In many communities, a lack of affordable housing is an ongoing challenge. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, no state in the U.S. has an adequate supply of affordable rental housing for the lowest income renters and rising rental costs often make it difficult to maintain housing. A newly forecasted grant from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services, will help to address these challenges by leveraging the expertise of Community Action Agencies.
Earlier this month, the Office of Community Services announced the upcoming availability of $2 million through the Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration Grant. The goal of the grant is to implement wraparound services that will improve housing stability and economic mobility for residents of affordable housing.
As described in the grant announcement, wraparound services that CAAs may implement include early “child care, Head Start, Early Head Start, or other early childhood education programs/opportunities for young children ages 0 to 5.” CAAs may also implement an array of health, education, and social support services. The grant offers a unique opportunity to propose a coordinated approach to meeting family and community needs.
If your agency is interested in this opportunity, below are a few key details.
Timeline for grant application: The Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration project is currently forecasted on grants.gov (Opportunity Number HHS-2023-ACF-OCS-EAH-0088). While the grant was forecasted to go live on grants.gov on June 26, 2023, it has not yet posted. The estimated due date is August 15, 2023, though often when a posting is delayed the due date is adjusted as well.
Eligible Applicants. As described in the grant announcement, eligible applicants include “Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and tribes that were funded directly by the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in FY 2023 that own affordable housing units and provide wraparound supportive services to residents of the affordable units.”
Funding and Estimated Awards: $2 million is available and the Office of Community Services expects to make seven awards ranging from $100,000 to $250,000.
Application Criteria: Because the grant opportunity as not posted yet, the full details are not yet available. However, there are a couple of important points included in the grant forecast.
Applicants will need to demonstrate a long-standing ability to: 1. promote safety, stability, and economic mobility for residents through strengthened wraparound supportive services; 2. advance equity through their affordable housing and supportive service efforts; and 3. collect data related to residential services and evaluate efforts.
If your agency intends to apply for funding through the Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration project, we recommend you subscribe to updates on grants.gov to be alerted to the most time-sensitive information.
Foundations for Families Consulting Services include assistance preparing for, writing, and submitting federal grant applications. If your program is interested to learn more about how we might support your program, please contact us.
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