My daughter was, indirectly, the inspiration for the Capital One Digital Access (CODA) program. Two years ago, when she was in fifth grade, her school moved much of her education online. It required her to do her homework on Google docs and even switched her to virtual report cards. I had been financing affordable housing properties for almost 20 years, and I knew that many of the residents in the buildings we had financed would struggle to make this transition, simply for being on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The obstacles faced as a result of the digital divide are not restricted to education. So much of what we do these days is done electronically, whether it is checking medical records, conducting a job search, paying bills or simply keeping up with family and friends. When people are shut out of the digital world, both economic opportunities and health can suffer. The coronavirus pandemic has only intensified these inequities.

I realized that by leveraging the critical mass of residents at communities we had financed, we might be able to bridge the digital divide — but I wasn't sure how to go forward. Fortunately, I discovered a number of programs and publications that provided a blueprint. The first was "Closing the Digital Divide" by Jordana Barton, a senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, who looked at the issue from the perspective of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). For Barton and other experts, the "three legs of the stool" needed for functional digital citizenship were broadband access, computer access, and training and technical assistance. With just one or even two of these legs, the stool would collapse and the divide would remain. These conclusions are reinforced by HUD's ConnectHome program, a public-private collaboration designed to narrow the digital divide for residents living in HUD-assisted housing.