Community Connect Grant Program - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 10.863 |
| Federal FON: | RDRUS-CC-2025 |
| Office: | Rural Development (RD) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 04/21/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | Unknown |
| Match Required: | Yes |
| Match Type: | Cash |
| Actual Funds: | $26,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $5,000,000 (Max) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to provide service at or above broadband speed to all premises in rural, economically challenged communities where broadband services do not exist. Projects are intended to provide community-oriented connectivity to stimulate economic development and provide enhanced educational and health care opportunities in rural areas.
Proposed projects must:
- Serve a contiguous geographic area within a rural area where broadband transmission service does not currently exist
- Offer service at the broadband grant speed to all residential and business customers
- Offer free broadband service for at least two years to each essential community facility
- Provide a community center with at least two, and and up to ten, computer access points and wireless access at the applicable broadband speed free of charges to all users for at least two years
An optional webinar is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
Last Updated: January 16, 2025
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- Incorporated organizations
- Indian tribes or tribal organizations, as defined in Title 25 of U.S.C. Section 5304
- State governments
- Local units of government
- Other legal entities including cooperatives, private corporations, and limited liability companies organized on a for-profit or nonprofit basis
A tribal resolution of consent from the appropriate tribal body with jurisdiction over the tribal lands at issue is required if service is proposed over, or on, tribal lands. Resolutions are not required when the federally recognized tribe is the applicant proposing service on its own tribal lands.
State governments or state agencies include American Samoa, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In order to be eligible, applicants must propose to provide services in areas where broadband service does not exist, or is less than 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream plus 1 Mbps upstream. Areas already receiving other federal funding to construct terrestrial facilities providing at least 10/1 Mbps service in the proposed project area that have been reported to the funding agency are ineligible.
Only one application per applicant is eligible for approval under this program.
Existing award recipients through this program may apply for new projects.
The following entities are not eligible to apply:
- Corporations that have been convicted of a federal felony within the past 24 months
- Corporations that have been assessed to have unpaid federal tax liability and have exhausted all judicial or administrative remedies, as detailed on page 2 of the NOFA file
Previous award recipients include:
- City of Loveland (CO)
- Premier Holdings LLC (TX)
- Public Utility District 1 of Lewis County (WA)
- Atlantic Telephone Membership Corporation (NC)
- Washington County Rural Telephone Cooperative (IN)
Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentNative American Tribe
Non Profits
Private Sector
State Government
Tribal Organizations/Institutions
Application Notes:
Applications will be accepted beginning on February 20, 2025, and must be received by 11:59 a.m. ET on April 21, 2025.
Applications must be submitted online at www.eauth.usda.gov. Mailed, faxed, or emailed submissions will not be accepted.
The contents of the application will become available upon initiation of the online application process.
An optional webinar is scheduled for this program as follows:
February 19, 2025
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET
Registration information for the webinar is expected to become available online at www.rd.usda.gov.
The following are required in order to submit an application:
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
- SAM (System for Award Management) registration
Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.
Refer to the NOFA file for additional application information.
| Match Required: | Yes |
|---|---|
| Match Type: | Cash |
| Actual Funds: | $26,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $5,000,000 (Max) |
|---|
Match Notes:
Applicants must provide a match of at least 15 percent of the award amount via cash contributions that are available at closing.
Matching contributions must be used solely for project purposes.
Matching funds may not include funds from other federal sources, unless there is a federal statutory exception specifically authorizing the federal financial assistance to be considered as such.
Funding Notes:
Approximately $26 million is expected to be available to support awards ranging from $100,000 to $5 million through this program.
Awards are anticipated to be made in September 2025.
The project period will span three years.
Funds for the improvement, expansion, construction, or acquisition of a community center may not exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the amount requested or $150,000.
Project funding may not have been reimbursed by another federal award and may not be used to reimburse another federal award.
In general, funds may not be used for areas that have an enforceable commitment, as defined on page 2 of the NOFA file; however, if the applicant submits evidence that the entity that received the enforceable commitment has not deployed broadband service as required by the awarding agency's regulations or award documents, such an area may be considered eligible for funding after consultation with the awarding agency.
Funds may not be used for:
- Application development costs
- Duplication of lines, facilities, or systems providing broadband services
- Projects located in an area that does not meet the definition of a rural area found in Title 7 of CFR Section 1739.3
- Projects that propose to provide broadband service in the same geographic area
For FY 2024, 19 awards ranging from $410,436 to $5 million were distributed through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.
Contacts:
Randall Millhiser
Deputy Assistant Administrator
(202) 720-0800
randall.millhiser@usda.gov
Agency Address
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to Randall Millhiser. Questions regarding eligibility should be directed to the program staff via an online contact form at rd.usda.gov.
Applications must be submitted online at www.eauth.usda.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
Award File: US1782_Award_FY2025.pdf (2.6 Mb)NOFA File: US1782_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (4.5 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US1782_MatchRequirements_FY2025.pdf (119.1 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US1782_WebinarSchedule_FY2025.pdf (88.7 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The MatchRequirements file contains information regarding required matching contributions for this program. The WebinarSchedule file contains information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients.
January 16, 2025
Information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program has been released and attached as the WebinarSchedule file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.
| Project: | Scott County Telephone Cooperative Broadband Initiative - Edwards Ridge and Surrounding Area of Dickenson County, Virginia (110.2 Mb) |
|---|---|
| Applicant: | Scott County Telephone Cooperative (SCTC) |
| Summary: |
The purpose of this program is to support the provision of broadband internet connections to premises in currently unserved, lower-income, and extremely rural areas. Scott County Telephone Cooperative requested $3 million and provided a match to support a fiber-to-the-premises project that would deliver broadband service to 620 locations. Funding was requested for a two-year period to assist the rural coal mining and farming communities of Edwards Ridge and the surrounding area of Dickenson County, Virginia. |
Grant Keywords
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Community DevelopmentEconomic Development
Information Technology/Telecommunications
Rural Issues