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Digital Divide Grant Program

Public Utilities Commission · 15803

Eligibility details

Eligible non profit CBOs must be organized and operate exclusively for one or more of the purposes described in Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code. CBO applicants must have a demonstrated record of successful and satisfactory work in deploying community technology projects to bridge the digital divide. Applicants must have a project established/active with a beneficiary school(s), or have an agreement to execute a proposed project.

Matching funds & resources

Source matching-funds field: Not Required.

Matching funds and leveraged resources are different requirements. Read the description and reviewed rules below before determining resource commitments.

About this opportunity

The DDGP, will provide four grants of up to $250,000 each, for a total of $1 million. The DDGP is funded by a percentage of fees collected from leasing state-owned property to wireless telecommunications service providers, pursuant to Government Code Section 14666.8. Eligible projects will serve a beneficiary school located in an urban or rural low-income small school district. Beneficiary schools must have a Free and Reduced-Price Meal participation rate of at least 50 percent. Projects may address physical gaps in local broadband networks, affordability, access to personal devices, and digital skills training. Projects must provide a holistic solution. Grant recipients must be a non-profit community-based organization (CBO) with a demonstrated record of work in addressing the digital divide. The CBO will partner with an eligible public school or district to deploy the project. The beneficiary of the project will be the partner public school or district. The CPUC will evaluate and score applications to the DDGP and award grants for up to four projects using the competitive process described in Resolution T-17770. Eligible nonprofit CBOs may submit applications for grant funding. Applicants must have a demonstrated record of successful and satisfactory work deploying community technology projects and/or projects to bridge the digital divide. Applicants must have a project established/active with a beneficiary school(s), or, at minimum, an agreement with a beneficiary school to execute a proposed project. In the first stage of review, panelists will evaluate the baseline requirements to determine if the CBO’s application can progress to the second stage of review. The baseline requirements include: The application must be complete and timely submitted. The applicant is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The applicant must be in good standing with the California Franchise Tax Board. The applicant must submit at least three letters of recommendation. The applicant must have a project established/active with a beneficiary school(s), or, at minimum, an agreement with a beneficiary school(s) to execute a proposed project. The applicant must submit at least two letters of endorsement per beneficiary school supporting the digital divide project. One letter is required from each of the following: the beneficiary school’s district office and the beneficiary school’s Parent Teachers Association. The beneficiary school(s) must be located within the boundaries of an urban or rural small school district, as identified by the California Department of Education. The beneficiary school(s) must have a Free or Reduced-Price Meal participation rate of at least 50 percent. In the second evaluation stage, panelists will review the remaining applications to assign scores on each of the following categories: Scope of Work, Experience, Budget, and Overall. The application window is open and will close on January 11, 2023. For more information on the DDGP, including a list of eligible schools, CBO eligibility criteria, the application process, schedules, and forms, please go to: www.cpuc.ca.gov/ddgp.

Funding geography: The Digital Divide Grant is for rural and urban small school districts with Free/Reduced meal participation of at least 50%. The DDGP relies on data from the California Department of Education (CDE) to determine eligibility of schools. CDE designates small school districts that have an ADA (average daily attendance) of less than 2500; medium are over 2500; large districts are over 10,000. The urban/rural designation is from Census track data

Funding instrument: Grant. Issuing jurisdiction: California. This is not a geographic eligibility determination.