Connecting the Unconnected Funding Program

_NOTE: Due to the high number of strong applications received in window 1, a second application window will not open in 2025.

Greater possibilities exist for people with Internet access.

The Connecting the Unconnected funding program supports communities and local organizations working to build and expand Internet infrastructure to connect people living in rural, remote, and low-income areas. This includes initiatives such as community networks, municipal networks, cooperatives, and other forms of complementary access solutions.

Program Objectives

• Strengthen communities and local initiatives that are connecting the unconnected.
• Develop new, innovative solutions to grow the Internet to reach rural, isolated, and low-income areas in all regions of the world.

Focus Areas

• Building new complementary access solutions: projects that focus on providing Internet connectivity to underserved or unconnected communities. This could be done through building community networks, municipal networks, cooperatives, and other forms of complementary access solutions.
• Expanding existing complementary access solutions: projects that focus on expanding the connectivity of existing complementary access solutions to connect more people, improve existing connectivity, or enable access to new communities.

Funding

Communities and local organizations can apply to either build a new complementary access solution to connect the unconnected, or to expand an existing one. The funding requested for each application is expected within, but not limited to, the following ranges:

• $15,000-$40,000 USD to build new complementary access solutions to connect the unconnected.
• $5,000-$20,000 USD to expand or improve existing complementary access solutions to connect the unconnected.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Eligibility
  • Funding to build and expand complementary access solutions to connect the unconnected is available to communities and organizations who are directly involved in the planning and building of local Internet infrastructure.
• Communities and organizations that apply must have:
  • A clearly identified person or organization responsible for carrying out the project through its completion and reporting.
  • Support from the local community that will benefit from the new or expanded Internet infrastructure.
  • A sustainability plan to ensure that the infrastructure built can stay operational in the long term.
  • The goal of connecting the local infrastructure to the Internet.
  • In addition, in order to receive funding, organizations must have an official bank account in their name (based on their legal registration).