Request for Proposals: Community Connect Grant Program (United States)

Purpose

• The Community Connect Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide service at or above the Broadband Grant Speed (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service (10 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up) 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.

Priorities

• The Agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:
  • Creating More and Better Markets: Assisting rural communities to recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.
  • Advancing Racial Justice, Place Based Equity, and Opportunity: Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects.
  • Addressing Climate Change and Environmental Justice: Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through  economic support to rural communities

Funding Information

• Available Funds: The Agency estimates that approximately $26 million will be available for FY 2025, based on FY 2024 amounts. RUS may at its discretion, increase the total level of funding available in this funding round from any available source provided the awards meet the requirements of the statute which made the funding available to the agency.
• Minimum Award: $100,000.
• Maximum Award: $5,000,000.
• Anticipated Award Date: September 2025.
• Performance Period: 3 years.

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.