E-rate & Funding

Secure the funding. Keep the funding.

Independent, vendor-agnostic E-rate guidance for school districts of every size, backed by experience that goes back to 1998.

Plan your next funding year

E-rate is worth millions. One missed step can cost a year of funding.

E-rate can fund a large share of your network and connectivity costs, but the program rewards precision. Deadlines, competitive-bidding rules and review requests leave little room for error. MZG builds compliance into every step, so your applications are ready for review and your projects are ready for audit.

Services

Modular support that meets you where you are.

Quick Assist

A planning calendar, Category One and Two eligibility guidance and documentation templates. Support with FCC Forms 470, 471 and 486, PIA responses and post-commitment changes. Non-discount share planning and invoice method selection (BEAR or SPI).

Site Survey & 3–5 Year Plan

A vendor-agnostic inventory of your network, security, classroom and data center assets; a gap analysis against instructional goals and cybersecurity baselines; and capital and operating forecasts aligned to your Category Two budget and refresh cycles.

RFP Development & Evaluation

RFPs and scoring matrices that make the price of eligible services the highest-weighted factor, fair and open bid management, complete evaluation records and cost allocation for ineligible components.

Project & Vendor Management

Milestone-based implementation oversight, change control, acceptance testing, asset tagging and documentation for audits, and post-installation performance validation.

Safety & Grants Alignment

Prioritize safety initiatives such as access control, mass notification and radios, align them to outside funding, including the COPS School Violence Prevention Program and BJA STOP School Violence grants, and coordinate them with E-rate-eligible network upgrades.

Compliance by design

Built to stand up to review and audit.

Fair and open competitive bidding, with price of eligible services as the highest-weighted factor
Lowest Corresponding Price awareness in every pricing decision
Strict adherence to gift rules, and no arrangements that reduce your non-discount share
Clear role separation: if MZG writes your RFP or specifications, we do not bid as a vendor.
Ten-year document retention, from pre-bid planning through invoicing

Choose the level of help you need.

Sprint

2–4 weeks

Focused help to meet a deadline: a bidding package, a PIA response or an inventory tune-up.

Season

6–9 months

Plan, compete and manage a full funding cycle, from Form 470 through installation oversight.

Multi-Year Partner

3–5 years

A 3–5 year roadmap, annual E-rate cycles and continuous improvement tied to student outcomes.

Track every dollar with E-Rate Tracker.

Our own E-Rate Tracker platform puts funding status, deadlines, bandwidth benchmarks and PIA tracking in one place, on live USAC data.

Visit E-Rate Tracker ↗

Let's plan your next funding year.

MZG is not affiliated with the FCC or USAC and does not guarantee funding awards. Applicants are responsible for their final certifications.