Grant Description
Grant awards will be performance-based and payments will be based on $120 per verified subscription facilitated by the grantee. Grantees will be responsible for: (a) outreach in-language and in-culture to priority low-income neighborhoods and populations; (b) basic digital literacy training and assistance in obtaining an affordable computing device; and (c) explanation of available affordable broadband offers and assistance in contacting the selected provider to sign up. Charter will promote their affordable offer through events, direct marketing, and advertising.
Applicant Eligibility and Grant Criteria
Eligible CBO applicants include 501(c)(3) non-profit community organizations, schools, libraries, local governments, and other public agencies with an established record of performance for measurable outcomes and demonstrated capacity to plan and manage strategic activity to achieve specific objectives. Although not a pre-requisite, it is preferable that applicants have experience in successfully achieving broadband adoptions by assisting low-income households in signing up for high-speed Internet home service. Priority consideration will be given to CBOs focused in communities around School2Home schools (list of schools) with working relationships with the local school, city, and county governments and their human services agencies.
The following criteria will be used to evaluate the quality and viability of applications:
- Clarity in the description of relevant experience and capacity to reach low-income households in-language and in-culture to increase broadband adoptions.
- Established track record of performance in achieving quantified outcomes.
- Experience in working in target communities and established working relationships with school, city, and county governments and their human services agencies.
- Focus and quality of delineated strategies and activities to achieve broadband adoptions among low-income households.
- Reasonableness of work plan, timetable, and budget to achieve the proposed number of broadband adoptions.
Please note that while grants will be based on $120 per verified subscription, past experience with qualified CBOs has indicated that it can require an investment of resources 2-4 times that amount to work with a low-income household to complete a subscription sign-up. Thus, it is critical that applicants incorporate broadband adoption strategies and activities into existing efforts that will leverage other resources. Further, it is anticipated that collaboration with Charter coupled with their marketing activities will complement and augment CBO outreach. The $120 per verified subscription is the same basis on which CETF partner CBOs achieved more than 30,000 broadband adoptions during the last 3 years. CETF will monitor progress in achieving adoptions and reserves the right and obligation to make adjustments in the ABC grant program to achieve collective success.