Happy New Year! Not the January kind. As of July 1, Funding Year 2026 is officially underway, and that makes this the real start of the year for E-rate applicants.
Right now, most schools and libraries are focused on putting FY2026 services and equipment into place. That’s the right priority. But here’s what the applicants who have the smoothest E-rate years tend to do: they work across three funding years at once. They’re wrapping up FY2025, managing FY2026, and already looking toward FY2027.
Here is what that looks like in practice.
Don’t forget about Funding Year 2025
As your attention shifts forward, FY2025 still has open items that can cause headaches later if they slip. Before you move on, take time to:
- Confirm all eligible services have been delivered and invoiced correctly.
- Make sure projects are progressing as expected and will wrap up by the delivery deadline. If they won’t, you may need an extension.
- Watch your invoicing deadlines. There is typically one in October and one in January. Review your individual Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) to confirm the Last Date to Invoice (LDI) that applies to you.
- Save all proper documentation, including invoices.
- Maintain documentation related to competitive bidding, contracts, invoices, and funding requests.
- Identify whether a Form 500 or a service substitution is needed to make changes to an FRN.
Close out cleanly now, and small issues won’t turn into bigger problems down the road.
Funding Year 2026: determining funding and securing your discounts
With FY2026 live, now is the time to take the next step in the process:
- If you have FY2026 requests still in review, keep monitoring them, and ask for status updates on stalled applications on a regular basis.
- Review your Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FCDLs) for accuracy as they arrive.
- Work with your service providers to keep approved projects on schedule.
- Gather and save all documentation tied to your FY2026 filing: bidding documents, contracts, vendor communications, and more.
- Track any delays or changes to your approved services or equipment, and submit substitutions and Form 500s as needed.
Good records all year keep you compliant and make any future audit far easier to handle.
It’s time to start thinking about Funding Year 2027
FY2027 may feel far away, but the projects that go smoothly tend to start early, especially network upgrades and large infrastructure work. A few things worth doing now:
- Evaluate current needs and future priorities.
- Check your remaining Category Two budget and make a plan for it.
- Start procurement planning before the bidding window opens.
That last point is the big one. Our companion piece, Preparing for FY2027: Why Planning Starts Now, walks through why early planning protects your funding and your timeline.
Why look ahead
FY2026 is officially underway, but the most prepared applicants are already looking toward FY2027. Take time now to close out FY2025, review budgets, and start procurement planning, and you set your school or library up for the years ahead.
As always, our GuideTeams are here to help you through FY2025 closeout, FY2026 implementation, and FY2027 planning.
Want a clear plan for all three funding years? Register for the July 9 My E-rate Guides (MEG) webinar, where our Guides walk through FY2025 closeout, FY2026 deployment, and FY2027 planning. Register here.
About the Author: Michelle Jackson is an E-rate Guide at Funds For Learning. She lives in the Oklahoma City metro with her husband, two kids, and three cats, and gardens when she is not celebrating the new Funding Year.
