Technology For Families In Need (TechFIN), a nonprofit working to close the digital divide for low-income households in New York City, was named a 2025 Spark Prize winner on Tuesday, Feb. 25 by Brooklyn Org. The annual Spark Prize awards celebrate Brooklyn organizations that advance racial justice and alleviate critical challenges across the borough.
Based in Industry City, TechFIN was founded a decade ago by Nigel Frankson, after his personal experience growing up without access to a home computer. When he later anonymously donated a computer to a mentee and his siblings, he saw firsthand how dramatically their educational and career opportunities improved.
Realizing many other families faced similar barriers, Frankson and a partner launched TechFIN to bridge the digital divide. The organization refurbishes and distributes computers donated by corporations to families in need across the five boroughs.
“I was also thinking about the fact that we now had corporate jobs where we were given a new computer every two to three years, and it seemed incredibly wasteful that a perfectly working computer would be disposed of or even recycled- when a computer is worth so much more as a whole versus just some of its parts,” Frankson told BK Reader.
Since its inception, TechFIN has provided more than 4,000 computers to families in need. Since the organization currently operates with outsourced services, part-time staff and board member help, Frankson said the Spark Prize award money will help the organization hire a full-time executive director, a step he believes is essential for its growth.
"There are enough unwanted corporate computers on the island of Manhattan for every low-income family in NYC to have one," he said.
