Financial Assistance
In need of financial assistance with internet expenses to aid in attending sprints / furthering your Salesforce education / career? The following is information on the (US) government program Affordable Connectivity Program. More info on the program here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/?utm_source=getinternet.gov.
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides eligible households $30 per month off their internet bills. To deliver maximum cost savings to families, the Biden-Harris Administration has secured commitments from 20 leading internet providers to offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month. Eligible families who pair their ACP benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed internet at no cost.
To qualify, you must meet one of the three qualifications listed below:
1. Your income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (see chart below)
2. You or someone in your household participates in one of these other programs:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps
- Medicaid
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA)
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
- Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools
- Federal Pell Grant (received in the current award year)
- Lifeline
- Certain Tribal assistance programs, including Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Head Start (only households meeting the income qualifying standard), Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF), and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
3. You meet the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income program.
- On the website (https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/?utm_source=getinternet.gov), where you can fill out the form to qualify either through an existing government assistance program that you or someone in your household currently particpate in, or by providing your household income.
- Download and fill out either the English Application (English Application Instructions) or the Spanish Application (Spanish Application Instructions).
- Sign up through your existing internet service provider if it participates in the program. Participating companies may ask you to apply through their company’s own application process.
- Once your application is approved, contact a participating internet service provider (there are 20) to choose a plan and apply your benefit to that plan (Comcast, AT&T and Verizon (FIOS) all particpate in this program, among several others). You can also search for a list of providers near you using this link: https://acpbenefit.org/companies-near-me/ to find a company near you to apply your benefits - though only 20 providers have committed to $30 or less for services.
If anyone needs help filling out the form, just DM Brie on twitter: https://twitter.com/BrieCodes.
Salesforce Trailblazer Scholarship
This scholarship is currently closed, but keep an eye on the space (bookmarking it would be very useful) as it may open up again this year. Eligible applicants must be U.S. residents who either:
- Have been impacted professionally by the Covid-19 pandemic and hold at least 6-12 months work experience as a consultant, developer, or admin in the Salesforce ecosystem, -OR-
- Are graduates of a nonprofit workforce development program committed to training Salesforce talent from underserved communities or groups underrepresented in technology.
Applicants must also complete the Be a Trailblazer trailmix as well as the trailmix associated with preferred course selection.