Massachusetts Scores Triple Win in Promise Neighborhood Competition

Today, three Massachusetts organizations representing communities in Lawrence, Boston, and Worcester, were announced as recipients of a  Promise Neighborhoods Plannng Grant as part of a federal initiative to improve the education and development of children in the country’s neediest communities. Funding will support plans for comprehensive “cradle-through-college-to-career” solutions that will significantly improve results for children.  The program is modeled on the success of programs like the Harlem Children’s Zone.

More than 300 communities from 48 states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for Promise Neighborhoods planning grants — a competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions.  21 grantees, including the Community Day Care Center of Lawrence, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston, and United Way of Central Massachusetts in Worcester, will each receive up to $500,000. The Obama administration has requested additional funding of $210 million in the 2011 budget for this program to support implementation efforts and additional planning grants for new communities.

Grants will fund plans to create a “Promise Neighborhood” that the applicant can sustain and “scale up” over time in partnership with other community organizations.  Projects will be monitored by a national evaluator for Promise Neighborhoods; and applicants must identify and describe the indicators that will be used for a needs assessment.

President Obama congratulated the Promise Neighborhood planning grant winners saying “They are galvanizing their communities to help offer our children a pathway out of poverty. The winners announced today will deliver a broad array of services to help all young people thrive academically, earn their high school diploma, go on to college, and reach for their dreams.”