FOCUS Broadband Grants for Education
As a cooperative, FOCUS Broadband is dedicated to helping improve the communities we serve. Each year, FOCUS Broadband awards $40,000 to educators that are making a difference in the lives of students in our area through our Smart Connections Grant Program. We’ve awarded more than $925,000 in community and education grants since the program’s inception in 2006. For more information regarding the grants program, email grants@focusbroadband.com.
The application window is now closed. Applications for the 2025 grant program will reopen later this year.
Read Guidelines, Criteria & Exclusions
Guidelines/Criteria
- Smart Connections grants must directly benefit residents in areas served by FOCUS Broadband.
- Maximum request is $2,500.
- Funds are disbursed for single-use and must be expended within one year of receipt.
- Grants are open to nonprofit/educational organizations or educators in FOCUS Broadband’s service area or one in another county offering a program benefiting local residents. 100% of the funds must be used to benefit residents in FOCUS Broadband's service area.
- An organization may apply once per 12-month period.
Exclusions
Grant funds will not be available for the following: religious organizations or activities, political organizations or activities, capital campaigns, individuals, beauty pageants, scholarships; advertising, fraternal organizations, sponsorship of fund-raising events (such as raffles, auctions, walk-a-thons or telethons); general operating funds, payments to individuals for services, endowments and labor organizations. In addition, grants will not be issued to groups or organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, age, disability or status as a protected veteran.
Inquiries
Inquiries regarding the FOCUS Broadband Education Grant should be directed to:
FOCUS Broadband Grants
PO Box 3198
Shallotte, NC 28459
Email: grants@focusbroadband.com
2024 Education Grant Recipients
Bolivia Elementary School – Ozobots:
Incorporating STEAM into Everyday Learning (Varnam)
East Robeson Primary School – Multimodal English Language
Learning Through Early STEAM Solutions (Sipacio)
Southside Ashpole Elementary School – Stem Labs (McGirt)
Union Elementary School – Stem (Crozier)
Union Elementary School – Reading Without Barriers (Robertson)
Union Elementary School – Bilingual Preschool Story Hour (Hummel)
Waccamaw School – Botlit Adventures (Oxendine)
Williams Township School – Collaborating Comics Come Alive! (Trost)
Nakina Middle School – Nakina Middle Chromebook Service (Tyree)
Shallotte Middle School – STEAM Ahead! (Jennings)
South Brunswick Middle School – The Microscopic Universe (Haum)
Town Creek Middle School – Stewards of Our Watersheds (Stiller)
North Brunswick High School – Science is Fun! (Jones)
South Brunswick High School – Let’s Lab! Probes for Chemistry (Sellers)
West Brunswick High School – Principles of Bioscience (Gerald)
Brunswick Early College High School – Refrigerator for Early College Lab (Fisher)
Brunswick County High Schools – BCS FIRST Robotics Team (McKenzie)
Southeastern Community College – Youth Small Business Pitch Contest (Young-Jacobs)
