The City of Lowell is seeking applications for its 2023-2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds.
Donor Name: City of Lowell
State: Massachusetts
City: Lowell
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/27/2023
Details:
The City of Lowell is in the process of developing its Annual Action Plan for fiscal year 2023-2024. In accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the plan will incorporate the statutory requirements for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), & Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG).
Grant Program Descriptions & Eligible Activities
The City of Lowell’s Department of Planning and Development is requesting proposals for Program Year 2023-2024 for funding from the following grant programs:
For Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
The CDBG program provides grants for activities whose principal beneficiaries are low- to moderate- income households at or below 80% of the area median income (Lowell’s area median income FY2022 is $ 126,500). Also Presumed LMI are violence victims, abused children, homeless, disabled, and those with mental illness. The goals of the program are to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing, a suitable living environment and to expand economic opportunities. To commit funds the proposed activity must be an eligible activity that meets one of three National Objectives of the CDBG Program.
Objective #1
- Provide a benefit to low- and moderate- income persons
- Area Benefit 51 – 80% LMI service area
- Limited Clientele, specific to group/person
- Housing Activity 51% occupied LMI
- Job Creation/retention
Objective #2
- Prevent or eliminate slum and blight
- Area Basis: under state/legal definition
- Spot Basis: to prevent spread
- Urban Renewal Area: to complete renewal
Objective #3
- Meet a recent, urgent community need that threatens the health or welfare of residents, where no other funding exists.
Public service programs, including but not limited to those concerned with employment, crime prevention, child care, health, drug abuse, education, fair housing counseling, energy conservation, and welfare, are eligible for CDBG assistance. Please note: Funding caps have been established for the CDBG Public Service Cap funding pool. Award amounts for programs in this category will be at $30,000.00 minimum.
Applicants of capital improvements projects, including but not limited to improvements to public facilities, should carefully consider the project timeline when applying for CDBG funds. The City will require that projects funded with FY 2023-2024 CDBG dollars have a start date no later than November 1, 2024.
For Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)
The Emergency Solutions Grant Program, originally established by the Homeless Housing Act of 1986 to address homelessness among individuals and families in the United States, was incorporated in 1987 into subtitles B of Title IV of the Stewart B. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371-11378).
On May 28, 2009, President Obama signed the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, a bill that reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs and substantially revised the Emergency Shelter Grant Program. In its revision, the Emergency Shelter Grant Program was renamed the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program.
ESG funds may be used to assist homeless persons and those at risk of becoming homeless. The ESG program provides funding to:
- engage homeless individuals and families living on the street;
- improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
- help operate these shelters;
- provide essential services to shelter residents;
- rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and
- prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless.
The ESG funds can be utilized for the following purposes:
- The rehabilitation or conversion of buildings for use as emergency shelter for the homeless;
- The payment of certain expenses related to operating emergency shelters;
- Essential services related to emergency shelters and street outreach for the homeless, which cannot exceed 60% of the City’s total ESG allocation, per ; and
- Homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing assistance.
Eligible Activities
Emergency Solutions Grant Funding can be used for five program activities: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, and HMIS.
Eligibility Criteria
Funds are available to for-profit and non-profit corporations and organizations. Important notice regarding new mandatory federal reporting requirement: On April 2, 2022, the federal government implemented a new process in SAM.gov to validate entities as a first step in requesting a Unique Entity ID (UEI #). This UEI # has replaced the DUNS number requirement. Completing this registration process is free. No awards will be made without this information.
For more information, visit City of Lowell.
