Deadline: 20-Jun-23
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications under the Community Connect Grant (CCG) program for Fiscal Year 2023.
The Agency has approximately $79 million for FY 2023. These grant funds will be made available to eligible applicants to construct broadband networks that provide service on a community oriented connectivity basis in rural areas. All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications.
Purpose of the Program
The program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide service at or above the broadband grant speed to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service does not exist. The deployment of broadband services on a ‘‘community-oriented connectivity’’ basis stimulates economic development and provides enhanced educational and health care opportunities in rural areas.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $79,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $5,000,000
- Award Floor: $100,000
Project Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant, the Project must:
- Serve a Proposed Funded Service Area (PFSA) where Broadband Service (25 Mbps/3 Mbps) does not currently exist, to be verified by RUS prior to the award of the grant. The PFSA is defined as a contiguous geographic area within an eligible rural area.
- Offer service at the Broadband Grant Speed to ALL residential and business customers within the PFSA.
- Offer service at the Broadband Grant Speed, free of all charges for at least 2 years starting from the time service becomes available to each Essential Community Facility, as defined in 7 C.F.R. 3570.53, located within the PFSA.
- Provide a Community Center located in the PFSA, with at least two (2) Computer Access Points and wireless access at the Broadband Grant Speed (100 Mbps/20 Mbps), freeof all charges, to users for at least 2 years and open and accessible to the public before, during and after normal working hours and on Saturdays or Sundays. Working hours are generally understood to be 9 am- 5 pm and at least 40 hours a week, though the applicant should address the specific needs of their community. Up to 10 Computer Access Points may be funded with grant funds, and at least 2 Computer Access Points MUST be funded with grant funds.
- Not overlap with the service areas of current RUS borrowers and grantees.
- Areas receiving, or under consideration for other Federal funds are eligible for Community Connect funding as long as an entity has not received final approval to receive other Federal funding to construct terrestrial facilities providing at least 25/3 Mbps service in the proposed funded service areas as of the date of the FOA With respect to the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), final approval for this notice means an RDOF awardee’s long-form application has received final approval as ready-to-authorize or has been authorized to begin receiving support. Applicants submitting a project to serve an area in which an entity has already received final approval for other Federal funding must explain in the application why Community Connect funding is being requested and why RUS should provide additional funding, as funds must not be used for duplicative purposes. Awardees that receive both other Federal funds and Community Connect funding must submit a statement certifying that the funds requested from Community Connect have not and will not be reimbursed by another Federal award nor used to reimburse another Federal award, and that the Awardee will keep separate accounts for each source of funding to track the uses of the funding to support the certification statement submitted with the Community Connect application. RUS can consider adjusting the service area or award amount of a project selected for Community Connect funding if in the course of evaluating an application, the Agency learns that the service area or a portion of it is already sufficiently served or has received final approval for Federal funding to construct facilities that will provide sufficient access to broadband as defined under this notice.
- A certification from the appropriate tribal official is required if service is being proposed over or on Tribal Lands. The appropriate certification is a Tribal Government Resolution of Consent. The appropriate tribal official is the Tribal Council of the Tribal Government with jurisdiction over the Tribal Lands at issue. Any applicant that fails to provide a certification to provide service on the Tribal Lands identified in the PFSA will not be considered for funding.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants must meet the eligibility requirements of 7 CFR 1739.10.
- Only entities legally organized as one of the following are eligible for Community Connect Grant Program financial assistance:
- Incorporated organization;
- Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304;
- State government;
- Local unit of government;
- Any other legal entity, including a cooperative, private corporation, or limited liability company organized on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis.
- References in this program to a state, state government, or state agency are meant to include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.
- Applicants must have the legal capacity and authority to enter into contracts, to comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations, and to own and operate the broadband facilities as proposed in their application. Corporations that have been convicted of a federal felony within the past 24 months are not eligible. Any corporation that has been assessed to have any unpaid federal tax liability, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed and is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, is not eligible for financial assistance.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.