We are excited to announced that DSHS has been allocated an additional $2 million for the 2026-2027 supplemental budget. Of this $2 million, $250,000 will be used to establish a strategic planning work group to transform Washington’s system of services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

This means that there will be $1.75 million available for Round 4 of new grants from the Dan Thompson Memorial.

The additional funding provides an opportunity to revisit innovative ideas that weren’t able to move forward due to lack of funding last summer. At that time, DSHS received more than 150 applications totaling over $28 million in requested grant funds. With this new funding, we will connect with applicants to distribute the additional $1.75 million.

What to Expect

If you applied for Dan Thompson grant funding in late summer 2025 and did not receive an award, be on the lookout for an email from the Dan Thompson team. We are initiating outreach to the next tier of top-performing candidates for award consideration.

Our goal is to send notifications to all applicants by June 1, 2026 with a final outcome of these grant applications.

Stay tuned for more updates on future grant opportunities. Thank you for your interest in the Dan Thompson grant program!

View the full bulletin from DSHS at Dan Thompson Grant Funding.