Grant Details

Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative (Part C): Broadband (Appalachian Region) - FY 2025

Agency:	US Other
Office:	Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
Multipart Grant:	Yes

Next Due:	09/12/2025 (Multiple)
Solicitation Date:	08/12/2025

Match Required:	Yes
Match Type:	Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds:	$65,000,000 (Confirmed)

Summary:

The purpose of this program is to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain or logistics industries. This program will support the expansion of coal technology, including technologies that utilize coal and coal byproducts such as building materials, battery materials, carbon fiber, synthetic graphite, and printing materials.

All applications must address one or more of the following goals:

Building Appalachian businesses: strengthening and diversifying the region’s economy through inclusive economic development strategies and investments in entrepreneurship and business development
Building Appalachia’s workforce ecosystem: expanding and strengthening community systems that help Appalachians obtain a job, stay on the job, and advance along a financially sustaining career pathway
Building Appalachia’s infrastructure: ensuring that the residents and businesses of Appalachia have access to reliable, affordable, resilient, and energy-efficient utilities and infrastructure in order to successfully live and work in the region
Building regional culture and tourism: strengthening Appalachia’s community and economic development potential by preserving and investing in the region’s local cultural heritage and natural assets
Building community leaders and capacity: investing in the capacity of local leaders, organizations, and communities to address local challenges by providing technical assistance and support to access resources, engage partners, identify strategies and tactics, and conduct effective planning and project execution

Projects should be collaborative in nature and meet the following criteria:

Be specifically identified under state, local, and/or regional economic development plans
Have been collaboratively designed by a diverse blend of state, local, and regional stakeholders

Priority will be given to projects and activities that will produce diverse economic development outcomes, as detailed on page 7 of the NOFA file.

Applicants should describe how their projects will address one or more of the following investment priorities and how, to the extent possible, their projects are evidence-based or based on emerging research:

Fostering entrepreneurial activities
Developing industry clusters in communities
Building a competitive workforce
Increasing access to broadband

Refer to pages 7-9 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding these investment priorities.

All construction projects, including those that include both construction and non-construction components, must be administered by a registered federal agency or state basic agency.

Funding will be provided for the following program components:

(Part A): Implementation Grants
(Part B): Technical Assistance Grants
(Part C): Broadband
(Part D): Planning Grants
(Part E): Access-to-Capital Projects
(Part F): Construction Projects
(Part G): Tourism Construction Projects

The purpose of the Broadband component is to support broadband deployment projects and broadband as a service (BaaS) projects that enhance access to broadband services. Funding will support the following types of projects:

Fiber construction projects
Wireless deployment projects
Broadband as a service (BaaS) projects
Broadband feasibility studies designed to evaluate the feasibility of broadband construction in coal-impacted communities
Other broadband projects that seek to utilize existing broadband service or increase its adoption through community outreach efforts or innovative economic development initiatives

Refer to pages 32-38 of the NOFA file for additional details regarding the various categories of available awards.

An optional pre-application webinar is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.

Eligibility is limited to projects serving and benefiting a portion of the Appalachian region. Refer to the Eligibility section for additional information.

Last Updated: August 25, 2025

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

Local development districts (LDDs)
Indian tribes or consortia of Indian tribes
States, counties, cities, or other political subdivisions of a state, including special-purpose units of a state or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities; or consortia of political subdivisions
Institutions of higher education or consortia of institutions of higher education
Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations

Projects must be located within the Appalachian region. The Appalachian region includes all of West Virginia and certain counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Refer to page 4 of the EligMap file for a map of the Appalachian region.

Projects must also be located within and targeted to communities or regions that have been recently impacted by coal mining or coal power plant employment loss, or employment loss in the supply chain or logistics industries of either sector. Refer to page 7 of the NOFA file for details.

Applicants must notify their state broadband offices of their intent to apply and include specific information about the geographic area the project plans to serve.

Projects should have multiple stakeholders engaged from multiple sectors and from multiple disciplines. Multistate projects must have at least one partner physically located in each state of the proposed service area. Project team membership may be comprised of the following:

State, regional, and local economic development organizations
Local governments
Planning organizations and development districts
Labor unions and labor-management apprenticeship programs
State and local workforce agencies
Institutions of higher education, including community colleges and other job training and adult education providers
Nonprofit and community-based organizations
Chambers of commerce, industry and trade associations, local and regional business owners, and other representatives from the private sector

Entities that have current awards through this program or any other of the funding agency's programs are only eligible to apply if their proposed scope of work is new and does not overlap with their current open awards. Applications from such entities must include an expansion of geography, increased scope of work with an existing concept, or a new concept.

For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.

Eligible Applicants:

Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government

Application Notes:

Prior to submitting LOIs, applicants must contact the appropriate state program manager to ensure that the project is in alignment with state priorities using the information provided online at www.arc.gov.

Mandatory letters of intent (LOIs) must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on September 12, 2025.

LOIs must be submitted online at forms.office.com.

LOIs must include:

Applicant and contact information
Tentative project title
Project type
Award type
Award amount requested
Basic agency partners
Project priority
Partnerships
Geographic scope
Summary of proposal (1,000 characters max)
Previous applications/awards

LOIs will be evaluated by the state program manager of each state impacted by the proposed project. Applicants that meet basic eligibility requirements will receive an email with confirmation of receipt and instructions on how to submit an application within a few days of LOI submission.

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on October 22, 2025.

Applications must be submitted online at power.arc.gov.

Applications must include:

Applicant organization information
Project narrative
Uploads and additional attachments, as detailed on page 5 of the AppChecklist file

Applications are limited to 15 pages or narratives and 100 pages of file uploads. Attachments must be submitted in .pdf format.

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.

An optional pre-application webinar for this program is scheduled as follows:

August 21, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. ET
Registration: arcgov.zoom.us

A recording of the webinar is available online at www.youtube.com.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Project description
Coal impact
Rationale
Project team
Projected outputs and outcomes
Match and budget evaluation
Application completeness

Refer to pages 13-22 of the NOFA file for detailed information regarding the evaluation criteria for implementation and planning projects.

Refer to the NOFA, LOITemplate, and AppChecklist files for additional application information.

Match Required:	Yes
Match Type:	Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds:	$65,000,000 (Confirmed)

Match Notes:

Applicants must demonstrate a matching share from non-funding agency sources. Matching sources may be nonfederal, other federal, or a combination of sources, including in-kind sources. The maximum share of award assistance is determined by the funding agency's classification of the county or counties served by the proposed activities, and the amount of match required will vary depending on the county designation. Information regarding the funding agency's economic designations and corresponding matching requirements can be found online at www.arc.gov.

Matching contributions must be confirmed and accessible by March 20, 2026.

Applicants should demonstrate community and regional commitment to the proposed project by combining award funds with a diverse array of match types and sources. The provision of matching contributions will be taken into consideration during the application evaluation process.

For broadband construction projects, priority will be given to projects with evidence of leveraged funding for the overall project.

Funding Notes:

Up to $65 million is available through this program overall, with up to one-third of the total funding available to support support awards through this component, as follows:

Broadband construction and broadband as a service (BaaS) projects: awards ranging from $400,000 to $2.5 million
Broadband feasibility studies projects: awards of up to $50,000

Award notifications will be issued in spring 2026.

The project period will begin on May 1, 2026. The project period will span 12 to 36 months for non-construction implementation projects. The project period may span up to 48 months for construction implementation projects. The project period may last up to 12 months for planning projects.

To qualify for broadband construction funding, at least 65 percent of the project budget must be directed to the physical construction of broadband infrastructure. Project budgets that direct more than 35 percent of funds toward activities not directly associated with construction of broadband infrastructure will follow the same guidelines as awards funded through the Implementation Grants component, known in eCivis Grants Network as US16850A.

Funds may not be used for:

Projects that are not ready to receive approval from the funding agency by July 1, 2026
Projects that fully or partially duplicate or overlap with open or previously awarded program awards
Application preparation costs
Construction in areas that already have adequate broadband availability
Subsidizing an area that will receive a government subsidy from a different source
Overlaying existing areas that have adequate service or provide unfair competition
Improvement to private property
Building, acquiring, improving, or modifying any real property and/or capital asset
Acquiring any equipment

In October 2024, a total of $68.2 million was distributed via 65 awards through this program overall. In October 2023, nearly $54 million was distributed via 64 awards through this program overall. In October 2022, nearly $47 million was distributed via 52 awards through this program overall. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Program Staff
POWER@arc.gov

Agency Address
Appalachian Regional Commission
1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20009

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to the program staff or the appropriate state program manager listed online at www.arc.gov.

Letters of intent (LOIs) must be submitted online at forms.office.com.

Applications must be submitted online at power.arc.gov.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:

Award File: US16850C_Award_FY2025.pdf (1.9 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US16850C_EligMap_FY2025.pdf (1.2 Mb)
NOFA File: US16850C_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (672.3 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US16850C_LOITemplate_FY2025.pdf (249.1 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US16850C_AppChecklist_FY2025.pdf (230.2 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US16850C_Webinar_FY2025.pdf (3.9 Mb)

File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The EligMap file contains a map of the eligible Appalachian region, as well as a list of counties in the region. The LOITemplate file contains a sample of the online LOI and should be used for reference purposes only. The AppChecklist file contains a checklist of required application components. The Webinar file contains information regarding the pre-application webinar scheduled for this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients through this program overall.

August 25, 2025
A recording of the webinar for this program has been released, and a link to the presentation is available in the Application section.

August 13, 2025
Full solicitation information for this program has been released and attached as the NOFA file. All sections have been updated accordingly.

Project:	Southwest NY Wireless Broadband Project (21.5 Mb)
Applicant:	Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board
Summary:	The purpose of this program is to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries due to the changing economics of America's energy production. Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board requested $395,000 for the purchase and installation of fixed wireless broadband equipment and installation of backhaul fiber to allow for delivery of effective capacity and cost competitive Wi-Fi broadband service in underserved and/or unserved remote rural areas. The goal of the project is to provide high-speed, low-latency coverage with no or high data caps to address locations currently served only by low-latency, data cap-driven satellite broadband service. Project activities include placing new antennas at eight cell tower locations in three counties, building one tower, and providing additional fiber backhaul. The applicant provided $399,000 to match the remainder of the project costs.

Grant Keywords

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Grant Categories

Community Development
Economic Development
Training & Vocational Services
Information Technology/Telecommunications
Rural Issues
Science/Technology