RFA - Early Literacy Success Community Grants

The Oregon Department of Education is seeking grant applications for the Early Literacy Success Community Grants program, designed to expand and enhance early literacy initiatives for children in pre-kindergarten through third grade. The Request for Application (RFA) invites community-based organizations, early learning hubs, post-secondary institutions, public libraries, and early learning service providers to submit comprehensive proposals for culturally and linguistically responsive literacy programs. Key deliverables include implementing high-dosage tutoring programs, providing professional training for staff, and fostering authentic family and caregiver engagement. Applicants must develop detailed project plans that outline specific activities, milestones, and objectives across a two-year implementation period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027. The evaluation criteria will assess applications based on alignment with initiative goals, community needs, staffing capacity, program design, family engagement strategies, tutoring approaches, and equity considerations. The application deadline is May 15, 2025, at 5:00 p.m., with a pre-application conference scheduled for April 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Prospective applicants must submit comprehensive documentation, including project activity tables, budgets, and evidence of program eligibility.

Eligible organizations include community-based organizations, early learning hubs, public libraries, post-secondary educational institutions, and early learning service providers, with a focus on serving historically disadvantaged student populations. The grant program has specific restrictions on fund usage, limiting direct administrative costs to 10% of the total grant amount and providing varying indirect cost rates based on organization type (5% for school districts and educational service districts, up to 15% for community-based organizations). The maximum award per grantee is $1,000,000, with funding contingent upon authorization by the 2025 Oregon Legislative Assembly and derived from student investment accounts. Organizations must complete a Recorded Program Eligibility Questionnaire and provide comprehensive insurance coverage, including Workers' Compensation, Commercial General Liability, Physical Abuse and Molestation coverage, Automobile Liability, and Directors and Officers Liability. The Oregon Department of Education reserves the right to award grants based on regional representation and overall application quality, with the ultimate goal of expanding literacy resources statewide and supporting students' academic and cultural development.