The Virgin Islands Broadband Office (VIBO) is currently soliciting grant proposals for up to $500,000 in funding from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The funding opportunity, which in total exceeds $25 million, is open to a wide range of community focused nonprofit organizations, private sector businesses, and public agencies.
The BEAD grant has the potential to revolutionize how Virgin Islanders work, recreate, and receive vital services. The funding on offer will empower BEAD grantees to support a huge range of internet literacy, and broadband access programs and initiatives that align with the three Notice(s) of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) VIBO released earlier this week. Those NOFOs, entitled: Workforce Development Trainings and Explorations for Broadband, the Community Digital Competency Initiative, and the Economic Transformation Initiative can be viewed online at omb.vi.gov. Applicants are encouraged to review the NOFOs thoroughly for complete instructions regarding eligibility, application submission guidelines, and application scoring criteria.
Deployment of BEAD funds to qualified subgrantees will facilitate workforce development initiatives that will provide Virgin Islanders with marketable skills. The grant is also designed to empower community organizations to revamp their existing facilities with new hardware and technologies with an overall end goal of supporting digital literacy and workforce development.
“Unless the Virgin Islands acts now to make significant investments in creating pathways for our people to empower themselves with critical 21st Century digital literacy skills and access to high-speed broadband internet, we risk consigning them to the wrong side of the digital divide. Everyday we are seeing advances in technology that are changing how businesses operate, and everyday tasks are accomplished. Through the BEAD grant VIBO is working to make sure that employers and employees in the territory have the tools they need to confidently navigate a rapidly evolving world,” Somere Webber, VIBO grants manager said.
VIBO will host an informational BEAD webinar on April 10th, at 4:30 PM. A link to view the webinar will be posted on the agency’s website. If you have any questions regarding the BEAD NOFOs or the evaluation process please submit them in writing via email to bead@omb.vi.gov , with the subject line “Q&A NOFO Workforce Development. BEAD grant proposals are due April 28th, 2025.
For updates or additional information, visit the Agency’s website at https://omb.vi.gov.
