Comcast NBC Universal Commits $3.73 Million to The Arc as a
National Partner
We are thrilled to announce that Comcast NBC Universal (Comcast) has agreed to take on
The Arc as one of their National Partners. There are two dimensions to this new partnership.
First, Comcast will provide The Arc with $3.18 million in in-kind promotional support over the
next three years. This will include airtime for The Arc’s public service announcements on cable
and broadcast and promotion through Comcast’s xfinity.com website. In short, Comcast will be
helping us to get the word out about The Arc.
Arc CEO Peter Berns
If your chapter hasn’t rebranded yet, now is the time. Make sure you have The Arc’s new logo in
use in your local community so that when the PSAs and xfinity.com ads begin to run in 2014
viewers will connect what they see on TV or online with the presence of your chapter in their local
community.
Second, Comcast is providing $400,000 in grant support and an additional $150,000 in technical
support for our new Digital Literacy project. This new project will include creating a dedicated
section of our website with information and resources designed to help you to support people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn the basics about using computer and getting
online. In the first year of the program there will be opportunities for chapters to participate in
designing and contributing resources to the online resource center. In the second and third years,
twelve (12) chapters of The Arc will be selected to receive sub-grants to support operating a
Comcast NBC Universal and The Arc Digital Learning Lab. We hope to use Comcast’s support to
leverage involvement of other technology companies as well.
In early 2014, we will be adding a new staff member to lead this new initiative. Watch for a job
description, coming soon, and please plan to share it with anyone you know who may be a good
candidate. In the meantime, if you have comments or suggestions, you can reach me at
berns@thearc.org or 202.534.3701.
.
Tony Paulauski Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@www.thearcofil.org
