Rocket Classic nearing $10 million in philanthropy while closing Detroit's digital divide
The 2025 Rocket Classic presented by AlumniFi is back, and they're excited to share why this tournament continues to have an impact beyond the Detroit Golf Club's footprint.
Since the tournament's inception, its charitable donations have reached the $10 million mark. The tournament focuses on closing Detroit's digital divide. Less than a mile from the Detroit Golf Club, it's invested in Human IT, which not only makes laptops, routers, and computing accessories more accessible but also gives Rocket technology a second life.
"The key with low cost is the key with most City of Detroit residents," said Human IT general manager Ed Jordan.
Blue collar still use Bluetooth, and hard workers still need Wi-Fi. Rocket helps with that by donating retired technology so Human IT can refurbish it and resell it at accessible prices.
"Some of these big-time companies, like Rocket, they donate some of this technology. We have a great partnership with these guys, and some of these devices have been gently used for like two weeks, so they're fairly new. So we get those devices, give them to the customer for a nominal price," Jordan said.
He says Rocket actually invested in their brick-and-mortar location so Human IT could have a physical store right on Seven Mile and Livernois, ensuring digital equity where it's needed most.
"It's very, very vital that the City of Detroit residents know that we're here to support digital literacy, support them with low cost devices, support them with understanding that we have to bridge that digital divide," Jordan said.
As the Rocket Classic closes in on $10 million in donations since the tournament started, they're still focused on creating an equal playing field online today.
"It's a great way for Rocket to donate the technology we're using on a daily basis, and it actually has a physical presence in this neighborhood, so it's a perfect connection to our mission do bridge the digital divide," said Rocket Community Fund executive director Laura Grannemann.
Rocket's Changing the course initiative has helped the City of Detroit go from being just 40% digitally included in 2020, meaning equal access to digital technology and connectivity, to almost 70% now.
