How You Should Prepare for Digital Equity Grants

In 2024, the Digital Equity Act moves past the planning phase and into the grant-making phase to deliver programs and policies to communities on the ground. In 2021, the federal government made the biggest ever investment in digital equity with $2.75 billion in the Digital Equity Act. Later this year, two grant programs will open up: folks will apply directly to their State or territory for the Capacity Grant program for $1.44 billion, and the Competitive Grant where folks will apply directly to NTIA for $1.25 billion. Each state or territory will receive a specific amount of money to implement their digital equity plans. While you’ll be preparing for two very different processes for each type of grant, there are some common things you can do now to prepare for both of them:

1. Be Data-Informed, and Start with Asset Mapping: As the Digital Equity Act transitions  from the planning phase into implementation, it is up to you now to connect with partner organizations locally and learn about existing programs. If you need help getting started with finding partners locally, we developed an asset mapping toolkit that includes survey and spreadsheet templates. We also have a searchable affiliate directory which you can use to expand your network locally.
2. Use Your State Digital Equity Plan: Use your state or territory’s  plan as a guiding document, but don’t be afraid to color outside of the lines when designing your proposal. The programs you deliver should reflect the specific gaps and assets of your community, while being informed by your state or territory’s plan.
3. Build Partnerships & Define Roles: We can’t do this work alone. The key to success will be partners! There’s no doubt that you already have a decent idea of who does what, and what programs already exist around your hometown. But what about organizations that are doing the work but have never heard of the phrase digital equity? The digital equity tent still has a lot of room to expand.
4. Use Measurable Outcomes: Make sure that your strategies have a plan to collect data and that your impact is measurable. Being able to measure your success is important to understanding the impact you’re having and to improving service delivery. That’s good for your programs and those successes are something that NTIA and your state will want to see when they assess your project.