Refugee Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces funding for the Refugee Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) Program, which establishes and manages IDAs for low-income refugee participants. In accordance with the Afghan Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, Refugee IDA programs funded under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will serve nationals of Afghanistan for whom refugee and entrant assistance is authorized who entered the United States on or after July 31, 2021. Eligible participants (clients) who enroll in these projects will open and contribute systematically to IDAs for specified Savings Goals, including homeownership, securing rental housing, business capitalization, vehicles for educational or work purposes, professional certification, and education (limited to postsecondary and/or continuing education, college entrance exam fees, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and General Education Development (GED) Diploma preparation and test fees). Recipient organizations must use ORR funds to provide financial literacy training, asset-specific training, and matching the savings in the IDAs. The “match” mentioned in this NOFO does not refer to the applicant finding additional funds to match funds being provided by the federal government; it is the portion of federal funds to be allocated for matching clients' IDA savings. Successful recipients will be expected to coordinate their policies and procedures for developing and administering refugee IDA projects with ORR and with the existing refugee IDA network.