Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Communities of Practice (COP)
🏛 Administration for Children and Families - OCS
Can you apply?
This grant is for organizations providing training and technical assistance to Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) networks across states, territories, and tribes.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, state associations, and other entities experienced in capacity-building and workforce development. Applicants must demonstrate expertise in evidence-informed technical assistance models and ability to serve multiple jurisdictions at regional or national scope.
The grant supports six cooperative agreements focused on economic mobility, employment, education, housing, and asset development for low-income families. Activities must be tailored to regional characteristics and scalable across diverse CSBG networks.
Key dates
- Apr 27, 2026 Applications open
- Aug 3, 2026 Application deadline in 63 days
- Sep 15, 2026 Award announced
- Sep 30, 2026 Project start
This grant is for organizations providing training and technical assistance to Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) networks across states, territories, and tribes.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, state associations, and other entities experienced in capacity-building and workforce development. Applicants must demonstrate expertise in evidence-informed technical assistance models and ability to serve multiple jurisdictions at regional or national scope.
The grant supports six cooperative agreements focused on economic mobility, employment, education, housing, and asset development for low-income families. Activities must be tailored to regional characteristics and scalable across diverse CSBG networks.
Program description
The Office of Community Services (OCS) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will support a funding opportunity for six (6) three-year cooperative agreements for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Communities of Practice (CoP).
Six CoPs will be established to provide training and technical assistance (TTA). These CoPs will include CSBG-funded states, territories, and tribes, and CSBG state associations and eligible entities. The specialized TTA must: account for regional, state, city, county, tribal, and community characteristics (i.e., jurisdictional levels, demographic categories, socioeconomic tiers, community resources, etc.); be based on evidence-informed TTA models specific to the assigned CoPs; and include scalable approaches that states, territories, state associations, tribes, and CSBG-eligible entities can implement to support individuals and families with low incomes as they progress towards economic security.
The six award recipients will be required to provide their respective grouping of CSBG states, territories, tribes, state associations, and eligible entities with capacity-building that creates scalable, evidence-informed interventions that improve earned income, employment stability, and asset development for families with low incomes through coordinated service delivery and systems alignment.
TTA developed under these CoPs will advance community-level strategies that prevent and reduce barriers to attaining economic mobility; education and workforce development; transportation; and access to safe and stable housing, including support for the A Home for Every Child administrative priority. Each CoP is expected to invest in partnerships to support data-driven decision-making and infrastructure that strengthens service delivery, enhances reporting and compliance, and reduces opportunities for fraud, waste, and abuse across the Network.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- County Government
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Demographic focus
Details
This grant is for organizations providing training and technical assistance to Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) networks across states, territories, and tribes.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, state associations, and other entities experienced in capacity-building and workforce development. Applicants must demonstrate expertise in evidence-informed technical assistance models and ability to serve multiple jurisdictions at regional or national scope.
The grant supports six cooperative agreements focused on economic mobility, employment, education, housing, and asset development for low-income families. Activities must be tailored to regional characteristics and scalable across diverse CSBG networks.
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Federal Application for Grants and Cooperative Agreements)
- Project Narrative/Statement of Work
- Budget and Budget Narrative
- Organizational Capacity Documentation
- Letters of Support from CSBG Partners
- Evaluation Plan
- Logic Model
Program contact
- 👤 Cheryl Zuni
- 📧 Cheryl.Zuni@acf.hhs.gov
- 📞 (202) 401-5020
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.569 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$88,585,904
-
$82,652,419
-
$68,785,179
-
$68,379,005
-
$68,379,005
-
$66,704,626
-
$66,561,863
-
$65,489,407
-
$64,382,819
-
$51,612,753
Top States by Funding
- NY 6 awards $396.0M
- CA 5 awards $345.7M
- IL 7 awards $248.3M
- PA 7 awards $226.7M
- TX 6 awards $221.0M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.569). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $764,084,255 | |
| 2025 | $764,084,255 | |
| 2026 est. | $764,084,255 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Organizations with proven expertise in training and technical assistance for CSBG networks. You must have capacity to serve states, territories, tribes, or CSBG-eligible entities at scale.
What is the funding amount and project duration?
Each award is $725,000 for a three-year cooperative agreement. Only six awards will be made nationally.
What activities are eligible?
Training and technical assistance in economic mobility, workforce development, housing, and asset building. Your program must use evidence-informed models and deliver scalable, region-specific interventions.
Is cost-sharing required?
No cost-sharing or matching funds are required. Federal funds cover the full project cost.
What is the deadline?
The deadline is August 3, 2026 (fixed). Submit your application by this date; rolling acceptance does not apply.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Start early with your partner network. This grant requires strong relationships with CSBG state associations, state programs, and eligible entities in your region.
- Ground your TTA model in evidence. Reviewers want published research or field-tested frameworks that improve employment and asset outcomes.
- Show how your approach scales across diverse settings. Include specific examples of how your training adapts to different state, tribal, and community contexts.
- Emphasize data-driven infrastructure. Highlight plans for tracking outcomes, reducing fraud/waste, and strengthening compliance reporting across partner networks.
- Clarify your regional or national scope. Explain which CSBG networks you will serve and why your organization is positioned to lead this specific group.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Weak partnership documentation. Applicants lose points when they don't show genuine buy-in from CSBG networks, state associations, and eligible entities before submitting.
Vague TTA model. Reviewers reject applications with generic capacity-building plans that lack evidence base or region-specific tailoring.
Unclear scalability strategy. Failing to explain how training scales across multiple states, jurisdictions, or demographic groups weakens competitiveness.
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