1.
Community Sponsorship FAQs
Q: What is the mission of eCommUnity?
A: To assist communities currently under­served for home Internet access:
● Connect to the Internet wirelessly using low­cost computing devices such as: tablets,
netbooks, and donated computers;
● Create​ a Digital Literacy training program to teach basic computer skills; and
● Collaborate ​with local schools and community groups to foster a digital learning
environment.
Q: What is the cost to sponsor a community?
A: Hardware costs for a class of ten participants are approximately $2,000. Participants will be
able to purchase their hardware at the end of class; however, we do not intend to turn away
anyone due to financial need. eCommUnity will work with the sponsoring organization to
identify families with a financial hardship and provide affordable payment options. All money
paid by participants will be placed in a general fund which will be used to purchase hardware
for future training classes. Sponsorship isn’t just a financial donation, it is an investment in the
community​.
Q: Are donations tax­deductible?
A: Yes. Community Sponsorship donations can be submitted to ​Next High School​, an
eCommUnity non­profit partner. A donation letter will be provided for tax purposes.
Q: Can the sponsoring organization purchase the hardware and/or provide the training?
A: Yes. The hardware can be purchased at any Walmart store. The open­mesh OM2P­LC
mesh routers can be purchased at ​www.open­mesh.com​. The training curriculum, and all
eCommUnity content, is published under a royalty­free Creative Commons BY­NC­SA
license.
Q: What topics are covered in the training session?
A: Participants will be guided through the following areas of tablet usage (all services are
free):
* Hardware Basics * Voice/Video/Text Communication
* Account Creation/Sign­in * Education and Productivity Apps
* Application Install * Document Creation/Editing
* Device Settings * Social Networking
* Parental Control * Gaming and Entertainment Apps
Q: What is the purpose of the optional WiFi Mesh Router and how will it be used?
A: The open­mesh wireless router is a low­cost, but highly capable, wireless access point
(AP) which can be used to provide wireless broadband Internet access for an entire
community simply by “meshing” multiple APs together. Instruction will be provided in both the
Visit ​www.e­comm­unity.org​ for more information!
This work is licensed under a ​Creative Commons Attribution­NonCommercial­ShareAlike
3.0 Unported License​.

2.
setup and use of the open­mesh Access Point for participants who choose to purchase a WiFi
router. At least one community participant will need to either already have, or be willing to
obtain, home Internet access to be used as the “gateway” for the community mesh network.
See website for details.
Visit ​www.e­comm­unity.org​ for more information!
This work is licensed under a ​Creative Commons Attribution­NonCommercial­ShareAlike
3.0 Unported License​.