City of Davis

Dear Prospective Applicant:

The City of Davis is requesting proposals for services and projects qualifying under the following program(s):

2010-2011 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM AND ALL OTHER REQUESTS FOR DISCRETIONARY FUNDS

Background

The City of Davis is an entitlement city in its twenty-fifth year of participation in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.  During this time, nearly $23 million has been awarded to the City.  The grant funds have assisted very-low, low and moderate-income persons/households by providing much needed services, housing and facilities.  All requests for funding of social service programs are reviewed by the City Council during the City's annual CDBG "Proposal Review" cycle.

Available funding

The CDBG program year runs from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.  The City of Davis is anticipating an allocation of approximately $809,087 in CDBG funds for the program year.  Given the current economic climate, it is unknown how these allocations could change in the upcoming year.  It is likely that they could decrease if funds are directed towards other federal programs.  Of that, a maximum of twenty percent, or approximately $161,817 may be reserved for City Fair Housing activities, CDBG program administration and other special planning projects.  The City may choose to allocate less than the total allowable.  In addition, the City Council may consider requests for discretionary grants from groups that do not qualify for CDBG funds.  There is no budget line item for non-CDBG eligible projects and no guarantee that funds will be available.

Significant Application Change

The Social Services Commission aids the Davis City Council in making funding decisions for the use of CDBG and HOME funds.  In 2003, the Commission requested that the main body of the CDBG and HOME grant proposals be limited to four pages as shown in the CDBG Grant Application (see Section 7).  The Commission believes that the combination of a four page proposal, illustrative attachments, applicant presentations, and applicant responses to written questions give the commissioners adequate information on which to make funding decisions.

City staff recognizes that most grant applications are currently prepared using word processors.  As a result, the application has been developed in a similar format that can easily be followed using a standard word processor.  Application worksheets and complete instructions can be found in Section 6 of the Program Guidelines.  The worksheets and instructions will help guide you through the process of completing the actual grant application in Section 7.  To aid applicants in meeting the four-page limitation, the directions and instructions have been deleted from the actual grant application.  While the body of the application will be limited to four pages (excluding the performance schedule and budget), applicants may adjust the spacing as necessary to adequately describe their project.  Attachments may be included with the proposal, however they should not be a continuation of the proposal narrative.  Instead, they should be illustrative of a point made in the proposal, clearly marked as an attachment, three-hole punched, and should not be cumbersome.  The application format will be discussed in detail at the applicant workshop on January 14, 2010.

Funding Limitations

The federally funded Community Development Block Grant program limits the amount of funds that can be spent in two categories, Public Service and Administration.  The total of all public service contracts cannot exceed 15% of the total grant, or  $121,363.  Administration (or related activities) cannot exceed 20% of the total grant, or $161,817.  Thus, approximately 65% of the total grant can be spent for "other activities” as listed in Section 9 of the Program Guidelines.

Each year the Social Services Commission reviews and approves the "critical needs" funding criteria for the CDBG program.  Prior to developing your proposal, City staff urges each potential applicant to carefully consider whether or not their program meets a critical need (See Section 8 of the Program Guidelines).  The City will not consider any grant requests smaller than $3,000.

The federal government also limits the activities that can receive CDBG funding.  Organizations with questions about the eligibility of a project are strongly encouraged to contact city staff for technical assistance and guidance.

Evaluation Criteria

The City Council approves the criteria to be used by staff and commissioners in evaluating funding requests.  This criteria is included in Section 3 of the Program Guidelines.  Please note the "absolute thresholds" within the evaluation criteria for the CDBG program.  All proposals must benefit Davis residents and at least 70% of those beneficiaries must be very-low, low/moderate income persons/households.  Projects that do not meet the funding requirements must be disqualified from funding consideration.  City staff will assist organizations in evaluating project eligibility and can be contacted for technical assistance at any time before the application deadline.  Grant proposals that do not meet the very-low, low/moderate income persons/households criteria may be considered under a separate category by the City Council.

Application Process

An "Applicant Workshop" will be held to provide an opportunity for all potential applicants to ask questions about the overall HOME program, evaluation criteria, proposal process, etc.  The workshop will be held:

Thursday January 14, 2010
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Veteran's Memorial Center Game Room
203 East Fourteenth Street
Davis, CA 95616

An original, plus twenty-five (25) "three-hole punched" copies of the proposal must be received by the City of Davis Community Services Department no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday February 5, 2010.  Proposals received after this date will not be accepted. No exceptions will be granted.  In addition, you will be required to submit your application either on disk or via e-mail to dmerschat@cityofdavis.org

Please mail or submit your proposal in person to:
(must arrive by deadline, postmarks not accepted)

City of Davis Community Services Department
Attn: Patrick Conway
23 Russell Blvd., Suite 5
Davis, CA 95616

Funding levels, project categories and recipients will be determined by the City Council on April 20, 2010 (See the schedule in Section 2 for all pertinent dates).  Decisions by the City Council are conditional upon the successful completion by the City of the project’s environmental review and final approval from HUD.

Letters of Support

In December 1993, the City Council decided that “Letters of Support” would not be accepted in support of grant proposals.  Applicants should address community support, the need for the project and the effectiveness of the organization in the proposal narrative.  No letters should be sent with the proposal, or to individual Council members.

Program Guidelines

The Program Guidelines are divided into the following sections:

Section 1:  Introduction and Fact Sheet
Section 2:  2009-2010 Grant Program Schedule
Section 3:  Evaluation Criteria to be used
                 by Commissioners and Staff
Section 4:  Income Guidelines
Section 5:  Insurance and Bonding Requirements
Section 6:  CDBG Program and Discretionary Grants
                 Application Worksheets & Instructions
Section 7:  CDBG Program and Discretionary Grants
                 Application Form
Section 8:  City of Davis Critical Needs
Section 9:  HUD Eligible Activities and
                 HUD National Objectives

Once again, if you have any questions or if this department can be of any assistance, please contact Patrick Conway, Administrative Analyst-Grants at pconway@cityofdavis.org or (530) 757-5626.

Sincerely,
Danielle Foster
Housing and Human Services Superintendent

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