Tennessee assistance programs

Tennessee gives both homebuyer help and energy bill help to its housing finance agency, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) runs Families First cash assistance and child care payments itself, statewide, through a single online portal, and college grants are split between the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

THDA does not lend directly, and its local partners take most of the paperwork. Every Great Choice Home Loan, with its Great Choice Plus down payment loan, starts with a THDA-approved lender. Every LIHEAP application goes through THDA's SmartSimple portal and is processed by one of 19 local agencies covering all 95 counties. Weatherization has no online application: you call one of 12 local agencies. The Tennessee homebuyer guide and the energy assistance guide cover both.

TDHS takes Families First and Child Care Payment Assistance applications in the One DHS Customer Portal; the One DHS Contact Center is 833-772-8347. New Smart Steps child care applicants have gone onto a waitlist since August 26, 2025, but Families First, Transitional, Teen Parent and other Certificate Program child care still enroll eligible families without it. Free Voluntary Pre-K is separate and run by school districts with Tennessee Department of Education funding. See the cash assistance and child care guides.

Tennessee has no general grant for starting a business. Its federal SSBCI money runs as Fund Tennessee (LendTN loans and InvestTN equity), and its real grants pay for employee training, export costs and SBIR/STTR matches (small business guide). For students, the FAFSA is the only application for TSAA, HOPE, Aspire and Wilder-Naifeh, while Tennessee Promise and Reconnect are applied for in the THEC Student Portal (student grants guide).