Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

The 2012 Community Economic Development (CED) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) has been published! The full announcement is available for view and download on the following two websites:

• Grants.gov CED program page
• Administration for Children and Families

Here is the official description of this year’s funding opportunity:

For Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Community and Economic Development program, administered by the Office of Community Services (OCS) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), will provide approximately $27 million in grants ($800,000 maximum per project) to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) for projects designed to address the economic needs of low-income individuals and families through the creation of employment and business opportunities.

CED funding may be used to provide technical and financial assistance in order to create sustainable new employment and business opportunities for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income individuals whose income level does not exceed 125 percent of the Federal poverty level (https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty).

This year, in coordination with the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), the CED program will provide up to $10 million of this funding to CDCs for CED projects located in food deserts and designed to improve access to healthy, affordable foods. HFFI is the first time the Federal government has coordinated its efforts to eliminate food deserts around the country. Together, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) and HHS have created the Healthy Food Financing Working Group (Working Group).

CED-funded projects can be non-construction or construction projects. The grant period for non-construction projects is three years; for construction projects, the grant period is five years. The CED Program permits facility construction as needed to support business creation, business expansion and/or job creation. However it is important to note that short-term construction jobs associated with preparing for business start-up or expansion are not counted when determining the number of jobs created under the CED program as they are designed to be temporary in nature.

Applications for 2012 CED funding are due on June 5, 2012.

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Timothy W. O’Connell | Assistant to the State Director
Rural Development
U.S. Department of Agriculture
154 Waianuenue Ave., Room 303, Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 933-8313| (808) 933-8326 (F)
Committed to the future of rural communities
www.rurdev.usda.gov