NATOA Member Coalition: NTIA Digital Equity Competitive Grant Application

Nearly $1B available for local digital inclusion projects

The goal of the new federal grant program is to fund local efforts that provide underserved communities with the tools and skills needed to access high-speed internet service.

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NTIA Digital Equity Grants

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created two grant programs to address digital equity and inclusion. This section of the IIJA recognizes that providing broadband access alone will …

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Notice of Funding Opportunity Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program | National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

Key Dates Complete applications from Eligible Entities, including Indian Tribes, Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations (“Nati... 

www.ntia.gov 

Program Overview

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) solicits applications for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program (“Competitive Grant Program” or “Program”), the third of three digital equity programs authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The Competitive Grant Program will make funds available to a wide range of entities to address barriers to digital equity faced by Covered Populations.

Funding Instrument

Grant

Award Project Period

Grant recipients must expend the grant amounts during the four (4) year period after the date on which the entity is awarded the grant. Grant recipients may continue to measure and evaluate the activities supported with the grant amounts for a period of one (1) year after the initial four (4) year Period of Performance. No extensions to the four (4) year Period of Performance or the one (1) year evaluation period will be granted.

Goals & Objectives

Proposed programs, projects, and activities will support efforts to achieve digital equity, promote digital inclusion activities, and spur greater adoption and meaningful use of broadband among the Covered Populations.

Eligible Projects/Topic Areas

Develop and implement digital inclusion activities that benefit one or more of the Covered Populations; Facilitate the adoption of broadband by the Covered Populations in order to provide educational and employment opportunities; Implement training programs for the Covered Populations that cover basic, advanced, and applied skills; Implement workforce development programs; Make available equipment, instrumentation, networking capability and digital network technology for broadband services to Covered Populations at low or no cost; Construct, upgrade, expand, or operate new or existing public access computing centers for Covered Populations through community anchor institutions; or undertake any other project or activity the Assistant Secretary finds to be consistent with the purposes of the Program. Grantees may also use not more than 10 percent of the grant amount to measure and evaluate the activities supported with the grant amounts.

Eligible Applicants

A foundation, corporation, institution, or association that is a not-for-profit entity is eligible to apply for grants under this Program.

When applying as a partnership, one Eligible Entity must be designated as the applicant for the partnership and serve as the “Authorized Representative.” 

• An Eligible Entity may submit only one application for Competitive Grant Program funding (regardless of whether the application is as an Authorized Representative of a partnership or as an individual applicant). 
• However, an Eligible Entity may participate as a member of more than one partnership so long as it is not the Authorized Representative for more than one partnership. Only Eligible Entities may be members of a partnership, i.e.:
• (1) A political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of a State,
• (2) An Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native entity, or a Native Hawaiian organization.
• (3) A foundation, corporation, institution, or association that is – a. A not-for-profit entity; and b. Not a school.
• (4) A community anchor institution.
• (5) A local educational agency.
• (6) An entity that carries out a workforce development program. 
• (7) A partnership between any of the entities described in paragraphs (1) through (6)

Funding Amount

• NTIA expects to make individual Competitive Grant Program awards to Eligible Entities within a range of $5,000,000 and $12,000,000. 
• NTIA encourages partnerships of multiple eligible entities to consider applying for larger awards.
• Congress has appropriated $750,000,000 for grants under the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program through fiscal year 2024.
• Congress appropriated an additional $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 which is anticipated to become available in October of 2024.

Cost Share/Matching Requirements

As required by 47 U.S.C. §1724(e), the amount of a Competitive Grant awarded to an Eligible Entity through this program may not exceed 90 percent of the total project cost (i.e., there is a 10% matching requirement).

Matching funds may be in the form of either cash or in-kind contributions consistent with the requirements outlined in 2 C.F.R. 200.306. In-kind contributions, which include third-party in-kind contributions, are non-cash donations of property, goods, or services, which benefit a

federally assisted project, and which may count toward satisfying the non-federal matching requirement of a project’s total budgeted costs when such contributions meet certain criteria.  In-kind contributions must be allowable and allocable project expenses.

Estimated Number and Type of Award(s)

NTIA anticipates that it will issue between 150 and 200 grant awards under this Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Key Dates

Applications from Eligible Entities must be received by September 23, 2024. 

Content and Form of Applications 

Any Eligible Entity or U.S. Territory applying for a Competitive Grant must submit an application that includes the information listed below, which is inclusive of the elements required by 47 U.S.C. §1724(c):

(1) If the Applicant represents a partnership:

a. The Eligible Entity that will serve as the Authorized Representative (i.e., the applicant) for the partnership.

b. Evidence of the Authorized Representative’s experience managing similar partnerships or coalitions and the plans the partnership has in place to ensure ongoing collaboration. 

A table that includes: 

i. A list of all members of the partnership. 

ii. Verification that each partner is an Eligible Entity. 

iii. The category of Eligible Entity of each partner (See 47 U.S.C. §1724(b)). 

iv. The scope of work/role of each partner. 

v. Whether a partner has applied for funding under any other partnership, and if so, the Authorized Representative for each other partnership. 

vi. How award funds will be allocated among partners.  47 U.S.C. §1724(b)(7). 

vii. How the required federal share/matching requirement will be allocated among partners, as applicable. 

A Letter of Commitment (“LOC”), from each member of the partnership, executed by both the Authorized Representative and the partner member, outlining: 

i. The role/scope of work of the participating member. 

ii. A commitment from the partner to serve in that role. 

iii. Any funding the partner will receive from the Authorized Representative, either as a subrecipient or otherwise, as applicable.

iv. A commitment from the Authorized Representative to keep each partner informed of project or activity progress.

Review and Selection Process

The application review process will be conducted in three stages:

1. Initial Eligibility and Administrative Review,
2. Merit Review, and
3. Programmatic Review.

To accelerate issuance of awards, Programmatic Review will be conducted using prioritized groupings and award recommendations will be made on a rolling basis. Following the conclusion of the Programmatic Review for each prioritized grouping, the OICG Associate Administrator will recommend a list of ranked applications, including the identification of awards to Native Entities and U.S. Territories, to the NTIA Assistant Secretary, who is the Selecting Official for this program. Details of the selection process can be found in Section V of this NOFO.

Period of Performance

Performance Measurement and Evaluation 

Except for measurement and evaluation activities required under the Digital Equity Act and this

NOFO, Grant recipients must expend the grant amounts within four (4) years after the date on

which the entity is awarded the grant.

Competitive Grant recipients and subrecipients are required to incorporate program measurement and evaluation activities as part of their program design and implementation. These activities must include documentation of the success of specific funded projects in meeting the performance objectives of the Program.

Information collected should include, but is not limited to:

a. The Covered Population(s) being served.

b. The total number of individuals being served.

c. The number of individuals that belong to each Covered Population.

d. For each activity or intervention, explain how the activity or intervention facilitates the purposes of the Digital Equity Competitive Grant program, specifically by promoting one or more of the following:

(1) Economic stability including workforce development and employment opportunities;

(2) Education access;

(3) Health care access;

(4) Social and civic engagement;

(5) Community access to the benefits of Internet technology.

e. Anecdotal/personal testimony demonstrating the positive experiences generated through the Program.

f. An assessment of Program effectiveness, including:

(1) Whether the grant’s intended objectives were accomplished, including whether it achieved its intended outcomes;

(2) Whether the program resulted in measurable changes in participants from the Covered Populations, such as in knowledge or skills, including collecting data before, during, and after the program to understand potential changes;

(3) Whether the activity or intervention is making/has made progress toward the goals and objectives of the grant;

(4) How efficiently the program achieved its goals.