PRWA has been involved with helping several rural communities and counties in eastern Washington obtain funding for broadband projects since shortly after the start of the pandemic. It has also secured nearly $400,000 from the Ballmer Group to provide free technical and application assistance to multiple counties in eastern Washington for Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. We anticipate the BEAD application window opening next month via the State Broadband Office.
We continue to develop our new partnership with the Washington USDA Rural Development (RD) staff, joining a call last week to introduce RD staff to PRWA, what we do and highlighting how we can help connect rural communities with the numerous funding opportunities available through USDA Rural Development. RD staff will help our grant professionals by providing expert consultation and insight about these programs and help us select the best matches for each community.
I am looking forward to attending the second annual Northwest Rural Investment Strategy Summit at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, next week. With over 200 people registered, the number of organizations coming together to help rural communities in Washington and Oregon is eye-popping and exciting! We and our partners will be rolling out the proposed plan for a sustained, coordinated, and more efcient effort to get public and private infrastructure funding to rural communities across the state. I’ll tell you about it in my next note on September 11.
Take care,
Jody
