States across the west came up zeros on the latest round of Strengthening Community Colleges funding

Last week USDOL announced $65 million to consortia in seven states to “help community colleges develop high-quality, short-term programs that can qualify for Workforce Pell funding.” No state west of Colorado won funding this round. 

Strengthening Community Colleges grants have been one of the few bright spots in the federal workforce funding landscape in recent years, but western states don’t win that often. Some numbers:

• Colleges in WA have one once (round 5, Spokane)
• Colleges in AK, HI, ID, NV and AZ have never won. But perhaps they are applying less? They certainly have fewer colleges and smaller populations.
• California is the one bright spot, having won 7 times across the first five rounds.

Not winning could be due to a number of causes: not applying; not building strong relationships with communities and industries before funding opportunities arise; not having the perceived need from DOL or grant reviewers that other states have; or any mix of factors. 

Thinking about applying to a next round, or a future federal grant? At Aspect Works, we bring federal grant expertise in the forms of writing, management and monitoring. Wherever you are in your grant cycle, we can help. Get in touch via LinkedIn or by email (jason at aspect works dot net).