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The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to announce a funding opportunity for the 10 Early Learning
Regional Coalitions (ELRCs) in Washington state, outline the requirements and priorities associated with the funding
opportunity, and to invite the submission of proposals. All answers provided in the online application should be in
compliance with the instructions outlined in this RFP.
Community Momentum Strategy Overview
A. Background: The Washington State Early Learning Plan
Washington has an unparalleled opportunity to create a coordinated, statewide, systems-based approach to early
learning in Washington. In late 2010, Thrive, the Department of Early Learning (DEL), and the Office of Superintendent
of Public Instruction (OSPI)—Early Learning Partnership members—released the Early Learning Plan (ELP), a roadmap
for building an early learning system that identifies 36 clear, coordinated strategies to ensure every child starts life
with a foundation for success.
The Early Learning Partnership works to bring our state’s ELP vision to reality. This vision states that:
In Washington, we work together so that all children start life with a solid foundation for success, based on
strong families and a world-class early learning system for all children prenatal through third grade. Accessible,
accountable, and developmentally and culturally appropriate, our system partners with families to ensure
that every child is healthy, capable and confident in school and in life.
To move forward this work, the Early Learning Partnership prioritizes strategies of the ELP and releases an annual work
plan to outline how the three organizations will coordinate and advance implementation of the strategies and actions
within the ELP. For 2014, the priority strategies for are:
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Optimize existing nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood services and program (Strategy #1)
Build a continuum of infants and toddlers services and programs (Strategy #4)
Make home visiting available to at-risk families (Strategy #5)
Ensure universal developmental screening (Strategy #6)
Increase use of early literacy services and programs (Strategy #10)
Expand early numeracy programs (Strategy #11)
Expand and enhance ECEAP (Strategy #12)
Deepen parenting, caregiver and early learning professional knowledge and learning opportunities (Strategies
#14, 15, and 16)
Implement comprehensive professional development and compensation system (Strategy #23)
Implement quality rating and improvement system (Strategy #24)
Align prekindergarten and K-3 instructional and programmatic practices (Strategy #27)
Implement kindergarten readiness assessment (Strategy #28)
Continue implementation of phased-in full-day kindergarten (Strategy #29)
Build statewide infrastructure for partnerships and mobilization (Strategy #34)
Strengthen public awareness and commitment (Strategy #35)
Expand P-20 longitudinal data system (Strategy #36)
B. Community Momentum Strategy
Attending to Strategy #34 – build statewide infrastructure – Thrive established the Community Momentum strategy in
2010 to work with state and local partners to develop the capacity, leadership, and expertise across the state to create
a coordinated system of services and supports that address the needs of young children and their families, especially in
communities of color that, historically, have been furthest away from opportunity. An essential ingredient for an early
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learning system that serves the strengths and challenges of the diverse communities in Washington is to have effective
and coordinated regional platforms to represent their local communities to better inform and advance key policies and
implementation strategies of the ELP. This regional approach for implementing the ELP will ensure that statewide and
local organizations work together, tap into each other’s wisdom, have the capacity to understand the changing
demographics and needs of children and families, and set strategy to take action collectively so that ALL children have
a greater opportunity to be successful in school and in life. Over time, the goal of the Community Momentum strategy
is to establish a sustainable statewide network of Early Learning Regional Coalitions that serve as implementation and
coordination hubs of the comprehensive and complex components that make up the early learning system.
Goals and Objectives
To align and guide this work, Thrive—in partnership with regions—have developed goals and objectives that will help drive a
coordinated community momentum strategy, or common agenda. The Goals and Objectives listed below will be used to
inform the work of the ELRCs. These Goals and Objectives should be specifically used in the development of your
Community Momentum proposal, including the Action Plans described below in “Special Instructions.”
Goal 1 – Early Learning Regional Coalitions have the capacity and infrastructure necessary to coordinate the early
learning system in their region
 Objective -- Specific attention is given to understanding and reducing racial inequities in the early learning system
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prevalent in their region
Objective –- Standard and consistent processes for leading and coordinating both local and state prioritized
strategies of the ELP within regions are established
Goal 2 – Early Learning Regional Coalitions are effective platforms for implementing prioritized strategies of the
Early Learning Plan
 Objective –- Engaging, coordinating and planning home visiting services that are informed by regional need, fit
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and capacity, and the coordination and availability of other programs and services in the region
Objective – A single, statewide Kindergarten Transition Form is available for voluntary use by early learning
providers and kindergarten teachers.
Objective – Intentionally focus on sharing strategies to increase the readiness level of early math skills for children
entering kindergarten.
Objective – Coordinate the Regional Early Learning Collaboration Steering Committee
Goal 3– Early Learning Regional Coalitions are building public awareness of the importance of and increased
investment in early learning programs and services
 Objective – Deepen engagement with families and caregivers by offering information and skills that help them
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give their children a great start in life.
Objective – Use WaKIDS data as a catalyst for building relationships across systems, developing understanding of
seminal documents of both systems, and leveraging collaboration efforts.
Objective – Help inform legislators so they are knowledgeable about state and regional early learning needs and
priorities
Objective – Help make parents and childcare providers aware of the benefits of Early Achievers and know how to
use it to support their decisions
Community Momentum Funding Opportunity Description
A. Eligibility
The current funding opportunity is open exclusively to the 10 Early Learning Regional Coalitions. Each ELRC must select
a fiscal agent to represent the entire coalition. The fiscal agent is responsible for coordinating coalition planning and
implementation and receiving and managing grant funds. In order to serve as the fiscal agent, an organization must
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meet each of the financial management requirements specified by the Internal Revenue Service and at least 3 of 5 of
the operational requirements specified by Thrive. These are listed below:
Financial Management Requirements
The fiscal agent is legally obligated to:
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Have a DUNS # in order to receive, distribute, and track federal funds
Maintain separate records of disbursements related to the grant
Keep receipts for at least three years following receipt of the grant
Make financial records available to Thrive upon request
Disburse funds in accordance with the purpose of the grant application
Operational Requirements
An effective fiscal agent:
1) Has deep and broad infrastructure including information management system and staffing capacity, staff
expertise in program design, and experience in capacity-building at local and state levels
2) Displays leadership and experience leading coalitions effectively
3) Has expertise serving diverse populations
4) Is regarded as credible, reputable, and having integrity in early learning and K-12 communities
5) Partners well by delegating responsibility, connecting people and organizations, and clearly and effectively
communicating
B. Funding Request Range
For this grant opportunity, requests within each area of work should not exceed the ceilings listed below:
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Regional Coordination: Applicants can request a maximum of $57,500.
WaKIDs: Applicants will receive $20,000.
Home Visiting: Applicants will receive $17,500.
NOTE: Grantees will be required to participate in all statewide meetings, technical assistance, and evaluation efforts
regardless of the level of funding they request or are awarded.
C. Funding Period
The funding period for this opportunity will be January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Community Momentum
grants are awarded for one year, with the intention to fund ELRCs in subsequent years based on funding availability,
compliance, and performance.
Application Submission Instructions
A. Online Application Submission
Thrive utilizes an online application process. All applicants are required to complete and submit the application
online.
We recommend that applicants review the RFP guidelines prior to developing your submission. A broad
overview of the online application process is provided below:
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1) Logging In—To access the application in the online system:
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Click on the FY15 Community Momentum Application Link. After clicking, you will be directed to a
log-in page.
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On the log-in page, enter the email address and password associated with your grantee account. If
you do not remember your email log-in, please contact [email protected] to
request your log-in. After logging-in, you will be directed to the Tax ID # Page.
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Enter your Tax ID#. If your Tax ID # is invalid, you will receive the following message: “The Tax ID
that you entered was not found in the IRS database. Please check your entry. If it is correct, click OK
to begin filling out your application form.” If your Tax ID # is valid, you will be moved forward into
the application.
2) Completion—To populate your application:
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Provide the requested data in all sections of the application data fields within the specified word
limits (denoted in the application). We recommend developing the narrative in a Microsoft Word
document and pasting final responses to each question in the appropriate sections in the online
application.
Upload all required attachments.
Users can save their work and exit at anytime by selecting “Save & Finish Later,” located at the
bottom of each page.
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3) Returning—To return to a saved draft:
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In order to return to a saved draft, click the Grantee Account Link. This link was provided to you in
your original registration email. The Grantee Account Link will take you to your organization’s
specific grantee portal. It includes all of the applications and reports that your organization has
submitted. Click on the correct application and you will be returned to your original draft. (NOTE: If
returning to a saved draft, DO NOT use the application link provided earlier in this document. A new
application will be created each time that link is used.)
4) Submission—To submit your application:
 After completing all required sections of the application, proceed to the “Review My Application”
tab. This tab will indicate if there are any required fields that were not completed.
 If you have not completed required fields, return to those fields, complete them, and again review
your Application.
 When your application is eligible for submission, a “Submit” button will be available for viewing.
 Click on “Submit.” If your submission is successful, you will receive an email acknowledgment within
a few minutes.
B. Application Deadline
The online application is due no later than Friday, November 14, 2014.
Application Overview and Special Instructions
A. Overview
The online application consists of five sections. Each section contains a set of questions or requested information for
the applicant to provide. The sections of the application are:
1) Applicant Information: Basic identifying information about the fiscal agent applying for the Community
Momentum funding opportunity.
2) Project Overview: Summary of key information for the project proposed for the Community Momentum
funding opportunity.
3) Regional Profile: Information on ELRC structure and the regional landscape.
4) Action Plans: Objectives, Actions, Timelines, and Outcomes for the proposed project and related narrative
questions.
5) Budget & Attachments: Budget and required attachments for the project proposed for the Community
Momentum funding opportunity.
B. Special Instructions
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The section below provides additional instructions that will help inform your answers for the application.
1) Action Plans
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Overview: All applicants are required to complete an action plan for the Community Momentum proposal.
The action plan is a roadmap to articulate the relationship between the results hoped to be achieved and
the implementation of specific actions. The action plan proposed in the application should have a oneyear timeframe. Action plans will vary by each region.
The action plan consists of the following components:
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Goals: High-level end results ELRCs are working to achieve. (See Section I. C for the Goals.)
Objectives: Tangible, quantifiable milestones to progress toward reaching Goals. (See Section I. C
for the Objectives.)
Actions: What is executed in order to produce desired progress toward the results.
Implementation timeline: How long actions will take and over what time period they will take
place.
Outcomes: The result, change, and/or impact that will occur through the achievement of the
activities and objectives, and use of resources.
There are several objectives with pre-populated actions and outcomes in the 2015 action plan template.
Consider these actions minimum requirmeents of the grant. Regions may populate all 2015 objectives
with additional actions and outcomes. Development of a well-informed, reasonable, and honest action
plan is critical to successful project implementation and to your Community Momentum grant application.
If awarded, it will be used to:
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Develop the Scope of Work for Awarded Funding: The action plan supplied in your application will
be used to develop the scope of work for your respective grant agreement. There will be an
opportunity for you to modify your action plan in response to the amount of funding awarded.
Maintain Implementation Focus: The action plan will help you maintain focus on core activities
and resist those temptations to add or take away from the core activities described to achieve
desired results.
Report on Performance: Your action plan will be used as a template for a portion of the
Community Momentum mid-year and year-end reporting.
Guide Continuous Quality Improvement Activities: The action plan provides a method for
charting progress, allowing you to track what is happening and what is not, and where
expectations are being met, not met, or exceeded. The technical assistance support from Thrive,
will be informed by the action plan progress, and targeted help you think through strategic
adjustments to improve intended results.
Instructions for Completion of the Action Plan: Each applicant will submit a Community Momentum
action plan in the “action plan” section of the online application.
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Community Momentum Action Plan Upload
Download the “Community Momentum Action Plan” template from the online application. The
template will appear as follows:
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For Each Goal and its corresponding Objectives, populate the template with your proposed
actions, timeline and outcomes. Then, upload a copy of the template into the online application.
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Special Instructions for Family and Caregiver Engagement
In developing your action plan (including but not limited to Goal 3, objective 1: deepen
engagement with families and caregivers by offering information and skills that help them give
their children a great start in life), please give specific examples about the strategies and tactics
you and/or your partners use to engage families and caregivers. This could include, but is not
limited to:
 High-quality or repeat interactions with parents and caregivers that give an
opportunity to model or discuss early learning in-depth
 Empowerment and leadership activities that give parents and caregivers the
opportunity to share their stories and inform early learning in their communities
 Partnerships that leverage existing connections to share early learning messages
and materials with families that were previously unserved or under-served.
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Special Instructions for Home Visiting
Washington State has increasingly prioritized home visiting to meet the needs of our most
vulnerable children and families evidenced by the major expansion in infrastructure and
services in the past several years. In order to build a sustainable and effective home visiting
system that meets the needs and requirements of our children and families, and connects
into the larger early learning system to ensure accessible and coordinated services and
supports for families, Washington understands, values, and prioritizes the partnership with
regional and local communities.
To intentionally build out a coordinated system of home visiting, Washington has created a
State Plan for Home Visiting which provides high-level goals and a set of clearly prioritized,
feasible, and actionable objectives that are necessary to foster a home visiting system in
Washington. These goals and objectives are the critical next steps our system must take to
continue building a comprehensive home visiting system, as well as contribute to the
development of Washington's comprehensive early learning system. The success of this plan
relies on the essential partnership and coordination of state, regional, and local partners. In
2014 the following Goals and Objectives were used as guidance for regional efforts:
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Goal 4: Ensure high-quality services and effective implementation of home visiting
models and programs.
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Objective F: Identify opportunities to share information and collaborate across
home visiting programs and with partners in health, education and human service
systems.
Goal 5: Build community and public will for a home visiting system that provides highquality services to families in local communities
 Objective A: Educate the public about home visiting services and provide
information about home visiting services offered in Washington.
 Objective B: Cultivate champions to support local home visiting services and
programs, and provide information about ways to get involved.
 Objective C: Build off of existing public awareness campaigns that focus on early
childhood health, development and learning, in order to inform parents, families
and communities about home visiting.
 Objective D: Ensure that public engagement efforts are informed and influenced
by families, consumers and stakeholders, and aim to reflect the diversity of
communities served at the local, regional and state levels.
Early Learning Regional Coalitons across the state used this guidance and focused on similar topic
areas. They included:
 Regional service scans/maitinng current service scans
 Coordination of services/establishing connections with related service providers
 Providing shared professional development opportunities
 Addressing strategies for greater community engagement
 Mobilizing local policy effots to support home visiting services
 Linkages of birth-to-three services to support families attempting to navigate systems
We encourage all regions to build on efforts from 2014. This list is intended to provide a
snapshot of the full spectrum of approaches utilized across the state to inform your regional
planning for 2015. Thrive can connect regions utilizing similar strategies in 2015 via peer
technical assistance exchanges to promote cross regional learning opportunities.
2) Budget & Attachments
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Budget: Each applicant is required to complete a budget proposal. To do so, download the budget
template from the “Budget and Attachments” Tab or here. Please submit the budget proposal in excel
format using the provided template. The template will appear as follows:
For each section in the budget template, populate the “Request Amount” column. In the “Other Program
Funding” column, indicate any additional funds your ELRC has to contribute to each funding area, then
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identify the source of those funds. In the “Comments and Justification” column, provide detailed
information about each line item. Once completed, upload the template into the online application.
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Match: There is no match requirement for this funding opportunity, but please indicate any
additional funds your ELRC has to contribute to each funding area in the “Other Program Funding”
column.
Indirect: Applicants can request up to 10% of total direct project costs in indirect. (NOTE: Thrive
will accept a federally approved indirect rate from grantees on condition that sufficient
documentation of the rate is submitted. Sufficient documentation includes the Indirect Cost
Negotiation Agreement or notification from a Cognizant Agency to the grantee formalizing the
approval of a final or provisional indirect cost rate.)
Travel to Statewide Meetings: Thrive will reimburse costs for 5 staff to travel to the 3 statewide
meetings, as well as for Regional Advisors to attend 6 ELAC meetings. DO NOT REQUEST TRAVEL
FUNDS FOR STATEWIDE MEETINGS or ELAC MEETINGS IN YOUR BUDGET.
Attachments: In order for your application to be eligible for review, you must submit the attachments
listed below. You will have the opportunity to upload these attachments as Microsoft Word or PDF Files in
the “Budget and Attachments” section of the online application. Please upload the following attachments:
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Verification of tax-exempt status under the IRS code
List of current board members of the Fiscal Agent/Lead Organization
Most recent IRS Form 990 (2012 or more recent)
Most recent audited financial statement
Letter of support from any organization or persons identified in the application as a lead
partner for a component of the project action plan (Please combine all letters into one PDF
document)
Letter of subcontractor committment from any organization that is going to be a
subcontractor (Please combine all letters into one PDF document)
Letter of authorization and approval from the agency Executive Director. This letter should
identify a back-up contact person if the primary contact person is not available for an
extended period of time.
Technical Assistance
We understand the time and effort required to complete this application. Please make use of the technical assistance
that will be available to help clarify any questions you may have for developing and submitting the application.
Technical assistance opportunities will be available as follows:
A. Instructional Webinar: Thrive will hold a webinar on October 17, 2014 from 1:00-2:00pm to review the RFP
and introduce organizations to the online application system. Please register for the webinar here.
B. Individual Technical Assistance (TA) for Proposal Development: Each ELRC can schedule one 60-minute
technical assistance phone appointment to address any programmatic questions regarding your online
proposal. Technical assistance appointments can be scheduled on a first come, first served basis by
accessing the following link: http://doodle.com/ebsmdek3czhvbgsb. Technical Assistance appointments
are available during the following timeslots on October 21st and 23rd 2014:
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October 21st
10:00-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00-1:00
1:00-2:00
2:00-3:00
October 23rd
10:00-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00-1:00
1:00-2:00
2:00-3:00
Upon scheduling a TA appointment, each ELCR will be provided an electronic worksheet on which to document
your questions. We ask that all organizations participating in technical assistance calls email the completed
worksheet to Dan Torres, Community Partnerships Manager, at least two business days in advance of the
scheduled appointment so that staff can prepare to respond to your questions effectively within the limited
timeframe. An additional 60 minute technical assistance appointment regarding programmatic questions is
available upon request.
C. Technical Assistance for the Online Application: Applicants can access support for any technical issues
related to the online application at any time by contacting Megan Whalen, Data Manager at
[email protected]. Email is recommended for the timeliest response. If questions posed
by applicants are related to the content of the application, rather than the technical issues, applicants will
be referred to the aforementioned technical assistance resource.
Timeline, Review Process, and Award Notification
A. Timeline
Request for Proposal Issued
Online Application Instructions Webinar
Appointments for Individual Technical Assistance (TA) for Proposal Development
Proposals DUE
Grant Awards Announced
October 3, 2014
October 17, 2014
October 21st and 23rd 2014
November 14, 2014
December 18, 2014
B. Review Process Overview
Thrive by Five Washington executes a peer review process to ensure fair and neutral selection of Community
Momentum investments. An overview of the process for this funding opportunity is below:
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Compliance Review: All proposals are reviewed to ensure they are in compliance with the requirements
outlined in the RFP.
Staff Review: All proposals are reviewed by a group of Thrive staff members, some of which are
members of the Community Momentum team and others who are not.
Individual Review: All proposals are reviewed and scored individually by partners who are experts in the
field of early learning.
On-Site Meeting Review: Reviewers (those who conducted the individual reviews) evaluate and score
the proposals collectively to make funding recommendations for each proposal.
Funding Award Decisions: All funding recommendations are evaluated by Thrive’s Board of Directors
and CEO.
C. Award Notification
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Applicants will be notified of award status by December 18, 2013.
Grantee Requirements
A. Statewide Meetings
All grantees will be required to send a team to each of three statewide meetings. We will be reaching out to coalition
leads over the next few weeks to determine locations and dates for meetings We are striving to aling statewide
meetings in 2015 with other large regional early learning meetings to lessen the travel burden for our partners.
B. Reports
All grantees will be required to submit quarterly Financial Activity Reports and mid-year and year-end program
reports.
C. Evaluation
All grantees will be required to participate in a program evaluation.
Resources
A. Application Development Resources
Below are links to resources that may be helpful as regions you develop your Community Momentum proposals.
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Early Learning Advocacy: A summary of the June 9th Early Learning Advocacy Gathering and key
contacts/resources offered by statewide early learning advocacy organizations.
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WaKIDS Early Learning Collaboration Framework: The WaKIDS ELC Framework to guide implementation
plans for the Early Learning Collaboration component of WaKIDS is provided here:
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Washington State Home Visiting Needs Assessment
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