U.S. Department of Education

Letter of Intent (Optional): Feb 3, 2021
Application: Mar 5, 2021

Adrienne Hawkins
202.453.5638
adrienne.hawkins@ed.gov

Julius C. Cotton
202.245.6288
julius.cotton@ed.gov

The Promise Neighborhoods Program provides grants to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in the most distressed communities. Projects should work to ensure school readiness, high school graduation, and access to a community-based continuum of high quality services.

Projects should serve neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income individuals and multiple signs of distress, which may include high rates of poverty; childhood obesity; academic failure; and juvenile delinquency, adjudication, or incarceration. All strategies must be accessible to children with disabilities and English learners.

The program has 3 funding categories called "absolute priorities."

1. Absolute Priority 1: Non-rural and non-tribal distressed communities
2. Absolute Priority 2: Rural communities
3. Absolute Priority 3: Tribal communities

A list of possible performance indicators is provided in the application instructions. Health-related performance measures include:

• Percentages of children with preventable chronic health conditions
• Immunization rates
• Teen birth rates
• Substandard housing
• Poverty

Applicants will receive competitive preference priority points for:

• Community-level opioid abuse prevention efforts by partnering with an organization that conducts high-quality, community-level activities to prevent opioid abuse
• Spurring investment in Qualified Opportunity Zones
• Applications from new potential grantees
• Evidence-based activities to support academic achievement

Eligible applicants include:

• Institutions of higher education
• Tribes and Tribal organizations
• One or more nonprofit entities working in formal partnership with at least one of the following entities
  • A high need local education agency (LEA)
  • An institution of higher education
  • The office of a chief elected official of a unit of local government
  • A Tribe or Tribal organization

Nationwide

Award ceiling: $6,000,000 per year
Project period: Up to 5 years
Estimated number of awards: 7
Estimated total funding: $36,993,970

Matching funds or in-kind donations are required based on applicant type.

• Non-rural and non-tribal communities: 100%
• Rural communities: 50%
• Tribal communities: 50%

Links to the full announcement and online application process are available through grants.gov. The application instructions will be found on the related documents tab.

While not required, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a notice of intent to apply by email to Adrienne Hawkins by February 3, 2021. The deadline to submit applications is March 5, 2021.

Children and youth · Community and economic development · Families · Health conditions · Human services · Networking and collaboration · Obesity and weight control · Poverty · Schools · Substance use and misuse · Wellness, health promotion, and disease prevention