Harford County HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) – Maryland - fundsforNGOs

The Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides formula grants to state and local governments that communities use, often in partnership with local community-based non-profits, to fund activities.

Donor Name: Harford County Government

State: Maryland

County: Harford County (MD)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 02/05/2024

Size of the Grant: Not Available

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO)

Harford County, through the HOME Program, is making an investment in the future of local nonprofit housing groups. Harford County provides funds to CHDOs to own, develop, or sponsor affordable housing projects. Not every private, nonprofit organization qualifies as a CHDO. This term is reserved for those that:

Provide decent housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income persons as a part of their organizational mission (though they may perform other functions as well)
Have effectively carried out activities financed by HOME funds
Have a history of serving the community where the HOME-funded housing will be
Are organized under state or local laws and exempt from taxes under 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
Meet standards of financial accountability
One-third of CHDOs governing board must be made up of low-income community residents or elected representatives of those residents
CHDOs must also maintain a formal process that allows low-income residents and other program beneficiaries to provide input on relevant decisions. This process must be part of the organization’s by-laws.

Purpose

The purpose of the HOME Program is to:

Expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, affordable housing for low-income families;
Expand the capacity of nonprofit Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) to develop and manage affordable housing.

Affordable housing is considered housing for low- to moderate-income persons in the county (this is based upon income and family size). Supportive housing would be housing with support services, such as case management, job readiness training, etc., which allows formerly homeless or persons with disabilities transition to self-sufficiency.

HOME funds are awarded annually to Harford County to be used for activities that will improve housing opportunities. Each year Harford County must submit to HUD a Consolidated Action Plan containing specific information on how they will use their HOME allocation. The Consolidated Plan is:

The foundation on which all the community’s affordable housing efforts are built
A tool to learn about the community’s housing and development needs, to inventory its resources, to establish priorities for addressing those needs, and to develop concrete strategies for fulfilling those priorities
A process that provides a forum for the citizens in the community to voice their opinion on the county’s plans and results.

Affordability Requirements

Affordability means a property assisted with HOME funds must be restricted to income eligible residents. In the case of rental projects, rents are restricted as well. Based upon the amount, or the type of activity using HOME funds in a property, it must remain affordable for the following time periods: