THDA's Community Programs News
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Attention Housing Non-profits: New Grant Unveiled!
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PROBLEM:
Many non-profits are dependent on the continued participation
of the individual(s) who started them.
SOLUTION:
Shore up your organization with THDA's Capacity-Building Grant.
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Capacity-Building Grant Designed to Strengthen TN Non-profits
THDA's Community Programs Division is pleased to launch a new Capacity-Building Grant Program for housing industry non-profit organizations this summer. The program is intended to support the longevity and enhance the effectiveness of THDA’s invaluable non-profit partner organizations. To be eligible, non-profits must have two years of affordable housing experience in Tennessee. The program will provide a maximum of $10,000 for up to 20 organizations in order to fund the development of a strategic plan or succession management plan. THDA will assist with guidance on the process. Organizations will be required to provide a 10-50% match, depending on the organization’s total operating budget.
Applications will be made available online by July 1, 2019, and will be due in late August, 2019. Check the Business Partners area of the
THDA website
for details soon.
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32 Applications Received for Emergency Solutions Grant
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THDA received over $3.7 million in applications under the competitive scoring round of the 2019 Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. While a final allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is still pending, THDA anticipates the availability of approximately $2.3M in funding to award competitively to successful applicants. Funding announcements will occur prior to May 31, 2019. An additional $600,000 will be awarded in total to the cities of Clarksville, Knoxville, Johnson City, and Murfreesboro to address homelessness in those communities.
What is ESG?
The ESG program provides grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to implement activities to address and prevent homelessness in their community. Funds may be used to support shelter operations, to provide rental assistance, case management, and related support services to individuals and families who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, to conduct street outreach services, and to cover costs associated with required data collection into the local Continuum of Care’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
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April is Fair Housing Month
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THDA just launched our
Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice planning process
. This document will identify statewide barriers to fair housing and steps to affirmatively further fair housing in Tennessee. To receive the upcoming Fair Housing Survey and other fair housing report updates, email
[email protected]
with your name and email address.
See more Fair Housing Information on the THDA website:
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East Tennessee conference
April 5
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Middle Tennessee conference
April 18
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New Online Application System a Huge Success!
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The Community Programs Division recently held an open application period for our 2019 HOME grant program. This year brought some welcomed changes as we rolled out our new Grant Management System ("GMS") -- a fully-online application process! The feedback we've received has been overwhelmingly positive.
Under our 2019 Program description, we received a total of 34 applications for a total request of $15.3 Million (see info-graphic below). We will be making final award announcements on May 31, 2019.
Good luck to all who applied!
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"I found the process to be much easier than the old paper method...Thank you for working diligently to streamline the process!"
"I want to tell you how much [we] appreciate your team putting the new application together...the application overall is so much easier to use than the old system."
"You all did phenomenal job setting up 2019 app online and deserve big pats on the back! It. Was. AWESOME! : )"
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2019 HOME Application Breakdown:
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2018 HOME Beneficiary Report Released
The 2018 HOME Beneficiary Report provides information regarding HOME allocations received by the State of Tennessee, the activities completed with HOME funding, and the households served by the HOME Program during FY 2018. In total, THDA awarded $10,822,250 in program funds during FY18. During this same time, 186 units of affordable housing were completed using HOME awards from prior program years.
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National Housing Trust Fund
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Strong Application Round for Rental Housing Projects
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The National Housing Trust Fund is a federally-administered housing grant program focused primarily on the development and preservation of rental housing for individuals and families in the extremely low income bracket of 30% or less of the area median income (AMI). The latest application round closed on March 14th. THDA received nine applications ranging in requests from $350-900 thousand. THDA plans to award approximately $3.2 million total, with announcements being made on May 31, 2019.
For those of you who are not awarded in this round, we expect to open another application round in the late summer or early fall of this year. Keep those great applications coming, and let’s build some much needed affordable housing for Tennessee.
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Spotlight on Nekishia Potter
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Nekishia Potter joined our team on November 5, 2018 as a Senior Housing Program Coordinator working with the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) and the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund programs. In this role, Nekishia is primarily responsible for policy development, technical assistance, application review, and compliance review of financing seeking CITC authorization.
She was most recently a Multifamily Compliance Coordinator in the Multifamily Programs Division at THDA. In this role, she was responsible for conducting on-site compliance monitoring reviews for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties as well as providing support to owners, developers, and property management companies. She also assisted with the administration of the Qualified Contract process for owners exercising the option to opt out of the LIHTC program.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Grambling State University and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Conflict Resolution from Bethel University. She is also a Rule 31 listed Civil and Family Mediator with a special designation in Domestic Violence. Nekishia enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family.
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Invitation for Public Comment - 2019 Plan
The Public Hearing for the 2019 Weatherization Assistance Program State Plan will take place on Friday, April 12, 2019 at Parkway Towers, 404 James Robertson Parkway, 14th Floor, Nashville, TN 37219 at 11:00am. The purpose of the meeting is to seek public comments on the 2019 Weatherization Assistance Program State Plan Application. Written comments will be accepted by emailing
[email protected]
from now through April 12, 2019.
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Every year, the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund Competitive Grants Program offers two opportunities for eligible entities to apply for grant funding to develop affordable rental housing in order to serve low income individuals and families. Funding is made available during the fall and spring of each year. The maximum award amount is $500,000. Projects may include property acquisition, rehab, new construction, or conversion. Priorities have been established for projects serving youth aging out of foster care, ex-offenders, and homeless veterans.
Spring 2019 applications to the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund were due on March 21st.
Community Programs received 19 applications for funding, with a total request amount of $7,206,279
. Applications were received for projects that would serve ex-offenders, adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the elderly, low-income families, homeless veterans, and youth aging out of foster care. With approximately $2 million available in this grant round, award decisions will be made by May 31, 2019, and will be posted on the Competitive Grants page of the THDA website. Contracts will begin July 1, 2019.
The Fall 2020 application round of Competitive Grants funding will open in September, 2019. Application workshops and webinars will be announced early this summer, for interested potential applicants to learn more about the program.
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Annual Action Plan Draft Released
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Now Accepting Public Comments on the 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan
March 21 - April 22, 2019
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) announces the release of the 2019-2020 DRAFT Annual Action Plan on behalf of the State of Tennessee. The 2019 Draft Plan includes guidance for the federal allocation of an estimated $50 million for housing and community development. The Annual Action Plan shows how the State of Tennessee will operate the CDBG, HOME, HTF, ESG, and HOPWA programs in the coming fiscal year and serves as an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for these funds. The draft plan will be posted on
www.thda.org/about-thda/public-notice-and-comment
from March 21 to April 22. Public comment on this draft is encouraged. A draft summary in English and Spanish will also be available.
Additionally, the State of Tennessee has begun the process of developing a 5-year Fair Housing Analysis. Check the THDA website for upcoming community engagement opportunities.
For questions and accommodations, or to be added to the email list for Fair Housing Analysis updates, please email
[email protected]
.
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