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The purpose of this competitive Primary Instruction by Volunteers (PIV) is to support adults seeking educational advancement and careers that offer family-sustaining wages. This PIV program ensures that all Massachusetts adults have equitable access to high-quality adult education one-to-one tutoring services to improve their English or increase their literacy and numeracy skills. These adults may be enrolled solely in PIV or co-enrolled in Community Adult Learning Center classes.
This grant will support one statewide standalone program that offers volunteer tutoring services to approximately 600-800 eligible adults annually in cities and towns in the Commonwealth including Gateway cities and that:
Eligible applicants may include, but are not limited to:
Fund Code 0287: State Line Item 7035-0002
The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Approximately $550,000 is available. Funds are contingent upon satisfactory performance, the appropriation of state and federal funds, and the continuance of federal authorizing legislation.
This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.
Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.
Grant starts at $500,000.
If most of the targets are being met (as determined in a desk review of data), grantee may be allocated an additional $25,000 in December of the program year.
If grantee is continuing to meet targets and/or make consistent progress toward targets, grantee may be allocated another $25,000 in March of the program year.
Maximum grant is $550,000.
Targets: Reaching a 90% pre-test rate, enrollment targets, 50% post-test rate, LACES data entry, and verification of tutor-student matches.
Funds must be used to provide adult education instructional services, delivered by well-trained volunteers, including basic skills, pre-adult secondary education, adult secondary education, and/or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
Personnel costs may include paid staff time for: recruitment; volunteer/student orientation; volunteer training and ongoing support; required and ongoing assessment of student progress; establishing and maintaining tutor/student matches; advising; employment follow-up; referral; professional development; data collection/entry; and administration. A portion of the funds may be used to support non-personnel related costs such as instructional materials and supplies.
The FY27-30 Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Primary Instruction by Volunteers Programs should be used as guidance to provide adult education to eligible students.
Eligible students are
Students under 18 must provide a letter of withdrawal from the local school district in order to enroll in the program. Students who are home schooled must provide a letter from the local school district stating that they are not enrolled.
This grant is Not intended to support 100% of program costs. This grant requires a 20% match from the organization. This grant is technically classified as a restricted rate grant because it has the statutory requirement to supplement and not supplant (i.e., SNS) other federal, state, local, or private funding.
For this competition, applicants may include indirect cost rates to recover certain business-related expenses necessary to support the proposed services. Please note that indirect costs count as administrative costs.
Applicants may include indirect cost rates to recover certain business-related expenses necessary to support the proposed services. Please note that indirect costs count as administrative costs.
Upon Approval (No Earlier than 7/1/2026)* – 6/30/2027;
Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, grantees may be eligible for continuation grant(s) in Fiscal Year(s) 2028-2030.
*Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.
Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS)
Marie Troppe
A virtual Bidders' Conference will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2026 from 9 AM – 10 AM.
Microsoft Teams meeting. Join on your computer, mobile app or room device:[Join the meeting]
Monday May 11, 2026 by 3:00 PM
Proposals must be received by the Department by 3:00 PM Eastern on the date due.
Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP.
All responses must be submitted through proper steps and received by the due date/time listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not received on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.
Service Map (applicant-created)
MOA Template (applicant-created)
Board Roster and Organizational Chart (applicant-created)
Job Descriptions and Minimum Qualifications (applicant-created)
Questions and Answers — Applicants can ask their questions and find all the questions asked by others regarding this funding opportunity and DESE's response.
All inquiries must be submitted in writing to PIV RFP Question Submission Form . Q&A with answers to inquiries will be posted to Adult Education Funding Opportunities on the ACLS website.
The deadline for submission of questions is Monday, May 4, 2026 at 7 PM. It is the responsibility of applicants to remain up to date with the posted questions and answers. Any RFP updates or revisions contained in the Q&A will supersede previous versions of the same.
Suggested Resources:
Indicators of Program Quality
College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (CCRSAE)
Massachusetts English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education (MA ELPS)
ACLS Assessment Policies
PIV Policies
Scorecard
The FY27 Fund Code 0287 Primary Instruction by Volunteers will be submitted in our GEM$ system.
Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)
New organizations that do not have an established LEA with DESE skip to Step 3.
Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time. Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off.
All roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.
Step 2: Submit the grant through all LEA steps in GEM$. There are three LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:
Competitive grant applications are considered submitted once the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP. Please plan accordingly.
The Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved Step allows for the organization lead to review and approve the grant application. Removing the requirement for the Part I Standard Contract Form, this step signifies Superintendent /Chief Executive sign off. Any grant budget changes requiring signature, will re-execute this step when amended signifying the organization lead is approving these changes.
Step 3: (If applicable) New organizations request temporary organization access. New organizations are entities that have not been established as an LEA in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization established in GEM$ must contact the DESE Program Unit issuing this grant at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.
Temporary Access will need to be created by DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2.
Failure to provide DESE with GEM$ Temp Organization Access Request at least 5 business days prior to the due date may result in not meeting the submission due date listed above. DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.
Last Updated: April 14, 2026