HUD and EPA Partner on Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities Funding

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Offices of Sustainable Communities, Water, and Brownfields and Land Revitalization are pleased to announce a joint Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program.

HUD and EPA will join forces to competitively award $5.65 million to strengthen the capacity of existing grantees from each agency to create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods for American families.

The award program will build upon the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an innovative interagency collaboration, launched by President Obama in June 2009, between the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), HUD, and EPA to provide more sustainable housing and transportation choices for families and lay the foundation for a 21st century economy.

Award recipients will support a growing network of existing and future HUD and EPA grantees that are advancing sustainable regional planning and development. The network of grantees will exchange ideas on successful strategies, lessons learned, emerging tools, and public engagement plans. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities grant program will award funds to capacity building service providers who will work directly with grant recipients from the FY10 and FY11 HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning and Community Challenge, HUD Preferred Sustainability Status Communities, and EPA Sustainable Community Technical Assistance and Brownfield Area Wide Planning grant programs.

Applications for the NOFA are due July 8, 2011. Nonprofit organizations, local or state public agencies, for-profit organizations, nationally recognized and accredited universities or colleges, or any combination of eligible entities as a Capacity Building Team are eligible to apply for funding.

Please visit the HUD website for more information on how to apply.

You may also read the official HUD press release for this initiative.

Additionally, HUD and EPA will be hosting a Webcast Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 2 p.m. eastern time to discuss this new program. Access this Webcast here.