Grant Description
As per the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) General Appropriations Act, EEC is releasing this competitive procurement to award grants to one (1) or more applicants(s) for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) which is a key component of Governor Healey’s ‘Gateway to Pre-k’ agenda and provides community-level funding to expand universally accessible high quality preschool opportunities – for all children and families – within the mixed delivery system. The administration has focused on expanding CPPI in gateway cities and rural areas, with an overall goal of reaching all cities and towns.
CPPI grants are awarded to school districts to establish a district–wide preschool program across classes in public and community-based early education and care programs, leveling the playing field for kindergarten readiness. CPPI funding supports community-level efforts around three goals: (1) Access – expansion of access to affordable quality preschool; (2) Quality Alignment of high-quality curriculum and supports across the mixed delivery system; and (3) Inclusion - Equitable access to special education and inclusion.
The CPPI funds partnerships between high-need school districts and community-based early education and care programs to build equitable access to high quality preschool, while ensuring families have multiple provider options to choose from across public and community-based classrooms.
Who Can Apply
This is a competitive grant program. Only lead educational agencies (LEA) who are in good financial and programmatic standing with the Department of Early Education and Care and received one or more of the following FY 2025 (previous year) grants are eligible to apply.
For the list of eligibility requirements for this grant, refer to pages 3 and 4 on the FY26 CPPI Grant RFR Application.
How to Apply
The instructions for how to apply for the FY26 CPPI Grant have been posted on COMMBUYS. The application will be submitted as an online grant application through EEC Finance Application. Grantees can find the link and instructions to the EEC Finance Application in Appendix A. If you require technical assistance with EEC Finance, please email EECSubmission@mass.gov with the subject line, “FY26 CPPI Grant.”
COMMBUYS
The instructions for how to apply for the FY26 CPPI Grant are posted on COMMBUYS, under Bid #: BD-25-1037-1CEN0-C0000-115475. For assistance with using COMMBUYS, contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk at 1-888-627-8283 or email COMMBUYS
Timeline for Grant
EEC reserves the right to adjust the timeframe. It is the responsibility of the applicant to check this page and COMMBUYS for updates. Below is the Procurement Calendar for Release 1. EEC will provide additional Procurement Calendars when Release 2 and Release 3 are rolled out.
| Procurement Activity | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Grant Application Release/Posting: | July 7, 2025 | |
| Applicants’ Webinar: Please click on the following link to register for the webinar: FY26 CPPI Programmatic Webinar | July 8, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. |
| EEC Finance System Webinar: Please click the following link to register for the webinar: FY26 CPPI EEC Finance Application Webinar | July 8, 2025 | 11:30 a.m. |
| Optional Office Hours # 1: Please click on the following link to register: FY 26 CPPI Office Hour #1 Link – July 11, 2025 | July 11, 2025 | 3:00 p.m. |
| Optional Office Hours #2: Please click on the following link to register: FY 26 CPPI Office Hour #2 Link – July 15, 2025 | July 15, 2025 | 10:00 a.m. |
| Optional Office Hours #3: Please click on the following link to register: FY26 CPPI Office Hour #3 Link – July 16, 2025 | July 16, 2025 | 3:00 p.m. |
| Submission of Written Inquiries: Applicants must submit written inquiries to: EECSubmission@mass.gov. Inquiries may be submitted in advance of or after the webinar, up to the deadline. | July 16, 2025 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Response to Written Inquiries (Estimated): | July 18, 2025 | |
| Submission Deadline for Grant Applications: Applicants must submit proposals to EEC Finance system: EEC Finance System | August 1, 2025 | 4:00 p.m. |
| Contract Start Date (Estimated) | September 1, 2025 |