The Department of Commerce seeks applications for SFY 2025-2027 from organizations interested in providing homelessness diversion services to people at risk of homelessness or recently homeless in their communities.
Donor Name: Washington State Department of Commerce
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/10/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The Diversion Program is a critical resource in the homeless crisis response system. This grant provides funding for diversion services to any non-profit organization and Tribal Government. The funding aims to provide diversion services to families and individuals facing a housing crisis (experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness) to reduce in-flow to the homeless crisis response system. Research shows us that people living unhoused or experiencing a housing crisis become stably housed when the system is:
- Provide Diversion services to families and individuals facing a housing crisis (experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness) to reduce in-flow to the homeless crisis response system, including reducing waitlist placements.
- Provide low barrier, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive services.
- Prioritize services to communities who have a demonstrated disproportionate representation in homelessness, housing instability, and housing affordability.
Funding Information
Funding for the Homeless Diversion Program comes from state general funds and Commerce is anticipating a total budget of $2 million for the 2025-2027 state biennium. Commerce estimates awarding between 5-7 grants with an average award of $140,000 for each fiscal year.
Grant Period
The grant period is tentatively scheduled to begin on or about 07/01/2025 and to end on 06/30/2027. Commerce reserves the option at its sole discretion to extend the grant for two additional one-year periods.
Allowable Expenses
- Program Operations
- Expenses directly attributable to the diversion program and services. That includes salaries, office space, utilities, staff training, interpretation and translation services.
- Administration
- Costs that benefit the agency as a whole and are not attributed to the diversion program, such as Executive Director salary, organizational insurance, audits, board expenses, general agency facilities costs.
- Flex Funding
- Flex Funding is a direct financial assistance provided on behalf of household as needed to ease the transition out of crisis. Not every household facing a housing crisis will need Flex Funding and the payments must be paid directly to a third party on behalf of the household.
Service Prioritization
The Diversion Program prioritizes service to communities that have a demonstrated disproportionate representation in homelessness, housing instability, and housing affordability:
- Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including people identified as socially disadvantaged as defined in 13 CFR Sec. 124.103.
- People with disabilities.
- People who are deaf.
- People with behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorder.
- People who identify as LGBTQIA+.
- Survivors of family violence and/or intimate partner violence.
- Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.
- Undocumented individuals, immigrants and refugees, and mixed-immigration status, families and communities.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications, which include:
- Licensed to do business in Washington or submit a statement of commitment that it will become licensed in Washington within thirty (30) calendar days of being selected.
- Be a nonprofit organization or Tribal government.
- Have at least 1 year of experience in serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness, or imminently homeless or at risk of homelessness.
- Provide services to one or more of the following groups or communities that have a demonstrated disproportionate representation in homelessness, housing instability and housing affordability:
- Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including people identified as socially disadvantaged as defined in 13 CFR Sec. 124.103.
- People with disabilities
- People who are deaf
- People with behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorder
- People who identify as LGBTQIA+
- Survivors of family violence and/or intimate partner violence
- Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals
- Undocumented individuals, immigrants and refugees, and mixed-immigration status families and communities.
- Applications which do not clearly meet or exceed these minimum qualifications will be rejected as non-responsive and will not receive further consideration. Any Application that is rejected as non-responsive will not be evaluated or scored.
- Eligible households
- Housing Status
- At risk of homelessness
- Homeless
- Income eligibility (ONLY APPLY WHEN RECEIVING FLEX FUNDING)
- The combined household income must not exceed 80 percent of the area median NET income.
For more information, visit WSDC.
