E-Fund School Grant Program

Act 183 of 2004 created several opportunities for school entities to promote and accelerate broadband deployment. An annual $10 million E-Fund was established to assist schools with purchasing services, hardware, technical assistance and distance education over the next six years. In accordance with legislation, a competitive grant program for school entities will be established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to award the funds. Additionally, to help speed broadband deployment to Pennsylvania's schools, discounted rates provided by incumbent carriers will be offered to school entities.

Each applicant school entity will be required to provide 100% matching funds to support its E-Fund grant request. Discounts received from SLD/USAC (E-rate) can be applied toward the matching fund requirement as can in-kind and other technology-related expenses.

E-Grants will be processed through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s E-Grant system. Through the E-Grant system, applicants will be able to access grant guidelines, the application template, and the scoring rubric on which the programs will be reviewed. A timeline for the application process follows.

E-Fund Submission and Review Process Schedule

 

July 18, 2007 Grant Guidelines Issued
July 18, 2007
 		 Online eGrant Application Opens
June, 2007 Telecommunications Companies are assessed annual fee to fund the grant.
October 26, 2007
2:00pm EST		 Completed online eGrant Applications are due to the Department.
November, 2007
  • Each proposal will be scored based on whether the proposal reflects the objective and guiding principals of the E-Fund.
  • Additional financial or technical information, if requested, must be provided within four business days of the request. Requests for information do not imply that a proposal will be funded.
December 15, 2007 Anticipated grant award announcement date