Truist EPIC Grant

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the importance of broadband Internet connectivity into focus as work, school, healthcare, and more shift online. Internet connectivity is more important than ever in keeping our lives moving.

The $1 million Expanding Potential in Communities (EPIC) Grant program supports broadband initiatives in the southeastern United States, funded by Truist Financial Corporation’s Truist Cares* initiative, a $50 million philanthropic pledge to help rebuild communities in the company’s markets affected by COVID-19. As the administrating partner, the Internet Society will support local broadband expansion by funding complementary Internet connectivity solutions to help alleviate disparities in education, employment, and social welfare that are exacerbated by lack of access to broadband.

The $1 million Truist EPIC Grant will be distributed starting in April 2021 to as many as seven cooperative broadband projects in funds between $125,000 and $180,000.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Non-profit organizations, local governments, municipalities, townships, public-private partnerships, and cooperative organizations are eligible to apply for the Truist EPIC Grant. The grant is geared towards networks that serve low-income communities with significant Black, Indigenous, and diverse populations. Grant funding may be used to build a new network or expand an existing one.

Applicants must meet the following “Eligibility Criteria” to be considered for a grant:

Timeframe – project must show tangible results* within a year of receiving funding. Funding will occur in two stages between April and December 2021.
Location – project must be completed in one of the following states: North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Washington DC, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland.
Bandwidth – project must provide a minimum broadband threshold for deployment.
Applicant must have an official bank account in their name (based on their legal registration) in order to be eligible for a grant.

Applications are now closed.

How Will Applicants Be Selected?

Grant proposals who meet the minimum eligibility above will be reviewed against the following criteria:

Dedicated local champion
Community-backed support
Sustainability plan
Minimum bandwidth requirements
Availability of local tech partners (ISP, IXP)
Financial management skills
Digital literacy
Low barrier from local laws – low license fees
Available spectrum (low fees)
End user hardware available (phone, computer, WiFi router)
Power infrastructure for towers
Local infrastructure for deployment (schools, libraries)
Target demographic impacted

Timeline

January 25, 2021

Applications open

March 5, 2021, 11:59 PM EST

Applications close

March 2021

Application review & award selection

April 2021

Award recipient announcement & 1st grant disbursement

April – December 2021

Grant and recipient engagement & oversight

September – October 2021

2nd grant disbursement

January 2022

Grant closure

Frequently Asked Questions

When do applications open?

January 25, 2021

When do applications close?

March 5, 2021 (Note: If your organization is struggling to meet the application deadline due to the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, please email [email protected].)

What specific types of organizations are eligible to apply?

The Truist EPIC Grant seeks to fund broadband projects that are supported and led by the communities they serve. Ideal applicants will increase network speed, affordability, and overall access in diverse, low-income communities. Examples of eligible applicants include:
– Non-profit organizations
– Cooperative organizations
– Municipal and local governments and townships
– Public-private partnerships (Note: For-profit organizations may apply on behalf of their public, non-profit, municipal, or cooperative partnership; however, the not-for-profit partner is encouraged to apply as the project lead or lead applicant.)

Can one applicant apply for more than one grant area, under more than one project, or for more than one grant award?

Applicants are only eligible to submit one application and receive one grant award as the lead applicant. However, eligible organizations operating in more than one eligible area may support or participate in multiple applicant projects. (For example, for-profit organizations in partnerships with non-profits, cooperatives, or municipal/local governments/townships may be included in multiple applications, but may not represent the partnership or lead the project on more than one application.)

What is the minimum acceptable broadband speed that my project must achieve?

For the purposes of this project, our selection committee and oversight team will ensure that each project maintains its services to the minimum acceptable speed of 25 Mbps download / 3 Mbps upload, in accordance with the FCC’s current definition of broadband.

What is a “tangible” result?

Tangible results are defined along three axis – speed, cost and market share.
– Speed: the ability to show an increase over existing speeds for the area being targeted and stated in the plan
– Cost: the ability to demonstrate that project costs are being properly managed against submitted plan
– Market share: the ability to demonstrate the percentage of the market which deployment has been rolled out to against the plan (Note: Market share is a measurement to help us understand your network’s impact on the community it serves. However, our grading criteria takes a holistic approach to measuring impact, and market share is just one contributing measurement.)

What types of networks and equipment are eligible for the grant?

Eligible types of networks: The type of network that works best for your community- whether it’s a mesh network, satellite, fiber or other- is acceptable under the Truist EPIC Grant. The only requirement for network type is that it fits with the needs of the community, and every one is different.

Eligible network equipment: The Truist EPIC Grant requires that no Huawei equipment be used in any part of the network build funded by the grant.

Will you be using the FCC 477 data to determine if a given area is served/not served?

Not exclusively. As we recognize this data is inexact, we take into account other factors in our grading process, such as affordability and community development goals.

Are you able to provide resources and training to applicants and award recipients?

Yes. The Internet Society will offer free virtual training on how to build, operate, and maintain a network to all award recipients, and both recipients and applicants are encouraged to utilize existing resources and training materials on this website. Applicants and recipients will find the 2020 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Community Networks trainings and resources especially useful.

More information on Community Networks: https://www.internetsociety.org/issues/community-networks/

Questions?

If you have questions about this program or the application process, please email [email protected] or join us for a webinar on February 16 from 2:00 – 3:30pm EST. Watch the recording of the previous webinar.

Disclaimer

The Internet Society reserves the sole right to decide if an applicant and grant proposal meets the eligibility requirements.

* Truist Cares is a cooperative effort between Truist Financial Corporation, Truist Foundation, Inc., and Truist Charitable Fund to provide communities, organizations and individuals disaster relief and assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.