Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and will be reviewed on a quarterly cycle, as follows:

Amount: Rather than providing monetary awards, this program provides Cisco networking technology and equipment. This program will also provide five years of Cisco’s SMARTnet support service, or a similar service, at no cost.

Equipment requests may be made at the following levels:

The maximum equipment request amount for first-time customized connectivity award applicants is $50,000.

Eligibility: Nonprofits; Applicants may only receive a product donation through this program once per year.

The purpose of this program is to help nonprofit organizations realize significant gains in productivity, scalability, and cost-efficiency through donations of Cisco networking technology and equipment. Ideal applicants will take full advantage of Cisco’s rich asset mix and end-to-end strategic thinking, using technology and ingenuity to bring about order-of-magnitude improvements to their public benefit programs. Smaller organizations may request small awards, which will be managed and fulfilled by the funding agency’s partner, TechSoup. Larger organizations may request customized connectivity awards for specialized equipment not available through TechSoup.

Applicants must focus on at least one of the following social investment areas:

Access to education: creating and deploying technology-based solutions and education delivery models that improve student performance and engagement; the funding agency is particularly interested in supporting: Innovative solutions to increase the capacity of nonprofit organizations to deliver, administer, and track education development more effectively and efficiently

Economic empowerment: encouraging employment success, entrepreneurship, and long-term self-sufficiency by providing access to skills, knowledge, and financial products and services via technology-based solutions; the funding agency is particularly interested in supporting: Programs for underserved populations transitioning from education to the workforce or reentry to the workforce

Critical human needs: overcoming the cycle of poverty and dependence through strategic investments in organizations that successfully address basic needs of underserved communities; the funding agency is particularly interested in supporting: Innovative solutions to increase the capacity of nonprofit organizations to deliver their products and services more effectively and efficiently

Highest priority will be given to applicants that clearly articulate the planned impact of their efforts, as well as the metrics by which the impact is measured.

Applicants seeking monetary awards rather than equipment donations should consult the funding agency’s Global Impact Cash Grants program