June 2008

In This Issue

• Federal Funding Opportunity
• Private Foundation Funding
• HUD Seeks Comments on Proposed Housing Counseling Evaluation

Federal Funding Opportunity

• Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Grants
  Deadline: July 7, 2008
  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3319.pdf or http://www.grants.gov
  

  The National Taxpayer Advocate of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant application process is now open for the 2009 grant cycle (January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009).

  Under the program, IRS has $8 million to award in matching grants of up to $100,000 a year to develop, expand or continue low income taxpayer clinics. For the 2008 grant cycle, the LITC Program Office awarded grants to 154 organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. View the list of 2008 clinics here.

  In awarding 2009 LITC grants, they will focus on the following program goals:

  
  
  • Ensuring that each state (as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam) continues to be served by at least one clinic;
  • Expanding coverage in geographic areas that do not have both controversy representation and ESL education and outreach; and
  • Ensuring grant recipients demonstrate that they are serving geographic areas that have sizable populations eligible for and requiring LITC services.

• HOPE Grants
  Deadline: Ongoing (funding contingent upon availability)
  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/fund/expandingoutreach/welcome.html

  Funding is available from the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to community-based and faith-based victim service organizations and coalitions to improve outreach and services to crime victims through support of program development, networking, coalition building and service delivery. Funds may be used to develop program literature, train advocates, and recruit volunteers. HOPE grants are one-time awards for up to $10,000. Eligible applicants include organizations and coalitions operating for at least one year which have not received federal VOCA victim assistance grant funding in the past.

Private Foundation Funding

• Collaboration Prize to Honor Successful Nonprofit Collaborations
  Deadline: July 21, 2008
  http://www.lodestarfoundation.org/

  The Lodestar Foundation and its partner organizations have announced the creation of the Collaboration Prize to recognize collaborations among two or more nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources and staff. The prize program also seeks to build an information base of effective practice models that can be studied and used by academics, nonprofit leaders, and grant-makers to inspire and advance their work.

  For the purposes of the prize, collaboration means joint programming, administrative consolidations or mergers among two or more organizations that would otherwise compete. To be eligible, a collaboration must involve two or more nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services; have a structure that is evidenced by a formal agreement that uses the resources of each party in a more effective way (this agreement could be a memorandum of understanding, a letter of agreement, a contract or a merger agreement); and have begun operation at least eighteen months prior to nomination and have been in existence no longer than eight years prior to the date of nomination.

  The collaboration or each participant must be registered as a 501(c)(3) organization and be located in the United States. The prize of $250,000 will be awarded to the winning collaboration. Although the award must be used for charitable purposes, there are no specific requirements for its use. Nominations may be made by individuals who are familiar with the collaboration but are not an employee of any organization involved.

HUD Seeks Comments on Proposed Housing Counseling Evaluation

The Housing & Urban Development Department (HUD) has proposed a study to gather statistically accurate outcome information from clients of its housing counseling agencies seeking purchase and foreclosure assistance. On May 29, 2008, HUD published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on its proposed study.

Up to 30 agencies receiving funding from HUD for housing counseling would be recruited to participate voluntarily in the study. The goal is to recruit 1,000 pre-purchase and 1,000 foreclosure mitigation counseling clients. Each client would complete a baseline questionnaire at the time they are enrolled in the study. The housing counseling agencies would then be asked to complete service tracking surveys each time that a client enrolled in the study is assisted, as well as counselor information surveys.

Affected agencies are invited to submit comments concerning the proposed collection of information about:

• whether the proposed collection of information will have practical utility;
• the accuracy of HUD’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;
• how to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• minimizing the burden of the collection of information on those who are involved in the study.

More information about the proposed study can be received from Lillian Deitzer, Reports Management Officer at HUD, (202) 402-8048; e-mail, Lillian_L_Deitzer@HUD.gov. Comments on the proposed study should be submitted to the HUD Desk Officer at the Office of Management and Budget.