1. Greeting
Mark Kurtz, Senior Business Project Manager, Elevate
Elevate, based in Montrose, Colorado
Wholly owned subsidiary of Delta-Montrose Electric Assn
2.5 years, approaching 1,000 miles of fiber plant including our Middle Mile, 6200 internet subscribers, phone subscribers and 500 video subscribers

2. Colorado’s Broadband Fund Grant Recipients
Experiences & Lessons Learned
COOP’s are rural, non-profits:
Lack of density drive costs up, making per home passed costs high
Economy:
Region 10’s white paper... Coal mines closing in Paonia, etc. First Gig town on Western slope. Very few homes left in Paonia for sale now, etc.
A combination of coop funds, City Funds, Country funds, DOLA funds, DORA funds... Can create an unbeatable combination to drive technology into rural settings.
DORA Staff:
Jordan Beezley and Brian Martin are wonderful to work with.
Limited funds:
Funds typically limited to ~ $5MM per cycle.
Be strategic in how you approach your grant application based on this
Compliance:
Do Not spend dollars until you have a full signed contract with the state
Keep impeccable records to aid in getting reimbursed
COOP’s are very rural, member owned, non-profits – grants make high cost build outs possible
State grants received in DMEA’s service territory have bolstered the economy –Region 10 white paper, the results are undeniable
DORA, DOLA & OIT staff’s are wonderful – Use them as an application resource
Funds are limited, applications are many, so be strategic when applying
If awarded, grant compliance isn’t difficult, but will take some effort

3. Tell a story “
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
- African Proverb

4. QUESTIONS?
elevateinternet.com