HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) Funds Available HUD has recently published its NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) announcing the availability of 2009 funds. In the past, RHED has been a great source of flexible funding for innovative housing and economic development programs (including community development financial institution (CDFI) development and individual development account (IDA) programs) in Native communities. This year’s NOFA expands the availability of funds targeting Native communities.
Please see the following link for application materials.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa09/grprhed.cfm
Here is some key information about the funding:
- Applications are due on Friday, May 29, 2009.
- HUD will not be accepting applications on line with grants.gov – applicants must submit paper applications only.
- The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is hosting a audio webcast to review the RHED application guidelines on Thursday, May 7 at 3 pm eastern (register at www.ruralhome.org).
RHED funding is available to three eligible categories of applicants:
Category 1: Support for Innovative Housing and Economic Development Activities
Eligible applicants: Federally recognized Indian tribes, state housing finance agencies, state community and/or economic development agencies, local rural nonprofit organizations, and community development corporations.
Maximum funding award: $300,000
Category 2: Economic Development and Entrepreneurship for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
Eligible applicants: Federally recognized Indian tribes.
Maximum funding award: $300,000
Category 3: Technical Assistance to Increase Capacity through Training and Outreach Activities for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
Eligible applicants: Technical assistance providers
Maximum funding award: $1,000,000
Eligible RHED activities include:
- Cost of new or innovative construction, energy efficiency, or other techniques that will result in the design or construction of innovative housing, including persons with disabilities, and economic development projects;
- Preparation of architectural plans or engineering drawings;
- Preparation of legal documents, government paperwork, and applications necessary for construction of housing and economic development activities;
- Acquisition of land and buildings;
- Demolition of property to permit construction or rehabilitation;
- Purchase of construction materials;
- Homeownership counseling, including credit counseling and fair housing counseling;
- Conducting conferences or meetings with other federal or state agencies, tribes, TDHE’s, or national or regional housing organizations, to inform residents of programs, rights, and responsibilities associated with home buying opportunities;
- Establishing CDFIs, lines of credit, revolving loan funds, microenterprises, small business enterprises;
- Provision of direct financial assistance to homeowners/developers – this can be in the form of default reserves, pooling/securitization mechanisms, loans, grants, IDAs, or similar activities.