Can a mobile app improve the quality of life for a farmer in America’s heartland? Can a web app help school children in Detroit?

That’s the fundamental idea behind the Apps for Communities Challenge, a new contest sponsored by Knight Foundation and the FCC. We’re offering up to $100,000 in prizes for software applications (apps) that deliver personalized, actionable information to people least likely to be online. The goals of the contest:

●    make local public information more personalized, usable, and accessible for all Americans;

●    promote broadband adoption, particularly among Americans who are less likely to be regular Internet users (including low-income, rural, seniors, people with disabilities and the low digital/English literacy communities); and

●    create better links between Americans and services provided by local, state, Tribal, and federal governments.

This fits in with Knight’s mission to promote informed and engaged communities, which includes promoting universal broadband access. Learn more and apply by July 11 at Appsforcommunities.challenge.gov.