Contact Information
Organization Name:
Media Bridges of Cincinnati
Address:
Media Bridges
1100 Race St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Why is your organization interested in increased broadband usage among your members and community:
Media Bridges has served as Cincinnati's community media center for over twenty years. Our mission is to provide the education, equipment and environment for people to communicate effectively through media. As technology related to communication and expression evolves and the uses of technology change, it is vital that we continue to evolve with it and provide the services and programs that enable all members of the community to learn about, engage and participate in the uses of such technology. In addition, as the regulatory landscape changes, community media centers need to seek out more cost effective solutions to their communities communication issues -- solutions which empower the community to make as many decisions regarding their participation in community media as possible. Facilitating the increase in broadband usage among the community we serve is an ideal way to achieve this.
Our facility is well suited to assist in providing expanded broadband usage in our community, as many look to us for free access to computers, equipment, classes related to digital technology, etc. Our geographic location in one of the most economically challenged neighborhoods in Cincinnati enables us to bring access to these tools to a population that often has limited access to such tools/resources otherwise.
Demographic Information
Service Area Congressional Districts:
OH 1st and 2nd Congressional District
Does your organization serve a federally recognized tribal entities? If yes, please identify:
Does your organization serve vulnerable population groups? If so, please identify:
Hispanic
Black/African-American
Asian
Native American or Native Alaskan
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Disabled
Low Income
Unemployed
Senior Citizen (55 and over)
Youth
If other, please explain::
In addition, our organization serves a large Appalachian population as well in Cincinnati.
Number of hosehold subscribers:
Estimated population size of your service area:
Please provide demogrphic information for the population you serve:
African American/Black 43%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 1%
Asian/Pacific Islander 1%
Caucasian/White 53%
Latino/Latina/Hispanic 1%
Other 1%
Appalachian 34% (overlapping with multiple previously mentioned groups)
Female 52%
Male 48%
Supporting Vulnerable Populations
Please describe the specific affirmative steps that your program will take to engage and serve the groups identified:
Our facility is located in Over the Rhine, the heart of the urban core in Cincinnati -- and a community facing the most economic challenges of any area in our city. Our location enables us to serve a diverse population, provide easy physical access (our location is easily accessible by foot and public transportation) and aids in our agency's visibility.
In addition, we conduct ongoing outreach to schools, nonprofit agencies, churches, and other organizations that can benefit from our services and programs.
We have the benefit of operating 4 community access cable television stations, which reach 165,000 households in greater Cincinnati. Through these stations, we are often able to reach a vast audience and provide information regarding our free programs and services offered.
We plan to continue utilizing these tools available to engage those that we wish to serve. In addition, utilizing existing partnerships with local groups, schools, churches, arts and social service agencies will enable us to engage more groups and individuals that will benefit from broadband technology education and resources.
Please describe the ways your center will be accessible to people with disabilities and technologies will be used:
Our organization currently has functioning partnerships with several agencies that serve individuals with disabilities. We currently have programming catering to those with special needs, and our facility is accessible to individuals with physical disabilities.
Do you offer, or plan to offer, multilingual training and outreach? If so, please describe and identify languages it will be in:
Yes -- we have, and continue to plan to provide, both ASL and Spanish language services, training and outreach.
Local Drupal Development Commitement In addition to what the OMF will provide through this grant, we
estimate that a successful implementation will require a minimum of 80
hours of local drupal support (through trained staff, contractors, or
volunteers).
How many hours of professional drupal development support can you commit to securing between Oct 2010 and Oct 2012:
What is the estimated Cost (or value, if volunteer) of this commitment:
Current Capitial Equipment Commitment If your organization already has some or all of the equipment
required to implement the Open Media Project, or the capital budget
necessary to acquire it, that value will be included as part of your
match. If not, grant funds will be used to acquire the equipment you
require.
Current Digital Broadcast Server(s):
Current Dedicated RAID Storage:
If other, please explain:
We currently have dedicated RAID storage (8Tb), DBS and related equipment already.
Future Capital Equipment Commitment If your organization already has some or all of the equipment
required to implement the Open Media Project, or the capital budget
necessary to acquire it, that value will be included as part of your
match. If not, grant funds will be used to acquire the equipment you
require.
How much Capital Equipment budget could you devote towards the
acquisition of the following equipment:
Future Dedicated RAID Server:
Future Digital Broadcast Server(s):
Other Future Equipment Value:
If other, please explain:
Already have a dedicated RAID server. Also have a Digital Broadcast Server, amount indicated is if we need to purchase a new one specifically for OMP.
Technical and Administrative Support We estimate that a successful implementation of the OMP will require a minimum of 80 hours of technical and administrative support
(through involvement of your ED, bookkeeper, engineer and other staff). Any time contributed will count towards your in-kind match.
How many hours can you commit to securing between Oct 2010 and Oct 2012:
List each staff member, position, number of hours committed, and hourly wage (or equivalent, if salary):
Executive Director: 104 hours, $3650
Bookkeeper: 52 hours, $750
Engineer/IT: 250 hours, $3500
Director of Operations: 104 hours, $2750
Video Content Commitment Partners will be supporting Sustainable Broadband Adoption by
addressing the primary hurdle identified by non-adopters: a perception
that broadband is not relevant to life, especially in low-income and
minority communities.
What is the value of the staff time and resources you are willing to
devote to supporting the production of video content that will address
'broadband relevance' from the perspective of members from
disconnected communities"?
Broadband Training Program
If you intend to provide training or education, how many people in total will your program(s) reach:
How many hours of training do you expect to provide per person on average for your program(s), through completion of training:
How many Full Time Employee (FTEs) will you employ for broadband and digital literacy training purposes:
Describe the qualifications and training of full time employee instructors of broadband and digital literacy training:
Media production instructors will be production professionals versed in both current industry standard software.
Open Source and media production instructors will be well versed in open source software solutions and in instructing novices on the basics of computer usage.
IT instructors will be certified in the latest professional products from Microsoft, Apple & Cisco.
Job Creation
How many indirect jobs will be created from this project:
How many direct jobs will be created from this project:
