Application Notes:

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 6, 2025.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. Hard-copy, emailed, or faxed applications will not be accepted.

Applicants may request technical assistance or other application guidance from the funding agency, as long as requests are made prior to February 21, 2025.

Applications must include:

• SF 424
• Description of project sites
• Executive summary of project
• Scoring criteria documentation
• Matching requirements
• Scope of work
• Financial information and sustainability
• Statement of experience
• Telecommunications systems plan
• Compliance with other federal statutes and regulations
• Evidence of legal existence and authority to contract with the federal government
• Environmental impact and historic preservation
• Consultation with state director
• Supplemental information
• Flood insurance information (if applicable)

The following are required in order to submit an application:

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
• SAM (System for Award Management) registration
• SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

Optional webinars are scheduled for this program as follows:

January 23, 2025
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

February 6, 2025
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET

Registration links for the webinars will be made available online at www.rd.usda.gov.

Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Rurality (40 points)
• Economic need (30 points)
• Special considerations (10 points)
• Need for services and project benefits (30 points)

Refer to pages 19-26 of the Guide file for additional details regarding the program's application evaluation criteria.

Refer to the NOFA and Guide files, as well as the Application folder, for additional application information.

Match Notes:

Applicants must provide at least 15 percent of the total funding amount requested via nonfederal cash and/or in-kind contributions.

Matching contributions must consist of new or non-depreciated items. All matching contributions must be used for approved project purposes.

If counties in the proposed project are eligible under the counties in Appalachia provision, Appalachian Regional Commission funds may be used as a matching contribution.

Applicants in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands are exempt from matching requirements for awards of up to $200,000.

Matching contributions may not include:

• Matches requiring subsequent purchases, either by necessity or contract
• Funds sourced from future revenue

Funding Notes:

An estimated $40 million is expected to be available to support awards ranging from $50,000 to $1 million through this program.

The funding agency will set aside 20 percent of the total available funds to support projects that seek to reduce the morbidity and morality associated with substance use disorder, including opioid misuse, in rural communities.

Awards are expected to be issued on September 30, 2025.

The project period will be three years, beginning on the date funds are released.

Costs of purchasing and installing broadband facilities may not exceed 20 percent of awards.

Costs of providing technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment may not exceed 10 percent of award requests.

Costs of video conferencing platform licenses may not exceed 10 percent of awards, and must meet all requirements outlined on page 4 of the NOFA file.

Funds may not be used for:

• Expenses incurred in developing the application
• Subgranting to other entities without the prior written approval of the funding agency
• Medical or educational equipment not having telemedicine or distance learning as its essential function, including telephone systems
• Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems
• Salaries, wages, or employee benefits to medical or educational personnel
• Salaries or administrative expenses of the applicant or the project
• Equipment that will be owned by the local exchange carrier or another telecommunications service provider unless that service provider is the applicant
• Paying for computer software for general use, such as operating systems, scheduling software, and records retention software
• Disposable items
• Furniture such as desks, lecterns, or specialty furniture
• Projects that provide only web-based services that are universally available

Refer to pages 11-12 of the Guide file for additional information regarding ineligible costs.