April 24, 2020
Dear Partners,
Thank you so much for your commitment to the communities, businesses and people throughout New Hampshire. In light of the rapidly-changing circumstances in the State with respect to COVID-19, I am following up with an update on the steps that the Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) is taking to meet the needs of our partners.
CDFA is focused on three areas:
- Providing flexibility for our existing Grantees and Borrowers, information here,
- Shifting existing resources including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) resources and executing on plans to rapidly deploy additional CDBG resources to meet immediate needs and plans for rebuilding, and
- Created the NH Nonprofit Response Fund to meet the immediate needs of NH’s nonprofits, Apply here.
This update will focus on the current and additional allocation of HUD CDBG resources (CDBG-CV) in the CARES Act. The Act provided an allocation to states under the fiscal year 2020 CDBG formula. NH will receive approximately $5.4 million dollars. This additional amount will help to meet a fraction of the demand for resources.
In order to ensure resources are quickly deployed and meet the unique response needs to COVID-19, the bill has already provided flexibility on some CDBG requirements and CDFA is seeking further flexibility and expediency from HUD. The bill included:
- Elimination of the 15 percent cap on the amount of grant funds that can be used for public services activities.
- Provision that grantees may use CDBG-CV grant funds to cover or reimburse costs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus incurred by a State or locality, regardless of the date on which such costs were incurred, when those costs comply with CDBG requirements.
CDFA anticipates that additional flexibilities and waivers will be necessary to meet the needs in NH. We sought flexibility and expediency from HUD and may seek additional waivers based on your feedback.
CDFA will prioritize the balance of FY2020 CDBG investments to meet community revitalization needs, particularly for persons of low- and moderate-income consistent with the current priority areas (attached). The next deadline for Housing and/or Public Facility applications is July 27, 2020. We encourage you to attend the upcoming Application Writing Workshop on May 14, 2020 from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM. REGISTER HERE for the workshop. For additional information and pre-workshop materials, please review the CDBG Application and Program information on the CDFA Resource Hub.
We will ensure resources are available to Municipalities and subrecipients quickly and with minimum administrative burden within the rules of the law and HUD guidance.
CDFA seeks to expand the priority areas for investment with CBDG-CV as outlined in the attached. The application will be open on May 22, 2020 if necessary guidance is received. We encourage you to attend the upcoming CDBG-CV Application Writing Workshop on May 21, 2020 from 10:00 AM – 12 noon.
REGISTER HERE for the workshop. For additional information and pre-workshop materials, please review the CDBG and CDBG-CV Application and Program information on the CDFA Resource Hub.
We are working with a variety of partners to assess the needs of municipalities, nonprofits and businesses to ensure our response is aligned with current needs. Please let us know by calling the office or emailing, comments@nhcdfa.org with what needs you are seeing in your communities. To provide specific feedback on the prioritization of CDBG-CV Funds, a Public Hearing will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, on a web based platform. Copies of the draft Plans and additional information about how to join the Public Hearing will be available on NH Housing Authority’s website (www.nhhfa.org) and a newspaper prior to the Public Hearing.
Finally, CDFA will administer a $1.14 million dollar allocation of CDBG-like resources as part of a 5- year pilot program, authorized in 2018 under the Support for Patients and Community Act (SUPPORT). CDFA has submitted recommendations and we await further guidance from HUD.
Please let me know if I can answer any questions about the CDBG funds or other CDFA activities and whether there is anything additional that CDFA can do to support the State and its residents.
Thank you for your leadership and support during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Katherine Easterly Martey
Executive Director
The Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) has administered the annual allocation of federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds on behalf of the State since 2003, coordinating the investment of more than $130 million into New Hampshire communities. These critical resources have been deployed across the state and have made a significant impact on economic development, housing and community-based projects in dozens of municipalities.
CDFA has approximately $4 million dollars remaining in the 2020 CDBG program to make investment in the following priority areas, no change to evaluation or scoring. Administrative and eligibility requirements noted in yellow below. For more information, visit the CDFA CDBG Resource Hub or call CDFA at 603-226-2170.
| 2020 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
PRIORITY INVESTMENT AREAS |
| GENERAL INVESTMENTS |
| Planning |
| Acquisition of Property |
| Clearance and Demolition |
| Relocation |
| ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
| ED Assistance to For-Profits |
| Micro-Enterprise Assistance |
| HOUSING |
| Construction of Housing |
| Rehab; Single-Unit and Multi-Unit Residential |
| Public Housing Modernization |
| Energy Efficiency Improvements |
| PUBLIC FACILITIES |
| Senior Centers |
| Facility for Persons with Disabilities |
| Homeless Facilities (not operating costs) |
| Youth Centers |
| Neighborhood Facilities |
| Water/Sewer Improvements |
| Childcare Centers |
| Health Facilities |
| Abused and Neglected Children Facilities |
| PUBLIC FACILITIES AND HOUSING (Proposed Change: Rolling deadline if connected to COVID-19) |
CDFA has approximately $5.4 million dollars from the CARES ACT in additional CDBG funds to make investments in areas to address the COVID-19 crisis. CDFA has developed the following list of priorities from State, Municipal, nonprofit partner and stakeholder feedback and will seek additional input in a public hearing. For information about the date and time of the public hearing visit CDFA’s website. HUD guidance to ensure guidance For additional CDBG Program information, visit the CDFA CDBG Resource Hub or call CDFA at 603-226-2170.
| 2020 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PRIORITY INVESTMENT AREAS |
| PUBLIC SERVICES |
| Encourages communities to pursue activities that meet the needs of low and moderate-income people raised by COVID-19. The following activities are prioritized. |
| Childcare Services |
| Food Banks |
| Senior Services |
| Services for Persons with Disabilities |
| Legal Services |
| Resident Services connected to shelters and/or affordable housing units |
| Youth Services |
| Transportation Services |
| Health, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services |
| ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES: PUBLIC SERVICES |
| Encourages communities to pursue activities that build economic security, self-sufficiency and increase economic mobility to meet needs raised by the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. |
| Workforce Training (only in connection with an ED Loan to Business or Grant to Nonprofit application) |
| Financial Literacy |
| Foreclosure and Homebuyer Counseling and Down payment and Closing Cost Assistance |
| ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
| ED Assistance to For-Profits – Technical Assistance |
| Micro-Enterprise Assistance and Loan Fund |
