Treasury opens $11.8 million pay-for-results grant round for states and tribes

The Department of the Treasury will make up to $11.8 million available for pay-for-results social programmes run by states, tribes and local governments, releasing federal money only once an independent evaluator confirms that agreed outcomes were achieved. The offer carries funding opportunity number UST–SIPPRA–2027–003 and was published on 12 November 2026 in the Federal Register (Vol. 91, No. 217) as the FY27 notice of funding opportunity under the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act.

The notice is issued by Treasury’s Office of Economic Policy, which administers the programme created after Congress appropriated $100 million to Treasury in 2018 to fund social projects on the basis of results rather than on services delivered. This is the third round: Treasury has offered two previous funding opportunities, and the department states it does not expect to run further competitions under the current SIPPRA appropriation.

Of the total, Treasury expects to award up to approximately $10.2 million in competitive project grants and up to approximately $1.6 million for independent evaluations, a separate grant capped at 15 percent of the project award and paid regardless of whether the goals are met. The assistance listing number is 21.017. Treasury may revise the amount available if additional SIPPRA funds appear during the application period.

States, tribes and local governments only

Eligibility is restricted by statute, and applications from any other type of entity will not be reviewed:

• States, including the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States.
• Federally recognised Indian tribes.
• Local governments.
• Several agencies of the same state or locality, or interjurisdictional groups applying jointly, provided each agency has its own unique entity identifier.

There is no cost-sharing requirement, and applicants must use non-federal funds to cover the initial costs of the project.

Payment only after verified results

Under the model set out in the notice, the government pays only if an evaluation demonstrates that the project caused the agreed outcome, and each payment may not exceed the value of that outcome to the federal government over a maximum of ten years from the start of the project. The period of performance must end by September 2032.

Applicants must procure an objective independent evaluator with no financial or other connection to the project, and must value outcomes through a budget impact analysis, a change from the FY24 notice, which used benefit-cost analysis. Treasury also states that not less than 50 percent of all federal payments must go to initiatives that directly benefit children.

Workforce projects get priority in a six-phase review

Treasury will select winners through six stages: eligibility and completeness review, a subject matter expert panel, a consistency review, recommendations from the nine-member Commission on Social Impact Partnerships, certification by the eleven-member Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships, and a final determination by Treasury. The department will also weigh considerations in Section 4 of Executive Order 14332 on improving oversight of federal grantmaking.

Workforce development applicants will receive particular consideration. One-fifth of the project types listed in the statute are workforce development, yet only one such project has been funded so far. Statutory examples of that outcome family include:

• Raising work and earnings for people unemployed for more than six consecutive months.
• Raising employment and earnings for people aged 16 to 24.
• Raising employment among recipients of federal disability benefits.

Five months to apply, awards expected by October 2027

• Applications accepted from 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on 9 December 2026 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 6 April 2027, electronically through Grants.gov; mail, email and fax are not accepted.
• Award decisions intended no later than six months after applications are received, with results announced by October 2027.
• Successful applicants must complete final documents, including the project plan, partnership agreements, evaluation design and outcome valuation, within nine months of the Notice of Award.
• Enquiries go to Matthew Cook, SIPPRA Director, at sippra@treasury.gov or 202–821–5030; the notice carries OMB control number 1505-0260 and was signed by Kathleen Shannon, Executive Secretary.

The round matters because it is the last expected use of the original SIPPRA appropriation, and it pushes state and local governments toward financing social services with private or philanthropic capital upfront and accepting payment risk on measured results. For workforce boards, tribal governments and city agencies, the window is short and the bar is evidential: without a credible independent evaluation design, an application cannot produce a payment.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 217, 12 November 2026, Notices, p. 72959 (official reference: 2026-22989).