Guide to Federal Housing Programs: Other Programs

A Guide to Federal Housing and Community Development Programs for Small Towns and Rural Areas

Permission is granted ONLY to nonprofit community-based organizations to reproduce and/or adapt this document, and only for their own use.

IV. OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES' PROGRAMS

USDA and HUD offer the greatest number of housing programs assisting rural areas. But many other federal agencies have designed programs that reach rural communities to relieve low-income persons of unsatisfactory and or cost-burdened housing. Most (but not all) programs target specific populations. Below are listed a series of programs, separated by government agency, that aim to assist community development organizations, families, and individuals.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
1. Economic Development – Grants for Public Works and Economic Development (CFDA 11.300)
  1. Purpose
    This program promotes economic development by assisting in the construction of public works and facilities that will create or retain permanent, private sector jobs in economically depressed areas. Grant funds can be used for such projects as water and sewer systems, industrial access roads, industrial parks, port facilities, railroad sidings and spurs, tourism facilities, vocational schools, business incubator facilities, and infrastructure improvements for business expansion.
  2. Eligibility
    States, localities, Indian tribes, U.S. territories, and public entities are eligible. Private nonprofit organizations are eligible if they partner with a local government or a tribe. For-profit corporations and associations are not eligible. Projects must be located within an economically distressed area eligible for Economic Development Administration assistance and be in conformance with a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Projects must also contribute to the area's long-term economic development by creating or retaining permanent jobs and raising income levels. In addition, some local matching funds are required.
  3. Terms
    The grant may be up to 50 percent of the project cost. In severely distressed areas, the EDA share can be up to 80 percent; designated Indian Reservations may be eligible for up to 100 percent assistance. Eligible areas participating in the operations of Economic Development Districts are, subject to the 80 percent maximum federal grant limit, eligible for a 10 percent bonus on grants for public works projects.
  4. Comments
    It is important to work closely with the local EDA field person, called an Economic Development Representative (EDR). The EDR will explain the program and assist in the development of an application. Applications should be sent to EDA regional offices. The national office is responsible for review and final approval.
  5. Contact
    Contact an EDA regional office for additional information. For the name of the regional EDR, contact EDA's Public Works Division in Washington, D.C. at 202-482-5265. The agency's web site is http://www.doc.gov/eda/.
2. Economic Adjustment Assistance (CFDA 11.307)
  1. Purpose
    The Economic Adjustment Assistance program helps states and localities to design and implement strategies for changing their economies. The program focuses on areas that have experienced or are under threat of serious structural damage to the underlying economic base. Such economic change generally results from industrial or corporate restructuring, new federal laws or requirements, reduction in defense expenditures, depletion of natural resources, or natural disaster.
  2. Eligibility
    Eligible applicants include economic development districts; states, cities or other local governments; Indian tribes; institutions of higher learning; consortiums of eligible applicants; or public or nonprofit organizations or associations working with local government officials. Applicants using EDA defense appropriations are limited to defense-impacted areas. Applicants using EDA supplemental disaster assistance will generally be restricted to disaster-impacted areas.
    
    The program may be used in geographic areas, usually counties or groups of counties, that meet one of the following criteria: 1) an unemployment rate at least 1 percent greater than the national average unemployment rate; 2) per capita income 80 percent or less of the national per capita income; or 3) a special need arising from severe unemployment or economic problems. Special need criteria are listed in the agency's annual NOFA.
  3. Terms
    EDA generally funds 50 percent of a project's cost, but certain conditions of high economic distress or an applicant's inability to provide all of the matching share may permit a higher grant rate.
    
    Funding applications are evaluated competitively.
  4. Contact
    EDA Regional or Local Office
    or
    Headquarters Office:
    David F. Witschi, Director
    Economic Adjustment Division
    Economic Development Administration
    Room H7327, Herbert C. Hoover Building
    Department of Commerce
    Washington, DC 20230
    202-482-2659
    http://www.doc.gov/eda
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
1. National Parks Service – Historic Preservation Fund Grants-in-Aid (CFDA 15.904)
  1. Purpose
    This program is administered by the National Parks Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior. It provides funds matching grants-in-aid for identification, evaluation, and protection of historic properties. Funds to states may be used to expand the National Register of Historic Places and for historic preservation activities. Funds to Indian Tribes and Alaskan Native Corporations may be used to preserve their culture.
  2. Eligibility
    States, territories, and federally recognized Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations and Native Hawaiian organizations are eligible. They may subcontract to public and private organizations, individuals, and, in some instances, owners of historic properties.
  3. Terms
    Funds must be used in the fiscal year in which they are appropriated and one succeeding fiscal year.
  4. Contact
    Contact the appropriate state historic preservation agency for sub-grant eligibility information.
2. Indian Child Welfare Act Title II Grants (CFDA 15.144)
  1. Purpose
    In order to encourage stability and security of American Indian tribes and families, grants are given to assist Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs. Programs vary from maintenance of counseling facilities, family assistance counselors, protective day care and after school care to home improvement programs and preparation and implementation of child welfare codes. Funds can also be used to match shares for other federal programs.
  2. Eligibility
    Federally recognized Indian tribal governments may apply.
  3. Terms
    There are no matching grant requirements. Grants are made on an annual basis and the funds remain available until expended by the tribe/grantee.
  4. Contact
    Larry Blair
    Office of Tribal Services
    Human Services
    Bureau of Indian Affairs
    MS 4660 MIB
    1849 C St., N.W.
    Washington DC 20240
    202-208-2479
3. Indian Housing Assistance (CFDA 15.141)
  1. Purpose
    This program is intended to use the Housing Improvement Program (HIP) resources of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to eliminate substantially substandard Indian owned and inhabited housing for very low-income eligible Indians living in approved tribal service areas.
  2. Eligibility
    Federally recognized Indian tribal governments and tribal organizations who have eligible applicants with identified housing needs can apply for this funding.
  3. Terms
    Funds may be used in conjunction with other federal programs, such as Indian Health Service funds for water and sanitary facilities, or privately financed programs that are appropriate to repair or build housing. An informal conference with a Bureau of Indian Affairs agency representative is recommended. Applications may be submitted at any time.
  4. Contact
    June Henkel
    Office of Tribal Services
    Bureau of Indian Affairs
    Human Services
    MS 4660 MIB
    1849 C St., N.W.
    Washington, DC 20240
    202-208-3667
4. Indian Loans – Economic Development (CFDA 15.124)
  1. Purpose
    This is a loan guarantee program. Its purpose is to provide assistance to federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Native American organizations, and individual American Indians in obtaining financing from private sources to promote business initiatives on or near federally recognized Indian reservations.
  2. Eligibility
    Federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Native American organizations authorized by Indian tribal governments, and individual American Indians may apply.
  3. Terms
    
    The program guarantees up to 90 percent of the unpaid principal and interest. The borrower must have 20 percent equity in the business being financed.
  4. Contact
    Office of Economic Development
    Bureau of Indian Affairs
    1849 C St., N.W.
    MS-4640
    Washington, DC 20240
    202-208-4796
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME PERSONS (CFDA 81.042)
1. Purpose
  The objective of this program is to provide adequate insulation in order to conserve energy for homes in which low-income people live, particularly the elderly and persons with disabilities. Such insulation may include caulking windows, installing storm windows, and replacing furnaces or boilers.
2. Eligibility
  States, the District of Columbia and, in certain instances, Indian tribal organizations are eligible. If a state does not apply, local governments, community action agencies, and/or other nonprofit agencies within that state become eligible to apply.
3. Terms
  Average expenditures per dwelling unit for materials, program support, and labor costs cannot exceed $2,500. Up to 10 percent of each grant may be spent by a state and its sub-grantees for administrative expenses.
4. Comments
  In most areas, community action agencies or other community-based organizations administer the program.
5. Contact
  Contact the closest regional or local office:
  Boston: Hugh Saussy, 617-565-9710
  Philadelphia: Brian Conner, 215-656-6954
  Atlanta: Jim Powell, 404-347-2888
  Chicago: Peter Dreyfuss, 312-886-8575
  Denver: Bill Becker, 303-275-4801
  Seattle: Kathy Pierce, 206-553-1132
  or
  Director
  Office of Building Technology Assistance
  Mail Stop EE-42
  Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  Department of Energy
  Forrestal Building
  Washington, DC 20585
  202-586-4074
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CONSTRUCTION GRANTS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS (CFDA 66.418)
1. Purpose
  This program provides grants for the construction of municipal wastewater treatment works, including privately owned individual treatment systems, if a municipality applies on behalf of a number of such systems. Such works may serve all or portions of individual communities, metropolitan areas or regions. The grantee must initiate an acceptable system of user charges.
2. Eligibility
  Any municipality, inter-municipal agency, state or interstate agency, or federally recognized Indian tribal government having jurisdiction over waste disposal is eligible to apply for this program.
3. Terms
  Grant payments are based on work completed, equipment delivered or sometimes off-site manufacturing or services rendered. Final grant payment is made after construction is completed and satisfactory final inspection has occurred.
4. Comments
  Beginning in 1996, Congress and EPA have emphasized funding wastewater construction by capitalizing revolving loan funds in each state. A number of states have implemented both loan and grant programs. Other potential sources to supplement water and sewer efforts are USDA's Rural Utilities Service water/wastewater funds and HUD Community Development Block Grant funds.
5. Contact
  Information regarding appropriate waste treatment requirements and state and federal assistance may be obtained from state water pollution control agencies. The headquarters office for this program is:
  
  Gajindar Singh
  Municipal Assistance Branch
  MC-4204M
  Municipal Support Division
  Office of Wastewater Management
  Environmental Protection Agency
  1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
  Washington, DC 20460
  202-564-0634
  http://www.epa.gov/OWM/finan.htm
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR MIGRANT AND SEASONAL FARMWORKERS (Section 402) (CFDA 17.247)
1. Purpose
  Grants are provided for job training, job search assistance, and other supportive services for those individuals who suffer chronic seasonal unemployment and underemployment in the agricultural industry. Eligible farmworkers may be offered services such as classroom training, on-the-job training, work experience, job development, job placement relocation assistance, healthcare, and other supportive services.
2. Eligibility
  Public agencies, units of government, and nonprofits authorized by their charter to operate employment and training programs are eligible.
3. Terms
  Awards are made for two years, with two-year renewal subject to satisfactory performance.
4. Contact
  Division of Seasonal Farmworker Programs
  Office of Adult Services
  Employment and Training Administration
  U.S. Department of Labor
  Room N-4645
  200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
  Washington, DC 20210
  202-693-3843
  http://wdsc.doleta.gov/msfw
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
1. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (CFDA 93.568)
  1. Purpose
    The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) makes grants available to states and other jurisdictions to assist eligible households to meet the costs of home energy. Supplemental Leveraging Incentive Funds may be awarded to reward states and other jurisdictions that provide additional benefits and services to LIHEAP-eligible households beyond what can be provided with federal funds.
  2. Eligibility
    1. Applicant. States, the District of Columbia, federal and state-recognized tribal governments that request direct funding, and specified territories are eligible applicants.
    2. Beneficiary. Ultimate beneficiaries are households with incomes less than 150 percent of the poverty level or 60 percent of state median income.
  3. Terms
    There is no matching grant requirement for this program.
  4. Contact
    Janet Fox, Director
    Division of Energy Assistance
    Office of Community Services
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20447
    202-401-9351
    http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/liheap
2. Social Services Block Grant (CFDA 93.667)
  1. Purpose
    The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program enables each state to furnish social services directed toward one of five goals:
    1. to prevent, reduce or eliminate dependency;
    2. to achieve or maintain self-sufficiency;
    3. to prevent neglect, abuse or exploitation of children and adults;
    4. to prevent or reduce inappropriate institutional care; and
    5. to secure admission or referral for institutional care when other forms of care are not appropriate.
  2. Eligibility
    States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa are eligible applicants and are responsible for determining the services that are to be provided under this program.
  3. Terms
    Grants are awarded quarterly on a fiscal year basis.
  4. Contact
    Contact the city or county office of the state department of social services (also possibly known as department of human resources, welfare, or a similar name)
    or
    Margaret Washnitzer
    Office of Community Services
    Division of State Assistance
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20447
    202-401-2333
    http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ocs/ssbg
3. Community Services Block Grant (CFDA 93.569)
  1. Purpose
    There are five major objectives of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program:
    1. to provide assistance to low-income people, particularly elderly poor people, to obtain and maintain adequate housing and a suitable living environment;
    2. to provide or encourage services and activities that will impact on the poverty in the community;
    3. to provide or encourage on an emergency basis, supplies and services, or nutritious food that will prevent starvation and malnutrition among low-income people;
    4. to provide or encourage linkages between governmental and other social services programs to assure the delivery of such services to low-income people; and
    5. to provide or encourage the private sector to help in efforts to ameliorate poverty in the community.
  2. Eligibility
    States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, as well as state and federally recognized Indian tribes or tribal organizations, are eligible.
  3. Terms
    Grants are for a specific fiscal year.
  4. Comments
    States are required to use at least 90 percent of their allocations for grants to "eligible entities," which include locally based community action agencies and/or organizations that serve seasonal or migrant farmworkers.
  5. Contact
    Division of State Assistance
    Office of Community Services
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20447
    202-401-9343
    http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ocs
4. Community Services Block Grant - Discretionary Awards (CFDA 93.570)
  1. Purpose
    Discretionary grants are made to eliminate poverty in rural and urban communities, with funds disbursed in priority activity areas. The program's priorities are:
    1. full-time permanent jobs for poverty-level project area residents;
    2. income and/or ownership opportunities for low-income community members;
    3. a better standard of living for rural low-income individuals;
    4. the implementation of special projects for migrants and seasonal farmworkers; and
    5. national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth.
  2. Eligibility
    For economic development projects, eligibility is restricted to private, locally initiated, nonprofit community development corporations. For all other projects, direct grants can be made to states, cities, counties, and private nonprofit organizations.
  3. Terms
    Generally, financial assistance does not exceed 12-60 months.
  4. Contact
    Thelma Woodland, Branch Chief
    Division of Community Discretionary Programs
    Office of Community Services
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
    Washington, DC 20447
    202-401-9345
    http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ocs
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
1. Veterans Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program (CFDA 64.024)
  1. Purpose
    This program serves to assist public and nonprofit private organizations in creating new programs and service centers to furnish supportive services and housing for homeless veterans through grants. Grants can be used to acquire, renovate, or alter facilities and to provide per diem payments, or similar assistance in place of per diem payments, to eligible entities with established programs. Grants can also be used to purchase vans for outreach and transportation.
  2. Eligibility
    Eligible applicants include public and nonprofit private entities with the capacity to administer a grant. Programs eligible for funding must have been established after November 10, 1992. Eligible beneficiaries include veterans who served in the active military naval or air service, and who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.
  3. Terms
    Federal participation provides up to 65 percent of total project cost, with the grant recipient providing the remainder.
  4. Contact
    Program Manager
    VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program
    Mental Health Strategic Healthcare Group (116E)
    Department of Veterans Affairs
    810 Vermont Ave, N.W.
    Washington, DC 20420
    202-273-8966
    Roger Casey, 1-877-322-0334 toll free
    http://www.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=3
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
1. Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CFDA 21.020)
  1. Purpose
    Under the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) program, the CDFI Fund provides financial and/or technical assistance to certified CDFIs to enhance their ability to make loans or development investments and to provide development services that will promote economic revitalization and community development. Financial assistance to CDFIs can take the form of equity investments, loans, grants, or deposits.
  2. Eligibility
    Private nonprofit institutions/organizations, other private institutions/organizations, and for-profit organizations can apply for certification as CDFIs. Only certified CDFIs can receive funding or technical assistance from the CDFI program.
  3. Terms
    The CDFI program has four components, each of which addresses CDFIs of a certain type:
    1. Core Component. This is the central component of the CDFI Fund, and funds CDFIs or interested entities applying to become CDFIs.
    2. Intermediary Component. This part of the program assists intermediaries that focus primarily on funding other CDFIs.
    3. Small and Emerging CDFI Assistance Component. This component, known as SECA, is designed to assist organizations that have a very high potential for increasing their community development impact.
    4. Native American CDFI Technical Assistance. NACTA is designed to enhance the capacity of CDFIs that serve primarily Native American or Alaska Native communities or to help Native American or Alaska Native communities to create new CDFIs that will primarily serve their communities.
    Recipients of CDFI funds are required to match those funds dollar for dollar with non-federal monies. The CDFI Fund can waive part of the match requirement for applicants with severe constraints on fund availability.
  4. Contact
    Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
    601 Thirteenth St., N.W.
    Suite 200 South
    Washington, DC 20005
    202-622-8662
    http://www.cdfifund.gov
2. New Markets Tax Credit Program (no CFDA number as of January 2003)
  1. Purpose
    Created by Congress in 2000 and fully effective for the first time in 2002, the New Markets Tax Credit is intended to spur $15 billion in new private investments in businesses located in distressed urban, rural, Native American, and Native Hawaiian areas. By making an equity investment in a qualified "community development entity" (CDE), an individual or corporate investor can receive a New Markets Tax Credit worth more than 30 percent of the amount invested over the life of the credit, in present value terms.
  2. Eligibility
    1. Investor. Any taxable investor – including an individual, a company, or an investment fund – that makes an equity investment in a qualified CDE is eligible for the tax credit. According to the CDFI Fund, possible investors could include banks and thrifts, insurance companies, investment banks, venture capital and other investment funds, finance companies, individuals, and corporations.
    2. Community Development Entity. A nonprofit or for-profit entity may apply for CDE certification if its primary mission is serving or providing investment capital for low-income communities or low-income persons, and if residents of low-income communities are represented on its governing board or an advisory board.
      Nonprofit organizations and for-profit corporations can become qualified CDEs, but only for-profit entities can issue investments whose equity investors can receive tax credits. According to the CDFI Fund, possible CDEs could include community development banks or venture funds, community development companies, small business investment companies and New Market Venture Capital companies (a new category of entities licensed by the Small Business Administration). A national or regional for-profit entity can be a CDE if it invests in local CDEs, or if it is a secondary market that purchases eligible loans or investments from the originating entity. An institution certified as a CDFI under the Community Development Financial Institutions program (described above) is automatically eligible to be qualified as a CDE.
    3. Business. Almost any kind of business located in a low- or moderate-income area could qualify for a loan or equity investment from a CDE.
  3. Terms
    A qualified CDE applies to the CDFI Fund for an award of tax credits. When a for-profit investor makes an equity investment in the CDE, the investor will be able to claim a tax credit on the amount of its investment.
    
    A CDE certification lasts for 15 years unless it is revoked or terminated by the Fund. A CDE must certify annually during this period that it has continued to meet CDE certification requirements.
  4. Contact
    Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
    601 Thirteenth St., N.W., Suite 200 South
    Washington, DC 20005
    202-622-8662
    http://www.cdfifund.gov

V. PRIVATE INVESTMENT

This section describes three programs that are not cataloged in the CFDA but are federally sponsored programs that rural organizations can use to help meet low-income housing needs in their communities.

COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires all federally insured financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Every financial institution covered by CRA receives a CRA rating as part of its normal regulatory review. (The time between reviews may vary from six months to five years.) Four different federal agencies regulate the various financial institutions, but they all base their review on the same standards. A federal examiner assigns an institution a rating of Outstanding, High Satisfactory, Low Satisfactory, Needs to Improve, or Substantial Noncompliance. The majority of institutions reviewed receive Satisfactory ratings. Each rating is accompanied by a "performance evaluation" summarizing the examiner's findings.

A financial institution's CRA rating is taken into account (along with many other non-CRA factors) when it applies to merge with another or to open, close, or relocate a branch office. Regulators have the authority to deny an application for any of these activities based on poor CRA performance, but they seldom do. A more common result of community organizations' CRA-based challenges to merger or expansion applications is the development of a "CRA agreement" between the institution and community organizations, in which the institution commits to certain actions such as extending a specified amount of credit for housing development.

Since CRA ratings became public information in 1990, rural housing groups have found that CRA provides leverage for them to encourage financial institutions to finance low-income housing. CRA can be a powerful tool to open up credit access to low-income communities. Community groups can take various actions to use CRA, including:
- work with financial institutions to find loans that will help provide housing for the community and help the institutions meet their CRA requirements;
- collect and review the CRA ratings and performance evaluations on local banks;
- provide written responses to the ratings and performance evaluations of local banks and/or the regulators who evaluate the banks;
- design a monitoring system that will effectively monitor a bank's lending practices in the community;
- build an effective grassroots network on CRA activities; and
- identify strategies to prod banks to conduct activities that help low-income groups in the community.
For additional information on the CRA contact:
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
202-872-7584
crahelp@frb.gov
http://www.ffiec.gov/cra/default.htm
Center for Community Change
1000 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20007
202-342-0519
http://www.communitychange.org
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
733 15th Street, N.W.
Suite 540
Washington, DC 20005
202-628-8866
http://www.ncrc.org
FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS
The Federal Home Loan Bank System was created in 1932 by the President and Congress to promote homeownership and a strong home finance industry. The Federal Home Loan Bank System is organized in a manner similar to the Federal Reserve System. The 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks borrow funds in the nation's credit markets to lend to member institutions, which use the funds for home mortgages, to meet savings withdrawal needs, and for other authorized purposes.

The Federal Home Loan Bank System has three components:
- the Federal Housing Finance Board in Washington, D.C.;
- 12 district Federal Home Loan Banks, which provide lending, deposit, and other services to system members; and
- more than 7,700 member mortgage-lending institutions including federal and state chartered thrift institutions, commercial banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.
The Federal Housing Finance Board, an independent federal agency, is the governing body of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. The Board's primary function is to oversee credit allocation by the district banks to members in the form of loans (usually called advances). The 12 district Federal Home Loan Banks carry out the functions of the Bank System in its dealings with individual member institutions. (For a list of district banks, see http://www.fhfb.gov/FHLB/FHLBS_banks.htm.) Although the Banks are instrumentalities of the federal government, they are wholly owned by their member institutions.

Each of the 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) administers programs that may be useful for rural housing development: the Affordable Housing Program, the Community Investment Program, the Community Investment Cash Advance Program, and the Letter of Credit program. The programs are described more fully below, but each functions the same way. Each program is run by the individual FHLBanks, so their details, including requirements and preferences, vary between the 12 regions. Applicants must be member institutions – not local organizations or government bodies. Generally, a community-based developer structures a project and seeks the involvement of a lender that is an FHLBank member.

Each FHLBank conducts competitive funding cycles (usually two per year). Each FHLBank controls the priorities set for its district and structures its own competition.
1. Additional Information
  
  For additional information on any of the Federal Home Loan Bank programs, contact:
  
  the District Bank's Community Investment Officer in your area
  or Charles McLean, Deputy Director
  Office of Policy, Research, and Analysis
  Federal Housing Finance Board
  1700 G Street, N.W.
  Washington, DC 20006
  202-408-2537
  http://www.fhfb.gov
2. Affordable Housing Program
  The AHP subsidizes the interest rate on advances (loans) and provides direct subsidies to FHLBank System member institutions engaged in lending for long-term, very low-, low-, and moderate-income housing. The AHP is designed to encourage members to undertake creative efforts and increase their participation in and support of efforts directed towards increasing the district's supply of affordable housing.
  
  Advances under the AHP may be used with other sources of funds such as the Community Investment Program and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, as well as other federal, state, local, and private assistance programs. Subsidies under the AHP must be used to:
  - finance the purchase, construction, and/or rehabilitation of rental housing, at least 20 percent of the units of which will be occupied by and affordable for very low-income households for at least 15 years; or
  - finance the purchase, construction, and/or rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing for very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.
  Most of the FHLBanks have taken advantage of an option to set aside part of their AHP funds for homeownership assistance to low- and moderate-income buyers. A number of them have established priorities for rural projects as well.
  
  Each FHLBank determines the number of competitive application periods it will have each year and when applications will be due.
  
  For more information, see above.
3. Community Investment Program
  Community Investment Program (CIP) loans from FHLBanks to member institutions are intended to encourage and assist them in undertaking community-oriented mortgage lending.
  
  CIP funds can be used to finance:
  - home purchases by families whose incomes do not exceed 115 percent of the area median income;
  - the purchase or rehabilitation of housing for occupancy by families whose incomes do not exceed 115 percent of the area median income;
  - commercial and economic development activities that benefit low- and moderate-income (defined as 80 percent of the area median income) households, or activities that are located in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods (defined as a neighborhood in which 51 percent or more of the households are low- to moderate-income households); and
  - projects that include a combination of these activities.
  CIP loans may be combined with other housing or community development funds.
  
  For more information, see above.
4. Community Investment Cash Advance Program
  The Community Investment Cash Advance (CICA) program began in 1998. It encourages FHLBanks to offer financing for housing activities and long-term economic development that is not otherwise being provided by the financial community.
  
  CICA includes several different types of activities. Notably, one is the Rural Development Advances (RDA) program. RDA loans provide financing of economic development projects for targeted beneficiaries in rural areas with incomes at 115 percent or less of area median income. The Federal Housing Finance Board defines a rural area as a unit of general local government with a population of 25,000 or less, an unincorporated area outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), or an unincorporated area within an MSA that qualifies for housing or economic development assistance from USDA.
  
  Also, under the CICA regulations, each district FHLBank is required to develop a Community Lending Plan that includes an assessment of needs in its region and specific goals. Most of these plans are available at http://www.fhfb.gov/FHLB/FHLBP_economic_CLP.htm.
  
  For more information, see above.
5. Standby Letters of Credit
  A Federal Home Loan Bank may issue a standby letter of credit (LOC) on behalf of one of its members or a nonmember mortgagee. The LOC guarantees that the member or the nonmember mortgagee will repay a debt it owes to a third party. Collateral must be provided to secure each LOC.
  
  The Finance Board's web site explains that typical standby LOC transactions include credit enhanced, tax-exempt housing bonds; public-unit linked deposit programs; or performance bonds such as those required of developers by local governments to ensure the completion of a housing project.
  
  For more information, see above.

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