Apply by May 9 for up to $298,000 in support of community-informed proposals providing families access to critical resources and services, supporting healthy and equitable births, increasing parental health and wellbeing, and strengthening caregiver-child relationships.  

SEATTLE (April 22) – The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL), in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment and the Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) Community Advisory Board, is proud to announce the availability of $1.49 million in investments to improve health and educational outcomes for individuals in the prenatal-to-three years period.  

The Prenatal to Three (PN-3) Community Grant will fund community-informed programs that promote improved outcomes for pregnant individuals, infants and toddlers, and their families and reduce disparities that disproportionately impact communities of color, immigrants, refugees, heritage language speakers, and low-income families.   

This year’s PN-3 Request for Proposals (RFP) reflects DEEL’s ongoing commitment to reducing health and educational disparities in the early learning period, as the fourth year in which applicants have been invited to seek this SBT-funded award. Grantees are prioritized based on their commitment to advancing racial equity, alongside a mission to serve expecting parents, caregivers and/or guardians of children aged birth to three within the City of Seattle with a particular interest in reaching priority populations as named above. 

To learn more and apply by the May 9 submission deadline, please visit: https://www.seattle.gov/education/for-providers/funding-opportunities/2024-prenatal-to-three-community-grants.  

The 2024 RFP deepens the footprint of the investment strategy by providing a new cohort of awardees the opportunity to build on frameworks and practices with demonstrated success. In 2023, five organizations were awarded $280,000 over two years to sustain programming that helps reduce disparate perinatal and maternal health outcomes in communities most impacted by inequities. Eligible organizations proposed community-informed strategies to reduce inequities in one or more of the following areas: healthy births, parental health and emotional wellbeing, nurturing and responsive caregiving, and early childhood health and development. This investment strategy contributes to DEEL’s goal of kindergarten readiness for all Seattle children.  

Last year DEEL received 25 applications requesting more than $3.4 million in funding. Proposals were reviewed by community members and representatives from Public Health Seattle & King County and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. Each awardee is receiving $280,000 over two years, from 2023-2025, to support their efforts in community. Services are primarily directed and provided by women of color-led organizations and offered throughout the city, with an emphasis on serving communities in the southeast and central areas of Seattle.    

2023 PN-3 Community Grant award recipients include:   

• Families of Color Seattle – Offering Parent Groups, gatherings that increase parenting skills and provide a space for parents to discuss identity, race, culture, and belonging at no cost to participants. 
• Global Perinatal Services* – Providing culturally specific, doula services to Black, Immigrant and Refugee families, prioritizing those with low income. 
• Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services – Providing culturally specific, full spectrum doula support for Indigenous families.  
• Inter-Cultural Children & Family Services* – Providing parent education focusing in building strong parent-child relationships meeting cultural, logistical, and individual needs of African American pregnant individuals and families.  
• Voices of Tomorrow – Supporting the Mind, Body, Culture (MBC) home visiting program that offers culturally and linguistically responsive case management, peer-based education, and social-emotional supports.  

* First-time award recipient of DEEL funding   

Culturally-responsive services to be provided by awardees include prenatal and postnatal doula care, lactation support, home-visitation and in-home mental health counseling, and parental support groups focused on parenting skills and healing trauma related to identify, race, culture, and belonging.   

Since 2021, the PN-3 Community Grant has invested more than $4 million in community and supported over 1,200 caregivers with the first two groups of grant awardees. Research shows that culturally congruent perinatal support and family advocacy contribute to parent and child wellness, as well as improved academic outcomes.   

The City of Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning’s mission is to transform the lives of Seattle children, youth, and families through strategic investments in education. www.seattle.gov/education   

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