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Act 183 E-Fund Applications Guidelines Available
Message Posted July 18, 2007

To All School E-rate Contacts:

In November 2004, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 183 and included in that legislation was the creation of an annual $10 million E-Fund to assist schools with purchasing telecommunications services, hardware, technical assistance and distance education.  The Pennsylvania Department of Education has just released the E-Fund Grant Guidelines and application for 2007-2008 (please see message below).  The deadline to submit proposals is October 26, 2007 and the anticipated announcement date of E-Fund grant awards will be December 15, 2007.  Several webinars also have been scheduled in August to assist applicants.

Because many of the services eligible for E-Fund reimbursement are also E-rate eligible, you will see that the grant guidelines are written in a manner which will satisfy the requirements of both programs.  Please read the E-Fund grant guidelines closely and if you have any E-rate-specific questions, please feel free to e-mail me at jtschell@comcast.net. If you have E-Fund-specific questions, please submit those questions to RA-Act183@state.pa.us.

-- Julie

-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Brautigam Director, Bureau of Educational Technology
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 2:13 PM
Subject: 2007-08 Act 183 E-Fund eGrants Application Announcement

The guidelines for the 2007-08 Act 183 E-Fund competitive eGrants application are now available for viewing and/or downloading at <http://www.pde.state.pa.us/Act183>.

This year's guidelines and application have minor changes to improve the application process:
- The guidelines are slightly restructured to bring together topical information
- The communications plan section are expanded
- A budget narrative section is added
- Sections are more structured and questions within the application are more explicit
- Once again, the guidelines include a copy of the actual grant application
 
No uploads will be permitted in the application. Applicants are required to submit two CDs, postmarked by October 26, 2007, and mailed with return receipt to:

E-Fund Attachments
Kathleen Brautigam
PDE - Bureau of Educational Technology
333 Market Street, 14th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
 
Required CD contents:
- Copy of each RFP submitted, including any addenda (PDF format)
- Network security diagram (PDF format)
- Network diagram (PDF format)
- E-Fund Grant Technology Survey (Excel spreadsheet)
- NOTE: the name of the lead applicant must be on the label of the CDs
 
Projected Timeline:
- July 18: The E-Fund eGrants application opens
- October 26th, 2 PM EST: Grant application closes
- November: Review/score grant applications
- December 15: Announcement of grant awards on December 15th
 
Webinars will be held on the following dates and times:
- August 16, 10 AM TOPIC:  eRate and E-Fund
- August 23, 2 PM TOPIC: E-Fund New Guidelines and the application process
- August 30, 2 PM TOPIC: Previously Awarded E-Fund Multi-Year Applicants
 
If you have any questions, please contact us at: RA-Act183@state.pa.us.