Resources: The Broadband Stimulus and How Funders Can Address the Needs of their Communities

In the Spring of 2010, an unprecedented $4.8 billion will be distributed via federal Stimulus funding for building out high-speed Internet/Broadband to unserved and underserved communities throughout the United States. There are a variety of ways foundations and re-granting organizations, including those unfamiliar with the topic, can support stakeholders in applying for funds.

On January 26, 2010, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM) presented a funder briefing call with the Council on Foundations and the National Rural Funders Collaborative, to provide information about this unique opportunity for expanding digital inclusion and public participation.

Recommended Resources:

Background, Toolkits, and General Information

• NEW: Guide for Funders to the Broadband Stimulus, Round Two - A printable primer by Open Technology Initiative
• Philanthropy's Role in Creating a Connected America - A toolkit by Benton Foundation (excerpt below)
• BroadbandUSA.gov - Government hub site for information about Broadband Stimulus programs
• News items on Broadband Stimulus from Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media's archive
• BroadbandMatch - BroadbandMatch is an online service to help applicants find potential partners with whom to apply.
  

Examples - How Funders have Gotten Involved

• Blandin Foundation 2 pager on Stimulus proposal "Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities"
• Gates Foundation's Technical Assistance grant for Libraries to generate a Stimulus proposal
• ZeroDivide's Stimulus Proposal - Another model, multi-state
• Blandin Foundation's .pdf on their model process and proposal for rural Minnesota

"How Foundations Can Participate" - from Benton Foundation's Philanthropy's Role in Creating a Connected America

Here are some specific ideas on how foundations can think about their involvement in the broadband stimulus effort:

• Provide 20 Percent Match: BTOP requires a 20 percent match for its grants. For those foundations interested in supporting their grantees by strengthening their information and communications capacity, every single foundation grant dollar could generate four dollars from the federal government.

• Provide TA and Capacity support for the application process: The government is requiring extensive information from applicants. Foundations could enable many organizations and communities to apply by supporting the capacity to complete the application. This could mean support for professional grantwriters. For infrastructure grants, preliminary impact and engineering studies and other data collection is required. Small investments in the $5,000-25,000 range may make the difference for a community to be able to apply.

• Convene potential partners: Funders can leverage their support to help get interested non-profits, business and government talking in sessions that could result in a collaborative application.

• Coordinating collaborations: Collaborations of local government, non-profits, and businesses may need to hire a short-term coordinators for their projects. Funders could elect to support an administrative position to track grant expenditures and draft grant reports.

• Aggregate smaller projects: Foundations can actually be applicants themselves and aggregate smaller projects in a geographic or content area (See ZeroDivide, Blandin Foundation as examples)

• Track Impact: Philantropists can support the research needed to measure the impact of broadband stimulus funding and identifying best practices for national models.
  

Speakers for the January 26th, 2010 call included representatives from the following organizations:

• Open Technology Initiative - Sascha Meinrath
• Blandin Foundation - Bernadine Joselyn
• Benton Foundation - Charles Benton
• Gates Foundation - Jill Nishi
• Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media - Jeff Perlstein