Economic Improvement Council, Inc.

Economic Improvement Council, Inc., doing business as EIC, is a North Carolina-based nonprofit community development corporation that receives federal grants as a prime recipient to operate housing self-sufficiency programs, early childhood education services, and lead hazard abatement initiatives, with 92% of its federal footprint concentrated in prime grant awards. EIC holds no federal contracts and operates exclusively in the grant space under two principal federal grantor agencies: the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public and Indian Housing Office and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

EIC's grant portfolio centers on three capability areas. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) grants from HUD's Public and Indian Housing Office (11 awards across the available award history) fund salary and fringe benefits for FSS coordinators who serve low-income families in public housing, Housing Choice Voucher, and project-based rental assistance properties; EIC's FSS awards span calendar-year periods and require EIC to maintain minimum participating-family enrollment thresholds — at least 25 families per coordinator position in the first year, increasing by 50 families per additional coordinator. EIC also holds Head Start and Early Head Start Child Care Expansion grants from HHS Administration for Children and Families (9 awards total), including a five-year Early Head Start Child Care Partnership award effective March 1, 2024, through February 28, 2029. A lead-based paint hazard reduction grant from HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (May 1, 2025, through November 1, 2028) requires EIC to identify and control lead hazards in pre-1960 housing, with emphasis on units where children under age six face greatest risk, and to build local capacity through trained and certified hazard-control personnel.

Activity has remained modest but steady, with two awards in 2022, one in 2023, three in 2024, and four in 2025. Combined dollars obligated across all 25 awards total $350 million. HUD's Public and Indian Housing Office dominates the portfolio (11 awards), followed by HHS Administration for Children and Families (13 awards across ACF programs). EIC also acts as a sub-recipient on two grant sub-awards from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (July 2024 and July 2025) focused on poverty reduction and community economic development. Two awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity in the FSS renewal cycle.