Funding Opportunities Last updated or reviewed on September 16, 2024 As the Collaborative Applicant for the NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, the City facilitates annual community access to funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care program and the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) Emergency Solutions Grant program. City staff manage the local application process, and the Funding Committee of the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC) reviews and scores received project applications and makes recommendations to the CoC Board for approval. City staff submit the community’s applications based on the CoC Board’s decisions, and HUD and NC DHHS make final awards and contract directly with funded applicants. Continuum of Care – FY2024-FY2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs published the FY2024-FY2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity on July 31, 2024. As the designated Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant for the NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care, the City of Asheville’s Homeless Strategy Division will facilitate the application process and final submission to HUD on behalf of the CoC as directed by the CoC Board. The submission is called the Consolidated Application and consists of two components: Continuum of Care Application describing the strategies and progress of the CoC. This application is completed by Homeless Strategy Division staff and approved by the CoC Board prior to submission. Priority Listing that includes all approved project applications in ranked order of priority as approved by the CoC Board. The NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care is eligible to apply for an estimated $2,474,696 in funding. Project applications are due Friday, September 20, 2024 by 5:00 p.m. for CoC review, scoring, ranking, and approval. Full details are below. NEW THIS YEAR: This NOFO has been issued as a 2-year NOFO for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. FY2024-FY2025 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity Continuum of Care Program Competition site Overview Reference: FY2023 Submission Objectives and Policy Priorities Continuum of Care projects are designed to: Promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness Provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, states, Indian Tribes or Tribally Designated Housing Entities, and local governments to quickly rehouse individuals and families experiencing homelessness, persons experiencing trauma or a lack of safety related to fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and youth experiencing homelessness while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused by homelessness Promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families Optimize self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness HUD’s Policy Priorities Ending homelessness for all persons Use a Housing First approach Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness Improving System Performance Partnering with Housing, Health, and Service Agencies Racial Equity Improving Assistance to LGBTQ+ Individuals Inclusion of Persons with Lived Experience in policy and funding decision-making Building an effective workforce Increasing Affordable Housing Supply Eligible Activities Renewal Projects Awards made under the CoC Program are eligible for renewal with FY2024 funds if they are currently in operation and have an executed grant agreement that is dated no later than December 31, 2024 and will expire in CY2025. The total request for each renewing project may not exceed a project’s Annual Renewal Amount. Eligible renewal projects are: Agency Project Annual Renewal Amount City of Asheville HMIS $63,744 Helpmate Housing Support for Domestic Violence Survivors $207,734 Helpmate Housing Support for Domestic Violence Survivors 2 $90,075 Homeward Bound Permanent Supportive Housing 1 $330,242 Homeward Bound Permanent Supportive Housing 2 $99,617 Homeward Bound Permanent Supportive Housing 5 $242,413 Homeward Bound Bridge to Recovery $495,645 Homeward Bound Shelter Plus Care $511,396 New Projects New projects may be funded through reallocation of renewal projects or the CoC Bonus for these eligible activities: Permanent Housing – Permanent Supportive Housing Permanent Housing – Rapid Rehousing Transitional Housing Joint Transitional Housing/Rapid Rehousing Homeless Management Information System Supportive Services Only – Coordinated Entry New projects may also be funded through a Domestic Violence Bonus specific to services for homeless survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking for these eligible activities: Permanent Housing – Rapid Rehousing Joint Transitional Housing/Rapid Rehousing Supportive Services Only – Coordinated Entry (one application only) Eligible Applicants Potential new and renewal project applicants must meet the following requirements: Serve persons experiencing homelessness in Buncombe County, NC (NC-501) Have experience in providing housing and/or services to individuals or families experiencing homelessness Participate or are prepared to participate in the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry System, including accepting referrals for funded housing projects exclusively through this process Are prepared to utilize or are already utilizing the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or Comparable Database for Victim Service Providers (only) to record client level data and report activities and progress to the CoC Can demonstrate that the project will provide the required 25% match of the total project budget (note that Leasing funds do not require a match) Can demonstrate that the project will be able to begin in calendar year 2025 Are registered with the System for Awards Management (SAM) to obtain a UEI number Have obtained an e-snaps profile and are able to submit HUD CoC applications through the required online portal Funding Availability Note: These funding amounts are tentative and subject to change pending HUD’s publication of the FY2024 CoC Program Competition Estimated Annual Renewal Demand Report. Annual Renewal Demand (ARD): $2,040,866 Tier 1: 90% of the ARD ($1,836,779) CoC Bonus available amount: $244,904 (12% of ARD) Domestic Violence Bonus available amount: $86,883 (up to 15% of the Preliminary Pro Rata Need) Non-competitive Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant Planning Grant: $102,043 (5% of ARD) Process and Timeline As the designated Lead Agency/Collaborative Applicant for the Asheville-Buncombe CoC, the City of Asheville’s Homeless Strategy Division facilitates the application process and final submission to HUD based on decisions made by the Asheville-Buncombe CoC Board, including project applications, amounts, and priority order. HUD will only consider applications approved by the Asheville-Buncombe CoC Board, will make final award decisions, and will contract directly with funded applicants. Project applications should be submitted to homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov for local review, and through e-snaps for final submission to HUD. Application Instructions Letters of Intent Letters of Intent (LOIs) must specify the project type, the estimated number of people who will be served, and an estimated request amount. Multiple projects may be described in one LOI. LOIs must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, August 30, 2024 to homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov. LOIs are required as a prerequisite. Those received after the deadline will inhibit all subsequent applications to be reviewed or considered. Submission of a Letter of Intent does not constitute an application nor does it constitute approval for funding. Project Applications Application materials must be submitted by Friday, September 20, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. to be considered for review, scoring, and ranking by the Funding Committee for subsequent recommendation to the CoC Board. Application materials include: PDF of application package completed in e-snaps submitted electronically via email to homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov FY24-25 CoC Program Competition: Project Application Supplement form Project applications will be reviewed, scored, and ranked by the Funding Committee using this scorecard. Written notification will be sent to all applicants regarding whether their applications will be included, reduced, or rejected from the CoC Consolidated Application on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. If approved and ranked for funding in the local review process, agencies must submit the completed, finalized version of the project application via e-snaps by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. August 21, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Optional technical assistance/Q&A email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov to register August 26, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. Optional technical assistance/Q&A email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov to register August 30, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Letter of Intent to Apply due September 20, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Project Applications due Week of September 23, 2024 – date/time TBD Funding Committee reviews applications and hears agency presentations October 15, 2024 CoC Board hears Funding Committee recommendations and votes to approve applications for submission to HUD October 15, 2024 Applicants notified of CoC Board decisions, including CoC Priority Listing status October 22, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Revised/final project applications due in e-snaps October 30, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. Homeless Strategy Division staff will submit the CoC-Board-approved Consolidated Application prior to this final HUD deadline Additional Resources To receive additional information and updates regarding the FY2024 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity, subscribe to the HUD Exchange email distribution list and check “CoC-Continuum of Care” and “Emergency Solutions Grants.” The National Alliance to End Homelessness has published a blog post that outlines key changes to this year’s NOFO and ways to most effectively leverage this funding. Please note: Arrangements will be made to provide technical assistance or review of any or all parts of this announcement, NC-501 CoC applications process, details, and obligations in a manner that is effective for persons with disabilities or any person with limited English proficiency. (Se harán arreglos para brindar asistencia técnica o revisar alguna o todas las partes de este anuncio, el proceso de solicitud del CoC NC-501, los detalles y las obligaciones de una manera que sea efectiva para las personas con discapacidades o cualquier persona con dominio limitado del inglés). Contact With questions or for additional information, please contact: Homeless Strategy Division homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov 828.747.8168 Emergency Solutions Grant – FY 2024-2025 The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), Division of Aging and Adult Services has issued a Request for Applications for FY 2024 – 2025 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding. The NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care is eligible for $123,887 to be used in calendar year 2025. Eligible Activities NC ESG funds are intended to be used as part of a crisis response system using a low-barrier, housing-focused approach to ensure that experiences of homelessness are rare, brief, and occur only one time. Within that framework, eligible activities can include: Street Outreach Emergency Shelter Rapid Rehousing Homelessness Prevention Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or comparable database for Victim Service Providers Eligible applicants are CoC Member organizations that are non-profit or local government agencies. Funding Availability A total of $123,887 is available to the NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care (CoC). No more than 60% of funds ($74,332) may be awarded to Emergency Services projects (Street Outreach and Emergency Shelter), and no less than 40% ($49,555) must be awarded to Housing Stability Projects (Rapid Rehousing, Homelessness Prevention, and HMIS). Process and Timeline The City of Asheville serves as the NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care Lead and is responsible for facilitating the application process and final submission on behalf of the Continuum of Care, as approved by the Continuum of Care Board. The CoC’s Funding Committee will review and score all applications and make funding recommendations to the CoC Board for approval. NC DHHS will only consider CoC-approved applications, will make final award decisions, and will contract directly with funded applicants. Funds will support services to be delivered during calendar year 2025. All materials should be submitted via email to homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov. All dates occur in 2024. Emergency Solutions Grant Date Action June 24 at 5:00 p.m. Letter of Intent to Apply due describing anticipated application amount and eligible activity July 12 at 12:00 p.m. Project Applications due July 19, 1:00 p.m. Funding Committee meeting to review applications and begin developing recommendations July 26 at 1:00 p.m. Funding Committee meeting to hear applicant presentations August 2 at 1:00 p.m. Funding Committee meeting to finalize recommendations. Applicants notified of results. August 15 at 4:30 p.m. Funding Committee presents recommendations to CoC Board for vote August 21 at 12:00 p.m. Revised project applications due as needed; applications recommended for full funding will not require revision or additional action October NC DHHS announces funding decisions December NC DHHS initiates contracts with awarded applicants for work in CY2025 Additional Resources Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in one of the technical assistance sessions offered virtually by NC DHHS: Friday, June 14, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8630877545903242848 Monday, June 17, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6022964607679033184 Tuesday, June 19, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2554584864673601119 CoC Lead Agency staff will also hold an optional technical assistance session for prospective applicants virtually on Thursday, June 20, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Email homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov to register. To Apply Project application materials are available here. All questions and application materials should be directed to CoC Lead Agency staff: Homeless Strategy Division homelessstrategy@ashevillenc.gov 828.747.8510 Emergency Solutions Grant – FY 2023-2024 The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), Division of Aging and Adult Services has announced awards for FY 2023 – 2024 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding. All projects submitted in the NC-501 Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care were awarded full funding totaling $127,904 to be available in calendar year 2024 for homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, and rapid rehousing. FY 2023-2024 Emergency Solutions Grant Awards Applicant Project Award Helpmate Emergency Shelter $26,452 Homelessness Prevention $20,000 Homeward Bound Rapid Rehousing $50,000 Homelessness Prevention $15,000 Street Outreach $0 Salvation Army Emergency Shelter $16,452 Total $127,904 Contact Information Emily Ball Homeless Strategy Division Manager eball@ashevillenc.gov (828) 279-6129
