessness or poverty; broader national income level not stated in source

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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