FundsForLearning.com — Your E-rate Guides

Your E-rate Guides · since 1997

We help schools and libraries get E-rate funding and keep it

Funds For Learning is the nation’s first dedicated E-rate compliance services firm. Our Guides have worked alongside schools and libraries through every funding year since 1997.

6.5M+
Student lives reached
Since 1997
Guiding E-rate applicants
Thousands
of E-rate Manager® users

Students reached through funding secured by FFL-supported applicants · Funds For Learning impact tracking and E-rate Manager® data, 2026

Who we are

A consulting firm that works inside the E-rate program

E-rate discounts internet access and Wi-Fi for schools and libraries, but the discounts come with a year of forms, deadlines, and rule changes. For most people who handle it, E-rate is one task in a full-time job. Keeping up with the program is what we do all day.

We sell no eligible services and hold no SPIN. Our only interest is your funding.

The E-rate process

How the funding year works

Each funding year moves through the same five stages. You certify every form, and we help you prepare it and keep the records behind it.

  1. Form 470

    Competitive bidding

    Announce what you need. Providers have 28 days to bid.

  2. Form 471

    Apply for funding

    Request discounts on the services you selected.

  3. PIA review · FCDL

    Application review

    USAC checks eligibility, then issues a commitment letter.

  4. Form 486

    Receive services

    Confirm services started and CIPA is met.

  5. Form 472 / 474

    Realize the discounts

    On your invoices, or as reimbursement after you pay.

How we work with you at each step

E-rate Manager®

Your E-rate data in one place

E-rate Manager® is our platform for tracking applications, deadlines, and funding data. Applicants use it to stay ahead of every form. Partners and state coordinators use it to see the whole program at once.

  • Track applications and deadlines
  • Monitor Form 470 postings
  • Store documentation by funding year
  • Analyze program-wide data

Explore E-rate Manager

The annual report · 15th edition

The E-Rate Trends Report, now fully digital

A decade of applicant survey data, funding-request analysis drawn from E-rate Manager®, and nearly 400 voices from schools and libraries. Read it online, chart by chart, or download the PDF.

2025 E-Rate Trends Report cover

News

E-rate news and analysis

All news

Talk to a Guide

Tell us where you are in the funding year

Whether you’re filing your first Form 470 or answering a PIA request, a Guide will walk through it with you.

Independent by design

Funds For Learning sells no E-rate eligible services, holds no SPIN, and accepts no payments from service providers tied to their sales to applicants. Our only interest is our clients' funding.

Standard of Conduct