The Rural Utilities Service is seeking applications for the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program to support the use of telecommunications-enabled information, audio and video equipment, and related advanced technologies by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents.
Donor Name: Rural Utilities Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/27/2022
Size of the Grant: $50,000 – $1,000,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Distance learning means a real-time, interactive, telecommunications link to an end-user through the use of eligible equipment to provide educational programs, instruction, or information originating in one area, whether rural or not, to students and teachers who are located in rural areas.
Telemedicine means a real-time, interactive, telecommunications link to an end-user through the use of eligible equipment which electronically links medical professionals at separate sites in order to exchange health care information in audio, video, graphic, or other formats for the purpose of providing improved health care services primarily to residents of rural areas.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling – $1,000,000.
- Award Floor – $50,000.
Grant Period
The application needs to show that funding is available for the three-year period that it takes to put together the project (required for eligibility) and to ensure the project’s continuance as a viable community resource.
Eligible Grant Purposes
There are three categories of eligible purposes:
- Acquiring, by lease or purchase, eligible equipment- The following are examples of eligible equipment. This list is not exhaustive. Neither does it convey blanket eligibility. A computer is not automatically eligible. It must be used for an eligible purpose. The purpose of the DLT Grant program is to deliver education or medical care to end-users at remote sites via telecommunications, not simply to furnish educational or medical technology.
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- Computer hardware and software
- Extended warranties, site licenses, and maintenance contracts (up to 3 years, if supporting eligible equipment included in the project and made concurrently)
- Interactive audio and video equipment
- Computer networking components
- Telecommunications terminal equipment
- Data terminal equipment
- Inside wiring
- Broadband facilities, if owned by the applicant (limited to 20% of grant).
- Acquiring instructional programming that is a capital asset (including the purchase or lease of instructional programming already on the market). Renewals of instructional programming are not eligible nor is classroom equipment (such as laboratory equipment). Also, expenses (such as those for tuition, fees for coursework on a per course basis, or fees for cultural events or virtual field trips) are not capital assets and therefore, are not eligible.
- Providing technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment, including any related software, developing instructional programming that is a capital asset, and providing engineering or environmental studies relating to the establishment or expansion of the phase of the project to be financed with the grant. The costs for this category cannot exceed 10% of the grant amount requested.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for a grant, an organization must:
- Be legally organized as an incorporated organization, an Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304, a state or local unit of government, a consortium, or other legal entity, including a private corporation organized on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis. Each applicant must provide evidence of its legal capacity to contract with the Rural Utilities Service to obtain the grant and comply with all applicable requirements, in accordance with 7 CFR part 1734.4(a).
- Either operate a rural community facility or deliver distance learning or telemedicine services to entities that operate a rural community facility or to residents of rural areas at rates calculated to ensure that the benefit of the financial assistance is passed through to such entities or to residents of rural areas.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
