The Center for Digital Equity collaborates with key partners to increase equitable access to and adoption of digital tools, skills, and support services.
Our Vision
Creating, strengthening, and activating a digital equity system across the Carolinas to empower residents through on-demand and no-to-low-cost digital support.
Our Strategy for What Comes Next
Building on years of digital equity leadership, CDE’s strategic plan is centered on do.OS— a Digital Opportunity Operating System designed to help communities build the infrastructure, support, and coordinated systems people need to participate and thrive in a rapidly changing digital world.
Through do.OS, CDE is working to strengthen pathways to opportunity, align partners around shared goals, and create sustainable systems that support communities across the Carolinas.
CDE serves as a backbone organization that brings together community members, nonprofits, public agencies, funders, and employers. We focus on coordination, trust-building, and practical solutions that can grow and adapt over time.
Our work is guided by listening, learning, and co-creating with the communities we serve.
Our Values
Inclusivity
Our goal is to make sure everyone in the communities we serve gets the support they need. We want to include wide representation in decision-making, even if they can’t be there in person. We always look for ways we can better invite and include people who are not usually part of the group.
Transparency
We want to use the best ways of doing things and make sure we follow them carefully. We take responsibility for trying out these practices and doing them in ways that mitigate harm and have helpful impact.
Innovation
We want to try out different designs to see what works and what doesn’t. We believe it’s important to learn from our experiences, even when there’s a lot at stake. We want to create a culture that embraces change and is flexible in how we do things. We value different opinions and ideas from a wide cross-section of people.
Community
We want to create places where we can understand and help meet the different needs of each zip code and neighborhood we serve. We care about both the things that make each place special and the similarities that may exist from place to place.
Equity
Our goal is to work towards a future where people from different races, ethnicities, genders, income levels, locations, abilities, education levels, and other important categories have results that are not limited by those categories. We want everyone to have opportunities that are meaningful to them, and to have positive experiences.
Trust
The community can count on us to do what we promise. We use our skills and knowledge to do our best and make sure we keep our word.
Integrity
We work closely with our mission and use our partnerships to do our job really well. We also help other organizations that we are connected to do their job well, too. This is all to make sure we give fair and trustworthy service to people in our community.
What Guides Our Decisions
Our mission and values guide how we design programs, build partnerships, and measure success. They shape how we show up in community spaces, how we collaborate with partners, and how we plan for long-term impact.
