March 2005
In This Issue
HUD Releases FY 2005 SuperNOFA
The HUD SuperNOFA, with over 500 pages of detailed information about FY 2005 discretionary grant
opportunities, was published in the
Federal Register
on Monday, March 21. Updated information about the SuperNOFA and application materials are
available on HUD’s
Web site.
The following is information about three competitive funding streams that some legal services programs
have taken advantage of in the past.
- Fair Housing Initiatives Programs (FHIP)
Deadline: May 23, 2005
Federal Register, vol. 70, pgs. 13787 – 13805
$17.6 million was awarded in competitive grants in FY 2004; level funding was appropriated for FY
2005. FHIP grantees provide assistance to individuals who believe they have been victims of housing
discrimination. General information about
FHIP
can be found on HUD’s Web site.
Three FHIP initiatives provide competitive grants to eligible organizations:
- Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI): In FY 2004, about $11.8 million was awarded for 12 to 18
month grants of up to $220,000 to assist private, tax-exempt fair housing enforcement organizations
in the investigation and enforcement of alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and substantially
equivalent state and local fair housing laws.
- Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI): In FY 2004, about $3.7 million was allocated for one-year
grants of up to $100,000 to inform and educate the public about rights and obligations under
federal, state and local fair housing laws.
- Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI): In FY 2004, about $2.1 million was awarded in two
three-year grants of approximately $1 million each for projects that serve rural and immigrant
populations in areas where there currently is no existing fair housing organization, or are otherwise
under-served.
You can read
descriptions
of the grants awarded to 106 groups under FHIP in FY 2004 to help them fight housing discrimination.
Recently added to NLADA’s resource list of successful
federal grant applications are four FY 2004 applications for FHIP.
- Housing Counseling Programs
Deadline: June 6, 2005
Federal Register, vol. 70, pgs. 13806 – 13824
$36 million was awarded in competitive grants for FY 2004; $2.5 million of this money was awarded
specifically to combat predatory lending, and $1.7 million was awarded specifically for counseling
in conjunction with the Section 8 Homeownership Voucher Program. The grants were awarded to 18
national organizations and approximately 340 state and local housing counseling agencies. There is a
$2 million increase in the FY 2005 appropriation for Housing Counseling.
HUD funds housing counseling agencies throughout the country to give advice on buying a home,
renting, mortgage delinquency and defaults, foreclosures, predatory lending, credit issues and
reverse mortgages. Organizations that apply for grants must first be approved by HUD and are subject
to biennial performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.
Click here
for more information on how to become a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency.
Click here
to read detailed descriptions of the Housing Counseling grants awarded for FY 2004.
- Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs
Deadline: June 10, 2005
Federal Register, vol. 70, pgs. 14272 – 14383
A total of $1.24 billion (with a b) was awarded in Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance grants
for FY 2004, with a small decrease of $10 million in the appropriation for FY 2005. There have been
significant changes to the application for these programs for FY 2005.
Civil legal aid programs generally have received funding under the Supportive Housing Program (SHP)
of this grant. In addition to funding housing that has a supportive environment, SHP funds projects
that include supportive services for homeless people not living in supportive housing, that helps
them to move to permanent housing. More information about
SHP
can be found on HUD’s Web site.
In the past, a wide range of supportive services aimed at moving homeless participants to permanent
housing received funding under SHP. However, beginning in FY 2004, HUD has given a low priority
to all applications that seek funding for supportive services only, except for those providing
legal services to help homeless people get access to public benefits, particularly SSI. Your best bet is to limit
your application to funding for advocates to appeal denials of benefits, thereby assisting
clients with securing income to facilitate their move out of homelessness. In addition, HUD will not
award SHP money to fund advocacy in landlord tenant matters in an effort to prevent
homelessness, in spite of what the SuperNOFA language implies.
Most importantly, you will have to convince the member agencies of your local Continuum of Care
(CoC) that legal services should be a partner in their continuum of services, if this is not already
included as a local priority. The members of the local CoC rank their priorities in terms of
their pro rata funding line, and in general, HUD does not fund anything other than what has been
prioritized by the local CoC. If legal services are not already a priority for your local CoC, your
time is better spent trying to pursuade the members that legal services should be a part of the service
continuum, rather than perfecting your application to HUD.
Recently added to NLADA’s resource list of successful
federal grant applications are two FY 2004 applications for SHP funds from the Homeless
Assistance grant program. Also, see the Collaboration Corner piece
below.
Other Federal Funding Opportunities
- Supplemental 2005 Low Income Taxpayer Grant program
Deadline: April 15, 2005
The National Taxpayer Advocate of the Internal Revenue Service, Nina E. Olson, has announced that
as a result of increased funding made possible by enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act
of 2005, the IRS will open a supplemental period for accepting Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
applications for the remainder of the 2005 grant cycle (the 2005 grant cycle runs January 1, 2005,
through December 31, 2005). Grant decisions will be made by June 1, 2005, and funds awarded can only
be used for the remainder of the grant period that runs through the end of the 2005 calendar year.
The additional $500,000 in grant funds will be directed to states that do not presently have a tax
clinic and to communities where there is limited clinic accessibility. In order to be considered for
a supplemental 2005 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant, an organization must be in a position to
provide services to taxpayers in a state (or areas within a state) as follows:
- Alabama (Montgomery and south of Birmingham),
- Alaska (statewide excluding Anchorage area),
- Arizona (statewide),
- Colorado (statewide),
- District of Columbia,
- Idaho (southern sections),
- Iowa (statewide excluding Des Moines area),
- Maryland (statewide),
- Mississippi (western and southern sections),
- Missouri (eastern and central sections including St. Louis),
- Montana (eastern sections),
- Nebraska (statewide excluding Omaha area),
- New Mexico (statewide),
- North Dakota (northern sections),
- Puerto Rico (San Juan and eastern sections),
- Texas (western sections and Dallas),
- Utah (statewide),
- Wisconsin (statewide), and
- Wyoming (statewide).
This is a matching-fund grant program. For more information, visit the Web sites of the
Taxpayer Advocate
and the
IRS Newsroom.
More information is also available at
fedgrants.gov.
- FY 2005 Child Support Special Improvement Project (SIP) Grants
Deadline: May 3, 2005
The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
of the Department of Health and Human Services, will award grants to help test the feasibility of
new approaches to collecting child support. Projects should reflect the goals of OCSE’s latest
strategic plan, which include making sure all children have their parentage established and all
children in Title IV-D cases have support orders established, have medical coverage and receive
financial support from parents as ordered.
For FY 2005, approximately $1.8 million is available for SIP grants in five priority areas, which are:
- Customizing Approaches for Improved Customer Service
- Improving Judicial/Administrative Child Support Enforcement Processes
- Improving Child Support and Marriage Education Services for Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Populations
- Improving Health Care Coverage for Children in Child Support Cases
- Improving Local Collaboration Strategies Between Child Support Enforcement and Community Agencies
Eligible applicants for these grants are state agencies, tribes and tribal organizations, local
public agencies, nonprofit organizations and consortia of state and/or local public agencies.
Private, nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit with their applications the
Survey for Private, Non-Profit Grant Applicants.
For more information, visit ACF's
grants Web site.
Applicants may contact Susan Greenblatt in the Office of Child Support
Enforcement for more information by phone at (202) 401-4849 or by e-mail at
sgreenblatt@acf.hhs.gov.
- Assets for Independence Demonstration Program
Deadline: This is a standing announcement with three deadlines of March 15, June 15
and November 1, 2005.
The Office of Community Services (OCS), in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the
Department of Health and Human Services, is accepting applications for financial assistance to
establish and administer Assets for Independence (AFI) Projects. These projects assist low-income
people in becoming economically self-sufficient by teaching project participants about economic and
consumer issues and helping them to establish matched savings accounts called Individual Development
Accounts (IDA) in order to save for buying a first home, starting a business or attending higher
education.
OCS expects to award $18 million for 50 to 60 AFI Projects in 2005. While they do not expect to
receive enough quality applications by the first (March 15) deadline to exhaust all funds, they will
not reserve any specific level of funding for the later two deadlines. The November 1 deadline in
particular reflects projected FY 2006 funding, which is not guaranteed. There is a 1-1 matching
requirement; the difficulty of finding funding for the matching requirement limits the competition
for these grants.
General information about IDA programs can be found at the
IDA Network
and the
Corporation for Enterprise Development.
More information about AFI Projects
can be found on OCS’s
Web site.
Applicants should visit ACF's
grant Web site,
and may contact James Gatz in the Office of Community Services by phone
at (202) 401-4626 or by e-mail at afiprogram@acf.hhs.gov.
Private Foundation Funding
- Amazon.com Nonprofit Innovation Award
Deadline: April 28, 2005
Amazon.com is now accepting applications for the Amazon.com Nonprofit Innovation Award, which
recognizes and rewards nonprofit organizations whose innovative approaches most effectively improve
their communities. Ten organizations will be selected as finalists from the pool of applicants,
and will have a unique opportunity to raise funds and awareness for their programs on Amazon.com.
Each of the finalists will be profiled on their own Amazon.com pages, where customers will be invited
to vote for their favorites by making monetary donations beginning July 19, 2005. The organization
that receives the largest amount of customer contributions by September 30, 2005 will receive the
award, along with a matching grant of up to $1 million from Amazon.com. All ten of the finalist
organizations will receive the funds pledged to them by Amazon.com customers during the donation period.
The selection of finalists will be based on criteria that include the urgency, relevancy and
complexity of the problem the organization seeks to address; clear evidence of a gap between the
targeted problem and existing solutions; the extraordinary inventiveness of the solution and how it
breaks from traditional approaches; a measurable record of improvement for at least two years; and a
well-developed plan for promoting continued innovation. For more information, visit the
Web site
about the award. Questions about the award should be sent to
nonprofitinnovation@amazon.com.
- Samuel Rubin Foundation
Deadline: May 6, 2005; September 2, 2005
http://www.samuelrubinfoundation.org/
The Samuel Rubin Foundation's general purpose is to carry on the vision of its founder whose life
was dedicated to the pursuit of peace and justice and the search for an equitable reallocation of
the world’s resources. The foundation believes that these objectives can be achieved only through
the fullest implementation of social, economic, political, civil and cultural rights for the world’s
people. If you believe your project fits their statement of purpose, they would prefer a full
proposal to a letter of inquiry. There are no geographic limitations, and they accept applications
for general operating expenses as well as for specific projects within an organization. The majority
of the foundation's grants are in the $5,000-10,000 range. Applicants are notified of the foundation’s
decision within a week of its board meetings, which are generally held at the end of February,
June and October of each year.
- Social Justice Grant Fund
Deadline: May 15, 2005
http://www.osfphila.org/sp/justice_peace/csr_sjgfund.html
The Social Justice Grant Fund of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia supports projects that
promote social justice at the local, national, or international level. The fund awards grants of up
to $5,000 to nonprofit organizations that address the basic causes of injustice and promote
self-help and empowerment. Funded projects must address the basic causes of injustice and foster
systemic change; promote self-help and empowerment of individuals and communities; or respond to the
unmet needs of the poor and/or the marginalized, especially women and children. In addition, projects
must give evidence that those who would benefit from the proposed program are directly involved in
and support it.
- First Data Western Union Foundation
Deadline: June 1, 2005
http://www.firstdatawesternunion.org/grants/
The First Data Western Union Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and
selected regions internationally that improve and enhance the lives of individuals, families and
communities most in need. Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New York and Texas, where First Data's
employees live and work, are priority funding regions in the U.S. for the foundation. However,
grant requests from other states are accepted and will be approved or denied based upon a program's
ability to serve extremely needy and vulnerable individuals with very limited avenues of assistance.
Grants are provided for health care, education and human services where poverty, language barriers
and cultural differences present challenges to individual opportunity.
- SBC Excelerator Grants
Deadline: June 15, 2005
http://www.sbc.com/foundation
The SBC Foundation has opened competition for its 2005 SBC Excelerator grants. In 2005, $9 million is
available for competitive grants to help nonprofits in SBC’s 13-state service area (Arkansas,
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio,
Texas and Wisconsin). Grants help community-based nonprofits integrate technology into their ongoing
programs and community outreach. Applicants must focus on education, community development, health
and human services, or arts. Grants will range from $2,500 to $25,000.
- Household International Corporate Giving Program
Deadline: Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis from January 15 through December 15.
http://www.household.com/corp/hiau_community_commit.jsp
The Corporate Giving Program of Household International (HSBC) is committed to improving the
quality of life in the communities where the company does business. Priority is given to requests
that address issues related to financial and credit education, economic development, youth
development, and education, particularly for low-income and minority populations. Nonprofit
organizations in communities throughout the country where the company does business are eligible to
apply for support.
- F.B. Heron Foundation
Deadline: Letters of inquiry are accepted throughout the year.
http://www.fbheron.org/index.html
The F.B. Heron Foundation supports nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. that help low-income
people to create wealth and take control of their lives. The foundation makes grants to and
investments in programs in urban and rural communities that engage in wealth-creation strategies
including increasing access to capital, supporting enterprise development, advancing home ownership,
reducing the barriers to full participation in the economy by providing quality child care, and
employing comprehensive community development approaches with a strong focus on wealth-creation
strategies. The foundation prefers to support direct-service, community-based organizations.
Collaboration Corner
The Council of Orange County Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) was awarded over $1.8 million in
funding from the U. S Department of Housing and Urban Development’s FY 2004 Homeless Assistance New
Projects Fund, to implement a program, St. Vincent’s Haven (SVH), which will provide a safe haven
for homeless individuals that will transition eligible participants into more permanent housing
where tenants will not be subject to limits on their length of stay. Supportive services will be
provided to participants through an individualized case management approach that satisfies the
second priority of this locality’s (Santa Ana/Anaheim/Orange County) Continuum of Care Plan.
The St. Vincent’s Haven collaborative effort brings together seven organizations that fill the gaps
of services not provided to this targeted population. In addition to SVDP, partners in this
collaboration include the Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC), the Public Law Center,
Colette’s Children’s Home, the Christopher House, Institute of Advanced Studies and the Mariposa
Women’s Center. As part of this collaborative, LASOC will be providing direct civil legal services
to approximately 120 chronically homeless individuals receiving services at the St. Vincent’s Haven
per year.
For this collaborative, a paralegal will be assigned to conduct fifty weekly clinics annually at the
Safe Haven site. During the weekly clinic, each participant will be interviewed in order to
ascertain the level of legal intervention that will be necessary to remove legal barriers so that
the individual is in a position to move from a situation of being safe and thriving (living in the
transitional facility) to one of self- sufficiency (permanent housing). Cases that fall within the
case priorities and require additional services will be provided extended legal services. Depending
on individual need, extended services may include the following legal services: consultation with
the attorney, preparation of legal pleadings or correspondence, explanation of court process,
research and court preparation, and court appearance. Cases that are handled for full representation
usually include, but are not limited to: family law matters; evictions where there are substandard
habitability problems or retaliatory evictions; government benefits matters; and other cases which
have the most potential for serious adverse effect for the individual and where LASOC’s involvement
is likely to affect the outcome of the case.
In addition, LASOC will conduct specialized workshops during clinic hours on relevant legal issues.
LASOC plans to create videos that individuals can watch during the workshop that provide immediate
relevant legal information. After the video, a paralegal will be available to answer any questions.
Written materials will also be available that will provide information on an individual’s legal rights
and responsibilities and referrals to local community agencies.
For more information about LASOC’s role in the St. Vincent’s Haven collaborative, and about securing
funding through HUD’s Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grants more generally, contact
Michelle Barrett, LASOC’s director of Fund Development, at (714) 571-5220 or
mbarrett@legal-aid.com.
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