01 Jun 2023

Grants & Funding Opportunities | June 2023

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This month, ECG’s Office of Economic & Community Development has put together grants and funding opportunities to assist communities in obtaining essential resources for advancing existing industries and attracting new businesses. Below are some funding options that may be relevant to your specific needs. Our highlighted offering is from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Equity Fund – Rural Workforce Housing Initiative.

Equity Fund – Rural Workforce Housing Initiative (One Georgia Authority)

Deadline: July 14, 2023, for the September Award Announcement

Type: Grant or Loan

With this opportunity, there is financial assistance available via the Equity Fund available in the form of grants and loans for activities that result in housing that meets the needs of working families and others who may consider relocating to a community for employment reasons. Workforce housing funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that demonstrate an ability to address:

  • Ongoing workforce housing needs, as identified by a recent housing study;
  • Difficulty satisfying workforce needs in communities or regions with low unemployment; or
  • A community or regional commitment to expand and improve existing housing stock.

This initiative is intended to provide a flexible funding source to support any eligible activity that results in workforce housing. Examples of such activities include essential community infrastructure specifically needed to support new housing development, land acquisition (subject to public ownership requirements), and construction finance for workforce housing.

Grantees will be expected to demonstrate transformational change in workforce housing. OneGeorgia funds are offered to support housing affordability; therefore, resulting cost savings must contribute to the affordability of the per unit purchase price or rent extended to families who ultimately benefit from the activity.

Infrastructure grants are limited to no more than $2,500,000 per application and development. Construction finance is limited to no more than $1,000,000 per applicant and development. The Authority reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted. Applications for less than $250,000 will not be accepted; however, the Authority can waive minimum and maximum funding limits at its discretion.

Matching: Applications are expected to leverage other sources of funding – private debt or equity, philanthropic support, or other public funds. For applicants seeking assistance with infrastructure, there is no prescribed match requirement; however, leverage will factor into an application’s overall competitiveness.

Eligible Applicants: Units of general-purpose local government (e.g., city, county, consolidated government), as well as local, regional, and state authorities, generally in partnership with a housing developer, are eligible to apply. The OneGeorgia Authority will also consider offering loans to private developers, including not-for-profits and community housing development organizations, to further the objectives of this initiative. Applicants may only submit applications within OneGeorgia eligible and conditionally eligible counties.

Contact the OneGeorgia Team:  Gina Webb, OneGeorgia Director, [email protected]

https://www.dca.ga.gov/community-economic-development/funding-programs/onegeorgia-authority/newsroom/announcements/rural