RIHousing: Request for Proposals: Bridging the Digital Divide

Application Deadline: March 12, 2021 at 3:00 pm

RIHousing seeks proposals from eligible applicants to propose innovative and long-term sustainable projects to increase internet access for low- and moderate-income households. High-speed internet is increasingly considered a basic necessity for employment, education, and day-to-day tasks, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote work and school. However, many low- and moderate-income households cannot access high-speed internet at home.

RIHousing recognizes that high-speed internet access is now considered a key utility and seeks proposals that will provide low-and-moderate income Rhode Island residents with free or low-cost long-term access to the internet through one of the following:

• Creating infrastructure needed for internet access
• Providing free or low-cost WiFi for people in their homes

Partnerships, pilot projects, out of the box thinking and replication of successful projects from across the country are strongly encouraged.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Non-profit and for-profit organizations, public housing authorities, municipalities, faith-based organizations and community housing development organizations are eligible to apply.

FUNDING AVAILABLE AND GRANT TERMS

A total of $250,000 is available in funding. The maximum award per grant is $75,000. The grant term is one year.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Proposals are due by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2021. Proposals must be submitted via email to swasserman@rihousing.com in Adobe PDF format or Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel).

No proposals, including electronic submissions, will be accepted after 3:00 PM on Friday, March 5, 2021.

All questions must be submitted via email to swasserman@rihousing.com. All answers will be posted on www.rihousing.com/rfps-rfqs/.

Complete details are found in the RFP (click here).

Courtesy of RIHousing