HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has announced $1.5 million in new funding to create and relaunch a specialized training academy dedicated to preparing civil rights professionals to combat housing discrimination. Named for the Nation’s first African-American woman to hold a cabinet-level position, the Patricia R. Harris National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA) will train civil rights professionals nationwide and provide a clearinghouse of fair housing education and outreach material.

The Fair Housing Act makes housing discrimination illegal on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. This includes housing discrimination in renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.

About NFHTA
Through this premier training academy, the chosen applicant and FHEO will provide training related to housing discrimination, civil rights history, and current housing discrimination trends, and will teach methodologies to assess housing discrimination at local, state, and national levels. NFHTA will prepare civil rights professionals to understand the investigative process and to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of complaint processing. NFHTA will also serve as a think tank and conduit through which current and future generations of civil rights professionals share and explore best practices and raise industry standards. This includes the creation of a consistently evolving clearinghouse of fair housing education and outreach materials.

FHEO and the chosen applicant will select appropriate modalities to teach civil rights professionals. It is anticipated that HUD and the applicant will offer at least six high-quality trainings per year (each training lasting 24-32 hours and training approximately 20-30 persons). Trainings may include a blend of pre- and post-training reading materials, in-person trainings, webinars, videos, and/or other effective methods to create an environment that achieves identified outcomes.

Applicants must identify at least one individual (or a cadre of individuals) with at least two years of demonstrated experience conducting investigations, litigation, and/or education and outreach under the federal Fair Housing Act and/or state or local laws that HUD has determined to be substantially equivalent to the Fair Housing Act. Necessary experience includes delivery of training courses, ongoing review of courses to ensure accuracy and relevance, and development of new courses and new course delivery methods. Applicants must also have experience marketing training services to potential users. Identified individuals may include staff, contractors, or consultants.

How to Apply
HUD’s Community Compass Technical Assistance and Capacity Building program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 was published to Grants.gov on Monday, December 17, 2018, under funding opportunity number FR-6200-N-06. Due to the government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018, HUD has extended the application due date to 11:59:59 PM EDT on March 14, 2019. The NOFA text and all other application requirements remain the same.

In addition to reading the full NOFA announcement on Grants.gov, potential applicants are encouraged to view the information about the NOFA on the Community Compass NOFA page. The NOFA page will be periodically updated to include Frequently Asked Questions, links to pre-recorded webinars, webinar presentation slides, and other relevant information.

By a unanimous vote, the Arlington County Board recently approved necessary rezoning, the project site plan, and $5.8 million in funding from the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) to support redevelopment of American Legion Post 139. The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) will build 160 affordable apartments, half set aside for veteran’s preference, as well as a new facility for the American Legion.  The apartments will be committed affordable for 75 years and will be built on the current Post site on Washington Boulevard.

APAH and American Legion are committed to meeting the evolving needs of today’s veterans. Nearly 236,000 veterans in the DC area are housing cost-burdened, paying over 30% of their income for rent, and many have service-related disabilities. Arlington has a well-documented need for affordable housing, having lost nearly 90% of market affordable homes between 2000 and 2016. The new complex will include 48 one-bedroom apartments; as well as 87 two-bedroom and 25 three-bedroom units to meet the needs of veteran and low-income families. A new 6,000 SF American Legion facility will be a hub of innovative programming to meet the needs of today’s veterans.

Joe Simonelli, Colonel, US Army Retired and chair of Arlington’s Military and Veterans Affairs Committee noted, “This is a huge step toward Arlington County showing ‘thank you for your service’ to our veterans, and not just saying it.” Click To Tweet

Read the full press release here.

On March 4, 2019, JPMorgan Chase is opening its sixth Partnerships for Raising Opportunities in Neighborhoods (PRO Neighborhoods) CDFI Collaborative Competition.

JPMorgan Chase launched PRO Neighborhoods – a five-year, $125 million effort – in 2016 to address neighborhood quality issues that are among the biggest drivers of income and wealth inequality. Thriving neighborhoods are critical to the long-term economic success of individuals, communities and cities, but every city faces its own set of challenges and needs a localized, inclusive strategy.

To address these challenges and source innovative models, JPMorgan Chase hosts an annual competition that encourages Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to develop creative partnerships and invest in local solutions that advance a comprehensive, strategic vision for the community.

To date, JPMorgan Chase has hosted five competitions, awarding more than $98 million to 25 groups of CDFIs across the country – work that’s highlighted in a progress report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The report found that after its $68 million investment, the winners of the first three competitions raised an additional $713 million in outside capital, issued over 21,000 loans to low-to-moderate income customers, and created or preserved over 3,000 affordable housing units and 11,000 quality jobs.

COMPETITION DETAILS

JPMorgan Chase is soliciting proposals for two opportunities:

‘Planning for Equitable Development Grants’ aka ‘planning grants’ for local multidisciplinary leaders, such as economic development focused government agencies, community development organizations, to identify the greatest needs facing their communities and develop a new equitable neighborhood plan. These plans will outline a vision and approach for how a capital strategy by a collaborative of CDFIs can address some of the biggest barriers to opportunity in distressed neighborhoods. Successful applicants will be eligible for a one-year grant of up to $100,000.

‘Collaborative Capital for Equitable Development’ aka ‘capital grants’ for CDFI Collaboratives that are proposing a capital strategy to advance an existing equitable neighborhood plan that addresses a documented challenge within their neighborhood(s). We are looking to support proposals that outline how the CDFIs will create a direct link from capital investment to the larger vision. Successful applicants will be eligible for a three-year grant of up to $5 million.

Applications are encouraged from the full list of eligible markets, as well as encouraged to (1) be specific about the neighborhoods and populations they are serving, (2) support the growth of diverse led CDFIs, (3) build the balance sheet of CDFIs with net assets of less than $75 million, and (4) support innovative strategies by local CDFIs that combine balance sheets, talent and technology to advance economic opportunity in distressed neighborhoods.

The RFP launches on March 4 and proposals are due by April 22 midnight PST. Winners will be announced in October.

INFORMATION CALL

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is hosting an informational call with JPMorgan Chase’s Colleen Briggs and Mercedeh Mortazavi to answer your questions about the program and RFP:

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST
Please RSVP here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1749837967768176641

Questions? Email cdfi.requestforproposal@jpmchase.com.