Published: September 18, 2021

WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE TENNESSEE OPPORTUNITY PILOT INITIATIVE THE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES IS TAKING A GROUNDBREAKING STEP TO TRANSFORM THE WAY TENNESSEE SERVES ITS MOST VULNERABLE FAMILIES. OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, THIS INITIATIVE WILL PROVIDE UP TO $5 MILLION DOLLARS IN PLANNING GRANTS AND $175 MILLION DOLLARS IN IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS TO FURTHER THE DEPARTMENT’S VISION OF FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING THE WAY GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE IS DELIVERED TO FAMILIES IN TENNESSEE. ACCORDING TO A PRESS RELEASE, THE FIRST PHASE WILL AWARD PLANNING GRANTS OF UP TO $500,000 DOLLARS EACH TO PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS DEDICATED TO DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES THAT WILL MOVE TENNESSEANS WITH ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND DEVELOPMENTAL VULNERABILITIES BEYOND THEIR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND ON TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY. PLANNING GRANTS WILL PROVIDE THE RESOURCES NEEDED FOR GRANTEES TO DEVELOP THEIR VISION, OVERALL DESIGN, BUDGET, AND OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECTS REQUIRED FOR THEIR TENNESSEE OPPORTUNITY PILOT IMPLEMENTATION GRANT PROPOSALS. PLANNING GRANT APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15TH AT 5 PM. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO TN.GOV.