RAIN and the Internet

The Internet is an empowering communication tool opening your mind and life to fascinating and rewarding information and education resources. RAIN is an Internet education and access project founded in 1991, and serves as the Central South Coast Regional Alliance for Information Networking.\

With all of the national media attention on the Internet over the last year, there have been two access models that have emergeed as Internet services. The best choice is to find a local, non-profit network service that is dedicated to providing you with not only low cost, subsidized, access to the global Internet, but one who is also focused on developing local information resources of benefit to your own community at the local level. Additionally, these non-profit Internet providers, such as RAIN, are committed to the Educational value of computer networking for Families, young people and the many other parts of our Communities that can easily fall to the side during today's 'technological revolution'.

RAIN hosts bi-annoual conferences, is opening low cost training centers, and has been hosting the very popular, free Coyotes Cafe and the many Internet, Web authoring and Family education programs that take place at the Cafe.

RAIN reinvests your Internet access and education dollars right back into your community - providing free public information services to the low income, handicapped and underserved people who might otherwise never have access to the empowering resources provided by global information age resources.

RAIN is a member-supported non-profit educational organization with programs geared to meet the needs of individuals, non-profits, families, classrooms, government agencies and businesses. We embrace a health community model that works to re-weave the fabric of our traditional Communities - to expand education, health services, family services and draw on the power of the Internet to create Economic Development projects locally that really work.

RAIN's physical technology and infrastructure is one of the largest, locally owned, non-profit networks on the West Coast. Operating 7 T1 lines, a frame relay cloud that spans from San Luis Obispo County to Los Angeles County, ISDN services as well as 170 dial up lines for local modem access RAIN is proud of the Regional Information Backbone that has been built over the past 3 years.

Providing Internet access to over 25 school districts in Santa Barbara County, over a dozen private schools, the tri-Counties Black Gold Library Cooperative, the South Coast TIE Library Cooperative, all of Ventura County Government, Ventura, Oxnard and Moorpart Community Colleges, Westmont College and many, many non-profit agencies, RAIN has established an education and community backbone unparalled in this region.

RAIN's Education services are the most important part of our Mission. Much like a Museum or a Library must build a building to house its collections, RAIN has had to build a powerful technological infrastructure to house its own unique collection of Education and Economic Development Programs.

RAIN's Community Internet Center in Santa Barbara, California, provides a meeting place for local non-profit agencies - a place where they can come to learn how to harness the power of the Internet for their agency. The Community Internet Center also serves as a networked TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CENTER for SMALL BUSINESS. Our CIC is linked directly to a T1 line for fast, efficient access to the local Network and to the Internet for training and education services focused on the needs and schedules of small business people.

RAIN's Director was asked to serve as a presenter for the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business and at that time introduced the Technology Transfer Center Project that has since become a model for other communities.

Small Business makes up nearly 70% of the National gross product and yet Small Business owners and staff are usually the last to receive new technology for their business. Money and Time are both difficult for the average Small Business owner to spare for learning a new technology that may or may not be of value.

RAIN, taking it's model from projects in the 1930's geared toward American agricultural re-development, has established the Santa Barbara Small Business Internet Technology Transfer Center as a place where small business owners can learn to use the world wide web and the Internet as tools to make their business grown.

RAIN has also put in place a local frame relay Network that links 3 counties of Public Libraries and is ready to link government centers and non-profit agencies as well as business and research firms throughout the South Central Coast. The bandwidth is here, the training staff and centers are here. RAIN want's to see the Information Revolution become a reality - bottom line: We want to see the entire community learn to use the Internet - as a marketplace, as a business place and as a learning and community place.

Other current members of RAIN are the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, the Sea Center, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, the Community Environmental Council, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Oak Grove School, Dunn School, Santa Barbara Middle School, the Arts and Technology Project at Santa Barbara High School, Oxnard Public Library, the Santa Barbara County Law Library, the SB County Air Polution Control District, Easy Lift Transportation and many more.

RAIN is an Affiliate of the National Public Telecommuting Network and has as one of it's core missions the establishment of Free-Net Internet zones whereever possible.

RAIN also provides Internet access to American's living in the Marshall Islands via Satalitte and has begun work in Belize and Costa Rica.

Every Family Membership in RAIN includes software to help parents maintain appropirate control of young childrens use of the Internet.

Every Non-Profit agency in our Region receives a free slip/ppp account and web authoring classes to get them up and online.

If you would like to know more about RAIN leave a note here.