NCSC Has Believed in, Supported FRS Mission from the Beginning

The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) marks its 30th anniversary this year, and in May the NCSC board approved a $30,000 donation to FRS, continuing the legacy of support that has helped finance white papers, research, Congressional tours, education grants and more.

“NCSC is proud to have supported FRS from the beginning, first as the Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC) and today as NCSC,” Senior Vice President and Chief Banking Officer Joel Allen said. “No other organization is telling the rural broadband story like FRS—educating policymakers on the challenges our telco members face by making it possible for them to see first-hand what rural providers experience. We’re proud to help make that happen.”

Established in 1994 as the philanthropic arm of NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, FRS provides scholarships, grants and a variety of educational programs that educate rural youth, encourage community development and introduce policymakers and the public to challenges unique to rural communities. Helping policymakers better understand the impact of rural broadband providers in communities is a shared priority for NCSC and FRS.

“Other than NTCA, RTFC and now NCSC has been our most generous and longest donor,” FRS Executive Director Pam Becker said. “NCSC provides enlightened giving that shows a long-term vision and partnership with FRS. We both want rural communities to thrive.”

The Congressional Broadband Tour is one unique FRS program that NCSC helps support. In August, FRS hosted 21 bipartisan staff members from personal offices and committees in the House and Senate on a 72-hour educational bus tour of southwestern Washington and northwest Oregon. The group visited with seven different NTCA member companies and saw first-hand the challenges their communities overcame to access broadband and also the economic and development triumphs that the connectivity enabled.

In other educational efforts, FRS has recently updated its popular publication that provides a glossary of telecom terms that is valuable for lawmakers and consumers. Other relevant projects in the works include a white paper on the challenges of child care in rural communities and how NTCA members are helping overcome it, and a publication describing the life cycle of the network—from funding, permitting, construction, materials, labor and more, it will tell the story of what it takes to get a community connected.

“FRS is doing great things, which are all made possible through donations, and we look forward to collaborating with NCSC over the next 30 years,” Becker said.