New!
Head Start News
Head Start News provides timely information for Head Start Preschool and Early Head Start programs about regulatory requirements, Office of Head Start priorities, and Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for DRS grant competitions, as well as tips, strategies, and resources to support compliance and continuous program improvement.
If you followed our DRS Updates blog before, you will want to sign up for this new blog now! When there is a forecasted or open DRS competition, we will use Head Start News to continue to share tips, strategies, and resources to help agencies in DRS, at risk of being in DRS, or those wishing to compete for the service areas to submit the most competitive application.
The Head Start News blog is published a minimum of quarterly. Subscribing also gives you access to our Monthly Round Up, where we highlight blog posts from both of our blogs, upcoming events, and newsworthy research and reflections.
Waiting for a DRS NOFO? How to Use Your Time
Each year, around this time, Head Start programs in DRS are beginning to prepare for their grant competition. Typically, there is a forecast on Grants.gov that alerts agencies to when the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for their grant will open and when applications will be due. As we head into the start of a new program year, there is not yet a forecast posted on Grants.gov for fall DRS grant competitions. While there is usually a forecast a month or more out, the lead time can be much shorter. We understand that this creates some uncertainty for program.
Early 2025 DRS Grant Competitions Delayed
The upcoming round of DRS was scheduled to open for competition on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) were not released as scheduled. The forecast for these grants has not been updated with a new timeline.This week, federal grant recipients, including Head Start grantees, experienced uncertainty about their immediate funding and future of their grants. While it’s unclear when currently forecasted grant opportunities will move forward, we encourage programs awaiting a DRS competition to use this time to prepare.
Service Areas Announced for Fall 2024 DRS Grant Competitions
Earlier this month, two Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for Designation Renewal System (DRS) grant opportunities were forecasted on grants.gov. New information is now available about the specific service areas up for competition. Listed below, as reported on the Office of Head Start NOFO Locator, are the service areas and estimated funding amounts that are expected to open for competition in October 2024.
Data Readiness Supports a Competitive DRS Grant Application
If the next round of DRS grant competitions follows the same pattern we saw last year, programs might expect a fall or early winter timeline. Most DRS competitions took place in the fall, with grants forecasted in September and open for competition October through December. The months leading up to DRS are critical planning time.
December 2023 DRS Recap: Closed, Open, and Coming Soon
This has been a busy fall for DRS grant competitions, and new activity continues on grants.gov. Here, we recap all of the moving pieces as we head into the new year.Grant Competitions Recently Closed: This fall’s largest round of DRS competitions closed on December 14, 2023. A majority of the 30 Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) that were released on October 12 had proposals due last week and applicants now await review and notification.
Early 2024 DRS Grant Competitions Forecasted
Today, the Office of Head Start (OHS) forecasted four additional DRS Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) on grants.gov. This DRS season has seen NOFOs forecasted and posted on a variety of timelines, as we summarized in Status of Grant Competitions and Resources for Applicants.
Preparing for Grant Writing Success: How to Use the “Pre-NOFO” Time Strategically
There are 50 Head Start/Early Head Start grants forecasted to open for competition next month and many grantees are awaiting the posting of the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO). NOFOs are scheduled to post to grants.gov on September 5, 2023, just three weeks away.The roughly eight-week turnaround time from a NOFO posting to applications being due goes very quickly. Leveraging the “pre-NOFO” time strategically can help to set a program on a path to successful grant writing. Here are a few tips for how you might use the time.
Up-to-Date Data Essential for DRS Grant Writing
If your program is preparing to write a DRS application this fall, now is a great time to consider the resources and information you will need for success. While there are many steps involved in preparing for and writing grant applications, today we focus on the importance of data updates as essential “pre-work.” Here are a few tips you might keep in mind.
50 Service Areas in 26 States and Puerto Rico to Open for DRS Competition
Last week, DRS grant competitions were forecasted to open in September 2023. New information is now available about the forecasted service areas. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for DRS are organized by state. Within each of the NOFOs (once they are posted), there will be information about each service area and the corresponding funding amount up for competition. In the meantime, you can view the preliminary lists of service areas, estimated funding, and estimated number of awards in the Office of Head Start Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) Locator, and summarized below.