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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. Read about EOI on Legal Aid Resources here.
4. 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 – Organization Initiative

Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban Development

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

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 PEI, non-profits are funded to investigate violations and obtain enforcements of rights under the Fair Housing Act or state and local laws, which often includes legal counseling and representation. 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: 3

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Estimated Total Program Funding: $750,000

Award ceiling: $250,000

Award floor: $100,000

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 PEI funds, applicants must have experience in fair housing enforcement. 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: Under this NOFA, an eligible applicant must be: (1) a Qualified Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (QFHO) with at least two years of experience in complaint intake, complaint investigation, testing for fair housing violations, and enforcement related experience and meritorious claims in the three years prior to filing this application; or (2) a Fair Housing Enforcement Organizations (FHO) with at least one year of experience in the enforcement-related activities listed above in the two years prior to the filing of the application. If the applicant is neither a QFHO nor FHO with the requisite experience, the organization is ineligible. 

For more information

Link to Full Announcement: Link to Grants.gov and link to full solicitation

Categories: Express Language for Legal Aid, Housing, Housing and Urban Development, Non-profit Organizations