oppFR-6200-N-07-cfda14.252-cidFR-6200-N-07-instructions.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Community Planning and Development

Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Grants

(Section 4)

FR-6200-N-07

Application Due Date: 10/24/2018

Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Grants

(Section 4)

FR-6200-N-07

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description.

II. Award Information.

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching.

C. Threshold Requirements.

D. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting El igibility.

E. Program Specific Requirements.

F. Criteria for Beneficiaries.

IV. Application and Submission Information.

A. Obtaining an Application Package.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Dun and

Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number.

D. Application Submission Dates and Times.

E. Intergovernmental Review.

F. Funding Restrictions.

G. Other Submission Requirements.

V. Application Review Information.

A. Review Criteria.

B. Review and Selection Process.

C. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates.

VI. Award Administration Information.

A. Award Notices.

B. Administrative, National and Department Policy

Requirements for HUD recipients.

C. Reporting.

D. Debriefing.

VII. Agency Contacts.

VIII. Other Information.

IX. Appendix.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Program Office: Community Planning and Development Funding Opportunity Title: Section 4 Capacity Building for

Community Development and Affordable Housing Grants (Section 4)

Announcement Type: Initial Funding Opportunity Number: FR-6200-N-07 Primary CFDA Number: 14.252 Due Date for Applications: 10/24/2018

Overview For Further Information Regarding this NOFA:Please direct questions regarding the specific program requirements of this Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to the agency contact identified in Section VII.

OMB Approval Number(s): 2500-0000

I. Funding Opportunity Description.

A. Program Description.

1. Purpose

Through funding of national intermediaries, the Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program (Section 4) enhances the capacity and ability of Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) to carry out affordable housing and community development activities that benefit low- and moderate-income families and persons.

For FY 2018 there is $35,000,000 available to carry out eligible activities related to community development and affordable housing projects and programs for the Section 4 Capacity Building Program, of which at least $5,000,000 shall be made available for rural capacity building activities.

2. Changes from Previous NOFA.

The Section 4 Capacity Building program NOFA contains minimal changes from the FY 2017 NOFA, which are predominantly characterized by an increase in clear language and precision of specific expectations. There are no programmatic changes in the FY 2018 NOFA. Specific changes include:

• Updating the Definition of Rural Area to reflect current information and resources.

• Clarifying that the only currently approved activity under the third eligible activity in

Section III.E are Section 4- related Administrative activities.

• Adding language in V.B.2 about Grant Award Adjustments before Grant Agreements are signed.

• Increasing the page limit for the narrative from 36 pages to 38 pages to allow for the budget request in Factor 3.

Factor 1, Capacity – Minor modifications to be more clear and precise in stating the information that is needed and how it will be evaluated.

Factor 2, Need – There is clarification on the geographic needs sub-section to reduce confusion by focusing only on the needs of certain geographic areas, not on the selection process in this Factor.

Factor 3, Activity Plan – Applicants are now required to provide their budget and a budget narrative within the written narrative, which will make their project design more clear and accurate to the structure of the Section 4 program as a four-year grant (the Form SF-424-CB budget attachment is no longer required or requested). Additional changes to improve conceptual consistency include moving the "proposed eligible beneficiaries" and the process for selection of geographic areas to the Implementation process sub-section. In addition, the Geographic Coverage section was adapted to focus on rural geographic coverage and the reference to specific disadvantaged communities was removed.

Factor 5, Performance – Emphasized the distinction between the two different types of evaluation as internal administration of the grant award versus an evaluation of the effectiveness of grant award activities on the communities it serves. Additional distinctions between the programmatic outputs and outcomes achieved as separate from past performance with grant management was added.

To improve your chance of success, please be sure to read this announcement fully and carefully and respond to all the elements in each factor.

3. Definitions.

a. Standard Definitions Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the person authorized to submit applications on behalf of the organization via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Biz point of contact in the System for Award Management. The AOR is listed in item 21 on the SF-424.

Award, as used in this NOFA means a federal, grant, cooperative agreement, loan, or loan guarantee.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is a directory of the various Federal listings, projects, services and activities offering financial and non-financial assistance and benefits to the American public. CFDA Number is the unique number assigned to each program, project, service or activity listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).

Consolidated Plan is a document developed by states and local jurisdictions. This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for more information about the Consolidated Plan and related Annual Action Plan).

Contract means a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. The term as used in this NOFA does not include a legal instrument, even if the non-Federal entity considers it a contract, when the substance of the transaction meets the definition of a Federal award or subaward (See 2 CFR 200.22.)

Contractor means an entity receiving a contract.

Deficiency is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Deficiencies typically involve missing documents, information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement (e.g., an unsigned form, unchecked box, etc.). Depending on specific criteria, deficiencies may be either curable or non-curable.

• Curable Deficiency – Applicants may correct a curable deficiency with timely action.

To be curable the deficiency must:

Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility;

Not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and Be able to be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

• Non-Curable Deficiency – An applicant cannot correct a non-curable deficiency after the submission deadline.

Non-curable deficiencies are deficiencies if corrected would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants.

Non-curable deficiencies may result in an application being marked ineligible, or otherwise adversely affect an application’s score and final determination.

DUNS Number is the nine-digit identification number assigned to a business or organization by Dun & Bradstreet and provides a means of identifying business entities on a location-specific basis. Requests for a DUNS number can be made by visiting the Online DUNS Request Portal.

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding. Deficiencies in meeting an eligibility requirement may be categorized as either curable or non-curable.

Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is a database that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration in Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies.

NOTE: Passwords expire every 60 days. Accounts inactive for 1 year or more result in removal of all account roles. For more account management information, review the Applicant FAQs contained on the grants.gov web page.

Non-Federal Entity means a state, local government, Indian tribe, institution of higher education (IHE), or non-profit organization carrying out a Federal award as a recipient or subrecipient.

Point of Contact (POC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The point of contact is listed in item 8F on the SF424.

Promise Zones are federally-designated, high-poverty urban, rural and tribal communities where the Federal government will partner with and invest in communities to accomplish these goals:

create jobs, leverage private investment, increase economic activity, expand educational opportunities, and reduce violent crime.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#password

Promotores/Promotoras are Spanish-speaking Community Health Workers who work in their communities to reduce barriers to health services and make health care systems more responsive.

Recipient means a non-Federal entity receiving an award directly from HUD to carry out an activity under a HUD program.

Section 3 Business Concern means a business concern (1) 51 percent or more owned by Section 3 residents; or (2) of which at least 30 percent of permanent, full-time employees are currently Section 3 residents, or were Section 3 residents within three years of the date of first employment with the business concern; or (3) provides evidence of a commitment to subcontract over 25 percent of the dollar award of all subcontracts to be awarded to business concerns meeting the qualifications in this definition.

Section 3 Residents means: 1) Public housing residents; or 2) Low and very-low income persons, as defined in 24 CFR 135.5, who live in the metropolitan area or non-metropolitan county where Section 3 covered assistance is expended.

Standard Form 424 (SF424) Application for Federal Assistance Programs, required by discretionary grant programs.

Subaward means an award provided by a recipient to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the recipient. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual’s beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the recipient considers a contract.

Subrecipient means a non-Federal entity receiving a subaward from a recipient to carry out part of a HUD program; but does not include an individual’s beneficiary of such program.

A subrecipient may also receive other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency (including HUD).

System for Award Management (SAM), is an official website of the U.S. government. You can access the website at Sam.gov There is no cost to use SAM. SAM is the official U.S.

Government system that consolidated the capabilities of Central Contractor Registry (CCR), Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) and the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). Registration with Sam.gov is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov.

Threshold Requirement – Threshold requirements are a type of eligibility requirement.

Threshold requirements must be met for an application to be reviewed. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility. Threshold requirements are listed in Section III.C. of this NOFA.

Applicants must ensure their application package addresses threshold requirements. Please check your application carefully!

4. Program Definitions

Community Development Corporation (CDC):

1. A CDC is a nonprofit organization that undertakes eligible Section 4 Capacity Building Program activities as defined in this NOFA and that meets these qualifications:

a. Is organized under Federal, State or local law to engage in community development activities (which may include housing and economic development activities) primarily within an identified geographic area of operation;

b. Is governed by a board of directors composed of community residents, business and civic leaders;

c. Has as its primary purpose the improvement of the physical, economic or social environment of its geographic area of operation by addressing one or more critical problems of the area, with particular attention to the needs of persons of low income;

d. Is neither controlled by, nor under the direction of, individuals or entities seeking to derive profit or gain from the organization;

e. Has a tax exemption ruling from the Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)-1);

f. Has standards of financial accountability that conform to 2 CFR Part 200.302, “Financial Management” and 2 CFR Part 200.303, “Internal Controls”;

g. Is not an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government; and

h. “Community” may be a neighborhood or neighborhoods, town, village, county or multi-county area (but not the entire State or territory).

2. An organization that does not qualify under paragraphs (a) through (h) may also be determined to qualify as an eligible entity if:

a. It is a Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Section 501 State Development Company- or an SBA Certified Section 503 Company- under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended (P.L. 85-699); or

b. The recipient demonstrates to the satisfaction of HUD, through the provision of information regarding the organization’s charter and by-laws, that the organization is sufficiently similar in purpose, function, and scope to those entities qualifying under paragraphs (1) through (8) of this definition; or

c. It is a State or locally chartered organization; however, the State or local government may not have the right to appoint more than one-third of the membership of the organization’s governing body and no more than one-third of the board members may be public officials or employees of the State or local government entity chartering the organization. Board members appointed by the State or local government may not appoint the remaining two-thirds of the board members.

Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO): A CHDO is defined in the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME Program) regulation at 24 CFR 92.2. The HOME Program is authorized by the HOME Investment Partnerships Act at title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 12701 et seq.

Family: Family refers to the definition of “family” in 24 CFR 5.403. Family includes, but is not limited to, the following, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status:

1. A single person, who may be an elderly person, displaced person, disabled person, near-elderly person, or any other single person; or

2. A group of persons residing together, and such group includes, but is not limited to:

a. A family with or without children (a child who is temporarily away from the home because of placement in foster care is considered a member of the family);

b. An elderly family;

c. A near-elderly family;

d. A disabled family;

e. A displaced family; and

f. The remaining member of a tenant family.

Household: Household means all the persons occupying a housing unit. The occupants may be a family as defined in 24 CFR 5.403; two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

Low- and moderate-income household: Low- and moderate-income household means a household having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit established by HUD, which means a household whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the AMI.

Low- and moderate-income person: Low- and moderate-income person means a member of a family having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit established by HUD, which means an individual whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the AMI.

Unrelated individuals will be considered as one-person families for this purpose.

Low-income household: Low-income household means a household having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 very low-income limit established by HUD, which means a household whose income does not exceed 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Low-income person: Low-income person means a member of a family that has an income equal to or less than the Section 8 very low-income limit established by HUD, which means an individual whose income does not exceed 50 percent of the AMI. Unrelated individuals shall be considered as one-person families for this purpose.

Rural area: A rural area is a statistical geographic entity delineated by the Census Bureau that does not meet the definition of an urbanized area. An urbanized area is a statistical geographic entity delineated by the US Census Bureau, consisting of densely settled census tracts and blocks and adjacent densely settled territory that together contain at least 50,000 people. As of the 2010 decennial census, the United States contained 486 urbanized areas with an additional 11 in Puerto Rico. For more information about urbanized areas, including maps, FAQs, and reference manuals, please refer to this Census Bureau website - https://www.census.gov/geo /reference/webatlas/uas.html.

To demonstrate that a beneficiary complies with the rural area requirement, grantees will be expected to implement a review process to confirm that the proposed rural beneficiary is physically located within an eligible rural area or, as a result of Section 4 assistance, will be commencing or expanding service in an eligible rural area. HUD has created a mapping tool for grantees to utilize in assessing a beneficiary’s compliance with the rural area definition. The mapping tool is posted on HUD’s Section 4 grant program webpage - https://www.hudexchange https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/webatlas/uas.html https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/webatlas/uas.html https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/section-4-capacity-building/

.info/programs/section-4-capacity-building/.

5. Web Resources The resources indicated provide details for the application process

• Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

• Code of Conduct list

• Do Not Pay

• Dun & Bradstreet

• Request a DUNS Number

• Equal Participation of Faith-Based Organizations

• Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System

• Federal Subaward Reporting System) FSRS

• Grants.gov

• Grants.gov support

• Healthy Homes Strategic Plan

• Healthy Housing Reference Manual

• HUD Funds available

• HUD’s Strategic Plan

• HUD Grants

• NOFA webcasts

• Procurement of recovered materials

• Promise Zones

• Section 3 Business Registry

• State Point of Contact List

• System for Award Management (SAM))

• Real Property Acquisition and Relocation

• USASpending

B. Authority.

The Capacity Building program is authorized by Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-120, 107 Stat. 1148, 42 U.S.C. 9816 note), as amended. Funding for the FY 2018 Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program made available through this NOFA is authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141, approved on March 23, 2018).

https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/section-4-capacity-building/ https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/GEN-REQ-TERMS-2018.PDF https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/conductgrants http://donotpay.treas.gov/ https://www.dnb.com/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=d67b2c9e097a45629d959d63e5e4f297&ty=HTML&h=L&mc=true&r=SECTION&n=se24.1.5_1109 https://www.fapiis.gov/fapiis/index.action https://www.fsrs.gov/ https://grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/healthy_homes/advhh https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/publications/books/housing/housing_ref_manual_2012.pdf https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/SPM/documents/HUDSTRATEGICPLAN2018-2022.pdf https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo https://www.hud.gov/press/multimedia https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=91f378a1992b84880fbe5823086278fc&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1322 https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/promise-zones/ https://portalapps.hud.gov/Sec3BusReg/BRegistry/What https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/grants_spoc https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/ https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/library/relocation https://www.usaspending.gov/Pages/Default.aspx

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds

Funding of up to $35,000,000 is available through this NOFA.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFA as a result of HUD's efforts to recapture unused funds, use carryover funds, or because of the availability of additional appropriated funds. Use of these funds is subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the applicable funding restrictions contained in this NOFA.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 3 awards from the funds available under this NOFA.

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

There are no set amounts for minimum or maximum award levels in the Section 4 program.

Estimated Total Funding: $35,000,000 Minimum Award Amount: $0 Per Project Period Maximum Award Amount: $35,000,000 Per Project Period

D. Period of Performance

48 month period of performance.

Estimated Project Start Date: 12/14/2018 Estimated Project End Date: 12/13/2022 Length of Project Periods: Other Length of Project Periods Explanation of Other: 48-month period of performance for project and budget.

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

F. Supplementation.

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Additional Information on Eligibility:

The competition is limited to the following three 501(c)(3) status nonprofit organizations identified in the Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 (Pub.L. 103-120, 107 Stat.

1148, 42 U.S.C. 9816 note), as amended. The three organizations are: Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (formerly The Enterprise Foundation), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Habitat for Humanity International. Specifically, the only applicants eligible for this competition are the three organizations located at the following addresses:

• Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (formerly The Enterprise Foundation), 11000 Broken Land Parkway, Suite 700, Columbia, MD 21044;

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), 501 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018; and

• Habitat for Humanity International, 121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709.

Affiliates and local offices of these organizations and their community partners are not eligible to compete either directly or independently for capacity building grants under this notice, but may seek funding from the above organizations.

B. Cost Sharing

This Program requires cost sharing, matching or leveraging as described below.

Section 4(c) of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993 requires that each dollar awarded must be matched by three dollars in cash or in-kind contribution obtained from private sources. The types of documentation accepted by HUD will be determined at the time the organization enters into a grant agreement. All match funds, including in-kind contributions, shall conform to the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200.29, 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR Part 200.96. Match funds must clearly be connected to the delivery of the proposed Section 4 program eligible activities or the resulting outputs of those activities.

In addition to the required matching funds, applicants are encouraged to secure leverage from private sector and/or public resources. Leverage funds are calculated over and above any match contributions. All leverage funds, including in-kind contributions, must conform to the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200.29, 2 CFR 200.306 and 2 CFR Part 200.96.

C. Threshold Requirements.

Applicants who fail to meet any of the following threshold eligibility requirements will be deemed ineligible. Applications from ineligible applicants will not be evaluated.

1. Timely Submission of Applications – Applications submitted after the deadline stated within this NOFA that do not meet the requirements of the grace period policy will be marked late. Late applications are ineligible and will not be considered for funding. See also Section IV Application and Submission Information, part D. Application Submission Dates and Times

2. Eligible Organizations - Only the three organizations listed in Section III.A of this NOFA are eligible for the Section 4 Capacity Building program. Any other applicants will be identified as ineligible.

D. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility Eligibility Requirements for Applicants of HUD’s Grants Programs The following requirements affect applicant eligibility. Detailed information on each requirement is posted on HUD’s Funding Opportunities Page (click here).

Outstanding Delinquent Federal Debts Debarments and/or Suspensions Pre-selection Review of Performance Sufficiency of Financial Management System False Statements Mandatory Disclosure Requirement Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities Equal Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in HUD Programs and Activities

E. Program Specific Requirements.

Purpose. Through funding of national intermediaries, the Section 4 Capacity Building program (Section 4) enhances the capacity and ability of community development corporations (CDCs) and community housing development organizations (CHDOs) to carry out affordable housing and community development activities that benefit low- and moderate-income families and persons.

Eligible Activities and Priorities. Funds may only be used to conduct the following activities:

1. Training, education, support, and advice to enhance the technical and administrative capabilities of CDCs and CHDOs. This may include building the capacity of CDCs and CHDOs to:

o Participate in consolidated planning, fair housing planning and Continuum of Care homeless assistance efforts that help ensure community-wide participation in assessing area needs;

o Consult broadly within the community;

o Cooperatively plan for the use of available resources in a comprehensive and holistic manner; and o Assist in evaluating performance under these community planning and coordination efforts and in linking plans with neighboring communities to foster regional planning.

2. Loans, pass-through grants, predevelopment assistance, development assistance, or other financial assistance to CDCs and CHDOs to carry out community development and affordable housing activities that benefit low-income or low- and moderate-income families and persons, including the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of housing for low-income or low- and moderate-income families and persons, and community and economic development activities that create jobs for low-income persons.

https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/SPM/documents/ELIG-REQS-GRANTS-2018v2.pdf

3. Such other activities as may be determined by the grantees in consultation with the Secretary or his or her designee.

At this time, eligible program activities allowed under the third listed eligible activity only include HUD reviewed and approved reasonable administrative tasks directly related to the grantee's management of its Section 4 program. Some examples of reasonable administrative activities specific to the management of the Section 4 program include the preparation of Section 4 action plans and activities, preparation of Section 4 program reports, and management of the implementation of the first and second eligible activities. For any other activities to qualify under the third listed eligible activity it must first be proposed in an action plan, and then reviewed and approved by HUD through the action plan process after a grant award is made; thus, it should not be proposed through this application.

Program Priorities. Activities undertaken as part of, or as a result of, capacity building efforts described in this section should support the implementation of other HUD programs, including, but not limited to, the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), and the Continuum of Care program, in addition to issues related to sustainability and comprehensive neighborhood revitalization activities. Through these activities, grantees are encouraged to align with and support projects that create opportunities for investments focused on job growth, economic recovery, and neighborhood revitalization. Additionally, grantees are encouraged to consider how CDCs and CHDOs may align investments with regional planning for sustainable economic development, if such efforts are underway in the jurisdiction.

F. Criteria for Beneficiaries.

This program has eligibility criteria for beneficiaries.

Eligible Beneficiaries are limited to CDCs and CHDOs as defined in Section I.A.4 of this

NOFA.

IV. Application and Submission Information.

A. Obtaining an Application Package.

Instructions for Applicants.

You must download both the Application Instruction and the Application Package from Grants.gov. To ensure you are using the correct Application Package and Application Instructions, you must verify the CFDA Number and CFDA Description on the first page of the Application Package, and the Opportunity Title and the Funding Opportunity Number match the Program and NOFA to which you are applying.

The Application Package contains the Adobe forms created by Grants.gov. The Instruction Download contains official copies of the NOFA, and forms necessary for a complete application. The Instruction Download may include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and additional documents.

An applicant demonstrating good cause may request a waiver from the requirement for electronic submission. For example, a lack of available Internet access in the geographic area in which your business offices are located. Lack of SAM registration or valid DUNS is not deemed good cause. If you cannot submit your application electronically, you must ask in writing for a waiver of the electronic grant submission requirements. HUD will not grant a waiver if HUD does not receive your written request at least 15 days before the application deadline or if you do not demonstrate good cause. An email request sent 15 days before the application will also be considered. If HUD waives the requirement, HUD must receive your paper application or email request before the deadline of this NOFA. To request a waiver and receive a paper copy of the application materials, you must contact:

Email: capacitybuilding@hud.gov

B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

You must verify boxes 11, 12, and 13 on the SF424 match the NOFA for which you are applying. If they do not match, you have downloaded the wrong Application Instruction and Application Package.

Submission of an application that is otherwise sufficient, under the wrong CFDA and Funding Opportunity Number is a curable deficiency.

1. Content.

Forms for your package include the forms outlined below:

Forms / Assurances / Certifications

Submission Requirement Notes / Description

Application for Federal Assistance

(SF-424)

This form is required.

Faith-Based Ensuring Equal Opportunity Survey

(SF-424

Supplement)

This form is optional.

HUD Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report

(HUD) 2880

Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update

HUD will provide instructions to grantees on how the form is to be submitted.

HUD will provide instructions to grantees on how the form is to be submitted.

mailto:capacitybuilding@hud.gov

Report

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) (if applicable)

Refer to the instructions on the form to determine if the organization meets the requirements for submission.

Indirect cost rate documentation.

Required documentation identifying the federally negotiated indirect cost rate from the cognizant agency that shows the approved rate or provide an attachment that states that the de minimis rate of 10% Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) will be used.

Refer to Section IV.F Funding Restrictions, Indirect Cost Rate, for full details on this requirement.

Certification of Consistency with Promise Zone Goals and Implementation (Form HUD 50153)

Required for consideration for the Promise Zones Preference Points.

To receive Promise Zones Preference Points, this form must be signed and dated (the date must fall within the NOFA application period) by the Promise Zone Official authorized to certify that the proposed Section 4 project meets the criteria to receive Preference Points.

Acknowledgment of Application Receipt (HUD2993), if applicable

This form is applicable only to applications submitted on paper, following receipt of a waiver of electronic submission.

This form is not required but is available for applicants who want confirmation that their hard-copy application was received by HUD. The form must be submitted with the application, in accordance with the application submission instructions included in the waiver of electronic submission.

Additionally, your complete application must include the following narratives and non-form attachments.

A complete written narrative that addresses all the elements in Factors 1 through 5 (Five Factors) in Section V.A. of this NOFA must be submitted. The narrative for the Five Factors will be reviewed as a whole narrative, and applicants are advised to address the specific requirements of each Rating Factor in the narrative section specific to each Rating Factor so that information is not missed during the review process.

2. Format and Form.

Narratives and other attachments to your application must follow the following format guidelines.

1. Page Limitation and Font Size. The narrative addressing the Five Factors is limited to no more than 38 typed pages of single-spaced text based on 8.5 by 11 inch paper, using a Times New Roman standard 12-point font. HUD will not review more than 38 pages for all Five Factors and NOFA Preference Points combined, except that the page limit does not include the form HUD-50153 in support of Promise Zones Preference Points. All applicants should enter the applicant name, DUNS number, and page number on each page of narrative.

2. Prohibition on Materials Not Required. Materials other than what is requested in this NOFA are prohibited. Reviewers will not consider résumés, charts, letters, or any other documents attached to the application that are not specified or requested in this NOFA.

3. Checklist for Application Submission.

The following checklist is provided as a guide to help ensure that applicants submit all the required elements. All forms required for application submission can be found in the application and instruction downloads on Grants.gov.

• Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424);

• Faith-Based EEO Survey (SF-424 Supplement, Survey for Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants) (optional);

• Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report (Form HUD2880);

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) (if applicable);

• Narrative addressing the Five Factors;

• Indirect Cost Rate Documentation;

• Certification of Consistency with Promise Zone Goals and Implementation (Form HUD

50153) (required for Preference Points); and

• Acknowledgment of Application Receipt (form HUD2993) (if applicable).

4. Additional Information on the Section 4 program, Frequently Asked Questions and Webcast. HUD may produce a Webcast that walks through the FY 2018 Section 4 Program NOFA, and HUD may also provide a summary of Frequently Asked Questions. Please check the Section 4 Capacity Building Program webpage on the HUD Exchange at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/section-4-capacity-building/ for these possible references, for any other related updates, and to learn more about the Section 4 Capacity Building Program.

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number.

1. SAM Registration Requirement Applicants must be registered with SAM before submitting their application. In addition, applicants must maintain an active SAM registration with current information while they have an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by HUD.

2. DUNS Number Requirement.

Applicants must provide a valid DUNS number, registered and active at SAM, in the application. DUNS numbers may be obtained for free from Dun & Bradstreet.

3. Requirement to Register with Grants.gov.

Anyone planning to submit applications on behalf of an organization must register at Grants.gov and be approved by the EBiz Point of Contact in SAM to submit applications for the organization.

Registration for SAM and Grants.gov is a multi-step process and can take four (4) weeks or longer to complete if data issues arise. Applicants without a valid registration cannot submit an application through Grants.gov. Complete registration instructions and guidance are provided at Grants.gov. See also Section IV.B for necessary form and content information.

D. Application Submission Dates and Times.

The application deadline is 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern time on 10/24/2018. Applications must be received no later than the deadline.

Submit your application to Grants.gov unless a waiver has been issued allowing you to submit your application in paper form. Instructions for submitting your paper application will be contained in the waiver of electronic submission.

“Received by Grants.gov” means the applicant received a confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number from Grants.gov. Then Grants.gov assigns an application tracking number and date-and time-stamps each application upon successful receipt by the Grants.gov system. A submission attempt not resulting in confirmation of receipt and an application tracking number is not considered received by Grants.gov.

Applications received by Grants.gov must be validated by Grants.gov to be received by HUD.

“Validated by Grants.gov” means the application has been accepted and was not rejected with errors. You can track the status of your application by logging into Grants.gov, selecting “Applicants” from the top navigation, and selecting “Track my application” from the dropdown list. If the application status is “rejected with errors,” you must correct the error(s) and resubmit the application before the 24-hour grace period ends. Applications in “rejected with errors” status after the 24-hour grace period expires will not be received by HUD.

Visit Grants.gov for a complete description of processing steps after submitting an application.

HUD strongly recommends applications be submitted at least 48 hours before the deadline and during regular business hours to allow enough time to correct errors or overcome other problems.

You can verify the contents of your submitted application to confirm Grants.gov received everything you intended to submit. To verify the contents of your submitted application:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

• Log in to Grants.gov.

• Click the Check Application Status link, which appears under the Grant Applications heading in the Applicant Center page. This will take you to the Check Application Status page.

• Enter search criteria and a date range to narrow your search results.

• Click the Search button. To review your search results in Microsoft Excel, click the

Export Data button.

• Review the Status column.

• To view more detailed submission information, click the Details link in the Actions column.

• To download the submitted application, click the Download link in the Actions column.

Please make note of the Grants.gov tracking number as it will be needed by the Grants.gov Help Desk if you seek their assistance.

HUD may extend the application deadline for any program if Grants.gov is offline or not available to applicants for at least 24 hours immediately prior to the deadline date, or the system is down for 24 hours or longer and impacts the ability of applicants to cure a submission deficiency within the grace period.

HUD may also extend the application deadline upon request if there is a presidentially-declared disaster in the applicant’s area.

If these events occur, HUD will post a notice on its website establishing the new, extended deadline for the affected applicants. HUD will also include the fact of the extension in the program’s Notice of Funding Awards required to be published in the Federal Register.

In determining whether to grant a request for an extension based on a presidentially-declared disaster, HUD will consider the totality of the circumstances including the date of an applicant’s extension request (how closely it followed the basis for the extension), whether other applicants in the geographic area are similarly affected by the disaster, and how quickly power or services are restored to enable the applicant to submit its application.

PLEASE NOTE: Busy servers, slow processing, or large file sizes, improper registration or password issues are not valid circumstances to extend the deadline dates or the grace period.

1. Amending or Resubmitting an Application.

Before the submission deadline, you may amend a validated application through Grants.gov by resubmitting a revised application containing the new or changed material. The resubmitted application must be received and validated by Grants.gov by the applicable deadline.

If HUD receives an original and a revised application for a single proposal, HUD will evaluate only the last submission received by Grants.gov before the deadline.

2. Grace Period for Grants.gov Submissions.

If your application is received by Grants.gov before the deadline, but is rejected with errors, you https://www.federalregister.gov/ have a grace period of 24 hours after the application deadline to submit a corrected, received, and validated application through Grants.gov. The date and time stamp on the Grants.gov system determines the application receipt time. Any application submitted during the grace period not received and validated by Grants.gov will not be considered for funding.

There is no grace period for paper applications.

3. Late Applications.

An application received after the NOFA deadline date that does not meet the Grace Period requirements will be marked late and will not be received by HUD for funding consideration.

Improper or expired registration and password issues are not causes that allow HUD to accept applications after the deadline.

4. Corrections to Deficient Applications.

HUD will not consider information from applicants after the application deadline. HUD may contact the applicant to clarify other items in its application. HUD will uniformly notify applicants of each curable deficiency. A curable deficiency is an error or oversight that if corrected it would not alter, in a positive or negative fashion, the review and rating of the application. See curable deficiency in definitions section. Examples of curable (correctable) deficiencies include inconsistencies in the funding request and failure to submit required certifications. These examples are non-exhaustive.

When HUD identifies a curable deficiency, HUD will notify the authorized representative. The email is the official notification of a curable deficiency. Each applicant must provide accurate email addresses for receipt of these notifications and must monitor their email accounts to determine whether a deficiency notification has been received. The applicant must carefully review the request for cure of deficiency and must provide the response in accordance with the instructions contained in the deficiency notification.

Applicants must email corrections of curable deficiencies to applicationsupport@hud.gov within the time limits specified in the notification. The time allowed to correct deficiencies will not exceed 14 calendar days or be less than 48 hours from the date of the email notification. The start of the cure period will be the date stamp on the email sent from HUD. If the deficiency cure deadline date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, Federal holiday, or on a day when HUD’s Headquarters are closed, then the applicant’s correction must be received on the next business day HUD Headquarters offices in Washington, DC are open.

The subject line of the email sent to applicationsupport@hud.gov must state: Technical Cure and include the Grants.gov application tracking number (e.g., Subject: Technical Cure - GRANT123456). If this information is not included, HUD cannot match the response with the application under review and the application may be rejected due to the deficiency. This only applies to certain programs and responses should be sent to the NOFA specific program.

Corrections to a paper application must be sent in accordance with and to the address indicated in the notification of deficiency. HUD will treat a paper application submitted in accordance with a waiver of electronic application containing the wrong DUNS number as having a curable deficiency. Failure to correct the deficiency and meet the requirement to have a DUNS number mailto:applicationsupport@hud.gov mailto:applicationsupport@hud.gov and active registration in SAM will render the application ineligible for funding.

5. Authoritative Versions of HUD NOFAs. The version of these NOFAs as posted on Grants.gov are the official documents HUD uses to solicit applications.

E. Intergovernmental Review.

This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

F. Funding Restrictions.

Prohibition on Fees or Profit.

No fee or profit may be paid to any recipient or subrecipient of an award under this Section 4 Capacity Building NOFA.

High Rate Contractors and Consultants.

Additionally, Section 4 program funds may not be used, directly or indirectly, to pay or provide reimbursement for payment of the salary of a consultant or a contractor at more than the daily equivalent of the rate paid for the level IV of the Executive Schedule, without prior written approval from HUD. For more information on the Executive Schedule, please see the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2018/executive-senior-level. If the grantee believes there is sufficient need or cause for hiring a consultant or contractor at a high rate, it may submit a request to HUD and a written justification for review and consideration. In all cases, the grantee must receive approval from HUD before commencing any Section 4 program work with a high rate consultant or contractor.

Indirect Cost Rate.

Normal indirect cost rules apply. If you intend to charge indirect costs to your award, your application must clearly state the rate and distribution base you intend to use. If you have a Federally negotiated indirect cost rate, your application must also include a letter or other documentation from the cognizant agency showing the approved rate.

Nongovernmental organizations and Indian tribal governments. If you have a Federally negotiated indirect cost rate, your application must clearly state the approved rate and distribution base and must include a letter or other documentation from the cognizant agency showing the approved rate. If you have never received a Federally negotiated indirect cost rate and elect to use the de minimis rate, your application must clearly state you intend to use the de minimis rate of 10% of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC). As described in 2 CFR 200.403, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs, but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both. Once an organization elects to use the de minimis rate, the organization must apply this methodology consistently for all Federal awards until the organization chooses to negotiate for a rate, which the organization may apply to do at any time.

Documentation of the decision to use the de minimis rate must be retained on file for audit.

State and local governments. If your department or agency unit has a Federally negotiated indirect cost rate, your application must include that rate, the applicable distribution base, and a letter or other documentation from the cognizant agency showing the negotiated rate. If your department or agency unit receives more than $35 million in federal funding, you may not claim indirect costs until you receive a negotiated rate from your cognizant agency for indirect costs as provided in Appendix VII to 2 CFR part 200.

If your department or agency unit receives no more than $35 million in federal funding and your department or agency unit has prepared and maintains documentation supporting an indirect rate proposal in accordance with 2 CFR part 200, appendix VII, you may use the rate and distribution base specified in your indirect cost rate proposal.