On November 21, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (Outreach Grant Program) and the Your Home, Your Internet (YHYI) Program. YHYI is designed to increase awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) among households receiving federal housing assistance. The Outreach Grant Program, appropriated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is designed to enlist trusted community messengers to develop innovative outreach strategies to reach historically unserved and underserved communities. Grant awards will range from $50,000 to $1,000,000, and county governments are eligible and encouraged to apply. In order to receive funding, applications must be submitted by January 9, 2023.

As of November 28, 2022, 15 million households have signed up for the ACP, yet it is estimated that over 20 million more are eligible yet not enrolled. The Outreach Grant Program allows for trusted local government and community organizations to take an active role in promoting the ACP. Awareness of the ACP and the YHYI Pilot Program is vital to the participation in and success of the ACP consumer benefit.

The FCC has highlighted the following goals for the program:

• To expand and support diverse and impactful outreach efforts nationwide to reach eligible ACP households, including but not limited to people of color, persons with disabilities, persons who live in rural or Tribal areas, and others who are or have been historically underserved, marginalized, or adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality
• To strengthen outreach partners nationwide by empowering them to mobilize people and organizations to help raise awareness about the ACP
• To increase enrollment in the ACP, particularly in areas served by the outreach grants, by underrepresented, underserved, and low-income households

The ACP provides eligible households with up to $30 off their monthly internet service bill or $75 if the household is on tribal lands. It also provides a one-time $100 discount on purchasing a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers. To enroll in the program, households must submit an application to confirm their eligibility and contact their provider to select a plan and have the discount applied to their bill.

Additional information about the ACP and the Outreach Grant Program can be found at FCC.gov. NACo will continue to monitor the Outreach Grant Program and provide updates to counties as needed.