Community Broadband  

Please note: This grant program has ended. 

Purpose

The goal of the Community Broadband Grant Program is to increase the number of Maine people, communities, and businesses that have access to high-speed internet service and the skills, opportunities, and knowledge to use this technology effectively. This includes supporting efforts to:

• Create and/or sustain working groups among communities, nonprofits, and towns and municipalities
• Increase community members’ computer and internet knowledge and skills
• Remove barriers and create equitable opportunities to access technology and the internet
• Develop and increase the knowledge and expertise of both communities at large and local and regional leadership on these issues.

Criteria and Priorities

All applicants must meet the Maine Community Foundation’s grant eligibility requirements. Please read our eligibility and grant guidelines before submitting an application.

Criteria

To receive a grant, an organization or project must:

• Increase access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet access or improve the skills, knowledge and opportunities to use this technology effectively.

Priorities

This program will give priority to projects that:

• Support and involve traditionally underserved people, including older people, low-income families and children, students, people of color, small businesses and entrepreneurs
• Represent catalytic projects or moments in time.  For example, funds might help sustain an effort at a critical time, leverage other funding sources, or accomplish a short-term goal to build energy and momentum.
• Explore creative solutions, pilot projects or new strategies which can be replicated or used as a model by other communities and regions
• Leverage or provide match for other funding sources
• Where applicable, have identified or are prioritizing technology that anticipates future needs and won’t be obsolete in 5-10 years
• Include goals and/or strategies to increase digital literacy, inclusion, and equity (go to digitalinclusion.org/definitions/)
• Demonstrate community commitment through financial and other meaningful support
• Identify short- and long-term goals (separate from specific technology and costs).

Types of Funding

This program provides:

• General support grants for ongoing programming and operation needs
• Project grants for new, expanding, or ongoing projects.

Examples of Eligible Projects and Expenses

This grant program is purposefully broad in nature to accommodate a range of potential projects to address digital skills, knowledge and opportunities, and high-speed internet access and expansion. For example:

• Establishment or management of a local or regional leadership team to identify opportunities, research solutions, and educate community members and leaders
• Digital inclusion efforts to address digital literacy, affordability, and access
• Community meetings, surveys, or outreach to assess current and future high-speed internet service or needs (or to enlist support for implementation)
• Technical assistance or consulting costs to assist with local or regional planning, design, outreach, or implementation
• Pilot projects or research to test or explore new approaches
• Development of maps or other materials related to broadband expansion planning or implementation
• Relatively small capital expenses such as those associated with creating WiFi hotspots
• Research to help advance local or regional broadband efforts.

Additional Information

Ineligible Expenses

Funds may not be used for:

• Capital campaigns
• Endowments
• See also “What we will not fund, without exception” on our eligibility and grant guidelines page.

Background

The Community Broadband grant program was launched in 2018 as part of MaineCF’s strategic initiative to support Entrepreneurs and Innovators. In Maine, a high quality of life is increasingly connected to being connected. High-speed internet service increases our ability to access a variety of resources related to our health, education, civic and social engagement, and economic prosperity.

Basic broadband is not available in many rural areas, or the available speed is inadequate for a range of important uses. This leaves Maine lagging behind the nation and the world in our ability to attract new people and businesses to our state, and to grow and prosper in an increasingly connected world.