September 8, 1999
Web posted at: 5:20 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- The following is an edited transcript of a chat with Zoe Baird, president of the Markle Foundation. Ms. Baird joined us from the Markle offices in New York City on July 29, 1999.

Chat Moderator: Welcome, Zoe Baird! Ms. Baird, please tell a bit about the Markle Foundation and why it plans to donate money to Internet development.

Zoe Baird: The Markle Foundation focuses on using communications media and information technology to improve people's lives. We have concluded that the next three to five years present a critical time to try to ensure that these media meet public needs. We therefore are prepared to invest $100 million dollars toward this goal.

Question from Lawrence: The money Markle is planning is significant. How does the grant program differ from other non-profit programs being developed?

Zoe Baird: Lawrence, could you please let me know a bit more about what you mean by other non-profit programs?

Lawrence: Benton/AOL plan on giving money to bridge the digital divide but the money that you are planning to give is exponentially greater.

Zoe Baird: Lawrence, I assume you are referring to an effort to bring non-profits online. We will be doing things like this but we also will be addressing the fundamental relationships that information technology can address. For example, we want to enhance the place of patients in the healthcare system by arming them with better information; we will be trying to improve the ability of children to learn; and we are working on who makes policy for the Internet and how public views are incorporated.

Question from Philo: Hmm, why the next three to five years?

Zoe Baird: The industry is still evolving and the uncertainty that exists now makes it possible to experiment with ways of meeting public needs. It will be much harder to do so later, when business models are established.

Question from Technomama: Has Markle identified communities of color as a specific target in light of the recent NTIA findings on the digital divide?

Zoe Baird: We will work on the digital divide in all our program areas: how can information technology help children learn who are not now learning in school? And, of course, this requires us to look at how to reach those children with the technologies. This is a critical time to address this issue because, unlike the situation with access to healthcare, there shouldn't be institutional infrastructures that need to be changed to solve the problem.

There are so many platforms that can be used to make the technology available. We recently sponsored research by Vanderbilt University on the divide, with respect to people of color, and we learned that the divide is real for low-income African Americans but closing quickly for middle income and above. We have to keep refining our understanding to address the issue.

Question from Servant: What is Markle's position towards supporting tele-democracy efforts such as online voting and minority representation in the U.S. federal and state governments?

Zoe Baird: In 1998, Markle created Web, White and Blue, which was carried on 1,300 websites and provided easy access to high quality election information. We think the web has great potential in engaging people in what you call tele-democracy and in allowing people to find communities of interest on political issues. We are going to continue Web, White and Blue for the 2000 election and hope that it will both provide richer information for those already interested in politics, as well as an immediacy that will interest more Americans in participating in elections.

Question from Josh: How much focus will be given to for-profit development of Internet communities?

Zoe Baird: We would like to see for-profit companies meet public needs, as well as non-profits who are online. We are working with a number of such companies now and are encouraging many more to work with us and allow us to help them find ways to benefit the public while succeeding as a business.

Question from Tank: How does an organization apply for grant money?

Zoe Baird: Please go to our web site (www.markle.org) and you will find detailed information on the kind of projects we fund, and how to apply.

Question from Chris: What can nonprofit management and infrastructure organizations, which have been working to ‘tech-up’ the sector for a while, expect from the Markle initiative?

Zoe Baird: We want to work with organizations like this as partners in identifying public needs but we will not be funding the development of individual websites.

Chat Moderator: Any final comments?

Zoe Baird: We want to work with nonprofits and businesses to take advantage of this critical window to realize the potential of interactive technology to improve people's lives.

Chat Moderator: Thank you, Zoe Baird, for joining us today to discuss the Markle Foundation's plans to donate $100 million dollars toward Internet development.

Zoe Baird: Goodbye and thank you for your interest.