Grant Description
As per the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Appropriations Act, EEC is releasing this competitive procurement to award grants to a maximum of fifteen (15) applicants to support the early education workforce in obtaining higher education certificates and degrees. The funding is intended to support institutional infrastructure for early childhood education student support and to assist students in leveraging a range of financial aid sources to support the cost of attendance. Given the diverse ethnic, linguistic and educational backgrounds of the early care and education workforce, the support and services provided are vital to the field and integral to sustaining and enhancing high quality early education programs throughout the Commonwealth. The Career Pathways programs have deep connections with the early childhood workforce and local employee partners.
Who Can Apply
The FY 2026 Career Pathways Grant is a competitive grant that is open to the public community colleges that can demonstrate, through the submission of a successful grant application, that they are able to meet the priorities and required services as outlined in this grant application.
How to Apply
The instructions for how to apply for the FY2026 Career Pathways (CP) Grant have been sent to existing Career Pathways Grantees by email, including updated appendices.
The application will be submitted as an online grant application through EEC Finance Application. Grantees can find the instructions and trainings in EEC Finance – EEC Resources.
If you require technical assistance with the online application, please email EECSubmission@mass.gov with the subject line, “FY26 CP”
Timeline for Grant
| Procurement Activity | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Grant Release Date | April 3, 2025 | N/A |
| Virtual Bidder's Conference Register on Zoom | April 8, 2025 | 1 - 2:30 p.m. |
| Office Hours - EEC Finance Recap Training Register on Zoom | April 15, 2025 | 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. |
| Submission of WRITTEN Q&A (written inquiries) Email submissions to EECSubmission@mass.gov | April 22, 2025 | 12 p.m. |
| Application Deadline Electronic submissions through EEC Finance portal only | May 8, 2025 | 4 p.m. |
| Grant Start Date (estimated) | July 1, 2025 | N/A |
EEC reserves the right to adjust the timeframe above. It is the responsibility of the applicant to check this page and COMMBUYS for updates.
| Date published: | April 3, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Last updated: | April 3, 2025 |