Community Development Block Grant Program - Innovative Grant

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs administers the State of Georgia's Community Development Block Grant Program for non-entitlement communities. Through the CDBG Innovative Grant, DCA is making financial resources available to communities that have developed plans capable of creating transformational change. For this program, transformational change is defined as an individual activity or series of activities that supports long-term, systemic, and sustainable change. DCA intends the program to encourage communities to view CDBG resources more broadly by developing projects that not only benefit low- and moderate-income persons, but also help catalyze their upward mobility or enhance the efficiency and impact of governmental services. Housing is the primary priority under the Innovative Grant because Georgia is experiencing inadequate housing inventory across income levels, although other transformational projects may also be considered. Examples identified by DCA include the purchase or maintenance of property conversions for affordable, transitional, long-term, or supportive housing; infrastructure tied to affordable housing developments; land banking and land trust strategies for long-term affordable housing development; and preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, retrofitting, renovation, and capital improvements to existing affordable housing. Preservation activities may include senior housing, workforce housing, remediation of low-quality or condemned properties, adaptive reuse of underutilized buildings, and owner-occupied rehabilitation programs. Water and wastewater system consolidation projects between jurisdictions may also qualify when consolidation can improve service, system upkeep, overhead costs, or economies of scale. DCA is making $10,000,000 available under the NOFA from FFY2024 State of Georgia Community Development Block Grant funds. Applicants may request up to $5,000,000 per application. Requests at the maximum level will be reviewed for appropriateness based on project scale and scope and may be reduced when project feasibility or anticipated impact appears low. A minimum cash match of at least 15 percent of the grant award is required, except for owner-occupied rehabilitation projects. All funded activities must be eligible under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and meet a HUD National Objective. Each activity is eligible only to the extent that it benefits at least 51 percent low- and moderate-income persons, although projects may also address the elimination or prevention of slums and blight in an area designated by the applicant. Only units of general-purpose local government, specifically cities or counties that do not participate in HUD's CDBG Entitlement program, are eligible to apply. Applications may be submitted individually by one eligible local government or jointly by two or more eligible local governments. Only one Notice of Intent per general-purpose local government, whether submitted individually or jointly, is eligible for competition. Local governments must comply with applicable Georgia audit report and grant certification submission requirements, and recipients of prior CDBG funding must resolve outstanding audit or monitoring findings before applying. Applicants must also demonstrate an eligible program or activity, capacity and experience, an unmet community need, project feasibility and long-term viability, and the ability to complete the project and expend all funds within four years of award. A pre-application is required and is accepted on a rolling basis. DCA uses the pre-application to determine whether a proposal meets the intent of the set-aside and funding eligibility requirements and to provide feedback and technical assistance. DCA has sole discretion to determine which prospective applicants will be invited to submit a full application. If possible, the pre-application should identify the general project location, estimated project or program sources and uses, anticipated grant request, anticipated target populations, an overview of programmatic or housing components, and an overview of anticipated development activities such as acquisition, renovation, or new construction. Pre-application information is not binding and final application details may change. Invitations to submit a full application are expected within two weeks of receipt of the pre-application. Invited applicants receive a direct link to the full application and must submit it by the deadline stated in DCA's official response letter. DCA initially reviews pre-applications and full applications for completeness and screens complete applications against minimum NOFA eligibility requirements. Complete and eligible applications are evaluated and ranked according to the priorities identified in the NOFA. Award notification is expected within 30 days of submission. All CDBG funds generally must be expended and all development completed within four years of award. Completion requires construction activities to be finished, development funds to be expended, closeout procedures to be completed, and certificates of occupancy to be issued when applicable. Projects already under construction that did not satisfy applicable federal requirements under 2 CFR Part 200 or NEPA before initiation will not be considered. Applicable federal and state requirements, including Build America, Buy America requirements and procurement requirements, must also be followed. For additional information, applicants may contact Kimberly Carter, Director, Community Finance Division, at (404) 679-0604 or kim.carter@dca.ga.gov.

Demonstrate long-term, systemic and sustainable transformational change; clearly establish an eligible CDBG activity and HUD National Objective; document an unmet community need; demonstrate applicant and partner capacity and experience; establish construction or development feasibility and long-term viability; present a credible plan to expend funds and complete the project within 4 years.