Promise Neighborhoods Program

Rich Wilson
202.453.6709
PromiseNeighborhoods@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, incarceration, or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). 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:

• Strengthening cross-agency coordination and community engagement to advance systemic change
• Promoting equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities
• Being a new applicant

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

Award ceiling: $500,000 per year
Project period: Up to 24 months
Estimated number of awards: 4 - 5
Estimated total funding: $4,000,000

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, application instructions, and online application process are available through grants.gov.