Eligibility & Policies

We give highest priority to proposals that clearly articulate the planned impact of their efforts, as well as the metrics by which the impact is measured.

Before beginning the application process, please review these basic eligibility criteria with care:

• Organizations within the United States (U.S.) must be recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and classified by the IRS as a public charity.
• Organizations outside the United States (U.S.) must (a) provide information and documents to determine whether the organization is the equivalent of a U.S. public charity, or (b) agree to sign and comply with an expenditure responsibility contract. Cisco will determine whether (a) or (b) is appropriate for a particular organization.
• Organizations must serve the community at large.
• PGP does not fund organizations or projects whose general operating overhead expenses exceed 25%.
• PGP generally does not fund programs or organizations that re-grant or loan funds.
• PGP does not fund programs which require exposure, adherence to, or conversion to any religious doctrine in order to be a beneficiary of the program. See our Policy on Religious Proselytizing for details.

Grant applications are accepted year-round on an ongoing basis. However, grants submitted after May 1 of the current fiscal year may not be fulfilled during that fiscal year. (Cisco's fiscal year ends annually on July 31.) Applicants must allow at least three months for grant review and product shipments.

We specialize in partnering with community organizations around the world who are working in one of the three funding areas listed above. Together, we build public benefit programs that make innovative use of the Internet and of communications technology. Our ideal grantees take full advantage of Cisco's rich asset mix and end-to-end strategic thinking, using technology and ingenuity to bring about order-of-magnitude improvements in their programs' scalability, replicability, sustainability, cost efficiency, and overall productivity.

We are most interested in organizations that effectively use technology to:

• enhance their ability to address their mission or the mission of other nonprofits (missions will generally fall within one of the three funding areas listed above);
• realize productivity improvements enabling them to serve more clients at similar costs and/or provide additional services at similar costs; and/or
• reduce the "digital divide," i.e. provide technology access for those who normally don't receive access, or help other nonprofits bring network access to low income people.

Cisco PGP seeks applicants who can qualify and quantify the benefits derived from their grant. Specifically, there are three key areas of success whose measurements we require for every application:

• Operational Success: Measurements in this category would demonstrate that the operations of your organization would markedly improve as a result of the grant. This could mean:
  • A decrease in the inputs needed for your operations to deliver the same or higher level of service. Some examples include hours needed to perform routine tasks, personnel costs, including FTE wages, consulting fees, or other expenditures relevant to your organization. Note that this could mean a decrease of down/idle time as well.
  • An increase in the outputs of your organization with the same or lower amount of inputs. This could be the number of clients served, or units of service delivered, or a broadening of geographic scope.
  The above data can often be easily converted to cost savings and increased revenues. As a result, PGP can see the efficiency and productivity gains in your operations.
• Mission Success: Measurements for mission success would show that because of the grant, your organization can increase its reach and impact. This could be shown by:
  • An increase in the number of services you provide to your existing customers, which was constrained due to the lack of technological capacity. This could be a new program or the expansion of an existing program for that population.
  • An increase in the types of customers that you serve, which could not be done without better or new equipment. This could be extending an existing program to a previously underserved set of clientele.
  • An increase in the quality of your services, which was suboptimal due to aging or unreliable equipment. You should be able to quantifiably define the potential scale of improvement as a result of the grant.
• Technology Success: Measurements for technology success would come in the form of the technology benefits derived from the equipment. Some indicators would include enhanced security, newfound scalability, or improved reliability of communications within your organization, or with your partners and other stakeholders. You can also describe related technological enhancements as a result of the grant.

In general, the larger the requested grant amount, the more measurements you will need to provide. Refer to the Programs/Guidelines section for additional information on how to apply.

Please note that requests for Voice over IP products or other advanced technologies will not be considered unless the organization has a Cisco-certified (on this technology) individual to do the installation and maintenance of the products donated, either in-house or via a Cisco partner. You should also be prepared to provide details on the level of support they are going to provide during and after the grant, as it is required by the Product Grant Program that advanced technologies be supported by certified technicians.

Cisco will not grant requests for over $50,000 (list price) of equipment to organizations which we have never funded.

Cisco is a green company. Donated Cisco products that are no longer useful or have reached their end of life can be returned through Cisco's Product Takeback and Recycle program.

We cannot consider incomplete proposals or programs/projects that fall outside our funding priorities. In addition, proposals in the following areas are not eligible.

• Individuals are not eligible. (Program is open to organizations only.)
• Proposals that fall outside our stated funding areas
• Start-up/new nonprofits (i.e. those with less than one year of successful operations)
• Multi-year grants
• Proposals in combination or in support of a product sale’
• Incomplete/inaccurate proposals
• Schools & scholarships:
  • Public schools or school systems
  • Private schools
  • Charter schools
  • School foundations
  • Booster clubs or other fundraising organizations affiliated with particular school(s)
  • Colleges/universities
  • Scholarships/stipend programs of any kind
• Libraries
• Museums
• Hospitals

Cisco Systems and the Cisco Foundation do not promote or discriminate against any person, population group, or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable United States law, as well as other categories identified by Cisco in alignment with our own Human Resources policies. These include, but are not limited to race, color, religion, sex, gender expression, physical appearance, language, education background, national origin, age, disability, and veteran status.

Cisco Systems and the Cisco Foundation seek to support public benefit organizations that are substantially in alignment with our non-discrimination policy. Organizations that are found to discriminate in their provision of services and/or their hiring practices based on any of these or other criteria may be deemed ineligible for funding support and/or required to return any grant awards, and may be rendered ineligible for future support.

Cisco is committed to providing an open, diverse, and nondenominational working environment. We will not support any program which requires exposure, adherence to, or conversion to any religious doctrine in order to be a beneficiary of the program. To clarify, a direct service program run by a faith-based organization may be eligible, provided that the program's beneficiaries are not encouraged or required to learn about, adhere to, or convert to that organization's religious doctrine as a condition of receiving service from the program.

It is our mission to fund nonpartisan service organizations that adhere rigorously to fundamental human rights principles. We do not knowingly support grantee organizations that endorse, support, or promote violence, terrorist activity, or related training, whether through their own activities or indirectly through their support of, support by, or cooperation with, other persons and organizations engaged in such activities. We require our grantees to confirm that they do not engage in or support such activities, and we vet potential grantees with care. If a grantee appears to be in violation of this policy, we will suspend funding immediately and require the grantee to freeze grant funds until we have investigated the matter. If our investigation discloses violations of this policy, we will require the grantee to return all grant funds; we will classify the grantee as ineligible for future funding; and we will take such other steps as the law may require.

Cisco's policy with respect to providing grant support to organizations that engage in advocacy and/or lobbying is subject to our diversity policy. This policy states that Cisco does not promote or discriminate against any person, population group, or organization with regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other categories protected by applicable United States law. In accordance with this policy, Cisco will not provide grant support to any organization that advocates or lobbies against any such protected category.

Furthermore, in order to avoid actual or apparent preferences for any protected or non-protected category over another, Cisco may reject grant support to any organization that lobbies or advocates for or against any single person, population group, organization, or cause/issue (e.g., political position, policy, law/legislation, etc.).

In addition, grantees that are classified as charitable organizations under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code must certify to Cisco that they comply with applicable law regarding limits on their lobbying activity and that they do not engage in prohibited electioneering activity. Finally, Cisco does not permit its grant funds to be applied to any individual program of a grantee that involves any type of lobbying or other political activity.

Note: "Lobbying" is defined in Section 4945(e) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code to mean attempts to influence legislation through grassroots lobbying of the public or direct lobbying of government officials. Certain exceptions exist (e.g., for nonpartisan analysis or invited testimony). "Legislation" includes all matters that may be voted upon by the U.S. Senate or House of Representations, a state legislature, a local city or county council, an Indian tribal body, or a legislative body in a foreign nation, including votes taken by a committee of such body. Such matters may include votes to approve executive or judicial appointments of public officials as well as new laws or repeal of existing laws. "Legislation" also includes laws voted upon by the people in an initiative, referendum or other vote taken within a national, state, or local area.

"Political" refers to any payment made or action taken, directly or indirectly, to influence the outcome of any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for elective public office, including oral or written statements. Such activity is prohibited for tax-exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

We require applicants to certify that the chairperson or at least one officer of the organization's Board of Directors has reviewed the grant proposal and that the organization's board is aware of the application and supports its submission. We also require applicants to certify the accuracy of the proposal and to confirm that the organization complies with the policies stated on this web site.

All applicants are subject to reviews of their representations in their grant applications, their compliance with the policies stated above, and, if applicable, their adherence to the terms of the grant contract. If such a review reveals significant inaccuracies or violations of the policies stated above, or if an organization does not cooperate with the review, the organization may be required to return any granted assets and forfeit future funding eligibility.

Grantee organizations are required to sign a donation agreement electronically before donations can be delivered.

We look for grant proposals in which concrete measures of success can be used to assess performance. Organizations that receive funding will be required to use our online grant platform to customize performance metrics for their project and measure their progress over the life of the grant award. Meaningful participation in this process is a requirement for continued funding eligibility.

Please be sure you have reviewed the most recent criteria available on this website, and that you are using our online application form. We regret that we cannot accept legacy paper forms. Application guidelines and requirements are subject to change without notice, and become effective immediately upon posting to this web site. The interpretation and application of these policies is wholly within the discretion of Cisco and the Cisco Foundation. Furthermore, all grants are made at the discretion of Cisco and the Cisco Foundation. Qualification under the policies listed above does not entitle an organization to receive a grant. We reserve the right to decline to make any grant requested.