Funding Opportunity for Citizenship Education

Subject: RE: DHS Announces Funding Opportunities to Benefit Immigrant Populations

Subject: DHS Announces Funding Opportunities to Benefit Immigrant Populations

References: Federal funding opportunities; ESL; public libraries, WIOA Title II  goal of “assisting immigrants and other individuals who are

English language learners in (i) reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension skills in English; and (ii) mathematics skills; and (B) acquiring an understanding of the American system of Government, individual freedom, and the responsibilities of citizenship.”

From grants.gov.  From DHS:

Funding Opportunity Number

Opportunity Title

Agency

Posted Date ↓

Close Date

DHS-16-CIS-010-001

FY 2016 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program: Citizenship Instruction (1 million reserved in funding)

Office of Procurement Operations - Grants Division

03/02/2016

04/22/2016

DHS-16-CIS-010-002

FY 2016 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program: Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services (9 million reserved in funding)

Office of Procurement Operations - Grants Division

03/02/2016

04/22/2016

Excerpts:

The goal of the Citizenship Instruction grant is to provide support to community-based organizations in their efforts to establish new citizenship instruction programs or expand the quality and reach of existing citizenship instruction programs. Through this funding, USCIS will fund community-based organizations striving to professionalize and increase services to immigrants in the area of citizenship instruction. Verifiable experience in the provision of English as a Second Language (ESL) programming is required to qualify for this funding opportunity. Applicants are required to use existing expertise in ESL instruction to provide citizenship instruction. Applicants are required to include a copy of the citizenship curriculum and to provide the name of the corresponding textbook intended for use to guide the citizenship instruction throughout the program’s period of performance ….

Eligible entities: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

The goal of the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program is to expand the availability of high quality citizenship preparation services for lawful permanent residents in communities across the nation. Additional activities that support this goal include making citizenship instruction and naturalization application services accessible to low-income and other underserved lawful permanent resident populations; developing, identifying, and sharing promising practices in citizenship preparation; supporting innovative and creative solutions to barriers faced by those seeking naturalization; increasing the use of and access to technology in citizenship preparation programs; working with local libraries which serve as a vital resource for immigrant communities; and incorporating strategies to foster welcoming communities as part of the citizenship and civic integration process …

The following entities are eligible to apply under these  announcements: • City or township governments • County governments • Independent school districts • Native American tribal government (Federally recognized) • Native American tribal organizations, other than Federally recognized tribal governments • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status, other than institutions of higher education • Private institutions of higher education • Public and State controlled institutions of higher education • Special district governments • State governments