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RALEIGH — The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) is now accepting a new round of BAND-NC grant funding applications. Building a New Digital Economy in NC (BAND-NC), a grant program designed to increase the number of people with the Internet in their homes, in partnership with the NC Broadband Infrastructure Office (BIO), will award another 30 “implementation” grants of $5,000 this cycle.
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“These grants provide an opportunity for communities to address some immediate needs,” said IEI director Leslie Boney. “But we’re really excited about the chance they provide for communities to develop longer-term strategies to get broadband to everyone.”
“We’re excited for this next round of BAND-NC grants and their potential to help our communities move the needle on digital inclusion in North Carolina,” Jim Weaver, North Carolina Department of Information Technology Secretary and State Chief Information Officer said. “We encourage communities to apply for the grants to build digital inclusion plans using our recent ‘Digital Inclusion Plan Template and Guide‘ as we work toward being the first state in the nation where every county has a digital inclusion plan to prioritize digital equity for all residents.”
BAND-NC has supported 29 $5,000 “rapid response community innovation grants” covering 39 counties since the program’s inception, plus a series of workshops led by IEI and BIO to help communities develop digital inclusion plans.
The deadline to apply is Friday, April 30, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
To learn more and apply you can visit iei.ncsu.edu/band-nc
