ITN 2026-01 Innovation Fund

#	Type	Status	Date	Due Date	Time Remaining
2026-01	GRANT	Active		3/13/2026 5:00 PM

This solicitation will fund multiple entities, for up to $1,000,000, for innovative ideas and program designs that address existing community needs and have not previously been implemented in our community. Proposals should demonstrate the potential through research, education or program innovation to improve: a) Conditions in which children, families or communities live, work, play or learn, and/or b) Provision and/or coordination of services for children, families or communities. All proposed projects should demonstrate how they will benefit families with children within Miami-Dade County. Individual awards will not exceed $100,000.

Innovation Fund Tentative Timeline

Release Date: January 27, 2026
Bidder's Conference and Application Training: January 29, 2026
- 9:00am-11:00am; REGISTER HERE
- Bidder's Conference PowerPoint Presentation HERE
- Bidder's Conference Video Recording HERE
Pre-Application Deadline: February 27, 2026
Application Deadline: March 13, 2026
Debriefing Period: March 30 – April 2, 2026
Site Visit/Interview Period: April 16, 2026 – April 20, 2026
Selection Announcement: April 24, 2026

My Applications

Click on row below to modify existing application.

Timeline

	RELEASE	1/27/2026 9:00 AM
	BIDDERSCONFAPPTRAIN	1/29/2026 9:00 AM
	PREAPPDEADLINE	2/27/2026 5:00 PM
	INVITATION	3/2/2026
	QADEADLINE	3/6/2026 5:00 PM
	APPDEADLINE	3/13/2026 5:00 PM
	REVIEWSTART	3/16/2026 - 3/27/2026 5:00 PM
	DEBRIEFIGSTART	3/30/2026 - 4/2/2026
	INTERVIEWSTART	4/16/2026 - 4/20/2026
	RECOMMENDATION	4/24/2026
	APPEAL_DEADLINE	4/29/2026 5:00 PM
	COMMITTEE	6/2/2026
	BOARD	6/15/2026
	CONTRACTSTART	10/1/2026

Resources

Budget Manual
1/27/2026
Budget Template
1/27/2026
Omni Map
1/27/2026
Bidder's Conference PowerPoint Presentation
1/29/2026
Bidder's Conference Video Recording
1/29/2026

Q & A

Fiscal

If you are an LLC and don't have a 990 but can provide the required fiscal documentation, should you answer "Yes" or "No" to this question?: Does the agency have an Internal Revenue Service form 990? I'm concerned with answering "No" and being disqualified,: Fiscal documentation detailing the agency's financial status from the previous fiscal year may be submitted in lieu of 990 tax forms.

I attached my 990 and it i got a message indicating that I did not.: If you feel that the message was incorrect, please resubmit the pre-application.

Hi, I would like to know if an audit and program evaluation are required for this grant?: No, please refer to the solicitation or application training presentation for the fiscal requirements.

Hi, I would like to know if this grant requires matching funds, and if so, what proportion is expected. Thanks.: This grant does not require match funding.

Good morning, does this grant require matching funds, and if so, what proportion is expected? Thanks: No, this grant does not require matching funds.

4KIDS is an integrated auxiliary of Calvary Chapel Church, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation recognized by the IRS as a Church organization under section 170(b)(1)(A)(i) fo the Code. As an integrated auxiliary of a church, 4KIDS is exempt from filing an annual IRS Form 990 return under Section 6033(a)(3)(i) of the Code. We do have an independent financial audit conducted annually. Does this disqualify us from applying for a grant with The Children's Trust?: Provide the most recent monthly financial statement and checking account bank statement for the same month as fiscal documentation.

For newly formed for-profit entities applying for Innovation Fund feasibility or pilot projects that have not yet filed a federal tax return, what documentation is acceptable as the 'Form 990 or equivalent tax document' at the pre-application stage? Specifically, would a signed Statement of No Financial Activity satisfy this requirement?: Provide the most recent monthly financial statement and checking account bank statement for the same month as fiscal documentation.

Our organization operates as a religious institution under the Archdiocese of Miami and is exempt from filing annual income tax returns. What documentation is required in lieu of tax returns for this application?: Provide the most recent monthly financial statement and checking account bank statement for the same month.

General

When trying to log in, I am getting an error message saying my account is not active. What should I do? We are trying to submit a pre-proposal.: Please submit a Help Desk ticket with the Subject Line Innovation ITN 2026-01 at Helpdesk@thechildrenstrust.org.

How do I register for the pre-application: Please review the application training presentation and video recording for instructions. The application is open to submit a pre-application, registration is not required.

I received an email informing be that our submission was ineligible, but based on our further review, our submission meets all criteria: Pre-applications are reviewed by a team of staff. If it was deemed ineligible, it did not meet the criteria as outlined in the ITN.

I submitted the pre-application for the Innovation Grant last week. Am I supposed to receive a confirmation email?: Applicants are notified via email when a pre-application is approved or deemed ineligible.

I submitted a pre-application for the Innovation Funding grant last week, but I checked and don't see my application.: You should receive a response via email through Trust Central regarding the status of your pre-application.

How can I confirm our pre application summary submitted correctly?: We review pre-applications every two to three business days.

When should I anticipate seeing the pre application summary in my dashboard or receiving the email if was not accepted?: We review pre-applications every two to three business days.

If we will be using a paid, in-kind partner, but the funds used to pay the partner are not part of the budget proposed for this application, do we still need to include the MOU?: The partners would be considered in-kind to the grant if grant funds are not used to pay for the services.

Do projects need to be within the OMNI Boundary Map or can they be implemented anywhere in Miami-Dade County?: Projects may be implemented throughout Miami-Dade County.

We are aware that public and charter schools cannot be leads in the application. We would like to confirm if they can be an implementation partner for a pilot. The lead would be an LLC. Thank you!: Yes, public and charter schools may be implementation partners for a project.

This solicitation states that priority will be given to projects operating within the City of Miami’s Omni Community Redevelopment Area, and the Omni map is provided. Will the Children's Trust fund projects outside the Omni Map area? And if so, what percentage of the project will be funded within the Omni area and what percentage outside the area?: Projects operating within the Omni Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) are a priority when considering funding for projects deemed innovative under the Solicitation criteria. This means that if multiple projects receive similarly competitive scores and limited funding is available, priority will be given to the project located within the Omni CRA. Therefore, CRA location serves as a tie-breaker rather than a standalone funding requirement should our funding requirement not be met within our other funding categories.

It was mentioned that 1 institution can submit several proposals. However, the general guidelines say limited submission: "The Children’s Trust typically accepts only one (1) proposal per agency for a particular program funding opportunity (e.g., parenting). However, in the case of large entities with multiple, distinct departments or units, such as municipalities and universities, this limit of one proposal will be applied to the department or unit level.” Is this ITN one of these exceptions?: Yes, the Innovation Fund is an exception. As stated during the Bidders Conference, organizations may submit multiple pre-applications and/or applications.

We just learned about this grant last night from MDCPS. We are unable to attend the Jan. 29th bidder conference/training session due to the last minute notice. Can we attend a different session? Make up the missing training some how? Thanks!: The PowerPoint presentation and recording of the training are posted on The Children's Trust website and in the Resources section of the solicitation.

During the webinar, it was shared that multiple ideas could be proposed by one organization during the pre-app phase. Is feedback provided on most likely to be awarded so that only one full grant app is completed?: As stated during the webinar, each pre-application is reviewed and scored on its own merit. Additional feedback is not provided as we are under the Cone of Silence.

Good afternoon, I completed the pre-application and even included a title, but now I don't see the application. I wanted to know if everything is okay. Thank you.: Pre-applications will appear under My Applications if the application is deemed eligible for the full application. If the application is deemed ineligible, the applicant receives an email.

We became aware of this grant just yesterday by way of MDCPS. However, it was short notice and we are unable to attend the training to be held tomorrow 1/29. Is there any way to make up the missed opportunity to learn more? Thanks.: The PowerPoint presentation and recording of the training are posted on The Children's Trust website and in the Resources section of the solicitation.

Can an agency that is currently funded by TCT eligible to apply?: Yes, organizations that currently receive Trust funding are eligible to apply for the Innovation grant.

Services - Innovation NEW

Pertaining to the submission by The Home Team - Miami, our pre-application was deemed ineligible. We are confused why as, upon review, and after conferring with our Miami-Dade County Public School partner, our application met all criteria provided under ITN 2026-01 Innovation Fund. Please advise: The services put forth in the pre-application do not meet the criteria of The Children's Trust innovation fund. Academic supports within the school day is not innovative. We are happy to meet with your organization when the Cone of Silence has ended to provide additional details.

Does the program have to physically take place in Miami Dade County? Or can it take place in another county and benefit Miami residents?: All beneficiaries of the program or services must live in Miami-Dade County.

Do we need to upload the Excel budget template? Where? Thanks: The excel budget does not need to be uploaded in the grant application.

Hi, My question is the following: I have been working on an app for my center that is to analyze data in the form of videos. It uses the same benchmarks as the ASQ-3 Assessment, but I am making it better because it will use AI to analyze data in real time. I am about 3/4 of the app, but I am running out of money, so I need funding. Would that qualify, as it is an existing project that has already used a significant amount of money on development. Thanks,: Please submit the pre-application to determine if your idea qualifies for this solicitation.

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