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So, how much grant money has Elevate received and where did we put those dollars in action?
To date, Elevate has received $7,855,007 in grants, and we’ve put those funds to work building our fiber-optic network in some of the most rural places in Montrose and Delta counties. Find out where those dollars went below:
Rural Southwest Montrose (zone Montrose 741): In 2017, Elevate won $634,939 to build our network just outside city limits, southwest of Montrose. You’ll notice that ALL of the areas that have received grant funds are located outside of city limits or have a population of less than 7,500—these are fundamental requirements for almost every grant for which we apply. The funds are specifically earmarked for rural areas!
The Town of Olathe: Olathe was considered to be severely underserved, meaning there wasn’t a universal internet provider offering acceptable speeds to the entire town. In 2017, we were awarded $453,182 to build out our network throughout the Olathe town limits.
The North Fork Valley: Perhaps one THE MOST rugged rural areas we were granted funds for was for a stretch of countryside along CO HWY 133 running from just outside of Hotchkiss to far north of Paonia—such as Pitkin and Stucker Mesas and Stevens Gulch. Here, we were able to put $1,558,071 in grant dollars to work.
Northeast Delta: While Elevate currently has no plans to provide service within the City of Delta because it isn’t part of our parent company’s (DMEA) service territory, we do plan to serve all the rural areas surround Delta. In this case, $1,583,250 in grants is allowing us to serve the homes north and east of Delta.
Southeast Crawford: Yep, we didn’t forget about you, Crawford. Sandwiched between Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and the West Elk Wilderness, Crawford can get, well, forgotten. But not by us! In addition to already providing live service in town, we are also now expanding Elevate’s network to the southeast with a $751,738 grant.
West Spring Creek: Take a straight shot just a few miles west of Montrose on Spring Creek Road and you’ll hit the third area we’re currently building Elevate thanks to a grant—$759,585 in grant dollars to be exact!
North Mesa: The most recent grant we were awarded from the State of Colorado, this $1,431, 083 grant will help Elevate build our network in the rural countryside between Montrose and Olathe along the east side of US HWY 50.
Shavano Valley and Beaver Hill: Earlier this year, we submitted a $1,229,905 request for this rolling valleys south and west of Montrose.
Pea Green: It’s not the first time we’ve submitted the Pea Green area for a grant (we’ve been disappointed more than once). Right now, we’re waiting to hear about our request for a whopping $12,804,810 to build Elevate to the homes and acreages West of Olathe.
Honestly, there’s just too many to list individually and we hate reliving the pain as much as you do. While we’ve received more than $7.8 million to build Elevate and bring high-speed internet to countless families, we’ve also been denied $34,745,568 in requests. These requests included rural areas in both Montrose and Delta counties, from Crawford to Cedaredge and Hotchkiss to Pea Green. If you’ve been following our grant efforts you’ll probably find the following list of denied grants familiar. If not, don’t worry, just skip to the end for the good news:
West Hotchkiss (part of Hotchkiss 67 & 68) = $961,382
Black Canyon (part of Crawford 58) = First try $$1,314,420; 2nd Try $1,509,956
Beaver Hill (part of Montrose 731) = First try $1,229,905, Second Try was the same
Peach Valley (Olathe 148) = $3,000,000
East Mesa (southern half of Delta S 414) = $3,000,000
Pea Green (northern half of Pea Green 128) = $3,000,000
High Mesa (southern half of Pea Green 128) = $3,000,000
Peach Valley (Olathe 148) = $3,000,000
East Mesa (southern half of Delta S 414) = $3,000,000
Pea Green 128 and parts of Delta S 412, Delta S 414, Cedaredge 124 = $10,500,000
That denied number is pretty big, almost defeating one could say. We know we won’t get every grant we apply for, but we won’t give up. Why? Because $7.8 million is pretty big too—because of those funds, thousands of rural families have access to truly high-speed, reliable internet. They can work from home, get an online education, stream movies, listen to music, download assignments, pin their next home renovation project, and live a modern life that’s no longer held back by bad internet. And that, right there, is why we won’t give up.
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