A stable home is a connected home. In today’s digital economy, internet access is no longer a luxury—it’s essential for education, employment, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Throughout 2025, Rocket Community Fund continued our commitment to bridging Detroit’s digital divide, expanding connectivity, building digital literacy, and empowering residents with technology skills to succeed today and tomorrow.
Expanding Access Through Strategic Partnerships
Our partnership with the Detroit Housing Commission brought this mission directly to families who need it most. In July, we launched “Canopy, Powered by Connect 313,” an $850,000 investment providing free high-speed internet to 450 families in Detroit public housing communities. With download speeds up to 500 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps, the three-year pilot—supported by Microsoft’s Airband Initiative and delivered through Merit Network, Wayne State University, and Cleveland-based DigitalC—ensures residents historically left behind by traditional providers can now access critical resources and participate fully in the digital economy.
This project represents the powerful intersection of our housing stability and digital equity work. Just as we invest in home repairs and homeownership pathways, we recognize that housing stability requires more than four walls and a roof—it requires connection to the resources, services, and opportunities that help families thrive. For public housing residents working toward economic mobility and generational wealth, reliable internet access removes barriers to job searches, online education, telehealth appointments, and financial services. By pairing housing support with digital connectivity, we’re creating comprehensive pathways to prosperity. Beyond providing three years of free internet access, the initiative includes tailored community engagement and digital skills training to ensure residents can fully leverage this critical resource for long-term success.
This investment builds on the remarkable progress driven by the Rocket Classic’s “Changing the Course” initiative, which has contributed over $6 million toward bridging Detroit’s digital divide since 2019, helping the city transform from the least connected large city in America to the most improved. As of late 2025, the tournament has generated over $10 million in total cumulative philanthropic impact.
Building Digital Skills and Economic Opportunity
Access alone isn’t enough—digital literacy is essential for economic mobility. Through our partnership with Peer to Peer University (P2PU), we launched Digital Skills Detroit, equipping 200 residents with both basic and advanced digital skills, free devices, and affordable internet access. P2PU is a US-based non-profit organization on a mission to cultivate peer learning communities in public spaces around the world. Since 2015, they have worked with libraries worldwide to offer empowering, community-based education in our towns and cities through a methodology called learning circles
Over six months, through workshops and Learning Circles at Connect 313’s 17 local technology hubs, the program provides culturally relevant instruction led by trusted local instructors trained by Peer to Peer University and other digital inclusion partners. This community-led approach ensures training meets Detroit’s unique needs while fostering collaboration and collective learning. Participants learn everything from navigating the internet safely to using productivity software, conducting online job searches, and accessing essential services—critical skills for success in today’s workforce. By combining devices, affordable internet, and hands-on training, Digital Skills Detroit creates a complete pathway from digital access to digital empowerment.
We continued to invest in Black Tech Saturdays with a $320,000 grant that also supported the Detroit Digital Empowerment Summit in September, a free three-day event bringing together national tech leaders, startup founders, and aspiring entrepreneurs. The summit drew 3,200 attendees and BTS was able to regrant $120,000 to six community-led digital equity projects. In May, Black Tech Saturdays hosted a Rocket Takeover to connect the experiences of leaders at Rocket and founders from the BTS Community for a day of learning, networking and knowledge-sharing.
Since its 2023 launch, Black Tech Saturdays has raised over $3 million and organized more than 1,000 workshops nationwide, increasing Black representation in technology while building community wealth. The summit featured pitch competitions totaling $175,000 in prizes, with participation from major tech companies like OpenAI and StockX. Over 60% of entrepreneurs who engaged with the programming reported implementing new tools to improve their business, and 30% of job-seeking attendees transitioned into tech roles or upskilled into higher-paying positions.
Additionally, through our partnership with the City of Detroit, we invested in 140 local businesses with $1,000 tech grants, providing entrepreneurs with resources to modernize their operations, adopt essential software and platforms, and compete in the digital marketplace. These investments demonstrate how targeted support can transform access into opportunity.
Looking Ahead
Detroit’s journey from the nation’s least connected large city to a national model for digital inclusion proves what’s possible when public, private, and philanthropic partners align around a shared vision. Through the Rocket Mortgage Classic’s ongoing “Changing the Course” initiative, strategic investments in infrastructure and connectivity, partnerships that build digital skills, and direct support for entrepreneurs and residents, we’re ensuring that every Detroiter has the tools needed to succeed in the digital economy. As we move into 2026, we remain committed to expanding connectivity, deepening digital literacy programming, and creating pathways to economic empowerment through technology—because when communities are connected, they can build the prosperous futures that every American deserves.