Other Fundraising and Discount Strategies
Where can I find information on other fundraising strategies?
Target – Take Charge of Education – http://www.target.com
Upromise Schools Program – http://www.upromise.com/schools
Cartridges for Kids – http://www.cartridgesforkids.com
Though not technically a fundraising resource, this site offers a range of free teaching and learning resources – http://www.free.ed.gov/
How can my school save money on telecommunications and technology?
(This section is excerpted from NYC Center for Charter School Excellence - Government Grants Guidebook, March, 2006)
What is the E-rate program?
The E-Rate program is a federal grant program administered by the Schools & Library Division (SLD) of the Federal Communications Commission. Consumers and businesses pay a tax, the Universal Service Access Fee, on their regular phone bills, and this money is used to provide discounts to assist schools and libraries in obtaining affordable telecommunications and Internet access. Discounts range from 20% to 90% of the costs of eligible services, depending on student poverty levels and the urban/rural status of the population served. Eligible schools may apply individually or as part of a consortium.
Which services are eligible for E-rate subsidies?
E-rate supports connectivity only – schools are responsible for providing additional resources such as the end-user equipment (computers, telephones, and the like), software, professional development, and the other elements that are necessary to realize the objectives of that connectivity. The E-rate program can also benefit individual charter schools by covering a school’s phone bill by 90%. Services that are eligible for E-Rate subsidies include, but are not limited to:
- Local and long distance telephone service
- Data lines or Wide Area Network charges, if you have more than one school location
- Staff cell phones and service, and pagers
- Internet Access
- Installation and monthly fees
- Staff and student email programs
- Internal Connections (Note: Internal Connections funding is available only for two years of any five year period)
- Local Area Network, including routers and switches
- Telephone Switching Systems
- Web and Email servers
How do I apply for the E-rate?
E-Rate follows an annual July-June funding cycle and has a multi-part application process. The process begins in the fall for the following funding year. Note: Before making the commitment to apply for E-Rate funding, please consider that E-Rate is a time-consuming, bureaucratic, and confusing program. In addition to the many forms that must be filled out (including Forms 470, 471, 472, 479, 486, and 500), applicants may run into service eligibility and discount rate issues and must contend with long lead times, competitive bidding procedures and a strict application review process. Before discounts are provided to applicants, an SLD-certified technology plan approver must approve their technology plans (see below). Applicants can locate SLD-certified approvers by contacting E-Rate Central by e-mail (service@e-ratecentral.com) or fax (516-832-2877). Applicants who seek discounts only for basic local and/or long distance telephone services (wire- line or wireless) need not prepare technology plans.
Where can I learn more about E-rate subsidies?
E-Rate General Information: http://www.sl.universalservice.org; http://www.sl.universalservice.org/data/pdf/ERate_Discounts.pdf
Forms: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp
Telephone: 1-888-203-8100
Fax: 1-888-276-8736
E-mail: question@ universalservice.org
Weekly news (via e-mail): http://www.e-ratecentral.com/regNews.asp (subscription form)
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