Responsive Grants for Education in New York

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) is soliciting applications for approximately $1.5 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary funds. These funds are intended for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to stimulate new CED project development through administrative capacity building. The overarching goal is to connect CDCs with CED resources for social and revenue reinvestment in local communities, ultimately sparking economic growth. The primary beneficiaries of these grants are Community Development Corporations (CDCs), particularly those in underserved and under-resourced communities, and persistent high-poverty areas with struggling economies that have previously been unable to launch viable CED projects. OCS aims to center equity in this funding opportunity by focusing resources on these communities, encouraging applications from CDCs targeting both urban and rural areas. The impact goals include stimulating new projects, reducing poverty, and fostering economic growth in these areas. OCS's strategic priorities for this funding opportunity align with several key areas. First, it supports Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and the Justice40 Initiative, by underscoring funding for energy communities. Second, it aims to increase equity in the geographic distribution of CED funds, as mandated by the CED statute. Third, it seeks to break down service silos and leverage existing partnerships across OCS programs to reduce poverty through a wraparound services model for communities with low incomes. The expected outcomes of the CED Planning Grants include the stimulation of new projects in underserved and under-resourced communities. By providing financial assistance for administrative capacity building, OCS anticipates enabling CDCs to overcome past barriers to project development. The awards are designed to be a crucial step in connecting CDCs with the necessary resources to achieve social and revenue reinvestment, leading to measurable economic growth and poverty reduction in local communities.