Back to the program! We are picking up where we left off with the step-by-step posts about the application process. The last few posts were about the receipt acknowledgement letter (RAL), how to make changes to your funding request, and what changes you can’t make right away.
In addition to blank National School Lunch Program (NSLP) information from your local school district, libraries’ discount calculations may be incomplete for a different reason.
Now that the filing window for schools and school districts is over (and their discount rates are locked in to EPC), their information should be available to use for library and consortium discount calculations.
But some library and consortium applicants might discover that their discount rates are still partially blank (incomplete). Today we’ll talk about how to find out if that’s the case for your application, and what to do if it is.
The Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program releases its funding decisions in “waves,” groups of applications that are approved weekly. Today, the program announced its first wave for Funding Year 2016 (July 2016 to June 2017): Wave: FY2016 Wave #1 (issued June 16, 2016) Applications approved: 2,251 Amount committed: $17M+ Service types: All Discount…
This is the first time the program has offered a separate, longer window for library and consortium applicants. Here are some frequently asked questions about the “second window” for libraries and consortia:
No. Just because you apply later does not mean your application will go later in the queue. Every application submitted “in-window,” whether it was the “first window” or the “second window,” will be considered equally. Funding commitments will not be delayed as long as the library/consortium application is submitted by July 21.
This year, the E-rate Program application filing window for library and consortium applicants is longer than the filing window for schools.
