Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program
Program Funding
Annual program obligations reported to SAM.gov.
Program Objective
The Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program was established by Section 60305 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117-58. In May 2025, the Administration announced the termination of the awards made under this assistant listing number due to lack of alignment with the Administration's priorities.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
- Not-for-Profit Organization
- Nonprofit Organization
- Tribal
- Territorial
- State
- Local
The following entities are eligible to apply for grants under this Program if the entity is not serving, and has not served, as the administering entity for a State under 47 U.S.C. §1723(b):
(1) A political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of a State, including an agency of a State that is responsible for administering or supervising adult education and literacy activities, or for providing public housing, in the State.
(2) An Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native entity, or a Native Hawaiian organization.
(3) A foundation, corporation, institution, or association that is –
a. A not-for-profit entity; and
b. Not a school.
(4) A community anchor institution.
(5) A local educational agency.
(6) An entity that carries out a workforce development program.
(7) A partnership between any of the entities described in paragraphs (1) through (6).
U.S. Territories may apply for the territorial set aside provided for at 47 U.S.C. §1724(j)(3) by submitting an application consistent with the NOFO.
How to Apply
Award Procedure
The application review process will be conducted in three stages: (1) Initial Eligibility and Administrative Review, (2) Merit Review, and (3) Programmatic Review. Following the conclusion of the Programmatic Review, the OICG Associate Administrator will recommend a final list of ranked applications to the NTIA Assistant Secretary, who is the Selecting Official for this program. The NTIA Assistant Secretary will submit the applications recommended for funding, along with the bases for the selection decisions, to the NIST Grants Officer, who serves as the Grants Officer for the Competitive Grant Program. The final approval of selected applications and the issuance of awards will be made by the NIST Grants Officer. Awards will be made in the form of a grant.
Decision Timeline
- Appeal: From 1 to 15 days
NTIA expects to begin issuing awards to applicants pursuant to the Notice of Funding Opportunity within 270 days after issuance of the Notice of Funding Opportunity. NTIA expects to make additional awards on a rolling basis.
Program details & compliance
Description
In May 2025, the Administration announced the termination of certain awards made under this assistant listing number due to lack of alignment with the Administration’s priorities.
Mission Categories
Primary: Economic Development
Use of Funds
Allowed Uses
An Eligible Entity or U.S. Territory to which a Competitive Grant is awarded must use the grant funds to support not less than 1 of the following activities:
(a) To develop and implement digital inclusion activities that benefit one or more of the Covered Populations.
(b) To facilitate the adoption of broadband by Covered Populations to provide educational and employment opportunities to those populations.
(c) To implement training programs for Covered Populations that cover basic, advanced, and applied skills or other workforce development programs, including, for example, digital inclusion projects that address online safety, and work to prevent online harassment and abuse.
(d) To make available equipment, instrumentation, networking capability hardware and software, or digital network technology for broadband services to Covered Populations at low or no cost.
(e) To construct, upgrade, expend, or operate new or existing public access computing centers for Covered Populations through community anchor institutions.
(f) To undertake any other project or activity that the Assistant Secretary finds to be consistent with the purposes for which the Program is established.
Restrictions
Please refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Required Documentation
Applications for Grants under the Competitive Grant Program must be complete, must adhere to the instructions provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and must be submitted in the format requested in the NTIA Grants Portal (https://grants.ntia.gov). NTIA will not consider applications that fail to comply with these requirements or that are untimely submitted. Any Eligible Entity or U.S. Territory applying for a Competitive Grant must submit an application that includes the information listed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity which is inclusive of the elements required by 47 U.S.C. §1724(c).
Matching Requirements
As required by 47 U.S.C. §1724(e)(1), the amount of a Competitive Grant awarded to an Eligible Entity through this program may not exceed 90 percent of the total project cost. The Assistant Secretary may grant a waiver of this limitation if an applicant petitions for a waiver and demonstrates financial need. Applications that propose additional matching funds as described in Section V(D)(2) of the Notice of Funding Opportunity will be given additional consideration over those that meet only the minimum requirement. U.S. Territories are not subject to the federal cost share/matching requirement due to the size of those awards.
Reporting & Compliance
Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts
- Subpart B — General Provisions
- Subpart C — Pre-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart D — Post-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart E — Cost Principles
- Subpart F — Audit Requirements