How to reach families without internet

Forthright team members Emily and Monique sit at a table, Emily is facing Monique and smiling, Monique is in front of an open laptop with her back to the camera facing Emily

Written by Emily Swartzlander

Reaching families without internet access isn’t a new challenge for communicators. As of last year, one in five households in America were unable to get online at home.

But in April, millions more families across the country are poised to lose their online access as the Affordable Connectivity Program funding runs out.

This could make reaching kids and families in your district or community more challenging. So today, I want to take a moment and share what we’ve learned about reaching and supporting offline families.

What is the Affordable Connectivity Program?

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a national program that helps low-income families afford high-speed broadband.

The program was established in 2021 to support the nearly 17 million students who lack internet access at home.

Families enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program can receive:

a discount of up to $30 each month toward internet service (or $75 per month for families who live on qualifying tribal lands), and
a one-time discount to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet.

Nearly 23 million households – including millions of households with children – have enrolled in the program since it launched. But the FCC stopped taking new enrollments in February and says funding for all enrolled families will run out at the end of April unless Congress provides additional funding.

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Impact on Children and Families

Children and families who don’t have internet access face a number of challenges.

Students who can’t access the internet at home may fall behind (or further behind) at school because they can’t get online to do their homework. In fact, 81 percent of parents enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program are worried their children would fall behind if they lose home internet access. Additionally, many schools communicate with parents through online platforms about their child’s progress or other important information.

Outside of school, lack of access to the internet often affects other areas of life, like employment and healthcare, according to the Brookings Institution. Families with internet access:

Are more likely to be employed and earn more. Data from studies like this American Economic Journal one show how important this access is.
Have lower healthcare costs. Data from Cigna Healthcare shows that patients save an average of $93 when using non-urgent virtual care instead of an in-person visit.
Have better health and well-being outcomes, according to the Brookings Institution.

Reaching Families Without Internet Access

Until all families have access to affordable, high-speed internet, it’s up to nonprofit and school district leaders to continue reaching families both online and offline. That’s why we created a free PDF resource for you full of data-backed tactics to effectively reach children and families without internet access.

Below is a sneak peek of the data and tips you can find in How to Reach Families without Internet Access. You can access the rest when you download the full resource.

Download the Free Resource

Nearly all (97 percent!) of Americans own a cell phone, according to the Journal of Consumer Research. This means texting – which reaches audiences both with and without internet access – is a great way to reach a majority of families.

Additionally, texts are highly effective. They have a 98 percent open rate, and 90 percent of all text messages are read within three seconds.

Here’s how to write an effective text:

Make it personal. Start by identifying who you are, so the person receiving the text knows why they should care about your message. People want to hear from other people, not businesses.
Don’t send too many messages. Unsubscribes increase significantly when you send 10 or more messages per month.
Keep it short and clear. Limit your message to 160 characters or fewer, so it fits into one text message. (Need help simplifying your writing? We’ve got you covered there, too.)
Include clear next steps or actions families can take WITHOUT using the internet. (Please don’t send a text out with a URL as the only option for next steps…)

Here’s an example of an SMS using best practices: