City of Bakersfield’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program – California - fundsforNGOs

The City of Bakersfield’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program is directed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and provides monies for cities and counties to perform certain community development and housing activities.

Donor Name: City of Bakersfield

State: California

City: Bakersfield

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 12/23/2021

Size of the Grant: $25,000.

Details:

Cities with populations over 50,000 and that meet certain other conditions, such as the City of Bakersfield, may apply for “entitlement” funds.

National Objectives

Each activity must meet one of the three broad national objectives:

Primarily benefit low- and moderate-income persons. More specifically, 51% of the project must benefit families with incomes at or below 80% of the median income. A project benefitting low- and moderate-income persons can be qualified in one of four ways:
- Area – the activity is located in a qualified low- and moderate-income Census block group
- Limited Clientele – the activity provides benefits to a specific group of persons, comprised (or presumed to be comprised) of at least 51% low- and moderate-income persons. This includes:
  - Presumed Groups (as recognized by HUD), which include abused children, elderly persons, battered spouses, homeless persons, severely disabled persons (as defined by the U.S. Census), illiterate adults, persons living with AIDS, or migrant farm workers
  - Requires information from persons receiving benefit so that the 51% low- and moderate-income threshold can be determined
  - Be of such a location and nature that it may reasonably be concluded that the clientele are low- and moderate-income persons
- Housing – the majority (at least 51%) of units are designated for low- and moderate-income households, or for non-elderly multi-family rental structures at least 20% of units are designated for low- and moderate income households (only proportionate share of cost is eligible in this scenario)
- Jobs – the activity can meet the benefit requirement in one of three ways:
  - Be located in a predominately low- and moderate-income neighborhood and serve the residents of that neighborhood in the case where the service would not otherwise be available
  - Involve facilities designed for use predominantly by low- and moderate-income persons
  - Involve the employment of persons, the majority (51% or greater) of whom are low- and moderate-income persons (maximum assistance per full time equivalent (FTE) position created is $35,000, tracked cumulatively over a maximum of five years)
Aid in the prevention or elimination of slum or blight. Activities considered to aid in the prevention or elimination of slum or blight are activities located within a designated area which: 1) meets a definition of a slum, blighted, deteriorated, or deteriorating area under State or local law; and 2) where there is a substantial number of deteriorating or dilapidated buildings or needed improvements throughout the area.
Meet urgent community development needs. The proposed project must meet needs that have a particular urgency where existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.

Funding Information

Due to the administrative requirements of HUD-funded projects and limited number of department staff, the minimum request for CDBG assistance is $25,000.

Eligible Activities

Only certain kinds of activities are eligible for funding. These are briefly listed below. However, in most instances the regulations contain “qualifiers” which make the activity eligible or ineligible depending on specific circumstances:
Purchasing Property (Acquisition) in whole or in part by a public agency or private non-profit entity for any public purpose except buildings used predominantly for the general conduct of government. Selling, Leasing, or Granting (Disposition of) property with CDBG funds.
Public facilities and improvements, including the purchase, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or installation of buildings/properties, except buildings or portions thereof, used predominantly for the general conduct of government.
Clearance, demolition, and removal of buildings and improvements including movement of structures to other sites.
Public services, which are directed toward improving the community’s public services and facilities: including, but not limited to, those concerned with employment, crime prevention, childcare, health, drug abuse, education, energy conservation, welfare, or recreational needs. A public service must be either:
- A new service, or
  - A quantifiable increase in the level of service above which had been provided by or on behalf of the unit of general local government in the twelve calendar months prior to submission of the Action Plan to HUD.
- No more than 15% of the City’s annual CDBG grant can be expended for public service costs. Also, please note that CDBG funding is not intended to be used to replace a discontinued funding source.
Interim assistance to eliminate harmful conditions where immediate public action is necessary.
Payment of the non-federal share of certain matching grant programs.
Completion of federally-funded urban renewal projects.
Relocation payments and assistance to persons displaced by CDBG activities, including temporary relocation assistance during rehabilitation work.
Payment of loss of rental income to landlords holding properties for the relocation of individuals and families displaced by program activities.
Removal of architectural barriers.
Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation or installation of privately-owned utilities, including under-grounding.
Rehabilitation and preservation activities. These activities include:
- Rehabilitation assistance to rehabilitate: a) privately owned buildings and improvements; b) low- and moderate-income public housing and other publicly owned residential buildings and improvements; and c) publicly owned nonresidential buildings and improvements otherwise eligible for assistance.
- Please note that “rehabilitation” eligible under the CDBG program includes significant remediation of existing site improvements, and does not typically include maintenance activities (think reconstruction of portions of the property).
- Financing the following types of rehabilitation activities and related costs: a) assistance to private individuals and entities to acquire, for the purpose of rehabilitation, and to rehabilitate properties for use or resale for residential purposes; b) labor materials, and other costs of rehabilitation of properties; c) loans for financing existing indebtedness secured by a property rehabilitated with CDBG funds; d) improvements to increase the efficient use of energy in structures; e) improvements to increase the efficient use of water; f) costs associated with the connection of residential structures to water distribution lines or local sewer collection lines; g) costs of tools lent to owners, tenants, and others who will use such tools to carry out rehabilitation; and h) rehabilitation services such as rehabilitation counseling, energy auditing, loan processing, and other services related to assisting owners, tenants, contractors, and other entities.
- Code enforcement in deteriorating or deteriorated areas where such enforcement together with public improvements, rehabilitation, and services to be provided, may be expected to arrest the decline of the area.
- Historic preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of historic properties, whether publicly or privately owned. Historic properties are those sites or structures that are either listed in or eligible to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, or designated as a State or local landmark or historic district by appropriate law or ordinance.
- Renovation of closed school buildings for use as an eligible public facility, for a commercial or industrial facility, or for housing.
Special economic development activities necessary to carry out an economic development project. Special economic development activities include:
- The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or installation of commercial or industrial buildings, structures, and other real property equipment and improvements.
- The provision of assistance to private for-profit businesses, including, but not limited to, grants, loans, loan guarantees, interest supplements, technical assistance, and other forms of support for any other activity necessary or appropriate to carry out an economic development project.
Some small business investment companies, local development corporations and other similar entitles organized under Title VII of the entitled Headstart, Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1974, are authorized to receive funds to carry out neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and energy conservation activities that are otherwise ineligible.