The Rural Housing Service (RHS), a Rural Development agency (Agency) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of $3 million and the timeframe to submit applications for Multi-Family Housing Non-Profit Transfer Technical Assistance (MFHNPTA) Grants program from qualified nonprofits (NP) and public housing authorities (PHA) to provide technical assistance to RHS Multi-Family Housing (MFH) borrowers and applicants to facilitate the acquisition of Section 515 properties by NPs and PHAs.
Donor Name: Rural Housing Service (RHS)
Country: United States
State: All States
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 02/08/2022
Size of the Grant: $350,000
Grant Duration: 24 Months
Details:
The technical assistance (TA) grants offered under this NOFA are for the purpose of facilitating the transfer and preservation of existing Rural Rental Housing properties under Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1485). Agency regulations for the Section 515 program are published at 7 CFR part 3560.
Applications must demonstrate the responding entity’s experience and expertise in the acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable MFH properties and their capacity to provide advisory services in affordable housing. Responding entities may submit applications to serve a single-state or multi-state area.
Scope of Work
Responding entities must submit a detailed SOW that includes the following requirements:
- Introduction/overview with a description of the proposed plan to provide technical assistance to NPs and PHAs in the acquisition of Section 515 properties within the prescribed 24- month grant term.
- The organization’s capabilities to execute the proposed plan within the prescribed 24-month grant term, focusing on the elements described in this NOFA.
- The organization’s plan to identify potential sellers of Section 515 properties.
- The organization’s plan to identify and provide services to NPs and PHAs interested in acquiring these properties.
- Types of proposed technical assistance and legal and/or financial services that will enable NPs and/or PHAs to submit successful transfer applications to the Agency within the prescribed 24-month grant term. Clearly explain the services to be provided directly by your organization and all services that will be provided by third parties.
- The organization’s experience in identifying and successfully assisting entities in the acquisition, repair, and rehabilitation of Section 515 MFH properties.
- Grant funds usage projection that corresponds with a 24-month timeline for service delivery and illustrates direct and indirect administrative costs in dollars, and as a percentage of the technical assistance services provided.
- Any other strength and/or capability not included above that you believe qualifies the organization to deliver services under this grant
Award Information
- The maximum award per funded application will be $350,000.
- The grant term is 24 months with an extension allowed up to an additional 12 months at the Agency’s discretion.
Eligible Purposes
- Entities responding to this NOFA are required to provide technical assistance to NPs and/or PHAs acquiring Section 515 projects to increase the TA recipients capacity (knowledge, skills, and ability) in, but not limited to, the following areas: Locating potential Section 515 properties for transfer; completing the transfer analysis, negotiation, application, underwriting, and closing processes; and identifying and securing funding from the Agency and/or other sources for the purpose of acquisition, repair and/or rehabilitation. Costs will be limited to those allowed under 2 CFR part 200.
- Eligible purposes/costs may include soft costs such as financial analysis, transaction structuring analysis and completion of other transaction details such as Capital Needs Assessments, appraisals, and market surveys or other consultation, advisory and nonconstruction services required as part of the application process. Ineligible purposes/costs include building materials, labor costs or expenditures otherwise typically included as any hard costs for actual construction or repairs, prepayment, interest, or principal payments.
- Grant funds cannot be used by the grantee for activities that are not directly related to specific transactions (such as outreach, conferences, provider personnel education/training, etc.).
- Grant funds cannot be used by the grantee for activities or transactions in which they have any direct or indirect ownership interest (regardless of whether it is an interest as a current or prospective owner).
Eligibility Information
Eligibility for grants under this NOFA is limited to NPs and PHAs meeting the requirements specified in this Notice. NPs must meet the definition of nonprofit organization in 7 CFR part 3560. Qualified NPs and PHAs include tribally designated housing entities (TDHE) and tribal housing NPs.
- Expertise and Capacity. Eligible grantees must have the knowledge, ability, technical expertise, practical experience, and capacity necessary to develop and package Section 515 property transfer transactions. They must also demonstrate the ability to provide technical assistance to NPs and/or PHAs to facilitate their acquisition of Section 515 properties. In addition, all eligible grantees must demonstrate the ability to exercise leadership, organize work, and prioritize assignments to meet work demands in a cost-efficient and timely manner within the 24-month grant term. Eligible grantees will include a proposed SOW which will be evaluated as part of the application.
- Organization Status. Responding entities must document each of the following in their response:
- Status (i.e., Articles of Incorporation) as a NP and/or PHA.
- Good standing within the state in which the entity is organized.
- Legal authority to provide services stated in the application under the applicable laws for the state(s) in which operation is proposed. Examples of acceptable documentation include but are not limited to bylaws, organizational charters, and statutes or regulations.
- No current or unresolved default or violation of any other federal, state, or local grant or loan agreement(s).
- Experience in providing technical assistance for Section 515 MFH affordable housing (describe in the SOW).
The requirements above will also apply to any entity performing services on behalf of the respondent.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
