10-1

The Illinois Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program will empower and equip individuals and communities with the skills, resources, and confidence they need to use the internet to fully participate in Illinois’ modern society and economy. Recognizing that achieving digital equity for all people is a matter of social and economic justice, this NOFO seeks to enable any entity that is awarded a grant under this Program to better address systemic barriers to digital equity, resulting in improved outcomes in health, education, economic stability, and quality of life. Whether to build a resume and apply for a job, access healthcare from home, pay bills online, or help family members with homework, access to high speed, affordable and reliable internet -- and the abilities and tools required to use it – is essential for all Illinois households. IDEC represents one of five implementation strategies outlined in Illinois’ State Digital Equity Plan. The Digital Equity Plan is a roadmap to achieve digital equity: a state where all Illinoisans have the tools and resources they need to use broadband to thrive. IDEC programs must prioritize serving one or more Covered Populations. Covered Populations are communities with historic barriers to digital access. Covered Populations include: · Individuals who live in Covered Households (defined as households with income from the most recently completed year of not more than 150% of the poverty level); · Aging individuals; · Incarcerated individuals, other than individuals who are incarcerated in a Federal correctional facility, and justice-impacted individuals; · Veterans; · Individuals with disabilities; · Individuals with a language barrier, including English learners and those with low levels of literacy; · Individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group; and · Individuals who primarily reside in a rural area.?

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title III, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429, 1209

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title III, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429, 1209

2 C.F.R. Part 200

Illinois Digital Equity Capacity grant recipients are required to incorporate program measurement and evaluation activities as a part of their program design and implementation. These activities must include progress made toward meeting the measurable objectives identified in Illinois’ State Digital Equity Plan. Measurable objectives can be found starting on page 11 of the Digital Equity Plan Appendix PDF. All projects must collect and report on the following data points, which will be further defined through sub-grantee agreements: a. Number of Covered Population(s) served; b. Number of people served within each Covered Population; c. Total number of people served; d. Number of programs implemented by type; e. Anecdotal/personal testimony demonstrating the positive impact of the Program; f. Quantifiable evidence of progress toward the measurable objectives identified in the Digital Equity Plan; g. Impact on the State or Territory’s goals regarding: i. Economic and workforce development outcomes; ii. Educational outcomes; iii. Health outcomes; iv. Civic and social engagement; and v. Delivery of essential services. Additional project-specific data points to evaluate progress and impact will be identified prior to sub-grantee agreement. Collection of data points will enable Illinois to assess the effectiveness of funded programs, per NTIA requirements

Yes

This grant program is utilizing NTIA Digital Equity Capacity Grant funds appropriated by the General Assembly). Total amount of funding expected to be awarded through this NOFO is up to $13,500,000. Awards will range from $30,000 to $300,000 on an annual basis, for a three-year term. The Department expects to make none) awards through this NOFO. Anticipated start date for awards is March 1, 2025). The period of performance is expected to be March 1, 2025 through February 31, 2028. Allowable costs are determined in accordance with the cost principles identified in 2 C.F.R. Part 200, including Subpart E of such regulations and in the grant program’s authorizing legislation. In addition, costs must be reasonable, necessary, allocable, and allowable for the proposed project, and conform to generally accepted accounting principles. Grant funds may be used to cover only eligible costs incurred by the recipient during the period of performance, and for allowable costs incurred by the recipient during the grant closeout process. Use of Funds: · To develop and implement digital inclusion activities that benefit covered populations. · To facilitate the adoption of broadband by covered populations in order to provide educational and employment opportunities to those populations. · To implement o training programs for covered populations that cover basic, advanced, and applied skills; or o other workforce development programs. · 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. · To construct, upgrade, expend, or operate new or existing public access computing centers for covered populations through community anchor institutions.

For-Profit Organizations; Government Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Small Businesses; Other;

An entity must be registered in the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/, at the time of grant application. The portal will verify that the entity: · Has a valid FEIN number (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin-number); · Has a current SAM.gov registration (https://sam.gov), SAM.gov registrations must be marked as “public” to allow the GATA Grantee Portal to expedite the review of the federal information; · Has a valid UEI number (https://sam.gov); · Is not on the Federal Excluded Parties List (verified at https://sam.gov); · Is in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of State, as applicable (https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/corp.html); · Is not on the Illinois Stop Payment list (verified once entity is registered in GATA Grantee Portal); and · Is not on the Department of Healthcare and Family Services Provider Sanctions list (https://www.illinois.gov/hfs/oig/Pages/SanctionsList.aspx). Entities on the Illinois Stop Payment List and/or the Federal Excluded Parties List at time of application submission will not be considered for an award. An automated email notification to the entity alerts them of “qualified” status or informs how to remediate a negative verification (e.g., not in good standing with the Secretary of State). A federal Debarred and Suspended status cannot be remediated. Pursuant to the policy of the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, to receive grant funds from the State of Illinois, a grantee must be considered a regarded entity by the IRS for federal income tax purposes. Disregarded entities will not be eligible to receive grant funds.

IDEC programs must prioritize serving one or more Covered Populations. Covered Populations are communities with historic barriers to digital access. Covered Populations include: · Individuals who live in Covered Households (defined as households with income from the most recently completed year of not more than 150% of the poverty level); · Aging individuals; · Incarcerated individuals, other than individuals who are incarcerated in a Federal correctional facility, and justice-impacted individuals; · Veterans; · Individuals with disabilities; · Individuals with a language barrier, including English learners and those with low levels of literacy; · Individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group; and · Individuals who primarily reside in a rural area.

Project Grants

Economic Development

Subrecipients and Subcontractors: Agreement(s) and budget(s) with subrecipients and subcontractors must be pre-approved by and on file with DCEO. Agreements can be submitted to DCEO when available. Subcontractors and subrecipients are subject to all applicable provisions of the Agreement(s) executed between DCEO and the grantee. The successful applicant shall retain sole responsibility for the performance of its subrecipient(s) and/or subcontractor(s). Grant Uniform Requirements: The Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (30 ILCS 708/1 et seq.) (and its related administrative rules, 44 Ill. Admin. Code Part 7000), was enacted to increase the accountability and transparency in the use of grant funds from whatever source and to reduce administrative burdens on both State agencies and grantees by adopting federal guidance and regulations applicable to those grant funds; specifically, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200). Procurement: Grantees will be required to adhere to methods of procurement per the Procurement Standards (2 CFR 200.317 – 2 CFR 200.327). Other administrative and national policy requirements: Applicants are eligible for multi-year grants if the renewals are conditioned on a comprehensive evaluation of the awardee's fiscal, administrative, and programmatic compliance during the preceding grant term.

N/A

See NOFO

Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis. Each proposal will be scored on a 100-point scale (or on a percentage scale). Cost sharing / fund-matching is not considered in application evaluation.

Grants will be awarded in order from highest score to lowest score until funding is exhausted, with a priority for geographic diversity and ensuring service across all Covered Populations. Applications will be reviewed against others in their economic development region. A scoring threshold will be established per economic development regions to determine funded applications. There will be two application deadlines: Wave 1 and Wave 2. Applications that are not selected in Wave 1 will carry over to Wave 2 for evaluation.

See NOFO

30-60 days

The Merit Based Review process is subject to appeal. However, competitive grant appeals are limited to the evaluation process. Evaluation scores may not be protested. Only the evaluation process is subject to appeal. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Department within 14 calendar days from the date of the denial letter. The written appeal shall include the name and address of the appealing party, the identification of the grant and a statement of reasons for the appeal. To file an appeal, applicants must submit the appeal in writing and in accordance with the Merit-Based Application Review Appeals Process listed on the Grant Opportunities page of the DCEO website: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/AboutDCEO/GrantOpportunities/Pages/MeritAppReview.aspx.

Yes

N/A

Grant Uniform Requirements: The Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (30 ILCS 708/1 et seq.) (and its related administrative rules, 44 Ill. Admin. Code Part 7000), was enacted to increase the accountability and transparency in the use of grant funds from whatever source and to reduce administrative burdens on both State agencies and grantees by adopting federal guidance and regulations applicable to those grant funds; specifically, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR 200). Procurement: Grantees will be required to adhere to methods of procurement per the Procurement Standards (2 CFR 200.317 – 2 CFR 200.327).

Quarterly PPR and PFR

N/A

N/A

636-42035-4900-0800

$13,500,000 annually for a three year term

$30,000 to $300,000 on an annual basis

CFR 200.202: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=bd9749097b3a93191e830b7384ffdaae&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_1202&rgn=div8

https://dceo.illinois.gov/connectillinois/digital-equity-act.html

N/A

500 East Monroe Springfield, IL 62701 and 555 W Monroe St, 12th Floor Chicago, IL 60661

https://dceo.illinois.gov/connectillinois/digital-equity-act.html

Connect Illinois Round 1-3

A grant to support an internet provider to construct their internet network

FY 2025 : $1,350,000