Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): School choice and Improvement Programs (SCIP): Promise Neighborhoods (PN), Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.215N | ED GRANTS 062724 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 062724 001

The Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and its School Choice and Improvement Programs (SCIP), is offering a discretionary grant competition under the Promise Neighborhoods (PN) program, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.215N (Funding Opportunity Number: ED GRANTS 062724 001). The posted description is a high-level synopsis and points applicants back to the official Federal Register notice for the authoritative requirements, including how to apply, what priorities apply, what performance measures will be used, and what pre-application or submission rules must be followed. It also directs applicants to the Department of Education Revised Common Instructions (published December 7, 2022) for the procedural details on obtaining and submitting an application.

At its core, the Promise Neighborhoods program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, and it is designed to produce meaningful, measurable improvements in academic and developmental outcomes for children and youth living in some of the most distressed communities in the United States. The program is framed around a "continuum of solutions" that is community-based, meaning it is not limited to what happens during the school day; it emphasizes coordinated supports that can include school readiness, stronger pathways to high school graduation, and improved access to high-quality services that surround children and families. The communities targeted are those with high concentrations of low-income residents and multiple indicators of distress, which the notice describes as potentially including high poverty, childhood obesity, academic challenges, juvenile delinquency or justice-system involvement (adjudication or incarceration), and adverse childhood experiences. The program also explicitly connects to school improvement efforts under ESEA section 1111(d), meaning it can serve schools engaged in comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) or targeted support and improvement (TSI) activities. An important accessibility requirement is built into the program design: the full set of strategies in the continuum must be accessible to children with disabilities and to English learners.

Eligibility is set by ESEA section 4622 and is structured around a limited set of eligible lead applicants, with an emphasis on formal partnerships. An eligible entity may be (a) an institution of higher education (IHE) as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), (b) an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, or (c) one or more nonprofit entities that are working in a formal partnership with at least one of the following: a high-need local educational agency (LEA), an IHE, the office of a chief elected official of a unit of local government, or an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization. In practice, this means a nonprofit cannot apply in isolation; it must be able to document a formal partnership arrangement with at least one of the specified public or educational partners (or tribal entities), reflecting the program expectation that Promise Neighborhoods work is cross-sector and anchored in local systems.

For nonprofits, the notice also highlights how an organization may document nonprofit status under 34 CFR 75.51. Acceptable documentation can include: proof of current IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization with tax-deductible contributions; certification from a state taxing body or the state attorney general verifying nonprofit operation and that no net earnings benefit private individuals; a certified copy of incorporation (or similar organizing document) that clearly establishes nonprofit status; or documentation applicable to a parent organization along with a statement confirming the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate. This is included because nonprofit status is often a threshold eligibility item, and the Department wants applicants to use documentation that meets federal grant rules.

Key administrative details included in the opportunity summary are the closing date and award information. Applications are due by September 10, 2024. The award ceiling listed is $500,000, and the Department anticipates making about 5 awards. The funding instrument is a grant, the opportunity category is discretionary, and it falls under the education funding activity category. The eligible applicant types shown in the listing are broad (including various levels of government, public and private IHEs, tribal governments and organizations, and nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status), but applicants should rely on the specific eligibility language in ESEA section 4622 as reiterated in the notice, since that statutory framing controls who can be the eligible entity and what partnership conditions apply.

Overall, this competition is geared toward place-based initiatives that can demonstrate a coherent plan to improve outcomes for children and youth in highly distressed neighborhoods by aligning schools, community organizations, and local leadership around a shared set of services and supports. Because the synopsis repeatedly emphasizes that the Federal Register notice is the official source, any prospective applicant would need to review that notice closely for the required application components, allowable activities, selection criteria, any competitive preference priorities, and the performance reporting expectations tied to Promise Neighborhood outcomes.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): School choice and Improvement Programs (SCIP): Promise Neighborhoods (PN), Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.215N" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.215.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for ED GRANTS 062724 001

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: