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2025-26 Digital Divide Grant Program Round 3

Grantor:
Public Utilities Commission
Portal ID:
155220
Status:
Active
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The Digital Divide Grant Program will award one grant of $100,000 for rural and urban public schools and two grants of up to $50,000 each for non-profit Community Based Organizations (CBO). The grants will fund digital projects that serve beneficiary public schools/districts and non-profit Community Organizations. Projects may address gaps in broadband networks, affordability, access to personal devices and digital skills training.  

Description:

The Digital Divide Grant Program (DDGP) will provide three grants for a total of $200,000. The DDGP is funded by fees collected from leases of state-owned property to wireless telecommunications service providers, pursuant to Government Code Section 14666.8. Eligible projects will serve a beneficiary public school or district located in an urban or rural low-income small school district and two non-profit Community Organizations. Projects may address physical gaps in local broadband networks, affordability, access to personal devices and digital skills training. Projects must provide a holistic solution. Grant recipients must be a non-profit community-based organization (CBO) with a demonstrated record of work in addressing the digital divide. For public schools or districts, the CBO will partner with an eligible public school or district to deploy the project. The beneficiary of the project will be the partner school or district. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will evaluate and score applications and award grants for up to three projects using the competitive process described in CPUC Resolution T-17892. Eligible non-profit CBOs may submit applications for grant funding. Applicants must have demonstrated record of successful and satisfactory work deploying community technology projects and/or projects to bridge the digital divide. Applicants must have an agreement with a beneficiary school or district to execute a proposed project. In the first stage of review, panelists will evaluate the baseline requirements to determine if the CBO's application can progress to the second stage of review. The baseline requirements include: The application must be complete and submitted timely. The applicant is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The applicant must be in good standing with the California Franchise Tax Board. The applicant must submit at least three letters of recommendation. The applicant must have a written agreement with the beneficiary public school or district to execute a proposed project. The applicant must submit at least two letters of endorsement per the beneficiary public school or district supporting the project. One letter is required from the beneficiary public school or district office and one letter from the beneficiary's school Parent Teachers Association. The beneficiary public school or district must be located within the boundaries of an urban or rural small school district as identified by the California Department of Education. The beneficiary public school or district must have a Free or Reduced Price Meal (FRPM) of at least 50 percent. In the second evaluation stage, panelists will review the remaining applications to assign scores on each of the following categories: Scope of Work, Experience, Budget and Overall. The application window is open from December 12, 2025, and will close on February 12, 2026. For more information on the DDGP, CBO eligibility criteria, the application process, schedules and forms, please go to: www.cpuc.ca.gov/ddgp.  

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency

Eligible non-profits CBOs must be organized and operate exclusively for one or more of the purposes described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. CBO applicants must have a demonstrated record of successful work in deploying community technology projects to bridge the digital divide. Applicants for public schools or districts must have a written agreement with the beneficiary school or district to execute a proposed project.

Eligible Geographies:

The Digital Divide Grant Program is for a rural or urban small school district with a FRMP of at least 50%. The DDGP relies on data from the California Department of Education (CDE) to determine eligibility. CDE designates small districts that have an Average Daily Attendance (ADA) of less than 2,500 students; medium are over 2,500 students; large districts are over 10,000 students. The urban/rural designation is from US Census track data.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
April 2026
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
360

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$200,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
3
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$50,000 – $100,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

The Digital Divide Grant Program is funded by fee's collected from the leases of state-owned properties to telecommunications providers, pursuant to Government Code Section 14666.8. The Digital Divide Account maintains a balance of $200,000 to fund projects. Payment of grant funds are made available through a reimbursement process. Ten percent of the reimbursement will be held back until the project is successfully completed on time.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Payment of grant funds will be made available through a reimbursement process. Ten percent of the funds will be held until the project is completed on time.  Payments will be based upon review and approval of receipts, invoices and other supporting or requested documents showing the expenses incurred for the project are in accordance with D.21-10-020, Public Utilities Section 280.5 and Commission Resolution T-17892, adopted on October 9, 2025.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Lina Khoury, 1-415-703-1739, DigitalDivideGrantProgram@cpuc.ca.gov

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