Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing
Can you apply?
This grant is for three specific national nonprofit organizations: Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Habitat for Humanity International. These organizations must hold 501(c)(3) status and be identified in Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993.
Affiliates, local offices, and community partners cannot apply directly. They must seek funding through one of the three eligible organizations.
The grant supports capacity building for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). Funds serve low-income persons, homeless individuals, physically disabled persons, first responders, and veterans. Rural communities and Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native populations receive dedicated set-asides.
⚖️ Cost sharing / matching required — applicants must contribute their own funds.
This grant is for three specific national nonprofit organizations: Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Habitat for Humanity International. These organizations must hold 501(c)(3) status and be identified in Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993.
Affiliates, local offices, and community partners cannot apply directly. They must seek funding through one of the three eligible organizations.
The grant supports capacity building for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). Funds serve low-income persons, homeless individuals, physically disabled persons, first responders, and veterans. Rural communities and Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native populations receive dedicated set-asides.
Program description
Purpose. The program enhances the capacity and ability of Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) to carry out community development and affordable housing activities that benefit low-income persons, homeless, physically disabled persons, first responders and veterans. Additionally, this program provides a set-aside for rural capacity building activities and a set aside to benefit Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native communities and populations in areas including, but not limited to, rural areas. Eligible Activities and Priorities. Funds may only be used to conduct the following activities:* Eligible Activities and Priorities. Funds may only be used to conduct the following activities: 1. Training, education, support, and advice to enhance the technical and administrative capabilities of CDCs and CHDOs. This may include building the capacity of CDCs and CHDOs to:• Navigate the housing and community development resources provided by the Federal Government and assist in directing Federal investments to areas with high needs specific to low income persons, homeless, physically disabled persons, first responders and veterans;• Provide training best practices for utilizing Opportunity Zones as incentives for community investment;• Cooperatively plan for the use of available resources in a comprehensive and holistic manner; more specifically in accordance with EO 14296, providing direct technical assistance to beneficiaries that can provide services to the National Center for Warrior Independence to help veterans earn back their self-sufficiency. and• Assist in evaluating performance under these community planning and coordination efforts and in linking plans with neighboring communities to foster regional planning.2. Pass-through grants, housing financing, loans, predevelopment assistance, or other financial assistance to CDCs and CHDOs to increase their capacity to carry out community development and affordable housing activities that benefit low-income persons, including low-income families that include homeless persons, physically disabled persons, first responders and veterans.3. Such other activities as may be determined by the grantees in consultation with the Secretary or his or her designee.At this time, eligible program activities allowed under the third listed eligible activity only include HUD reviewed and approved reasonable administrative activities directly related to the grantee’s management of its Section 4 program. Some examples of reasonable administrative activities specific to the management of the Section 4 program include the preparation of Section 4 action plans and activities, preparation of Section 4 program reports, and management of the implementation of the first and second eligible activities.Any Section 4 funded activity that results in the creation of intangible property, including but not limited to the creation of curriculum, trainings, data or research findings is subject to the rules at 2 CFR 200.315. In accordance with 2 CFR 200.315, the Federal awarding agency reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.Program Priorities. Activities undertaken as part of, or as a result of, capacity building efforts described in this section should build pipelines and support the implementation of other HUD housing and community development programs such as Opportunity Zones, Promise Zones, the National Center for Warrior Independence facilities, voucher programs to support homeless veterans specifically in Los Angeles Metropolitan and around the Nation, in addition to issues related to comprehensive neighborhood revitalization activities.Through these activities, grantees are encouraged to align with and support projects that create opportunities for investments focused on job growth, economic recovery, and neighborhood revitalization. Additionally, grantees are encouraged to consider how CDCs and CHDOs may align investments with regional planning for sustainable economic development if such efforts are underway in the jurisdiction.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
Demographic focus
Details
This grant is for three specific national nonprofit organizations: Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Habitat for Humanity International. These organizations must hold 501(c)(3) status and be identified in Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993.
Affiliates, local offices, and community partners cannot apply directly. They must seek funding through one of the three eligible organizations.
The grant supports capacity building for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). Funds serve low-income persons, homeless individuals, physically disabled persons, first responders, and veterans. Rural communities and Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native populations receive dedicated set-asides.
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Narrative
- Organizational capacity documentation
- Evaluation plan with performance metrics
- Evidence of 501(c)(3) status
- Letters of support from CDCs and CHDOs served
Program contact
- 👤 Department of Housing and Urban Development
- 📧 capacitybuilding@hud.gov
- 📞 202-402-2440
Funding track record
No recent recipient data available for CFDA 14.252 in our database.
This can happen for newer programs, programs that use non-standard award types (loans, direct payments, fellowships), or those funded through sub-agencies under different codes.
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Only three organizations can apply directly: Enterprise Community Partners, LISC, and Habitat for Humanity International. All three must have 501(c)(3) status.
Can my local nonprofit office apply?
No. Affiliates, local offices, and community partners cannot apply directly. Work with one of the three eligible national organizations instead.
What are allowable uses of funds?
Funds support training, technical assistance, and capacity building for CDCs and CHDOs. You can also provide pass-through grants, housing financing, and loans to increase their community development capacity.
What populations does this grant prioritize?
Low-income persons, homeless individuals, physically disabled persons, first responders, and veterans. Set-asides exist for rural areas and Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native communities.
What is the typical award amount?
Awards range from $1 million to $42 million. Total program funding is $84 million, supporting multiple recipients across the nation.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Align your capacity building plan with HUD's other programs like Promise Zones, Opportunity Zones, and National Center for Warrior Independence facilities.
- Design training and technical assistance that directly strengthens CDC and CHDO ability to access and manage Federal housing and community development resources.
- Include clear metrics for evaluating performance and outcomes of the CDCs and CHDOs you support through this grant.
- Consider regional planning partnerships that connect supported organizations with neighboring communities for coordinated neighborhood revitalization.
- Document how your activities benefit the priority populations (low-income, homeless, disabled, first responders, veterans) and geographic set-asides (rural, Native American).
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications fail when capacity building activities lack clear connection to Federal housing programs or don't define measurable outcomes for CDCs and CHDOs. Applicants often overlook the requirement to prioritize serving low-income, homeless, disabled, first responders, and veterans. Programs miss deadline by not accounting for HUD's typical multi-stage review process for large capacity grants.
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