A key grantmaking program is transformed.

In 2001, we launched the Community Access to Technology (CAT) program, which helps nonprofit organizations in Washington state give their low-income clients opportunities to learn the skills they need to use technology. In April, we announced that the program would begin a partnership with the Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. The program has been renamed Communities Connect, and the Center will oversee its transformation from a private grantmaking program funded by the foundation into a network of community-technology organizations and advocates throughout the state.

Over five years, we've made more than 100 grants totaling $16 million through CAT. About 80,000 people, most of them from groups that typically don't have access to computers or the Internet, were served at 350 different locations throughout the state. Communities Connect will help sustain and grow these efforts.