The call for donations is out and the process for applications is open as a new education technology fund moves quickly to help all children in the Kansas City area be able to learn online.

The pandemic exposed the long-standing inequality in how well children can access the internet as schools were forced to close their doors.

School Smart KC, with the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and Lean Lab Education, launched the KC Schools Technology and Connectivity Access Fund this week to speed the area’s collective struggle to close the gap.

The fund is available to any traditional school district and charter school system in the Kansas City metropolitan area where more than 50% of their students receive free or reduced-price lunches.

“The events of 2020 have been challenging, and have impacted no industry harder than public education, with many schools and families still struggling to find computers and access to the internet for their students,” reads SchoolSmartKC’s statement introducing the fund.

“It is our belief that every student in Kansas City deserves equal opportunity to learn,” it said. The fund has been created with start-up funds from the Civic Council “to support high poverty students by ensuring every student has a device and the internet connectivity necessary for virtual learning.”

The fund set a goal that 95% of all students in the metropolitan area will have access to a device and internet connectivity.

The fund wants to waste no time. The school year is rapidly approaching, with many districts operating entirely online and others at least partially online.

School Smart KC intends to release funding “as quickly as possible” through the lenses of equity and optimal use of resources, with initial awards going out before September.

To learn more and to apply for the fund: go to schoolsmartkc.org, or go directly to the application form here.

To donate to the fund: mail checks to 3105 Gillham, Kansas City, Missouri, 64109. To learn more about the fund, or to arrange an electronic transfer, please contact: jeaster@schoolsmartkc.org