$60 MILLION AVAILABLE IN 2012 PROMISE NEIGHBORHOODS COMPETION

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
2012 Promise Neighborhoods Competition Opens, $60 Million Available to Continue Reform and Award New Planning and Implementation Grants
The U.S. Department of Education released today the 2012 application for the Promise Neighborhoods program, which will provide $60 million to continue support for existing implementation grantees and award a new round of planning and implementation grants.

"The challenges in distressed communities across the country demand innovative and comprehensive solutions that put education at the center," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Promise Neighborhoods is an important investment that helps communities create and execute plans that provide educational, health, and safety services to combat the conditions of poverty and help create greater opportunities for all children."

Nonprofits, institutions of higher education and Indian tribes are invited to apply for funds to develop or execute plans that will improve educational and developmental outcomes for students in distressed neighborhoods.

The Department will provide around $27 million for up to 7 new implementation grants with an estimated first-year grant award of $4 million to $6 million. Implementation grantees will receive annual grants over a period of three to five years. An additional $7 million will fund up to 14 new one-year planning grants with an estimated grant award of $500,000 each. Remaining funds will provide year-two funding to the 5 implementation grantees awarded in 2011.

Promise Neighborhoods grants provide critical support for the planning and implementation of comprehensive services ranging from early learning, K-12, to college and career, including programs to improve the health, safety, and stability of neighborhoods, as well as to boost family engagement in student learning and improve access to learning technology.

The next round of Promise Neighborhoods implementation grants will support communities in their efforts to enlist and coordinate better education, health, and safety services, as well as provide young people the opportunity to be successful in school and everyday life. Specifically, funds can be used to improve learning inside and outside of school, build support staff, secure additional and sustainable funding sources, and establish data systems to record and share the community's development and progress.
As in the 2010 and 2011 competitions, 2012 planning grants will continue to support the creation of plans for providing high-need communities with cradle-to-career services with great schools at the center.

"This next round of Promise Neighborhoods projects will build on the great work of urban, rural, and tribal communities that are taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to improving lives and life outcomes of children and youth," said Jim Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for Innovation and Improvement. "Organizations across the country are developing and implementing innovative solutions from cradle to career—using data not only to identify and address needs, but also to build on the resources and on-going efforts in their communities. We look forward to supporting more Promise Neighborhoods as they strengthen partnerships, develop and implement strategic plans, and continue to put great education opportunities at the center of their efforts."

In fiscal year 2010, the Department launched the first round of the Promise Neighborhoods competition, making available a total of $10 million for 21 planning grants. To date, more than 500 organizations from 48 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico submitted applications. In fiscal year 2011, five communities received the first round of implementation grants and another 15 communities received the second round of Promise Neighborhoods planning grants.

Applications for the third round funds will be due July 27, 2012. Winners will be selected and awards will be made in December 2012. Officials from the Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement will conduct several webinars for potential applicants. All webinars require participants to register in advance. Registration and additional information about the Promise Neighborhoods application and program will be available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/promiseneighborhoods/index.html.
As part of the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, Promise Neighborhoods seeks to align federal funding stream that invest in transforming neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into neighborhoods of opportunity.

President Obama's fiscal year 2013 budget requests $100 million to provide continued funding support to implementation grantees in addition to funding a fourth round of planning grants and a third round of implementation grants.