The Department of Housing and Urban Development is soliciting applications for the Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Program for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027, with a letter of intent or application deadline of March 10, 2025. This opportunity funds cooperative agreements to deliver technical assistance to Units of General Local Government serving communities of 50,000 or fewer people facing economic hardship.
Eligible applicants include small businesses, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations, and private higher education institutions. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for or receive awards.
Applicants must have capacity to deliver technical assistance either across HUD's jurisdiction nationwide (Category N) or to specific geographic areas as defined by the NOFO (Category L). Award recipients will work in close consultation with HUD and coordinate with other awardees. If tasked to provide technical assistance to Public Housing Authorities, recipients must have at least one staff member, subcontractor, or consultant with at least five years of demonstrated public housing operations experience plus two years of demonstrated finance and underwriting experience related to RAD conversions.
Awards are cooperative agreements with periods of performance up to 36 months. Funds support organizational capacity building only and cannot assist individuals or families. HUD will determine award amounts based on available funds, application scores, technical assistance needs, geographic coverage requirements, and applicant capacity to serve multiple programs. Prior award recipients' past performance and committed work plan balances may reduce award amounts.
The program operates under CFDA 14.259 (Community Compass Technical Assistance and Capacity Building), which consolidates technical assistance funding across five HUD offices and encompasses three initiatives: Community Compass, Distressed Cities, and Thriving Communities.