1. General Section to HUD’s 2012 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs Barbara Dorf Departmental Grants Management and Oversight Office of Strategic Planning and Management

2. HUD’s 2012 General Section HUD’s 2012 General Section and Program NOFAs reflect HUD’s 2010-2015 Strategic Plan The Strategic Plan sets the direction and focus of our programs and staff to create strong, sustainable and inclusive communities with quality, affordable housing for all.

3. HUD’s Strategic Plan FY2010-2015 Goal 1: Strengthen the Nation’s Housing Market to Bolster the Economy and Protect Consumers Goal 2: Meet the Needs for Quality Affordable Rental Housing

4. HUD’s Strategic Plan FY2010-2015 Goal 3: Utilize Housing as a Platform for Improving Quality of Life. Goal 4: Build Inclusive and Sustainable Communities Free from Discrimination. Goal 5: Transform the Way HUD Does Business

5. HUD’s 2012 General Section Policies and Priorities HUD is seeking grant applications that align with HUD’s Strategic Goals by establishing cross-cutting policy priorities. Each NOFA specifies the policy priorities applicable to the program and the points allocated. Applicants that undertake specific activities and outcomes to further HUD goals will receive a higher priority in the selection process.

6. HUD Policy Priorities Job Creation/Employment Through this policy priority HUD is seeking to fund grantees that undertake activities to create jobs and further economic development, particularly for low-income populations and communities

7. HUD Policy Priorities Job Creation/Employment HUD is seeking to measure successful outcomes for the increase in the number of FTE jobs created, obtained and maintained as well as longer term job retention through attainment of increased skills and services and career ladder positions.

8. HUD Policy Priorities Job Creation/Employment Outcomes include establishment of one-stop career centers, partnerships with workforce investment boards, business associations, labor unions, and others to increase the organization’s and the community’s capacity to sustain jobs creation and employment in the future; and minority-and woman-owned business creation.

9. HUD Policy Priorities – Sustainability HUD encourages applicants to help communities embrace a more sustainable future. HUD is seeking investments that help residents lead healthy, safe and affordable and productive lives through: – Use of green construction and rehabilitation, ensuring healthy living environments; – use of climate-resistant and disaster-resistant building design and construction;

10. HUD Policy Priorities – Sustainability - Coordinated metropolitan and regional planning; - Integrated use of federal resources to preserve and promote community assets; - Increased transportation choices; transform schools to state of the art learning centers; and make health care conveniently available.

11. HUD Policy Priorities – Sustainability Outcomes: – Reduction in the transportation cost burden of the average household; – Reduction in the community’s/region’s carbon footprint; – Increased number of housing units that meet green building standards for new construction and rehabilitation

12. HUD Policy Priorities – Sustainability – Increased number of healthy design units that meet Green building standards such as Enterprise Green Communities Healthy Living Environment criteria Category 7 – Increased number of housing units or community facilities that meet universal design and visitability standards; – Achievement of specific energy reduction goals

13. HUD Policy Priorities – AFFH HUD has established a policy priority for Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) which go beyond the basic regulatory requirements. Policy Priority Activities for AFFH include: Regional coordination of affirmatively furthering fair housing plans, including such activities as developing regional analyses of impediments;

14. HUD Policy Priorities – AFFH Regional strategies to reduce racially segregated living patterns and other effects of formerly de jure segregated public or assisted housing in metropolitan areas with a year 2000 dissimilarity index of 70 or higher and where the minority population is at least 20,000. See http://www.censusscope.org/us/rank_dissimil arity_white_black.html;

15. HUD Policy Priorities – AFFH Decreasing the concentration of poverty and racial segregation in neighborhoods and communities through strategic targeting of resources.

16. HUD Policy Priorities – AFFH Outcomes Outcomes are: Racial Segregation: Identify decreases in the concentration of racial segregation in housing developments, neighborhoods, or communities. Vestiges of De Jure Segregation: Identify regional plans that result in more integrated living patterns and reduce or eliminate other effects of formerly de jure segregated public or assisted housing, in regions with a high segregation index.

17. HUD Policy Priorities – AFFH Outcomes Mixed-Income Communities of Opportunity: Identify increases in the number of HUD-assisted households in mixed-income low-poverty communities with access to employment and educational opportunities, transportation, and essential goods and services. Concentration of Poverty: Identify increases in the number of HUD-assisted households living outside neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.

18. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Capacity Building is the development of core skills within organizations to organize, manage, implement, and raise capital for community development. Development and coordination of place-based approaches though grantmaking and technical assistance.

19. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Develop, target and deliver technical assistance for increasing affordability in areas experiencing increased rental costs due to development Strengthen the capacity of state and local partners, including governments and nonprofit organizations, to implement HUD programs, participate in decisionmaking and planning processes, and coordinate on cross- programmatic, place-based approaches through grantmaking and technical assistance

20. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Support knowledge sharing and innovation by disseminating best practices, encouraging peer learning, publishing data analysis and research, and helping to incubate and test new ideas

21. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing To receive policy priority points, applicants will be expected to identify outcomes such as: Increased skills and expertise: Identify activities that will result in partner organizations gaining skills and technical expertise in the grant subject matter and managing federal awards; including financial management, project management, and program performance assessment and evaluation. Applicants awarded points under this policy priority will be expected to demonstrate the skills gained by these partners during the life of award and means of measuring increased capacity (i.e., needs assessments, evaluations, etc.)

22. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Knowledge sharing and coordination: Demonstrate that key personnel for the grant/partner responsible for implementation of work with identified partner personnel to ensure knowledge sharing in the key areas related to the success of the grant. Demonstrate that personnel engage in coordinating cross-programmatic, placed-based approaches.

23. HUD Policy Priorities – Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing Individual program NOFAs will specify the outputs and outcomes related to capacity building and knowledge sharing that applicants should include in their application to receive the policy priority points, as well as the outcome measures they will be expected to report on as a part of their required reports to HUD, if they are selected for award.

24. HUD Policy Priority – Using Housing as a Platform for Improving Other Outcomes Applicants will be expected to enter into collaborations with public, private, non-profit, and community and faith-based organizations to improve education, health, economic and public safety outcomes and identify target populations to be served and the baseline from which improvements are to be measured.

25. HUD Policy Priority – Using Housing as a Platform for Improving Other Outcomes - Providing access to high quality early learning programs and services through local program coordination; - Providing physical space to co-locate healthcare and wellness services with housing on-site health clinics. - Increasing access to public benefits (TANF, SSI) through outreach and other means. - Providing mobility counseling to increase access to neighborhoods of opportunity.

26. HUD Policy Priority – Using Housing as a Platform for Improving Other Outcomes Applicants will be asked to identify measures of success for selected strategies, such as, but not limited to, the following outputs: Early childhood enrollments: Identify increases in the number of assisted households with school-aged children enrolled in high performing early childhood programs

27. HUD Policy Priority – Using Housing as a Platform for Improving Other Outcomes Public benefits enrollments: Identify increased take-up rates of a range of public benefits, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Special Needs Assistance Programs, and other programs. Health services enrollments: Identify increases in the number of enrollments in mental health and substance abuse programs, as well as in other health programs. Each NOFA will specify the related outputs applicants will be expected to track.

28. HUD Policy Priority – Expand Cross Cutting Policy Knowledge HUD recognizes that healthy, vibrant communities succeed through a combination of housing, jobs, schools, safety, transportation, and other amenities. Successful programs often have impacts that extend beyond the immediate goals, and vary according to specific local conditions. Taking successful models to other communities requires quantitative evidence of which policies work and how they work, and public dissemination of this information.

29. HUD Policy Priority – Expand Cross Cutting Policy Knowledge To receive points for this policy priority, applicants must go beyond these requirements, detailing other outcomes to be improved. Examples might include:  Jobs created in the target area or change in employment for the target population;  change in property values in a target area;  asset building for the target population;

30. HUD Policy Priority – Expand Cross Cutting Policy Knowledge  health outcomes, such as infant mortality rates in a target area;  education outcomes, such as change in test scores for children in the target population or in the neighborhood school;  public safety, such as neighborhood crime rates; and other similar outcomes.

31. HUD Policy Priority – Expand Cross Cutting Policy Knowledge Outcomes are: An agreement with a university or research group that produced a peer-reviewed research publication An agreement with housing and service providers to share parcel-related data with a regional planning, non-profit, or government agency that results in providing consolidated data to the public on a regular basis for free.

32. Preferred Sustainable Communities Status Bonus Points In FY2012, HUD will award 2 bonus points to applicants that are working in the following ways with communities that have received Preferred Sustainability Status under the HUD FY2010 and FY2011 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program and/or the FY2010 and FY2011 HUD funded Challenge Grant Program:

33. Preferred Sustainable Communities Status Bonus Points The applicant’s proposed activities either directly reflect the Livability Principles cited and contained in HUD’s General Section to the FY2012 NOFAs or will result in the delivery of services that are consistent with the goals of the Livability Principles; and

34. Preferred Sustainable Communities Status Bonus Points The applicant has committed to maintain an on-going relationship with a HUD Preferred Sustainability Status Community for the purposes of being part of the planning and implementation processes in the designated area.

35. Preferred Sustainable Communities Status Bonus Points To be eligible to receive bonus points, an applicant is required to ensure there is a clear nexus between the activities to be performed and items above, as well as obtain a certification from the Designated Point of Contact for the designated Preferred Sustainability Status Community using form HUD2995 which verifies that the applicant has met the above criteria.

36. Items of Note for FY2012 HUD is continuing to include in its Civil Rights Threshold Requirements to include findings of systemic violations or a cause determination of federal Civil Rights and Fair Housing statutes but also State and local laws proscribing discrimination in housing based sexual orientation or gender identity or lawful source of income

37. 2012 General Section and NOFA Availability HUD posted the General Section to Grants.gov on September 19, 2011. The Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program Section has already been released and others are expected shortly.

38. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov HUD is continuing to use the Grants.gov Adobe forms Application package. Applicants must download Adobe Reader 9.4 or the newest reader available via Grants.gov

39. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Five requirements for electronic filing registration: – Must have a DUN and Bradstreet Data Universal Identifying Numbering System (DUNS) number. – Must have an valid registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

40. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov – Must have a User ID and Password registered at Grants.gov as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) – As an AOR the eBusiness Point of Contact must grant per mission for you to be the AOR, in the Grants.gov system

41. STEP 1 A DUNS Number can be obtain for organizations doing business with the Federal Government by calling 866-705- 5711 Opt. 4 When obtaining a DUNS number be sure to provide information consistent with what you have reported to the IRS.

42. Don’t Know If You Have a DUNS Number- Search D&B at http://www.dnb.com/us/

43. Get New DUNS by Phone: 866-705-5711 Opt. 4

44. Or Go to www.CCR.gov and search CCR

46. Step 2- Register with CCR If you are not already registered with the Central Contractor Registration, you will need to do so. Registration requires a DUNS Number as well as financial and management information about your organization. Data entered in CCR IDs checked against IRS Tax Records

47. CCR Home Page

49. Step 3 For Applicants Applying Through Grants.gov

54. Step 4- AOR Authorization to Submit on Behalf of the Organization The eBusiness Point of Contact must authorize the person submitting the application to submit on their behalf. The eBusiness Point of Contact providing the authorization must be from the organization that is to receive the award of funds.

55. Failure to authorize the submitter, will result in the application being rejected by Grants.gov with the error message of “not authorized”. A grant writer will have to be authorized by each organization’s Business POC for every application that is submitted for that organization. Step 4- AOR Authorization to Submit on Behalf of the Organization

62. Who are you going to call? Dun & Bradstreet866-705-5711 opt.4 CCR Help 866-606-8220 or 334-206-7828 8am - 8pm Eastern Time Grants.gov 800-518-4726 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except federal holidays

63. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov If applicants do not have the correct Adobe Reader installed, they will have difficulty uploading their application. Applicants using Adobe Professional or another version of Adobe Reader must set their default setting to Adobe Reader 9.4 or the version compatible to Grants.gov

64. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov All persons working on the Adobe Forms Application package need to download Adobe Reader 9.4. Failure to do so may result in corrupting the files. Grants.gov has posted instructions in Frequently Asked Questions at http://grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp

65. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Applicants must be authorized to submit the application by the eBusiness POC for the organization listed in box 8a of the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. Many grant writers use their organization DUNS number rather than the DUNS for the organization they are submitting on behalf of. The application must reflect the legal name of the applicant receiving the funding.

66. Applying Through Grants.gov

67. Downloading Grant Application and Instructions

68. Insert CFDA number only.

69. Click download

70. View opportunity information to ensure you have the correct application To be notified of any changes to posting input your email address

76. Track Status of Your Application

77. Once you have submitted you will receive a notification containing GRANT number, input number here

78. Track Status of Your Application

80. Faxing Portions of Application HUD will not accept an entire application by Facsimile. Faxes will not be matched to the application of the Facsimile transmittal form is NOT the cover page. Faxes must be received by the deadline If resubmitting an application, faxes must also be resubmitted.

81. Faxing Portions of Application Form HUD96011 (the facsimile transmittal cover page is a mandatory form. If you are not faxing anything, enter the number “0” and in the space at the top to name the document you are faxing enter “No faxes to send” Read the directions for faxing materials. If your fax machine automatically creates a cover page, turn off this feature.

83. Fax Numbers HUD fax numbers for FY2011: 800-HUD-1010 (toll-free) 215-825-8798 (toll charge)

84. Common Errors Attachment files names were over 50 characters in length and/or contained special characters or spaces, resulting in a “VirusDetect” error message. JAVA reads these files as containing a virus and therefore applicants with attachment files with these errors received a “VirusDetect” error message and their package was rejected by the Grants.gov system.

85. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov For 2012 HUD retained 1-day grace period to allow applicants to cure errors. Applications must be received by Grants.gov by the deadline date to be eligible for the grace period.

86. Grace Period Policy Applicants that have successfully uploaded their application to Grants.gov prior to the deadline, and subsequently receive a rejection notice from Grants.gov have a grace period of one day beyond the deadline date and time published in the program NOFA to submit a corrected application that is received and validated by Grants.gov.

87. Grace Period Policy Applicants can upload the application as many times as needed to cure noted deficiencies within the one-day grace period. Applicants that do not understand the error messages received in the rejection notice should immediately contact the Grants.gov Help Desk so they can get assistance in clearing the problem.

88. Grace Period Policy Applications uploaded and received by Grants.gov after the deadline date and time for which there is no prior rejection notice in the Grants.gov system logs will be considered late and will not be rated and ranked or receive funding consideration. Failure to successfully upload the application to Grants.gov by the deadline date and time does not qualify for the grace period as described above.

89. Grace Period Policy Applications receiving a rejection notice due to the funding opportunity being closed will not be provided the one day grace period to correct the “opportunity closed” deficiency or any other basis for rejection because the applicant missed the deadline date and time and therefore does not qualify for the grace period as described above.

90. Grace Period Policy If an application is uploaded during the grace period and is subsequently rejected after the grace period ends, the applicant will not be afforded additional time to correct the deficiency(ies) noted in the rejection notice.

91. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Applications received by Grants.gov, including those received during the grace period, must be validated by Grants.gov to be rated or ranked or receive funding consideration by HUD. HUD will use the date and time stamp on the Grants.gov system to determine dates when the grace period begins and ends.

92. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Neither HUD nor Grants.gov will be responsible if email messages are not received at the address listed in the registration process. Applicants must also ensure that their email systems will accept messages from Grants.gov. Applicants are responsible for monitoring their email messages. Messages from Grants.gov come from Support@Grants.gov

93. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Applicants are advised to track their application on line at Grants.gov by clicking on “Track My Application” and then entering the grants.gov tracking number. Up to 5 tracking numbers can be entered at one time.

94. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov Applicants can also monitor the processing of their application. Just log on to Grants.gov using your ID and password. You will be able to see the grant numbers you have submitted, their status and the manifest of what was submitted. If you do not see your application it was not successfully submitted.

95. Electronic Application Through www.Grants.gov If you have received a confirmation number for a successful submission and do not see it when you log onto the Grants.gov site, immediately contact the Grants.gov help desk.

96. Tips for a Successful Submission Grants.gov help desk open 24/7 except federal holidays. If having issues submitting call the help desk and get a ticket number before you call HUD. Read the General Section carefully to avoid errors that are within your control.

97. Tips for a Successful Submission Submit the application at least 24-48 hours in advance of the deadline. Almost all the QAR requests came from applicants that started submission late in the day on the due date and faced busy servers, password/ID issues or upload issues due to their system anti-virus or fire-wall software or internet service provider file size limits.

98. Tips for a Successful Submission Do not assume that once you have a confirmation that your application has been accepted by Grants.gov. Do not go home after you have submitted the application. Track the application status! If the application is rejected, fix the problem and resubmit.

99. Tips for a Successful Submission Make sure your CCR and Grants.gov registrations are valid and up-to-date right now before you start to work on your application. Updating a registration can take 2-4 weeks depending upon validation checks with IRS and Cage Code requirements.

100. Tips for a Successful Submission Check that your computer and systems will allow you to send data to Grants.gov and receive email messages from Grants.gov Due to rapid sequential messages from the grants.gov site, systems may think the messages are spam. Place Grants.gov and Support@grants.gov on your save senders list. Support@grants.gov

101. Tips for a Successful Submission Make sure your system has sufficient memory to process the size file that your are submitting. If you are a grant writer and have successfully submitted several large files, take off the successfully validated applications from your computer to allow you to continue to have sufficient processing capability to submit the additional applications.

102. Tips for a Successful Submission Make sure that your internet service level will allow you to send files the size that your are submitting. If you are on a local network, check with your IT department to make sure that you can send the size file of your application. They may need to expand your system memory and also expand the size files that you can launch t the internet.

103. Tips for a Successful Submission DO NOT WAIT UNTIL 11:58 P.M on the deadline date to start submitting your application!!! DO NOT GO HOME and forget to track your application!!

104. Tips for a Successful Submission Download the Instructions Download from Grants.gov along with the Application Download. READ the instructions and follow them!! Carefully enter your DUNS number and ID and Password. More errors occur from typos and using wrong passwords or IDs.

105. Tips for a Successful Submission The SF424 form requires a 9 digit zip code

106. Tips for a Successful Submission The SF424 form box 16 b: Program/Project

107. Tips for a Successful Submission Applicants are advised to open all documents and attachment files to make sure the files are the final versions of the application and complete. Click “view attachment to ensure correct file is attached.

108. Tips for a Successful Submission Remember to have your eBiz Point of Contact go into the Grants.gov site to authorize you to submit on behalf of the organization. Submit your application EARLY to provide time to solve problems and correct.

109. Good Luck! Questions???