Smart North

Empowering Futures: Bring Digital Access to Every Minnesota Community

Our Impact

Smart North’s work is driven by three core pillars that expand access, support, and advocacy for digital equity across Minnesota. We have already made significant strides—engaging more than 1,000 youth, launching three Community Tech Hubs (South Minneapolis, Deer River/Leech Lake, and Grand Rapids), and expanding programs that prepare women and youth for careers in tech.

Community Tech Hubs

Our Tech Hubs are physical spaces embedded within underserved neighborhoods where youth, women, and families gain hands-on access to emerging technologies, education, and workforce development. Through partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and industry professionals, participants experience project-based learning, boot camps, certification pathways, and essential wraparound support services like warm meals, clothing, mentorship, and social–emotional resources. This comprehensive model ensures participants are fully supported on their journey to tech literacy, confidence, and employment.

Patience’s Story: At 15, Patience joined Smart North’s Metaverse Design Program with a passion for painting. She envisioned a virtual art gallery showcasing her own work. With guidance, she built it—uploading her art, designing her virtual space, and creating a link for visitors worldwide to tour and purchase her creations. Through this experience, Patience discovered her potential not just as an artist, but as an entrepreneur. Her creativity became a bridge to new opportunities in the tech world and opened career possibilities she never imagined.

The Future Is Feminine

Smart North is committed to increasing women’s representation in tech and building generational economic mobility. Our Future Is Feminine program helps women 18+ across Minnesota prepare for higher-paying, high-demand tech jobs by offering free, paid, 20-week industry-recognized certification programs in:

• Cybersecurity

• Digital Marketing

• UX/UI Design

• Data Analytics

• Drone Pilot Training

We believe that investing in women is investing in generations to come. When women gain skills, support, and economic opportunity, it transforms families, communities, and the future workforce.

Smart Infrastructure

Smart North collaborates with local communities to implement smart technologies that improve daily life and city operations. Initiatives like smart street lighting with free Wi-Fi and traffic monitoring make cities safer and more accessible. This work brings 21st-century innovation to communities that need it most, addressing environmental and digital inequities and making cities smarter and more inclusive.

Smart North implemented Minnesota’s first Smart Streetlights Pilot in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Thought Leadership

Smart North leads statewide conversations on the role of technology in creating equitable futures. Through annual events and ongoing dialogues that unite community, academic, government, and industry leaders, we help shape inclusive tech solutions and ensure marginalized communities are prioritized in innovation.

Join Us This Give to the Max Day

Your support helps fund Smart North’s most critical work—from building Community Tech Hubs, to advancing Smart Infrastructure, to empowering women through our Future Is Feminine program. Together, we can make Minnesota a place where everyone can thrive in the digital economy.

Donate now to expand access, strengthen communities, and drive technology equity forward.