Program Guidelines

Cisco offers two types of Product Grants:

1. Small - Mid Sized Standard Product Grants

2. Customized Connectivity Grants

On this page you will also find:

1. General Guidelines

2. Maintenance and Support

3. Registration, Approval, Product Delivery and Deadlines

4. Sales Restrictions for Product Grants

Small - Mid Sized Standard Product Grants support one to several sites. The number of users supported by this grant varies based on several factors.

Small - Mid Sized Standard Product Grants are administered through our Partner, TechSoup. Through TechSoup's intuitive shopping cart system, you can choose from a variety of Cisco networking products. Please note that TechSoupStock does not include Cisco list prices on their site. Instead, they list an administrative fee associated with each bundle or product.

For a list of available products and program restrictions, please visit the Cisco section at TechSoup.

If you require equipment above the TechSoup limit, or if the equipment you require is not offered above, then you should apply for a Customized Connectivity Product Grant.

Customized Connectivity Product Grants are all other grant requests including equipment that exceeds $20,000 list price and/or requests for products not supported at Techsoup such as IP Telephony or Large Campus Switches, etc. The typical Customized Connectivity Product Grant averages $30,000. There is no preset maximum for this type of grant.

Apply now for a Customized Connectivity Product Grant

Following are general guidelines for both Small - Mid Sized Standard Product Grants and Customized Connectivity Grants:

• Grant applications are accepted year-round on an ongoing basis.
• Please note that organizations can typically only receive a product grant for one program per fiscal year. Cisco's fiscal year runs from August 1st - July 31st.
• Organizations that have never been funded by Cisco should not request more than $50,000 of list price Cisco equipment.
• Organizations requesting Voice over IP Telephony must have a Voice certified partner involved in the creation of the requested product list, the network design, installation and ongoing maintenance of the system. This can be a voice certified employee of the organization, or a Cisco Certified Partner. (To find a Cisco Certified Partner, go to the Partner Locater, click Advanced Search, and select "IP Communications" or "IP Communications Express" in the Technology Specialization selector.) Professional installation and ongoing maintenance is REQUIRED for all Voice of IP Telephony product grants. Cisco will not grant funds to pay for the installation or ongoing maintenance. Similar requirements exists for other advanced technologies such as high-end UCS servers.
• 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.

Cisco Product grants include FIVE FREE YEARS of Cisco's "SMARTnet" support service or similar. Your Cisco "SMARTnet" contract entitles you to:

• FREE next day product replacement due to failure (provided that the request is received before 3 p.m. local time)
• FREE 24x7 access to Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) via phone, email or through Cisco.com
• FREE Registered access to Cisco.com and all online service and support tools
• FREE Major and minor maintenance releases of Cisco IOS Software via Cisco.com or media (upon request) for your Cisco product

• Registration: Notification that Cisco received your application will be sent via email within 72 hours. We will not be able to review incomplete applications. If the application is incomplete, it will be returned to you requesting additional information.
• Approval: Once Cisco receives all information required to determine eligibility, Cisco will notify you as soon as possible of either approval or denial.
• Product Delivery: Due to the nature of the network design, product availability and fiscal year schedules, all product donations are subject to change or delay without notice. In most cases products will be delivered within 90 days of date of approval. The Product Grant Program cannot provide specific dates/times for shipment and/or delivery.
• Expediting of Orders: The Product Grant Program cannot expedite order requests for equipment. Please keep this in mind when considering your grant submission, fulfillment and deployment timeline.
• Deadlines: The Product Grant Program accepts proposals on an ongoing, year-round basis. However, grants are reviewed on a quarterly cycle, and a proposal must be submitted within the first 15 days of a quarter to be considered for funding in that cycle. Please refer to the following table for specific dates:
  
  Quarter 1: Aug 2 - Oct 29 (submit by Aug 15 to be reviewed in Q1)
  Quarter 2: Nov 1 - Jan 28 (submit by Nov 15 to be reviewed in Q2)
  Quarter 3: Feb 1 - Apr 29 (submit by Feb 15 to be reviewed in Q3)
  Quarter 4: May 2 - Jul 29 (submit by May 15 to be reviewed in Q4)
  
  Note that applicants must allow at least three months for grant review and product shipments.

Grants that are donated within 6 months of a sale are not considered as a donation by the IRS; instead the IRS considers these products an additional discount to the sale. Therefore, Product Grants cannot be given to organizations that have purchased Cisco equipment within the last six months, or who plan to purchase Cisco equipment within the next six months.