New York State HOME Program

NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation

The HOME Program funds a variety of activities through partnerships with counties, towns, cities, villages, private developers, and community-based non-profit housing organizations. The program provides funds to acquire, rehabilitate, or construct housing, or to provide assistance to low-income homebuyers and renters.
HOME Program funds may only be used to assist households with incomes at or below 80 percent of area median income. Rental projects must primarily serve households with income at or below 60 percent of area median income. Assisted rental units must remain affordable for a period of between five and 20 years, depending on the initial amount of subsidy provided for the project.
HOME Program funds may be used to pay for acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, and certain related soft costs. Funds may also be used for relocation costs, tenant-based rental assistance, down-payment and closing costs, and some administration and planning costs. Funds may only be used with respect to residential housing.
ELIGIBILITY: Any private for-profit or not-for-profit entity that can demonstrate the capacity to develop and operate a qualifying project is eligible to apply. Units of general local government that have not been designated by HUD as participating jurisdictions and not-for-profit corporations that meet certain administrative tests may also apply as local program administrators. Jurisdictions that receive HOME Program funding directly from the federal government may not apply for New York State HOME Program funds.
FUNDING: Approximately $33 million. Seed money loans of up to $45,000 per project are also available and may be requested at any time.
DEADLINE: Applications for locally administered programs must be received by 5 p.m. February 10, 2003 and site-specific project funding must be received by 5 p.m. March 24, 2003.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact your nearest Regional Office: Capital District: Vernita King, Regional Director, Hampton Plaza, 9th Floor, 38-40 State Street, Albany, NY 12207; (518) 486-5012. Buffalo: Thomas Van Nortwick, Regional Director, Statler Towers, 107 Delaware Avenue, Suite 600, Buffalo, NY 14202; (716) 842-2244. New York City: Deborah Boatright, Regional Director, 25 Beaver Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10004; (212) 480-7644. Syracuse: Vernita King, Regional Director, 800 South Wilbur Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13204; mailing address: P.O. Box 1127, Syracuse, NY 13201; (315) 473-6930.

 
Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Program (HTF)

NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation

HTF was established to help meet the critical need for decent, affordable housing for people of low-income. Specifically, HTF provides funding to construct low-income housing, to rehabilitate vacant or under-utilized residential property, or to convert vacant non-residential property to residential use for occupancy by low-income homesteaders, tenants, tenant-cooperators or condominium owners. HTF can also provide seed money to eligible non-profit applicants who need financial assistance in developing a full HTF application.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be not-for-profit corporations or charitable organizations or their wholly-owned subsidiaries; housing development fund companies; municipalities; counties; housing authorities; private developers who limit their profits or rate of return of investors; or partnerships in which the non-profit partner has at least a 50 percent controlling interest. Low-income persons may not be direct recipients of payments, grants or loans from the corporation, but may receive such funds from another eligible applicant. Non-profits, charitable organizations, and housing development fund companies must have been in existence for at least one year prior to application and have as one of their primary purposes the improvement or provision of housing for low-income persons.
FUNDING: Approximately $29 million. Seed money loans of up to $45,000 per project are available and may be requested at any time.
DEADLINE: 5 p.m. March 24, 2003.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact your nearest Regional Office: Capital District: Vernita King, Regional Director, Hampton Plaza, 9th Floor, 38-40 State Street, Albany, NY 12207; (518) 486-5012. Buffalo: Thomas Van Nortwick, Regional Director, Statler Towers, 107 Delaware Avenue, Suite 600, Buffalo, NY 14202; (716) 842-2244. New York City: Deborah Boatright, Regional Director, 25 Beaver Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10004; (212) 480-7644. Syracuse: Vernita King, Regional Director, 800 South Wilbur Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13204; mailing address: P.O. Box 1127, Syracuse, NY 13201; (315) 473-6930.

 
Homes for Working Families Program (HWF)

NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal

HWF provides funding assistance of up to $25,000 per unit ($35,000 in New York City) for the substantial rehabilitation or new construction of affordable rental housing for families and/or senior citizens. The entire project’s rents must meet restricted rent requirements under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), serving households at 60% or less of area median income. More than 50% of the project cost must be financed by tax-exempt bonds issued by a public authority and allocated from the State’s Private Activity Bond Volume Cap.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be not-for-profit corporations or charitable organizations or their wholly-owned subsidiaries; housing development fund companies; municipalities; counties; housing authorities; private developers who limit their profits or rate of return of investors; or partnerships in which the non-profit partner has at least a 50 percent controlling interest. Low-income persons may not be direct recipients of payments, grants or loans from the corporation, but may receive such funds from another eligible applicant. Non-profits, charitable organizations, and housing development fund companies must have been in existence for at least one year prior to application and have as one of their primary purposes the improvement or provision of housing for low-income persons.
FUNDING: Approximately $7 million.
DEADLINE: 5 p.m. March 24, 2003.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact your nearest Regional Office: Capital District: Vernita King, Regional Director, Hampton Plaza, 9th Floor, 38-40 State Street, Albany, NY 12207; (518) 486-5012. Buffalo: Thomas Van Nortwick, Regional Director, Statler Towers, 107 Delaware Avenue, Suite 600, Buffalo, NY 14202; (716) 842-2244. New York City: Deborah Boatright, Regional Director, 25 Beaver Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10004; (212) 480-7644. Syracuse: Vernita King, Regional Director, 800 South Wilbur Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13204; mailing address: P.O. Box 1127, Syracuse, NY 13201; (315) 473-6930.

 
Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund

NYS Education Department (SED)

SED has announced the availability of grants from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund to improve records management and archival administration in New York State’s local governments. Grants are available for inventory and planning, active records, inactive records, microfilm, historical records, and educational uses of local government records projects.
ELIGIBILITY: Local governments, including but not limited to boards of cooperative educational services, cities, counties, fire districts, school districts, towns and villages..
FUNDING: Up to $50,000 for individual projects involving a single government; up to $75,000 for cooperative projects involving two or more local governments acting on one activity; up to $100,000 for complex projects involving a single local government addressing extremely complex records management issues.
DEADLINE: February 3, 2003.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the New York State Archives, Grants Administration and Program Support Unit, Room 9A81, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230; (518) 474-6926; archgrants@mail.nysed.gov. Application and reference materials are also available at www.archives.nysed.gov.

 
...Foundations

Relatives as Parents Program

The Brookdale Foundation Group

The Brookdale Foundation Group has announced the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) Local Seed Grant Initiative for 2003. RAPP is designed to encourage and promote the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting, when the biological parents are unwilling or unable to do so. The program is intended to award seed grants to local agencies to private support groups and at least two other supportive services to relative caregivers and their families; encourage cooperation and collaboration among various services systems; ensure the development, expansion and future continuity of local services; and create replicable models of service.
FUNDING: Selected agencies will receive a $10,000 grant over a two-year period ($6,000 in the first year and $4,000 in the second year if all grant requirements have been met) as well as training and technical assistance. Matching support in case or in-kind will be required of all selected agencies.
ELIGIBILITY: Community based agencies.
DEADLINE: January 15, 2003.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Copies of the RFP guidelines and application form can be found at the Brookdale Foundation Web site. Requests for the RFP packets, written on agency letterhead, may also be submitted to RAPP, The Brookdale Foundation Group, 126 East 56th Street, New York, NY 10022-3668. You may also contact Melinda Perez-Porter at (212) 308-7355 for more information.

 
...Grant Writing

Grantsmanship Training Program

The Grantsmanship Training Program is coming to New York: Painted Post (Corning), March 3-7, 2003 hosted by Watson Homestead and Conference and Retreat Center; New York City, March 10-14, 2003, hosted by the Harlem Partnership Center; and Buffalo, March 24-28, 2003, hosted by the American Red Cross, Greater Buffalo Chapter.
The five-day programs will be conducted by The Grantsmanship Center (TGCI), the world's oldest and largest training organization for the nonprofit sector. Classes are kept at a maximum of 27 participants. The cost is $775, which includes a one-year enrollment in the TGCI Membership Program. A limited number of half-tuition scholarships are available to agencies with annual budgets of less than $300,000.
To register, contact The Grantsmanship Center at (800) 421-9512 or visit the Center’s Web site. For local information and arrangements: for Painted Post, call Donna Cummings at (607) 962-0541; for New York City, call Stephanie Penceal at (212) 283-7122; and for Buffalo, call Loren Smith at (716) 878-2374.