The USDA Self Help Model Extending your reach to the nearly Unreachable.

Key Players USDA T&M A orgs Grantees Families

The Grant & the Loan A Section 523 USDA Technical Assistance grant, for two years, is available to non- profits, tribes or government entities. Section 502 USDA loans are available to those at or below 80% of AMI. This is a one-step construction to perm loan.

The Grantee Program management Staff Recruit eligible families Acquire suitable building sites Teach families to build their homes as a group Track each family’s loan expenditures Control & direct families & subcontractors

Families Learn and hone new skills Commit to minimum of 30 hours per week per household Work cooperatively on all houses Follow the direction of the Construction Supervisor Review requests for payments to suppliers and subcontractors

Why This program changes lives! The participants have to be truly committed; have to learn to: Budget their time (and money) Set goals and achieve them Have pride in what they have accomplished Work together as a team Break many habits Make decisions as a team Endure: weather, setbacks, fatigue, etc. Succeed

USDA Instructions & Regulations Instructions (1944-I, among others) Procedure Notices Administrative Notices Handbooks and more

Two-stage Grant Pre-development Grant ($10,000) Feasibility Study Organizational Capacity/Experience Establish number of homes to build Determine land available Marketing plan to reach families

Pre-development (cont’d) Preliminary program budget (2 year) Roughly 15% of a modest new home times the number of homes to be built $170K X.15=$25.5K X 16 yields a total 2 year grant of $408,000

Full Grant Application Recruit families- must be 80% of AMI or below, 40% must be at or below 50% Secure buildable lots Develop house plans, spec’s and budgets Hire Staff Package loans Formulate Group Labor Agreement (Families must perform 65% of labor)

Construction Construction Process –Train, supervise, schedule subs –Track Family Hours –Order Materials, track expenses –Quarterly Reviews with RD Funds used vs Budgeted Construction Schedule

Grant Closeout Number of houses actually constructed 40% very low income served Meet the 65% family labor requirement Did TA costs remain within budget Meet all other terms of grant agreement Five criteria: Meet all 5 = Outstanding Meet at least 3 = Acceptable

Positive Results Families learn lots of building skills Families have neighbors that will watch their homes when they are away Schools have a more stable enrollment New jobs have been created due to amount of subcontract labor hired and material purchased Families tend to be more participative in community Neighborhood will be well maintained Community receives more tax money Families earn great deal of respect from community Great deal of money flows through local economy

Four T&MA Contractors Florida Non-Profit Housing, Inc. (FNPH) (863) Little Dixie Community Action Agency, Inc. (LDCAA) (580) National Council of Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund, Inc. (NCALL) (302) Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) (916)

Move-in Ceremony