HUD – Fair Housing Education and Outreach (2020)

By NLADA on April 13, 2020 • ( 0 )

Applications are due May 11, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Section 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3616), established the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). FHIP provides funding to organizations that assist people who believe they have been discriminated against in housing. FHIP has four initiatives to support organizations and agencies:

The Fair Housing Organizations Initiative (FHOI) builds capacity for non-profit organizations to handle fair housing enforcement and education initiatives. Applicants must have at least two years of experience in the three years prior to filing their application in compliant intake, investigation, testing, and meritorious claims.
The Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI) prevents or eliminates discriminatory housing practices through funding testing and enforcement activities. Applicants must have experience providing fair housing enforcement activities. Read about PEI on Legal Aid Resources here.
The Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) provides funding to qualified fair housing enforcement non-profits and state and local governmental agencies to educate the public and housing providers about equal opportunity in housing and compliance. Applicants must have at least two years of experience representing individuals who have been victims of housing discrimination.
The Administrative Enforcement Initiative (AEI) helps state and local governments administer laws. While it has in the past, this initiative currently does not receive funding.

Helpful resources and research

In 2018, we hosted a webinar with staff from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Legal Aid of North Carolina. In this webinar, we explored the legal framework available under the federal Fair Housing Act to address sexual harassment in housing, and discussed opportunities for collaboration among those providing direct legal services and the federal government. Access this webinar here.

Selected research has shown that local civil rights agencies are successful in enforcement of housing complaints and this success improves housing:

One article found that state and local civil rights agencies are more effective than HUD at conciliating complaints and providing remedies for cases between 1989 and 2004. Local civil rights agencies have the highest conciliation success rate (44 percent), followed by state civil rights agencies (36 percent), and followed by HUD (34 percent). HUD is the most successful in terms of dollar amount awarded in successful conciliations ($950) compared to state civil rights agencies ($760), and local civil rights agencies ($500).
One study found that people with disabilities experience more residential disadvantage in housing sales markets rather than the rental market because of less enforcement of fair housing. This study shows that enforcement of housing discrimination in the rental market has reduced the amount of residential disadvantage (as measured through housing quality and housing cost burdens) individuals with disabilities experience.

Grant information

Funding Title: Fair Housing Initiative Program – Education and Outreach Initiative

Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban Development

Funding Opportunity Number: FR-6400-N-21-A

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes. FHIP has a longstanding tradition of funding legal aid organizations under EOI and PEI. Under EOI, legal aid organizations can develop educational advertising campaigns, develop and distribute materials, and conduct workshops, conferences, seminars, etc. to inform the public about their rights and responsibilities as it relates to the Fair Housing Act. Education about rights, investigating, and obtaining enforcement of rights are inherently legal in nature.

Target Population: Individuals who have experienced Fair Housing violations

Expected Number of Awards: 58

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Estimated Total Program Funding: $7,850,000

Award ceiling: $250,000

Award floor: $125,000

Award information: FHIP grants are highly competitive – in 2018, approximately 56 awards were made for EOI and 20 awards for PEI. To be eligible for EOI funds, applicants must have at least two years of experience representing individuals who have been victims of housing discrimination. If you are interested in pursuing this grant or learning more about fair housing, consider checking out other FHIP grantees. To see a list of grantees and the amount they received for the last 10 years, go to HUD’s page on FHIP and scroll down to “Previously Awarded Grants.”

Current Closing Date for Applications: Applications are due May 11, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Eligible Applicants: Qualified Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (QFHOs), other Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (FHOs), and other nonprofit organizations representing groups of persons protected under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, agencies of State or local governments and agencies certified by the Secretary under section 810(f) of the Fair Housing Act or other public or private entities that are formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices.