A properly planned and resourced not-for-profit community organization can greatly contribute to overcoming technical illiteracy and affordability barriers.

• The gap between organizations with resources and skills and those without them (social infrastructure) is another dimension of the digital divide.

The improvement of a community’s capacity to use the Internet will have sustained benefits only if it goes hand-in-hand with technological infrastructure and substantive, ongoing training in general skills.

• Ongoing support and training helps individuals to develop their capacities by using the full potential of resources and services available.
• Developing a community's capacity also requires adequate longterm resources (funding, staff, equipment, expertise, etc.) for community organizations providing services.
• There must also be specific training programs for individuals in such areas as technical access, Internet, standard literacy, and employment skills.
• Over time, such multi-level support will enable the individuals who use and benefit from the services in turn to contribute to their community's economic and social well-being.

Community-based, not-for-profit Internet access and training services can significantly increase the usage rates by the social sub-groups traditionally found to have low or lagging technology adoption rates in Canada.

• One case study of a low-income neighborhood showed a level of interest in and use of the Internet that was higher than the national average for those facing affordability and literacy barriers.