Frequently
Asked Questions
How can we make our Community
Network self-sustaining?
by Meredith Bauch
There will never be one set answer to this question, as each community
network is unique and will look for funding in different places. If I had
to name a single quality for sustainability it would be resourcefulness
in searching for funds.
Many community networks find that they must look to a number of resources
for support. Who is providing this support now? After examining a number
of community networks the key players in providing support are:
-
individual users in the community through subscription or donations
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local businesses through donations and sponsorship
-
companies that have grant giving programs and used equipment/software donations
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in connection with the community network
-
foundations
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local, state, and national grants
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school districts, libraries, colleges, and universities
People need to be educated to the value that a community network can provide
to its members. A good model for developing a community network can
be found in the Blacksburg Electronic Village, who has published a "Community
Network Planning Guide" on its web site. This guide details the necessary
components for a community network as including "getting a critical mass
of users online, creating an information space, and merging the real and
virtual communities". These components are key to questions such as: "what
services do you need to offer, who will provide the services, who will
provide the operational support for these services, where will the equipment
go, who will buy and install the equipment". There are a number of examples
of funding and partnerships available on the Community
Connector: Funding & Partners. This page provides a listing,
as well as examples of where other community networks have gone for support.
Other sources for potential funds are detailed at Seattle
Community Network. This list shows examples from print and online sources,
which community networks can use as a starting or continuing point for
grant money. One of the most important factors to remember is that a community
network is collaboration. It provides a service to the community not to
one individual; look to ways that you can enhance community by providing
services that add value to the larger population. Money is an important
aspect to sustainability, but it is not the most important aspect of a
CN. People are what make a CN, not the technology. Look to what other successful
community networks have done and take some notes about what worked. Using
others as a reference can be a great way to inform the building or sustaining
of a CN.
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