City Council
July 7, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Elizabeth Lake FROM: Tony Batalla
Acting City Administrator Director, ITD
SUBJECT: Approval of Tech Cy Pres Grant Fund
Award
DATE: June 23, 2026
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Accepting And Appropriating Grant Funds In The Amount of Thirty-Five Thousand Five Hundred Fifty- Nine Dollars And Sixty-Eight Cents ($35,559.68) From The State Of California, Tech Cy Pres Fund To Fully Reimburse The City’s Cost Of Implementing The Connected Seniors Livestream Project, Which Is Designed To Reduce Barriers To Participation In Senior Center Programming By Bringing Real-Time Classes, Wellness Activities, And Community Events Directly Into The Homes Of Older Adults, Especially Those From Marginalized and Historically Underserved Communities For The Period Of July 8, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council accept and appropriate a $35,559.68 grant awarded to the Department of Information Technology (ITD) from the State of California Cy Tech Pres Fund (Fund). The grant will provide funding for ITD and the City’s Human Services Department (HSD) to implement the Oakland Connected Seniors Livestream Project. The project aims to reduce social isolation, expand equitable participation, and support healthy aging across Oakland’s diverse senior community.
REASON FOR URGENCY
The City of Oakland was notified on June 16, 2026, that the “Oakland Connected Senior Livestream Project,” a program designed to break down longstanding barriers to participation in senior center programming by bringing real-time classes, wellness activities, and community events, had been selected for an award. Once grant acceptance paperwork is received from the State of California, the City will have a fourteen-day window to formally accept the grant.
Immediate action is required to ensure that the City is able to accept this grant and proceed to project implementation without losing the funding opportunity.
Betsy Lake (Jun 25, 2026 09:25:48 PDT)
Jun 25, 2026
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Approval of the Cy Tech Pres Fund Award
Date: June 23, 2026 Page 2
City Council
July 7, 2026
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
In April 2025, ITD was informed by the State of California that the City of Oakland was one of 41 eligible organizations to apply for a share of $1.44 M under the “Tech Cy Pres Fund.” State Tech Cy Pres Fund grants are drawn from settlements in three antitrust lawsuits: the CRT Samsung Cy Pres Fund, CRT Chunghwa and Philips Cy Pres Fund, and the LCD Cy Pres Fund (collectively, the Tech Cy Pres Fund).
The objective of the award funding under this grant program is to support organizations by (1) providing necessary funding for community technology enhancements across California, with a focus on underserved regions; (2) supporting projects that offer innovative solutions to bridge the digital divide; and (3) facilitating California's transition into the information economy. For this round of funding, an organization was deemed eligible to apply if that organization had received funding from this program in the past.
ITD applied for funding in partnership with HSD in May of 2025 and was subsequently notified on June 16, 2026, that the application had been approved for funding.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The Connected Seniors Livestream Project aims to break down longstanding barriers to participation in senior center programming by bringing real-time classes, wellness activities, and community events directly into the homes of older adults, especially those from marginalized and historically underserved communities. Through accessible, livestream technology, the project will expand equitable access for seniors who face mobility challenges, lack transportation, or are digitally underserved. By centering digital equity, inclusion, and health promotion, this initiative will reduce social isolation, foster community connection, and ensure that older adults, including those who are most marginalized, have access to life-enriching activities that support healthy aging, independence, and dignity at home.
The goals of the Connected Seniors Livestream Project are to:
1. Expand equitable access to Senior Center programming.
2. Reduce social isolation and promote inclusive engagement.
3. Promote health equity through remote delivery of wellness and life-enrichment activities.
4. Empower Aging in Place.
5. Build a sustainable model for hybrid Senior Center programming.
To achieve the goals of the Connected Seniors Livestream Project, the following objectives have been established to support the successful implementation of the initiative:
1. Build the capacity of the City of Oakland’s Senior Centers for hybrid programming by applying technology solutions to deliver real-time virtual broadcasts of classes, forums, and activities.
2. Create virtual opportunities for meaningful connection and participation in Senior Center activities for older adults from historically underserved and marginalized communities, Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Approval of the Cy Tech Pres Fund Award
Date: June 23, 2026 Page 3
City Council
July 7, 2026
persons with limited mobility, and individuals experiencing barriers to transportation and community spaces.
3. Empower older adults across race, socioeconomic, and cultural lines to age with dignity and autonomy in their own homes by connecting them to lifelong learning, peer support, and health support without leaving their homes.
4. Develop a replicable infrastructure for hybrid programming that centers equity, ensuring investments in technology-driven senior services to reach and benefit the most vulnerable and underserved populations.
Examples of activities that this grant will support include:
1. Allow residents to connect to a class either at home or at the senior center – options that are especially important for training workshops (part of the City’s Advisory Committee), and hybrid-format monthly book clubs (helping those hard of hearing participate).
2. Allow the City to host the Mayor’s Commission on Aging meetings from the Senior Centers and expand participation and engagement with the community.
3. Broadcast monthly in-person community education presentations by Legal Assistance for Seniors & HICAP so people at home can attend. These include topics like: Scams Targeting Seniors and Tips for Protection and Prevention, What Medicare Covers in Full, An Overview of Elder Abuse and Legal Remedies, and Hiring and Working with a Caregiver.
4. Broadcast health awareness presentations and workshops. These include topics like; How Sleep Effects the Brain, Prostate Cancer, Nutrition Education, Slips Trips and Falls Workshop, and Stay Hydrated Stay Healthy.
Oakland’s Connected Seniors Livestream Project will serve residents of Oakland, focusing on older persons aged 55 and above, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers, with special attention to reaching the most marginalized populations. By leveraging the existing network of City-run senior centers, including the East Oakland Senior Center, Downtown Oakland Senior Center, North Oakland Senior Center, and West Oakland Senior Center, the project aims to extend the reach of vital programs to those unable to attend in person due to mobility challenges, transportation challenges, cultural and linguistic barriers, or other limitations.
Approximately 90,000 of the City’s residents are aged 55+, yet only about 6,000 are currently being served. With over 80% smartphone adoption among 1,000 surveyed seniors, expanding livestream access will close participation gaps and reach tens of thousands more with health, wellness, educational, and civic programming.
The Information Technology Department has worked in close partnership with the HSD to design this project to be both feasible and efficient. In support of the Oakland Senior Centers, ITD will acquire, install and train HSD staff on the equipment. The Human Services Department has an existing relationship with Oakland’s local broadcasters and multiple existing paths to disseminate programming. ITD expects this project will be fully implemented and operational within six months of grant award.
Oakland Connected Seniors Livestream Project accurately addresses the requirements of the Tech Cy Pres Fund grant by using technology in an innovative way to address the digital divide in California’s underserved communities. This project is not to supplant any existing projects.
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Approval of the Cy Tech Pres Fund Award
Date: June 23, 2026 Page 4
City Council
July 7, 2026
FISCAL IMPACT
The Tech Cy Pres Fund grant is a one-time reimbursable grant award of $35,559.68 with no City match required. Project costs up to this total will be reimbursed by the State. Additional appropriation of funds will not be required, and the project will be acquired and implemented with this award during FY 2027. Further, HSD has indicated that there will be no ongoing costs associated with this award and any future equipment refresh will be budgeted in outgoing years by the Department.
A breakdown of the appropriated project funding sources is included in Table 1:
Table 1: Project Funding Sources
Fund
Source
Organization Account Project Program Amount
(Fund TBD) (Org TBD) (Account
TBD)
(Project
TBD)
(Program
TBD)
$35,559.68
Total
Project:
$35,559.68
Total
Ongoing:
$0
The Information Technology Department will work with the Budget Bureau to create a new project code for this program. Funds will be included in a grant fund as directed by Finance.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No outreach was deemed necessary for the proposed policy action beyond the standard City Council agenda noting procedures. However, the Oakland Connected Seniors Livestream Project is based on identified program gaps by HSD which involves outreach and communication directly with Oakland’s senior population.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by staff in ITD, HSD, Office of the City Attorney and Budget Bureau.
RACE AND EQUITY
The recommended funding allocations will address digital access inequities affecting Oakland’s older residents by expanding inclusive, multilingual livestream programming. The project is designed to reduce barriers to participation, including mobility, transportation constraints, and varying levels of digital access and skills. A potential result is that more seniors can participate in health, wellness, and educational activities.
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Approval of the Cy Tech Pres Fund Award
Date: June 23, 2026 Page 5
City Council
July 7, 2026
Connected Seniors Livestream Project will also partner with Family Bridges/Hong Fook, Lavender Seniors, the Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities, SOS Meals on Wheels, the Spanish-Speaking Unity Council, and others to promote this project. This outreach will help inform those that are highly impacted by disparities by keeping them connected and informed of this opportunity.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Accepting And Appropriating Grant Funds In The Amount of Thirty-Five Thousand Five Hundred Fifty-Nine Dollars And Sixty- Eight Cents ($35,559.68) From The State Of California, Tech Cy Pres Fund To Fully Reimburse The City’s Cost Of Implementing The Connected Seniors Livestream Project, Which Is Designed To Reduce Barriers To Participation In Senior Center Programming By Bringing Real- Time Classes, Wellness Activities, And Community Events Directly Into The Homes Of Older Adults, Especially Those From Marginalized and Historically Underserved Communities For The Period Of July 8, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
For questions regarding this report, please contact MICHELLE NEWRINGEISEN, STRATEGY AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS, ITD, at 510-238-7622.
Respectfully submitted,
TONY BATALLA
Director, Information Technology Department
Reviewed by:
Ana Bagtas, Manager
Human Services Department
Jessi Cutter, Outreach Developer
Human Services Department
Prepared by:
Michelle NewRingeisen, Business & Strategy
Information Technology Department
Linda Hoem, Assistant to the Director
Information Technology Department