Fair Housing Initiatives Program - Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI)

The Fair Housing Initiatives Program – Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI), administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), offers funding to eligible non-profit fair housing enforcement organizations to support testing, investigation, and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and equivalent state and local fair housing laws. Established under 42 U.S.C. § 3616a(b), PEI is one of three initiatives within HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), alongside the Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) and the Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI). This grant supports a national network of fair housing enforcement entities by providing resources to conduct complaint intake, testing, systemic investigations, and enforcement-related legal activities. Approximately $10,116,793 is available under this FY2024 PEI Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (FR-6900-N-21-C), with awards of up to $425,000 per year for three years, totaling up to $1,275,000 per grantee across the full performance period. A minimum of $100,000 per project period is required. HUD anticipates making approximately 24 awards through this NOFO. The total project period spans three consecutive 12-month periods (36 months), with continued funding contingent upon congressional appropriations and successful grantee performance. Grant funds may not be co-mingled with other FHIP funds or used for ineligible activities such as general research projects not directly tied to enforcement under the Fair Housing Act. Eligible applicants must be either Qualified Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (QFHO) or Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (FHO) that meet specific experience thresholds in fair housing complaint intake, investigations, and enforcement. Additionally, all applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations or have pending applications for this status before the application deadline. Applicants must also operate independently, without staff sharing between parent or affiliate organizations, and cannot be current FY2022 or FY2023 PEI awardees. Entities receiving a poor performance rating on previous FHIP awards in the past year are ineligible, unless overturned by appeal. Individuals, co-applicants, and consortia are not eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on August 21, 2025. Required documents include SF-424, HUD forms (e.g., HUD-424B, HUD-2880, HUD-424CBW, and HUD-426 for indirect costs), a Statement of Work (SOW), budget narrative, project abstract, and documentation of nonprofit status. PEI Eligibility Certification (Appendix B) must also be completed to affirm QFHO or FHO status. The budget must include a fixed $7,500 per year for HUD-sponsored training, with strict restrictions on education and outreach activities, which may not exceed 15% of total funding. Applications will undergo threshold review followed by merit and risk assessments. To be considered for funding, applications must receive at least 75 points (excluding preference points) in the merit review. Scoring is based on four rating factors: capacity and experience, need and extent of the problem, soundness of approach, and achieving results and program evaluation. Preference points may be awarded for serving Promise Zones, Opportunity Zones, or partnering with Minority Serving Institutions. For assistance, applicants may contact Katherine Vasilopoulos at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity by email at katherine.vasilopoulos@hud.gov or phone at 202-402-8701. Applications must be submitted electronically, unless a waiver is approved at least 15 days before the deadline. Applicants may subscribe for updates on Grants.gov and should ensure SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations are active and up to date prior to submission.

Narratives must align to rating criteria. Budget must match SF-424. Include $7,500/year for training.