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The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) will solicit applications to award approximately $15.2 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary award funds to Community Development Corporations (CDC) for well-planned, financially viable, and innovative projects to enhance job creation and business development for individuals with low income. CED awards will be made as part of a broader strategy to address objectives such as decreasing dependency on federal programs, chronic unemployment, and community deterioration in urban and rural areas. CED projects are expected to actively recruit individuals with low income to fill the positions created by CED-funded development activities, to assist those individuals in successfully maintaining employment, and to ensure that the businesses and jobs created remain viable for at least one year after the award project period. CED projects can be non-construction or construction projects, however, short-term construction jobs associated with preparing for business startup or expansion are not counted when determining the number of jobs created under the CED program as those jobs are temporary in nature. OCS encourages applicants to target rural and underserved areas in states with current projects.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) will solicit applications to award approximately $1.5 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary funds to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to stimulate new CED project development through administrative capacity building.OCS aims to align this funding opportunity with the following priority areas: (1) Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and the Justice40 Initiative, which underscore funding support for energy communities, (2) increased equity in geographic distribution of CED funds, in accordance with the CED statute, and (3) breaking down service silos and leveraging existing partnerships across OCS programs to reduce poverty through a wraparound services model for communities with low incomes. The objective of the CED Planning Grants is to stimulate new projects in underserved and under resourced communities. OCS intends to center equity in this funding opportunity, focusing these resources in persistent high-poverty areas with struggling economies that have been unable to put forth a viable CED project in the past. The goal of this funding opportunity is to provide CDCs with financial assistance for administrative capacity building. The awards will be a crucial step in connecting CDCs with CED resources for social and revenue reinvestment in local communities to help spark economic growth. OCS is encouraging applications from CDCs that target urban and rural areas.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) announces the availability of grants to Community Action Agencies (CAAs) and tribes that were funded directly by the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in FY 2024 that own affordable housing units and provide wraparound supportive services to residents of the affordable units, including educational opportunities for youths and adults; afterschool and/or summer programs for children and teens; early childcare, Head Start, Early Head Start, or other early childhood education programs/opportunities for young children ages 0 to 5; older adult care services; mental health, alcohol, and addiction services; services for individuals with disabilities; self-sufficiency resources; resources on future homeownership; financial literacy training; transportation services for residents; referrals and connections to resources to help meet concrete needs; and health care services.Through this funding opportunity, recipients will be able to leverage their expertise and partnerships to provide wraparound supportive services to residents of affordable housing, with the goal of improving housing stability and economic mobility. Applicants will need to demonstrate a long-standing ability to: 1. promote safety, stability, and economic mobility for residents through strengthened wraparound supportive services 2. advance equity through their affordable housing and supportive service efforts; and3. collect data related to residential services and evaluate efforts.Recipients will participate fully in a federal evaluation and follow all evaluation protocols established by ACF and/or its designee contractor(s). Fully participating in a federal evaluation may include supporting and complying with data collection requirements, providing administrative data on program participation, and other activities. In addition, the federal evaluation may include an evaluation of the implementation of this demonstration.