Affordable Home Ownership Development Program

New York State Affordable Housing Corporation

The New York State Affordable Home Ownership Corporation has announced the availability of funding through the Affordable Home Ownership Development Program, designed to promote home ownership by persons of low and moderate income, and, in turn, promote development, stabilization and preservation of neighborhoods and communities. The Corporation will provide funding, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and improvement of owner-occupied housing. By reducing development and rehabilitation costs, funding provided is expected to make home ownership affordable to families and individuals for whom there are no other reasonable and affordable home ownership alternatives in the private market. The development and rehabilitation activities undertaken in connection with this program are expected to help eliminate conditions of slums and blight and create jobs and stability in communities throughout the state. The Corporation will provide grants, and the grantees may make these funds available to recipients in the form of payments, grants and loans.
ELIGIBILITY: Municipalities or municipal designees; housing development fund companies; not-for-profit corporations and charitable organizations that have affordable housing or home improvement as one of their primary purposes; and municipal housing authorities created pursuant to the Public Housing Law. Individuals and families are not eligible to apply directly for a Program grant, but there may be an AHC grantee in your area that is administering grants to individuals and families. For a list of current grantees in your region, contact Caroline Telfer-Mingo at (212) 688-4000, x438 or by e-mail at carolinet@nyhomes.org.
FUNDING: Up to $20,000 per unit; certain projects may qualify for $25,000 per unit. Contact the Corporation for details.
DEADLINE: April 30, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call (212) 688-4000, ext. 520. Contact Caroline Telfer-Mingo at the above numbers and addresses to receive a copy of the RFP, which can also be downloaded at www.nyhomes.org/ahc/RFPpdfmenu2003-2004.htm.

…On the Federal Level

Community Facilities Loan Program

United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development

The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development has announced its Community Facilities Loan Program to assist in the development of essential community facilities in rural areas. A Community Facilities loan would be approved to finance the following type of activities: Health Care: clinics, ambulatory care centers, chemical dependency centers, hospitals, and nursing homes; Telecommunications: medical and educational telecommunications links; Public Safety: communication centers, police and fire stations, fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and jails; Public Services: adult and child care centers, town halls, courthouses, libraries, museums, schools, fairgrounds, and sports complexes. Rural Development also guarantees loans made by a bank, savings and loan, insurance company, Federal Land Bank or other qualified lender against a certain percentage of loss under this program.
ELIGIBILITY: Rural towns and villages of 20,000 people or less.
FUNDING:  $12 million in low-interest loans is available.
DEADLINE: None.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact any Rural Development Office listed in the telephone book under the USDA or contact Dolores Weichert at (315) 477-6434.

Federal Fire/Rescue Ambulance Program

United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development

The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development has announced the Federal Fire/Rescue Ambulance Loan Program. This program makes loans available to construct new facilities, make renovations or additions to existing facilities, purchase new or replace existing equipment and vehicles that provide service to rural areas. Rural Development can typically provide a financing rate of 4.5% on these types of loans. A "fast track" system to speed up the application process has been developed.
ELIGIBILITY:  Rural towns and villages of 20,000 people or less.
FUNDING: $12 million is available.
DEADLINE: None.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Contact any Rural Development Office listed in the telephone book under the USDA or contact Dolores Weichert at (315) 477-6434.

...Organizations and Foundations

Community Coalitions Anti-Hunger Program

Altria Group, Inc.

The Community Coalitions Anti-Hunger Program is an initiative of the Altria Group, Inc., the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA. The Altria Group has been a philanthropic leader in the fight against hunger since 1998; Altria's support of anti-hunger programs has been primarily targeted to assisting vulnerable populations, such as the frail homebound elderly, those with HIV/AIDS, and those escaping domestic violence. This initiative seeks to build coalitions of anti-hunger organizations in an effort to develop innovative, long-term, collaborative solutions to the alleviation of hunger among the homebound elderly and/or people living with critical illness. This program is designed to respond to critical service gaps and needs by increasing the amount of services provided, improving the effectiveness and quality of services provided, and/or sustaining the provision of existing effective high-quality services.
ELIGIBILITY: An organization must be an anti-hunger organization (e.g. meals-on-wheels program, food bank, community kitchen, or HIV/AIDS meal service provider) that serves the needs of the homebound elderly and/or homebound individuals living with critical illness; be a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code; have been in operation for a minimum of three years; and be applying in collaboration with at least one partner organization, which will receive a portion of the funds requested in the grant request.
FUNDING:  Altria will provide approximately $2 million in grants of up to $150,000 per coalition to fund food/meals; equipment and mechanisms for delivery, preparing, packing, and sorting meals; transportation/distribution equipment; salaries for program staff; and printed materials, technology, and consultants.
DEADLINE: April 30, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the Altria Web site at http://altria.com.

Youth Baseball and Softball Programs

Baseball Tomorrow Fund

The Baseball Tomorrow Fund, a joint initiative between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, offers grants to nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations involved in youth baseball and softball programs.
The Fund is most interested in projects that help increase the number of youth participating in baseball and softball programs; improve the quality of youth baseball and softball programs; create new or innovative ways of expanding and improving baseball or softball programs; generate matching funds for programs; address programs for children ages 10-16; support exiting programs that have demonstrated success in providing a quality baseball/softball experience for youth; and address opportunities for minorities and women.
ELIGIBILITY: Nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations involved in youth baseball and softball programs.
FUNDING: Contact the Fund.
DEADLINE:  April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2004.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Visit http://mlb.com and click on Community Programs.

2004 Grant Program

The Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts

The Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts have announced the 2004 Grant Program, which provides funding to municipalities and not-for-profit organizations undertaking historic structure reports, historic landscape reports and cultural resource surveys. Through the program, the Preservation League, a statewide, not-for-profit organization, and the Council, the state's arts funding agency, seek to support efforts to plan for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings and landscapes throughout the state. In 2004, the Preservation League especially encourages projects that link preservation to smart growth land use planning; neighborhood and “Main Street” revitalization; preservation initiatives along rural roads and other historic transportation corridors; and projects that involve the continued use of historic municipal buildings and historic bridges.
ELIGIBILITY: Municipalities and not-for-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status are eligible to apply unless they are applying for funding directly from the New York State Council on the Arts’ Architecture, Planning and Design Program (APD) for another project in 2004. Groups are limited to one project with APD support per year. State agencies and religious institutions are ineligible for support. Groups that previously received funding through this grant program must have successfully completed their projects to be eligible for the 2004 grant round. The grant panel members will evaluate: architectural and historic significance of the building, landscape or area; the need for the project and for financial support at this time; the applicant group’s ability to carry out the project within a stated schedule; the applicant group’s ability to raise sufficient funds to complete the project; the appropriateness of the project budget and consultant(s); extent of local support for the project; and the likelihood that significant restoration or planning work will result.
FUNDING: A total of $78,600 is available and will be split among all three project types. Grants are likely to range between $3,000 and $15,000 each. No formal financial match is required. However, the Preservation League and the New York State Council on the Arts expect to see a project budget that reflects the applicant’s meaningful commitment to the project. Please note that it is unlikely that this program will be able to provide full support for any project. It is also expected that the consultant fee structure reflects the applicant’s understanding of the value of these professional services.
DEADLINE:  Applications must be postmarked no later than Monday, May 3, 2004. Please follow the directions included in the application for assembling the packets.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:  If your organization and project meet these guidelines, contact the League to discuss your potential application and to get the application form. You may contact Tania G. Werbizky, Director, Technical and Grant Programs, at (607) 272-6510 or Lorraine E. Weiss, Program Manager, at (518) 462-5658, ext. 12, or at lweiss@preservenys.org.

...Grant Writing

The Grantsmanship Center

The Grantsmanship Training Program is coming to New York: Brooklyn, April 5-9, 2004, hosted by Roots Revisited and Syracuse, June 14-18, 2004, hosted by P.E.A.C.E., Inc.

The class will be conducted by The Grantsmanship Center (TGCI) and is kept at a maximum of 30 participants. The cost is $825, which includes 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, or to apply for a scholarship, contact TGCI at (800) 421-9512 or visit http://www.tgci.com. For local information and arrangements: Brooklyn, call Michael Hooper at (718) 778-0009; Syracuse, call Len Colella at (315) 470-3300.