(a) Contents for an application. An application for funds for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program must consist of the following components:

(1) Project narrative. The project narrative should describe a clearly defined project that best achieves the purposes of the CMC Pilot Program. The project narrative must demonstrate that every project, activity, and cost listed in the application meets the eligible use requirements in § 302.7. The project narrative should include the following information:

(i) Project justification. Please describe the primary goals of your project, a description of the community needs and challenges that your proposed project will address and who will directly benefit from your project, including the institution, the anchor community, students, minority business enterprises and/or tax-exempt non-profit organizations. The HBCU, TCU, or MSI applicant must include the following information (or as much of the information as is reasonably available to the institution), to include any supplementary information to explain the data:

(A) Student population size;

(B) Number and percentage of students that are eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants;

(C) Number and percentage of students that receive other need-based financial aid from the Federal Government, a State, or that institution;

(D) Number and percentage of students that qualify as low-income consumers for the purposes of the program carried out under 47 CFR part 54, subpart E, or any successor regulations;

(E) Number and percentage of students that are low-income individuals as that term is defined in section 312(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(g)); and

(F) Number and percentage of students that have been approved to receive unemployment insurance benefits under any Federal or State law since March 1, 2020.

(ii) Project activities. Please provide details about the specific grant-funded activities you plan to carry out; who will plan, implement, and manage your project, including the lead organization and principal partner organizations; and a project schedule, including significant milestones that describe when and in what sequence your project activities will occur.

(iii) Project results. Please provide a description of your project's intended results and how you plan to evaluate the benefits of your project. Please describe proposed metrics, what data you plan to collect, and the evaluation methodologies.

(2) Project budget. A project budget for all proposed projects and activities to be funded by the grant funds must be reasonable and the allocation of funds must sufficient to complete the tasks outlined in the project narrative. Budget clarity and cost effectiveness are essential. The budget is a description of the resources the applicant proposes to use to complete the project in the time period that the applicant specifies. The budget should include the cost of all items needed to complete the project. The administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements listed in 2 CFR part 200, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, will be incorporated into each award.

(3) Budget narrative. The application must include a budget narrative that clearly relates each of the activities the applicant proposes in the Project Narrative to the relevant section of the Project Budget.

(b) Due dates—application deadline. The applicant must submit the completed application by the application deadline provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, which will be subsequently published by NTIA and publicly accessible at www.grants.gov. Failure to meet the application deadline will generally preclude the applicant from receiving consideration for a grant award.