Start Corporation

Start Corporation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Houma, Louisiana, is a federal grant recipient operating as a prime recipient of project grants and cooperative agreements across homelessness, veteran services, and community health programs, with no federal contract footprint. The organization receives 93% of its awards as a prime recipient rather than a sub-recipient, working across sixteen distinct federal agencies with a combined obligated dollar value of $144 million and 192 total awards since 2004.

Start Corporation's federal funding concentrates overwhelmingly in HUD's Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267), which accounts for 128 awards and anchors the organization's homelessness intervention work. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, through its Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, funds five eligible program components under the CoC: permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing for individuals with disabilities, transitional housing, supportive services only, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) operations, and homelessness prevention. Representative CoC awards include a $1.692 million project grant (CFDA 14.267, effective September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026) supporting comprehensive housing and supportive services across southeastern Louisiana; a $1.299 million award (same period and CFDA) for permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and case management; and a $1.134 million project grant (September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026) for integrated housing and supportive services addressing homelessness. Start Corporation also operates multiple transitional housing and per diem programs under the VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program (CFDA 64.024).

Veteran-focused funding ranks second in award volume. The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration funds Start Corporation through multiple mechanisms: the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program (CFDA 64.033) supports outreach, case management, VA benefits assistance, and temporary financial assistance for housing-related costs to very low-income veteran families; recent SSVF awards include $1.81 million (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026), $1.807 million (October 7, 2024 through unreported end date), and $1.807 million (August 21, 2023). The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (CFDA 64.055) funds community-based suicide prevention services; Start Corporation received $750,000 for year four (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and holds prior awards at $750,000 (year three, October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024) and $1.5 million (September 19, 2022 through September 30, 2023). The VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (Case Management Grant) Program (CFDA 64.024) awarded $450,000 for housing stability services to veterans (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028).

HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding supports health infrastructure and primary care expansion. Start Corporation operates six Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across southeastern Louisiana and holds grants for HIV prevention, dental service expansion, maternal and infant health, and children's health insurance enrollment. Representative awards include an $853,284 cooperative agreement under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CFDA 93.767, Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment, August 4, 2025 through June 30, 2030) targeting Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention across 44 Louisiana parishes; a $749,997 cooperative agreement under the Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants program (CFDA 93.086, September 30, 2025 through September 29, 2030) delivering evidence-based relationship and parenting education using the PREP 8.0 curriculum at five clinic locations; and a $1.556 million project grant (CFDA 14.267, August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026) for housing and supportive services. HRSA also funds maternal and infant health services through the Healthy Start Initiative (CFDA 93.926, May 1, 2024 through March 31, 2029) targeting Black birth-givers in seven high-disparity parishes, and supports a certified community behavioral health clinic addressing serious mental illness, substance use disorder, and opioid use (CFDA 93.958, September 30, 2023 through September 29, 2027).

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families funds transitional living services for homeless youth ages 16–22 through the Transitional Living for Homeless Youth program (CFDA 93.550, $349,999 awarded September 30, 2025 through September 29, 2028, supporting the YouthStart TLP serving 48 youth across six parishes). The SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services funds a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CFDA 93.958) providing crisis intervention, mental health treatment, substance use services, and care coordination across a seven-parish Bayou region service area. The Bureau of Primary Health Care (within HRSA) funds HIV prevention and testing initiatives targeting persons experiencing homelessness, bridge access programs, and health center infrastructure support. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.812) awarded Start Corporation a $750,000 Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative grant (October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2027) supporting substance use disorder treatment, Moral Reconation Therapy, and medication-assisted treatment for justice-involved individuals reentering southeastern Louisiana. The Department of Veterans Affairs also funds per diem transitional housing operations and case management services to support housing stability for veteran families.

As a sub-recipient, Start Corporation receives permanent supportive housing funding from Louisiana Housing Corporation (awards dated October 2025, October 2024, December 2023, October 2022, and October 2021 under CFDA 14.267) supporting tenant-based rental assistance and supportive services for homeless individuals and families with disabling conditions. Start Corporation also receives subaward funding from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (CFDA 93.558) and has collaborated with Duke University on COVID-19 testing outreach and RADx-UP research initiatives for persons experiencing homelessness.

Recent activity remains steady — seventeen awards in 2025 and nineteen in 2023 — with fifteen awards reaching ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and therefore facing recompete risk. Start Corporation operates from Houma, Louisiana with a forty-year history of serving vulnerable populations, including persons experiencing homelessness, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and low-income families across southeastern Louisiana. The organization operates an annual budget exceeding $36 million and maintains CARF accreditation and certification under Louisiana Association of Non-Profit Organizations Standards of Excellence.