The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) has announced applications for the 2025 Families First Community Grant Program.
Donor Name: Tennessee Department of Human Services
State: Tennessee
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/10/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF funds in ways to help low-income families overcome barriers and help them move towards sustainable economic stability. The grants will support a wide range of services in the areas of education, health and well-being, economic stability and fostering safe, stable, and nurturing relationships. Grant recipients will be selected through a competitive application process and evaluated based upon their ability to provide effective services and programs that address the specific needs of the community.
The Department requires these services to be delivered in a manner that improves economic security and well-being for low-income families and fosters a more strategic use of TANF funds, specifically as it pertains to the four purposes of TANF:
- Providing assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes
- Reducing the dependency of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage
- Preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies
- Encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
Funding Information
Approximately $27 million will be made available in funding to non-profits dedicated to strengthening Tennessee families, support self-sufficiency.
Eligibility Criteria
Families participating in the services funded by the Families First Community Grants must meet certain eligibility requirements established by federal law. Specifically, participating families parent/legal guardian with children under the age of 18 must meet Tennessee’s low-income eligibility criteria. Low-Income Families” is defined as families who are:
- Living at or below the Federal Poverty Level;
- Eligible for Medicaid
- Recipients of, or eligible for, public benefits such as Families First (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Unemployed or zero income verification
- Live in Section 8 housing or low rent public housing
- Eligible for National School Lunch Program (free or reduced lunch).
For more information, visit TDHS.
