Village of Skokie

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program Year 2014 Application (Term: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015)

CDBG PROPOSAL – OVERVIEW

Introduction

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides annual grants to entitlement cities and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities – principally to benefit low-income persons. The allotment is based on the Federal budget and a formula calculation. A community’s funding amount varies from year to year.

Entitlement communities develop their own programs and funding priorities, and must give maximum feasible priority to activities that either benefit low-income persons or aid in the prevention or elimination of slums and blight. Other activities may be carried out after the community certifies that they meet other community development needs with a particular urgency. Existing conditions must pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the entire community in order to be declared as urgent. Activities that do not meet one of these broad national objectives may not be undertaken with CDBG funds.

Activities that can be carried out with block grant funds include, but are not limited to: acquisition of real property, relocation assistance, building demolition, rehabilitation of residential and nonresidential structures, and construction/ rehabilitation of public facilities and improvements such as streets, sidewalks, parks, and neighborhood centers. In addition, block grant funds may be used to pay for public services and activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources. Entitlement communities may also provide assistance to profit-motivated businesses to carry out economic development activities that can document that they primarily benefit low-income persons.

The types of activities that are generally ineligible include: improvements to buildings for the general conduct of government, political activities, direct income payments to individuals, and construction of new housing or other facilities offering 24-hour care. Potential applicants should note that public service funds are extremely limited. Grants of this type are usually of a supplemental nature to an existing program. Public service grants to outside organizations will generally be less than $10,000.

Application Materials

The attached application form was developed to establish a uniform proposal for individuals and organizations making application for the Village of Skokie's CDBG funds. Each question must be fully addressed, and further details of an applicant's operations may be included. Technical assistance in the application process is available from the Village's Community Development Department. All proposals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, 2013. Proposals will not be accepted after that date. Incomplete applications may be rejected. Please submit two (2) single-sided, signed originals and one (1) digital copy in a Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Review of Applications

Applicants are required to be present at the Board of Trustees' meeting on Monday, January 6, 2014, to briefly describe their proposals at a public hearing. Staff recommendations will be presented to the Board on Monday, February 3, 2014, at which time the Board will vote on funding allocations. All Board of Trustees meetings begin at 8:00 p.m. CDBG public hearings are held immediately following all regular municipal business.

*** FUNDING MATCH ***

Since requests for funding typically exceed available funds, construction/rehabilitation projects must

include a 25% minimum funding match by the sponsoring agency. The Village’s maximum share will be

75% of the cost estimate or the final bid, whichever is less.


CDBG PROPOSAL – APPLICATION SUMMARY SHEET

Project Title:

Project Description (150 words maximum):

Project Address:

Construction/Rehabilitation Projects:

Total Sponsor Organization Match (25% minimum of Total Estimated Project Cost): $

Total CDBG Funding Request (75% maximum of Total Estimated Project Cost): $

Total Estimated Project Cost: $

Public Services:

Total CDBG Funding Request: $

Contact Information

Organization Name:

Contact Name, Title:

Signature:

Mailing Address 1:

Mailing Address 2:

City, State, Zip:

Telephone Number:

Fax Number:

Email Address:


CDBG PROPOSAL – APPLICATION

All items must be addressed to receive any consideration for funding.

1.  National Objective

All CDBG projects must meet one of the following national objectives listed below. (Please select only one.)

Benefit to Low-Income Persons

(A) Benefits Specific Low-Income Geographic Areas (go to #3)

(B) Benefits Specific and Limited Low-Income Clientele (go to #4)

(C) Benefits Housing (go to #5)

(D) Benefits Jobs (go to #6)

Prevent or Eliminate Blight

Prevents or Eliminates Blight on an Area Basis (go to #7)

Prevents or Eliminates Blight on a Spot Basis (go to #7)

2.  Data to Justify the Benefit to Low-Income Persons

If you identified the national objective of “Benefit to Low-Income Persons”, please use the following income limits chart in computing the numbers of low-income clients for the tables below. Agencies or organizations seeking operational and administrative funding should complete Item 4 on the next page.

2013

Income Limits Household Size

1 Person 2 Persons 3 Persons 4 Persons 5 Persons 6 Persons 7 Persons 8 Persons

Extremely Low (0-30%): $15,500 17,700 19,900 22,100 23,900 25,650 27,450 29,200

Very Low (31-50%): $25,800 29,450 33,150 36,800 39,750 42,700 45,650 48,600

Low (51-80%): $41,250 47,150 53,050 58,900 63,650 68,350 73,050 77,750

NOTE: Household income is the total income of all household members18 years old or older that contribute to the household. The extremely low, very low, and low income limits are based on Median Family Income, in which a householder has one or more other persons living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.

3.  Benefits Specific Low-Income Areas

This item must be completed if (A) is checked in Item 1. This benefit is generally limited to public sector capital improvement projects. (Please list all Census Tracts and Block Groups benefiting from this project.)

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Village of Skokie

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program Year 2014 Application (Term: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015)

4.  Benefits Specific and Limited Low-Income Clientele

The following chart must be completed if (B) is checked in Item 1. The numbers to be listed below are the numbers of unduplicated individuals benefiting from the project or program for which you are requesting funding. The totals in the blue cells must match. The totals in the orange cells must match.

Income / Hispanic / Latino / Race / Female-Headed Households
Below 30% / 31% to 50% / 51% to 80% / Above 80%
(all others) / Total / Yes / No / Total / White / Black or African-American / Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander / Asian / American Indian or Alaskan Native / Mixed Race / Total
People
Skokie Residents

5.  Benefits Housing

The following chart must be completed if (C) is checked in Item 1. The numbers to be listed below are the numbers of unduplicated individuals benefiting from the project or program for which you are requesting funding. The totals in the blue cells must match.

Income / Hispanic / Latino / Race / Female-Headed Households
Below 30% / 31% to 50% / 51% to 80% / Above 80%
(all others) / Total / Yes / No / Total / White / Black or African-American / Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander / Asian / American Indian or Alaskan Native / Mixed Race / Total
Households

6.  Benefits Jobs

The following chart must be completed if (D) is checked in Item 1. The numbers to be listed below are the numbers of unduplicated individuals benefiting from the project or program for which you are requesting funding. Expected low-income hires are those people from households that are low-income at the time of hire, not after the time of hire.

Total Full-Time Jobs / Total Part-Time Jobs / Total Part-Time Weekly Hours / Expected Low-Income Full-Time Hires / Expected Low-Income Part-Time Hires

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Village of Skokie

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program Year 2014 Application (Term: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015)

7.  Priority Needs

Check the highest priority need to be addressed by the project. (Please select only one.)

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Village of Skokie

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program Year 2014 Application (Term: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015)

Anti-Crime Programs

Crime Awareness

Economic Development

Commercial Rehabilitation

Micro-Enterprise Assistance

Non-Homeless Housing

Renter – Elderly

Renter – Small Family

Renter – Large Family

Other Housing

Owner-Occupied

Infrastructure

Street Improvements

Sidewalks

Tree Planting

Public Facilities

(Physical Improvement Projects)

General Public Facilities

Handicapped Centers

Parks/Recreational Facilities

Parking Facilities

Health Facilities

Public Services

(Administrative Support Activities)

General Public Services

Handicapped Services

Transportation Services

Employment Training

Health Services

Mental Health Services

Screening for Lead-Based Paint


Senior Programs

Senior Centers

Senior Services

Youth

Youth Centers

Child Care Centers

Youth Services

Child Care Services

Homeless Individuals

Emergency Shelter

Transitional Housing

Job Training

Case Management

Mental Health Care

Housing Placement

Life Skills Training

Homeless Person in Families with Children

Emergency Shelter

Transitional Housing

Job Training

Case Management

Child Care

Substance Abuse Treatment

Mental Health Care

Housing Placement

Life Skills Training

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Village of Skokie

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Program Year 2014 Application (Term: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2015)

8.  Special Needs

Check below if the proposed programming is serving any of these Special Needs Populations:

(Please select all that apply.)

Elderly

Frail Elderly

Severe Mental Illness

Developmentally Disabled

Physically Disabled

Substance Abusers

Persons with HIV/AIDS

Victims of Domestic Violence

Comments:

9.  Agency Description

Please provide the mission statement for your agency. (150 words maximum)

10.  Project Description

Please provide a detailed description of the specific activities you expect to undertake with CDBG funding during the upcoming program year. If the project has several components, please prioritize the key elements of the proposal. (500 words maximum)

11.  Justification

Describe how this project meets the CDBG Program national objectives of benefiting low/moderate-income persons or eliminating/preventing blight, and discuss the nature and extent of the problem the objective is addressing and any previous efforts to remedy it. (150 words maximum)

12.  Documentation of Low/Moderate-Income Benefit

Identify the target population expected to benefit from the project. How many people are Skokie residents? How does the agency determine the low/moderate-income status of its clientele?

A.  How will statistics be compiled for service delivery? Does it typically involve multiple sessions?

(150 words maximum)

B.  What do you consider to be a unit of service? (Please select only one.)

One client, many times

One client, one time

Multiple clients, one time

Other (Please describe.)

C.  What types of service(s) are included? (Please select all that apply.)

Phone counseling

In-office counseling

Nights of service

Home visits

Other (Please describe.)

D.  What types of tangible services are provided? (Please select all that apply.)

Food

Housing/shelter

Clothing

Emergency Funds

Other (Please describe.)

13.  Project Objectives

Which of the following primary objectives of the CDBG program will be addressed by the activities for which funding is being requested? (Please select only one.)

When selecting an objective, ask: What is the purpose of the activity?

What is the larger community need that I am seeking to address?

Creating a Suitable Living Environment

This objective relates to activities that are intended to address a wide range of issues faced by low//moderate-income persons, from physical problems with their environment, such as poor quality infrastructure, to social issues such as crime prevention, literacy, or elderly health services. Includes activities that are designed to benefit communities, families, or individuals, by addressing issues in their living environment.

Providing Decent Housing

This objective focuses on housing activities whose purpose is to meet individual family or community housing needs. It does not include programs where housing is an element of a larger effort to make community-wide improvements, since such programs would be more appropriately reported under Suitable Living Environments.

Creating Economic Opportunities

This objective applies to activities related to economic development, commercial revitalization, or job creation.

14.  Project Outcomes

How will the project objectives be measured and performance be documented? (Please select only one.)

When selecting an outcome, ask: What type of change or result am I seeking?

Availability/Accessibility

This outcome applies to activities that make services, infrastructure, public services, public facilities, housing, or shelter available or accessible to low/moderate-income people, including persons with disabilities. In this category, accessibility does not refer only to physical barriers, but also to making the basics of daily living available and accessible to low/moderate-income people where they live.

Affordability

This outcome applies to activities that provide affordability in a variety of ways to low/moderate-income people. It can include the creation or maintenance of affordable housing, basic infrastructure hook-ups, or services such as transportation or day care. Affordability is an appropriate objective whenever an activity is lowering the cost, improving the quality, or increasing the affordability of a product or service to benefit a low-income household. Example #1: A low interest loan program might make loans available to low/moderate-income microenterprise businesses at 1% interest, which is far below the market rate. This program lowers the cost of the loan, enabling entrepreneurs to start businesses. As a result, the program makes financing more affordable. Example #2: A subsidized day care program that provides services to low/moderate-income persons/families at lower cost than unsubsidized day care.

Sustainability

This outcome applies to activities that are aimed at improving communities or neighborhoods, helping to make them livable or viable by providing benefit to persons of low/moderate-income or by removing or eliminating slums or blighted areas, through multiple activities or services that sustain communities or neighborhoods.

15.  Proposed Timeline – Construction/Rehabilitation Projects Only

If the proposed activity is a construction/rehabilitation project, please provide a proposed timeline identifying the start and completion dates, and any other interim target dates for key elements of the project. (Please note that weather-sensitive construction/rehabilitation projects should be completed by the end of Q2, if possible. Funding availability will not be extended beyond April 30, 2015.)