The tenth round of Designation Renewal System (DRS) grant opportunities were forecasted on grants.gov in July and were expected to open for competition in September. Grants.gov has been updated to reflect a new timeline. The estimated posting date for Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) is November 22, 2021. Applications are estimated to be due on January 21, 2022.
Head Start/Early Head Start grants are forecasted in 10 states and Puerto Rico. States include California, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.
Specific service areas up for competition within each state can be found on the Office of Head Start (OHS) Funding Opportunities website. This includes a list of funding forecasts, with service areas, funding amounts, and estimated number of awards per grant competition.
The timeline for DRS grant competitions is approximately 8.5 weeks. This is a typical turnaround time for OHS grant applications. However, this timeline is uniquely positioned to start during the week of Thanksgiving and extend across multiple holidays. We recommend getting an early start on your application planning. Map out roles and responsibilities of your grant writing team. Build a timeline before the FOA is released so that expectations are clear and be sure to note when team members may be unavailable due to time off during the holidays.
If your program is feeling stretched by the upcoming DRS timeline, we may be able to help with customized services at the beginning, middle, and end of your grant writing process.
Beginning: Foundations for Families offers services to help programs get ready for a competitive grant. Every competitive grant application has required criteria and having data at your fingertips will help your program respond to those criteria. We can help your program to gather data you will need – for example, estimated numbers of eligible children (income-eligible, children in foster care, children experiencing homelessness, children receiving public assistance) and children with disabilities.
Middle: Before submitting your application, Foundations for Families team members can conduct detailed technical and content reviews of your proposal and provide feedback aligned to the grant requirements and evaluation criteria. The purpose of this Quality Assurance Review is to strengthen your application’s compliance and competitiveness.
End: The importance of timely and accurate data entry and submission of application components in grants.gov cannot be underestimated. When submission through grants.gov is required, Foundations for Families is available to provide step by step support through this final stage in the application process. Grants.gov Submission Support will ensure your program’s application is submitted according to all grant requirements.
Leveraging the time between now and when DRS FOAs are released will help to support a smooth and successful grant writing process. If your program needs assistance preparing for or submitting your grant proposal, please contact us.
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