Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-1202: Families first community grants program

(a) The department shall begin accepting grant applications from eligible nonprofit organizations and other qualified entities, distributed proportionally across the three (3) grand divisions of the state to the extent possible, for programs to provide services to families and individuals eligible for the TANF program and in furtherance of the four (4) purposes of the TANF program.

(b) The department must award community grants in amounts not to exceed fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), subject to appropriations in the general appropriations act, using funds from the department's existing surplus reserve of TANF funds.

(c) The department is authorized to select community intermediaries and external compliance partners to assist in outreach and marketing, evaluation of grant proposals, administration of the grant program funding, and monitoring to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal requirements; provided, that the costs of these activities do not exceed the amount of federal TANF funds available for those purposes.