Community Development Block Grant

The City of Rockville Department of Housing and Community Development administers this Community Development Block Grant application process for the fiscal year identified in the instructions as July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2028. The program is intended to support CDBG-eligible activities benefiting low- and moderate-income persons or households in Rockville. For this funding round, the City has prioritized capital and physical improvements. The application instructions identify housing rehabilitation and reconstruction, acquisition and clearance of land for affordable homeownership or rental housing, acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing, direct homeownership assistance, development of housing for homeless or formerly homeless persons, public facility improvements, economic development, and historic preservation as examples of eligible activities. Public services are specifically excluded from funding for this round. The instructions state that public or social services activities will not be funded, including administrative costs such as labor, supplies, and other operating costs associated with social service programs. Examples of excluded public services include employment, crime prevention, childcare, health services, drug abuse programs, fair housing counseling, education, energy conservation, senior services, homeless services, welfare services, and recreation. Projects may also be subject to federal and Montgomery County requirements. These can include Davis-Bacon requirements for specified construction or rehabilitation projects, Section 3 requirements, Minority, Women, or Disabled-Owned business participation and outreach in construction or rehabilitation bidding, environmental review, radon assessment and mitigation requirements where applicable, historic preservation review, immigration requirements, insurance requirements, and applicable financial management regulations. CDBG funds must be expended within a 12-month period, and unspent funds remaining at the end of the subgrantee agreement term may be recaptured. Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofit organizations and government entities; for-profit entities are not eligible. A nonprofit organization must have a 501(c)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service. The instructions allow people interested in undertaking a new activity who have not yet formed a nonprofit organization to apply, and they state that an organization with a pending nonprofit designation must have the designation in place before the beginning of the fiscal year, which the eligibility section identifies as July 1, 2026. This date differs from the cover page's stated fiscal year of July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2028 and is therefore retained as written rather than reconciled. Governmental and quasi-governmental agencies are encouraged to apply in partnership with a local nonprofit organization, with the nonprofit serving as the primary applicant whenever practical. Projects must propose a CDBG-eligible activity and must benefit low- and moderate-income persons or households. The minimum CDBG grant request is $15,000. The instructions do not state a maximum award, total program funding amount, or number of awards. Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to leverage CDBG funds with other resources. Leveraging is part of the scoring process, with the criteria distinguishing leverage greater than 20 percent of the CDBG request, leverage between 1 and 19 percent, and no leverage. The source therefore establishes an incentive for leveraged funding but does not impose a mandatory matching or cost-share requirement. Approved projects may receive less funding than requested, and applicants are instructed to develop contingency plans for smaller CDBG awards. Applicants must submit a separate application for each funding request and complete all information requested without changing the sequence, format, content, or wording of application questions. Applicants are directed to use the Completeness Checklist and Attachments Checklist and must use required forms, including the CDBG Project Budget Form. Only complete applications received by the deadline will be considered. A substantially complete application with a minor omission may be returned with seven calendar days to provide missing information, such as a missing signature or federal identification number. Unanswered application questions, a missing budget, or failure to submit requested attachments are not treated as minor omissions. The application must be submitted online no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 1, 2026. The source labels that date as Monday, although the stored deadline is based on the explicit calendar date. No required LOI, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating step is identified. Applications are evaluated on a 100-point framework. Benefit to very low and low-moderate-income persons is worth 10 points; demonstrated need is worth 15 points; the proposed solution and scope of work are worth 30 points; budget and leveraging are worth 20 points; organizational capacity is worth 10 points; experience and past performance are worth 10 points; and overall application quality is worth 5 points. Reviewers consider clarity and measurability of the scope, long-term benefit to LMI individuals, sufficient financial and organizational resources to complete the project within 12 months, a reasonable sustainability or maintenance plan, realistic budgets, reliable construction estimates, leveraging, organizational experience, and successful management of prior local, state, federal, and similar-sized CDBG funding. Applicants approved by the Mayor and Council are expected to be notified by December, after which approved applications are submitted to Montgomery County for county staff funding recommendations in January or February and inclusion in the County budget process. For application and eligibility questions, applicants may contact Charles Dunn, CDBG Administrator, Department of Housing and Community Development, at 240-314-8260 or cdunn@rockvillemd.gov. Department staff encourage applicants to seek technical assistance by telephone or in person and to contact HCD staff before submitting an application to confirm that the proposed project is eligible. Funding recipients must comply with City and Montgomery County commercial liability insurance requirements and provide a certificate of insurance, follow applicable financial management requirements, and submit quarterly reports covering the number and demographics of individuals or households served. The application instructions identify the performance period as July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2028. No recurring annual or other future application schedule is stated in the source.

Prioritize capital and physical improvements and confirm CDBG eligibility with HCD before submission. Demonstrate the percentage of LMI persons served and provide relevant evidence of need. Present a clear measurable scope with resources sufficient for completion within 12 months and a long-term maintenance or affordability plan. Use a realistic budget and reliable construction estimates. Leverage other funds where possible, especially above 20 percent of the CDBG request, because leveraging is scored. Document organizational capacity and successful experience with comparable local, state, federal, and CDBG funding.