Funding
Grants can accelerate — they’re not required
Most sites start with Overlay — keep cameras and doors, add Care OS + Care sized to campus. Most schools are under ~$3,000/year for Pioneer Care versus roughly $8–15K+/year for a typical cloud stack; larger campuses are sized up and cost more. Overlay includes Cases, Find, Review/rewind, AI alerts, and a locked-down network — video stays on campus (Mini brain + disk sized for 30/60/90 days). Many districts fund that from ops. Grants can offset Overlay (or a later greenfield rebuild when gear is thin) when a window fits. If you want that path: fill a short brief and Pioneer prepares and files. Not a guarantee of award.
Programs we commonly file
Eligibility, match requirements, and windows change. After the brief, we tailor and submit to the live cycles that fit.
| Program | Focus | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| SLCGP State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Program |
Firewalls, network security, cyber hardening | Strong fit for OPNsense, segmentation, Suricata, and monitoring elements of the stack. |
| COPS SVPP School Violence Prevention Program |
Cameras, access control, locks, security hardware | Aligns with Frigate NVR, door hardware, and physical security scope (partner-installed). |
| E-Rate Category 2 | Internal connections — switches, APs, eligible network gear | Can support the switching and cabling that keeps student, staff, and security networks separate. |
| FCC Cybersecurity Pilot | Cybersecurity tools and defenses for eligible schools | Useful when positioning DNS filtering, IDS/IPS, VPN, and monitoring as a coherent local system. |
| STOP School Violence | Prevention, technology, and related school safety measures | May support portions of surveillance, access, and safety technology depending on solicitation. |
How it works: Fill the grant brief. We pull the numbers and narrative from your answers, map line items to the right programs, coordinate install-partner estimates, and apply on your behalf. Where a federal or state portal requires the district as applicant of record, your district stays on the application — Pioneer does the preparation and filing work from the brief.