Program Office: Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII)
CFDA Number: 84.215P (Planning) and 84.215N (Implementation)
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants

The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the FY 2016 Promise Neighborhoods highest rated applications. The Department announced Tuesday, December 20, 2016 that it will fund six organizations for a third round of Promise Neighborhoods implementation grants. Those six organizations include: Berea College, Center for Family Services, Delta Health Alliance, Drexel University, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, and Youth Policy Institute. In Year 1, the Department awarded $32,704,962 to the new cohort of grantees.

Click here to learn more about the 2016 Promise Neighborhoods awardees.

Promise Neighborhoods, established under the legislative authority of the Fund for the Improvement of Education Program (FIE), provides funding to support eligible entities, including (1) nonprofit organizations, which may include faith-based nonprofit organizations, (2) institutions of higher education, and (3) Indian tribes.

The vision of the program is that all children and youth growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to great schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career. The purpose of Promise Neighborhoods is to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in our most distressed communities, and to transform those communities by—

1. Identifying and increasing the capacity of eligible entities that are focused on achieving results for children and youth throughout an entire neighborhood;

2. Building a complete continuum of cradle-to-career solutions of both educational programs and family and community supports, with great schools at the center;
3. Integrating programs and breaking down agency “silos” so that solutions are implemented effectively and efficiently across agencies;
4. Developing the local infrastructure of systems and resources needed to sustain and scale up proven, effective solutions across the broader region beyond the initial neighborhood; and
5. Learning about the overall impact of the Promise Neighborhoods program and about the relationship between particular strategies in Promise Neighborhoods and student outcomes, including through a rigorous evaluation of the program.

In 2010, the Promise Neighborhoods program awarded one-year grants to support the development of a plan to implement a Promise Neighborhood in 21 communities across the country that included the core features described above. At the conclusion of the planning grant period, grantees should have a feasible plan to implement a continuum of solutions that will significantly improve results for children in the community being served.

In 2011, the Department awarded a second round of planning grants and a first round of implementation grants. The five implementation grants and 15 planning grants reached an additional 16 communities throughout the United States in order to help revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods.

In 2012, a third round of planning grants and a second round of implementation grants were awarded. The 7 implementation grants and 10 planning grants reached an additional 11 news communities throughout the country. Promise Neighborhoods is now in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

In subsequent years, contingent on the availability of funds, the Department intends to conduct competitions for new implementation and planning grants. While all eligible entities will be able to apply for implementation grants, eligible entities that have effectively carried out the planning activities described in the Notice Inviting Applications, whether independently or with a Promise Neighborhoods planning grant, are likely to be well positioned with the plan, commitments, data, and demonstrated organizational leadership and capacity necessary to develop a quality application for an implementation grant.

For more information on the Promise Neighborhoods program and to obtain access to tools and resources please go to Promise Neighborhoods