Policy Guide

Learn and Serve America

Learn and Serve America (LSA) is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Created under the National and Community Service Act of 1990, LSA distributes grants in support of service-learning in order to simultaneously enrich the education of young people, demonstrate the value of youth as assets to their communities, and stimulate the use of service-learning as a strategy to meet unmet community needs. Read more about Learn and Serve America ...

Social Innovation Fund

The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) is a new program of the Obama administration, housed in the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Funded at an initial level of $50 million in FY 2010, the Social Innovation Fund aims to work with intermediaries to provide funding to support nonprofit innovation and social enterprise.

In the first round of the program, the Social Innovation Fund is asking for applicants to focus on the following three areas: Read more about Social Innovation Fund ...

Office of Refugee Resettlement IDA Program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement Individual Development Account (IDA) Program provides five-year grants to public or private nonprofits to establish IDAs for low-income refugees. The program, which is authorized in Section 412(c)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, allocates nearly $3 million annually with grants of $200,000 to $400,000 awarded to ten to fifteen grantees. Read more about Office of Refugee Resettlement IDA Program ...

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides a rebate to low-income workers based on a percentage of their income. Unlike most tax credits, the EITC is refundable. If a person chooses to apply the EITC when filing taxes, a rebate is issued if the credit exceeds the taxpayer's liability. Read more about Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)...

Community Reinvestment Act

Enacted in 1977 in response to redlining — that is, banks that drew a "red line" on maps around disfavored (usually minority) neighborhoods and refused to do business within those areas — the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) enabled bank regulators to assess and rate banks' lending and investment activities in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Read more about Community Reinvestment Act ...

Assets for Independence Act

The Assets for Independence Act (AFIA) is a grant program sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families program in its Office of Community Services. AFIA makes five-year grants to community-based nonprofits, government agencies, and various other eligible organizations, for the purpose of helping low-income families build assets through savings accounts and gain financial management skills. Read more about Assets for Independence Act ...

HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities Initiative

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a joint-partnership that would improve access to affordable housing, offer citizens better low cost transportation options, and help protect the environment. For FY 2010, Congress has allocated $150 million for the Sustainable Communities Initiative. Of that total, approximately $100 million will be available for regional integrated planning initiatives through HUD's Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program. Read more about HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities Initiative ...

Green Collar Jobs Act

The Green Collar Jobs Act of 2007 is Title X of the Energy Independence and Security Act. This act authorizes grants to establish national and state training programs that assist in creating jobs in green industries, such as energy efficient building and rehabilitation, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and renewable electric power. This program first received funding with an allocation of $500 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (i.e., the stimulus bill). Read more about Green Collar Jobs Act ...

Rural Utilities Service

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a series of programs that help utilities providers in rural areas expand and keep their facilities current. The RUS programs assist electric providers, water suppliers, telecommunications companies, and distance learning and telemedicine providers. In FY 2008, it received $655 million in budgetary authority and had $9.753 billion in loan authority. Read more about Rural Utilities Service...

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which was formed in 1970, is an independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. Read more about National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) ...

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) tax policy

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a type of employee benefit plan in which employees receive an ownership stake in the company where they work through the receipt of stock. Unlike stock options, with a few exceptions (such as if a union opts not to participate), ESOPs by law must provide shares to all full-time company employees. Read more about ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) tax policy...

Cooperation Works! & the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program

Awarded under a competitive process by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Cooperative Development grants fund technical assistance centers that support the development of cooperative businesses. The majority of grant recipients are members of a national network of technical assistance centers known as Cooperation Works! Federal funding for rural cooperative development grants from FY 2003 to FY 2009 had been at a steady level of $6-6.5 million a year. In FY 2010, however, Congress increased funding to $11.8 million. Read more about Cooperation Works! & the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program...

New Markets Tax Credit

The New Markets Tax Credit was enacted in 2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act, one of the last pieces of legislation to be passed under President Clinton. Originally authorizing $15 billion in credits to be distributed over seven years, the program has been extended through continuing resolutions ever since. Buoyed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill), New Markets Tax Credits received a $5 billion allocation that year. Read more about New Markets Tax Credit...

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

 

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund is an independent agency administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury, which was established by the Riegle (D-MI) Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than $1.1 billion. Read more about Community Development Financial Institutions Fund...

Capital Magnet Fund

The Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) awards competitive grants to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and other organizations to develop affordable housing and other projects. Administered through the federal CDFI Fund, the CMF was established as a permanent trust fund in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the CMF will receive approximately $226 million annually between FY 2010-2018. Read more about Capital Magnet Fund ...

Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program

Organized through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) awards grants to national and regional nonprofit organizations or consortia that have experience in using homebuyer and volunteer labor to build housing for low-income families. Established in 1996 to help mitigate the high costs of land acquisitions and infrastructure planning, SHOP received $26.5 million in FY 2009 and $27 million in FY 2010. Read more about Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program ...

Office of Community Services: JOLI and CED Programs

Job Opportunities Learning Initiative (JOLI) and Community Economic Development (CED) Program

The Office of Community Services, housed at the Department of Health and Human Services, operates two programs that provide direct support for community development corporations. Read more about Office of Community Services: JOLI and CED Programs...

NeighborWorks America (Neighborhood Reinvestment Act)

 

NeighborWorks America is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization. In the FY 2010 budget passed by Congress, NeighborWorks received $233 million. Read more about NeighborWorks America (Neighborhood Reinvestment Act) ...

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the nation's leading financing program for the production of affordable rental housing. In 2007, the LIHTC helped finance the development of 75,000 units of affordable housing across the country. The annual cost of the tax credit to the federal government is approximately $5 billion. Read more about The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) ...

HUD Section 202: Supportive Housing for the Elderly

 

Established in the Housing Act of 1959, Section 202: Supportive Housing for the Elderly, is a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program that provides capital advances to private, nonprofit sponsors to finance the development of housing for elderly residents. In FY 2010, Congress appropriated $825 million for Section 202 construction and rental assistance projects. Read more about HUD Section 202: Supportive Housing for the Elderly...