[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 249 (Monday, December 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79548-79584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30600]



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Part II





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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 Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Notice of Funding Availability 
(NOFA); Policy Requirements and General Section to HUD's FY2009 NOFAs 
for Discretionary Programs; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 249 / Monday, December 29, 2008 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5300-N-01]


Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Notice of Funding 
Availability (NOFA); Policy Requirements and General Section to HUD's 
FY2009 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of HUD's FY2009 NOFA Policy Requirements and General 
Section to HUD's FY2009 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs (notice).

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SUMMARY: This notice provides prospective applicants for HUD's 
competitive funding with the opportunity to become familiar with the 
General Section of HUD's FY2009 NOFAs, in advance of publication of any 
FY2009 NOFAs. This year, HUD plans to publish its NOFAs as they are 
approved for publication and not in a combined SuperNOFA. HUD believes 
that by making this change, the NOFAs will be available earlier in the 
fiscal year. To assist applicants in this transformation, HUD is 
publishing the anticipated schedule for release of HUD's FY2009 NOFAs 
in Appendix A. The information regarding NOFA programs and schedules is 
subject to the availability of appropriations. As HUD receives 
appropriations, HUD may elect to amend the anticipated dates, estimated 
funds available, and/or program requirements that may appear in the 
published NOFAs to reflect HUD's FY2009 appropriations act, when 
enacted by Congress. Any amendment to HUD published NOFAs will be made 
available to the public through a Federal Register publication and 
published on http://www.grants.gov. Applicants are urged to sign up for 
Grants.gov's RSS Feed service to receive any changes to this General 
Section to HUD's FY2009 NOFAs. Information about the RSS Feed Service 
can be found at http://www07.grants.gov/help/rss.jsp. Detailed 
instructions on use of the RSS Feed can be found later in this General 
Section.
    Applicants are advised to become familiar with the requirements of 
this General Section, particularly with applicant Grants.gov 
registration requirements and submission instructions. Submission 
instructions must be adhered to in order to have a successful 
submission. Applicants are also advised to provide copies of the 
General Section to all persons that will be working on the application. 
HUD has found too often that the Program Section and the application 
are passed along, but not the General Section instructions; thus 
placing Authorized Organization Representatives (AORs) at a 
disadvantage in not having all the information needed for submission.
    HUD will continue to require that applicants submit their 
applications electronically via Grants.gov. In FY2008, HUD switched to 
Adobe Forms application packages, available on Grants.gov. The Adobe 
Forms packages take more processing power, are larger in size, and use 
more memory than the earlier packages used by Grants.gov. Applicants 
are advised to pay careful attention to the submission instructions 
contained in this notice. Failure to do so will result in difficulty in 
uploading your application and ``VirusDetect'' rejection notices. The 
Adobe Forms packages are compatible with Windows XP Windows and Windows 
Vista operating systems, Apple Macintosh computers, and Microsoft 
Office 2007. Please carefully read the instructions in this notice 
regarding use of Adobe Forms.
    To submit an application via Grants.gov, new users will be required 
to complete a five-step registration process, which can take 2 to 4 
weeks to complete. The process includes ensuring that information 
provided for the applicant organization to Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) for 
your DUNS number matches information previously provided by your 
organization and contained in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records. 
If there is a discrepancy in the information, the registration cannot 
be completed until discrepancy issues are resolved. Applicants that 
have previously completed the registration process have to renew or 
update their registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). 
The renewal/update process confirms that the registration information 
is still accurate and allows organizations to make any appropriate 
changes. During the renewal/update process, the CCR will check the D&B 
information against the IRS records for the applicant organization. If 
there are discrepancies, the renewal/update cannot be completed until 
the discrepancies are resolved. Please allow adequate time to resolve 
any registration issues. Failure to complete the renewal/update process 
in the CCR before the CCR registration expires will result in an 
applicant having to repeat the five steps of the registration process. 
If an applicant changes the eBusiness Point of Contact in the CCR 
registration, it should make sure the new eBusiness Point of Contact 
has also granted permission to the person submitting the application to 
be the AOR. To submit an eligible application to HUD, the AOR must be 
able to enter into a legally binding agreement on behalf of the 
organizational entity. Please see detailed registration instructions in 
Section IV.B. of this notice.
    HUD recommends that all prospective applicants take the time to 
carefully read the notice entitled ``Notice of Opportunity to Register 
Early and other Important Information for Electronic Application 
Submission via Grants.gov,'' published on December 5, 2008 (73 FR 
74179). This notice is also available on HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm and on http://
www.Grants.gov. HUD's Early Registration notice provides step-by-step 
instructions for applicants who must register with Grants.gov and also 
provides renewal/update instructions for those who have previously 
registered. Prospective applicants should register or update their 
registration information upon publication of this notice so you are 
prepared when the Program Section NOFAs are published. Please note that 
the Continuum of Care application is submitted through the HUD eSNAPS 
system, not Grants.gov. Submission instructions for the eSNAPs 
applications will be contained in the NOFA for the Continuum of Care 
program. Notification of the availability of the Continuum of Care NOFA 
and FY2009 application, and other information, will be released via the 
Grants.gov Web site. HUD does not maintain a mailing list with the 
exception of the Continuum of Care listserv for the Continuum of Care 
applicant community. To join the HUD homeless assistance program 
listserv, go to http://www.hud.gov/subscribe/signup.cfm?listname=Homeless%20Assistance%20Program&list=HOMELESS-ASST-L.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on HUD's 
FY2009 Policy Requirements and General Section, contact the Office of 
Departmental Grants Management and Oversight, Office of Administration, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 
3156, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone number 202-708-0667. This is 
not a toll-free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year, HUD strives to improve its 
competitive funding process. To help applicants with electronic 
application registration

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and submission, HUD is updating its Desktop User Guide for Submitting 
Electronic Grant Applications. The user guide will provide step-by-step 
details and screen shots of the entire registration and application 
submission process, including troubleshooting application submission 
errors. HUD updates the guide regularly and it will be available at 
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants.
    HUD believes that early publication of the General Section is 
beneficial to prospective applicants by providing advance notice of the 
Department's threshold requirements, strategic goals, policy 
priorities, and other requirements applicable to almost every 
individual NOFA published by the Department. The General Section is 
structured to refer the reader to the individual program NOFAs. 
Although program NOFAs are not being published at this time, the 
references are retained. Likewise, when program NOFAs are published 
they will contain references to the General Section. The General 
Section and Program Sections comprise the NOFA instructions. Forms and 
narratives are used by the applicants to address the requirements 
contained in the instructions. When the Program Sections of the FY2009 
NOFAs are published, they will be consistent with the General Section.
    HUD is always interested in improving its application processes. 
You can help HUD improve its outreach and program NOFAs by providing 
feedback on ways it can improve the NOFA process. Please note that each 
application contains a ``You Are Our Client!'' questionnaire. HUD 
requests that you respond to this survey to let the Department know 
what improvements have been beneficial and to share your ideas on where 
improvements can continue to be made. HUD carefully considers the 
comments received from its clients and strives to use the comments to 
improve each year's NOFAs and the funding process.
    This publication includes a list of programs for which NOFAs are 
anticipated to be published in FY2009, subject to the availability of 
funds. Any changes to the listing will be identified in each published 
program NOFA. Any changes to this General Section will be published as 
Technical Corrections in the Federal Register and on http://
www.Grants.gov.
    HUD hopes that the information contained in this General Section, 
and in other publications designed to assist applicants requesting 
funds via electronic application, is helpful to you, our applicants.

    Dated: December 17, 2008.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.

Overview Information

    A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban Development 
(HUD), Office of the Secretary.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Policy requirements applicable to all 
HUD Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) published during FY2009.
    C. Announcement Type: Initial announcement of the general policy 
requirements that apply to all HUD federal financial assistance NOFAs 
for FY2009.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5300-N-01.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: A CFDA 
number is provided for each HUD federal financial assistance program. 
When using ``Apply Step 1'' on the Grants.gov Web site to download an 
application, you will be asked for the CFDA number. Please refer to the 
CFDA number in the Grants.gov synopsis of the programs for which you 
wish to apply. The CFDA number is a key data element used for the 
application search feature of Grants.gov. Use only the CFDA number, the 
Funding Competition Identification Number, or the Funding Opportunity 
Number, when searching Grants.gov. Using more than one of these items 
will result in an error message indicating that the opportunity cannot 
be found.
    F. Dates: The deadline dates that apply to the federal financial 
assistance made available through HUD's FY2009 NOFAs will be found in 
the published NOFAs. Appendix A to this General Section lists the 
programs expected to be included in HUD's FY2009 NOFAs, and their 
anticipated publication time frame.
    G. Additional Overview Content Information: Unless otherwise 
stated, HUD's general policy requirements set forth in this notice 
apply to all HUD federal financial assistance made available through 
HUD's FY2009 NOFAs. These policies cover all NOFAs issued for FY2009 
funding.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    This notice describes HUD's FY2009 policy requirements applicable 
to all of HUD's NOFAs published in FY2009. Each published NOFA will 
contain a description of the specific requirements for the program for 
which funding is made available and each will refer to applicable 
policies described in this General Section. Each program NOFA will also 
describe additional procedures and requirements that apply to the 
individual program NOFA, including a description of the eligible 
applicants, eligible activities, threshold requirements, factors for 
award, variations from the General Section requirements, and any 
additional program requirements or limitations. To adequately address 
all of the application requirements for any program for which you 
intend to apply, please carefully read and respond to both this General 
Section and the individual program NOFAs.
    Authority. HUD's authority for making funding available under its 
FY2009 programs is identified in each program NOFA.

II. Award Information

    Funding Available. Each program NOFA will identify the estimated 
amount of funds available in FY2009 based on anticipated or available 
appropriations, plus any funds from previous years available for award 
in FY2009. Appendix A to this General Section lists the programs HUD 
expects to issue NOFAs for in FY2009.
    Additional program NOFAs may be published during FY2009. Any 
additional funding opportunities will be made available on http://
www.Grants.gov and the Federal Register.

III. Eligibility Information

    A. Eligible Applicants. The individual program NOFAs describe the 
eligible applicants and eligible activities for each program. 
Applicants should be aware that HUD does not directly fund individuals 
through its competitive NOFA process.
    B. Cost Sharing or Matching. The program NOFAs describe the 
applicable cost sharing, matching requirements, or leveraging 
requirements related to each program, if any. Although matching or cost 
sharing may not be required, HUD programs often encourage applicants to 
leverage grant funds with other funding to receive higher rating 
points.
    It is important to note that the following Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) circulars are applicable, and particular attention should 
be given to the provisions concerning the use of federal funds for 
matching requirements.
    OMB Circular A-102 (Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State 
and Local Governments) establishes consistency and uniformity among 
federal agencies in the management of grants and cooperative agreements 
with state, local, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. 
The circular

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provides that state and local administration of federal funds must 
include fiscal and administrative requirements that are sufficiently 
specific to ensure that funds are used in compliance with all 
applicable federal statutory and regulatory provisions, costs are 
reasonable and necessary for operating these programs, and funds are 
not to be used for general expenses required to carry out other 
responsibilities of a state or its subrecipients. HUD's implementation 
of OMB Circular A-102 is found at 24 CFR part 85.
    OMB Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants 
and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and 
Other Non-Profit Organizations) sets forth standards for obtaining 
consistency and uniformity among federal agencies in the administration 
of grants and agreements with institutions of higher education, 
hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations. This circular specifies 
the conditions for which funds may be used for cost sharing or matching 
and provides that federal funds shall not be accepted as cost sharing 
or matching, except where authorized by federal statute to be used for 
cost sharing or matching. HUD's implementation of OMB Circular A-110 is 
found at 24 CFR part 84.
    OMB Circular A-87 (2 CFR Part 225) (Cost Principles for State, 
Local, and Indian Tribal Governments) establishes principles and 
standards for determining costs for federal awards carried out through 
grants, cost reimbursement contracts, and other agreements with state 
and local governments and federally recognized Indian tribal 
governments (governmental units). This circular provides that an 
allowable cost under a federal award does not include a cost sharing or 
matching requirement of any other federal award in the applicable 
funding period, except as specifically provided by federal law or 
regulation.
    OMB Circular A-122 (2 CFR 230) (Cost Principles for Non-Profit 
Organizations) establishes principles for determining costs of grants, 
contracts, and other agreements with nonprofit organizations. This 
circular provides, similar to OMB Circular A-87, that an allowable cost 
under a federal award in the applicable funding period does not include 
a cost sharing or matching requirement of any other federally financed 
program.

    Note: Applicants for funding under HUD's FY2009 NOFA are 
reminded of the importance of confirming that any federal grant 
funds that they intend to use as a cost sharing or matching share 
are available to be used as matching funds under applicable statutes 
and regulations.

    C. Other Requirements and Procedures Applicable to All Programs. 
Except as may be modified in the individual program NOFAs, the 
requirements, procedures, and principles listed below apply to all HUD 
programs in FY2009 for which funding is announced by NOFA and published 
in the Federal Register. Please read the individual program NOFAs for 
additional requirements and information.
    1. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements. To be eligible for 
funding under HUD NOFAs issued during FY2009, applicants must meet all 
statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to the program or 
programs for which they seek funding. Applicants requiring program 
regulations may obtain them from the NOFA Information Center or through 
HUD's grants Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. See the individual program NOFAs for instructions on 
how HUD will respond to proposed activities that are ineligible.
    2. Threshold Requirements.
    a. Ineligible Applicants. HUD will not consider an application from 
an ineligible applicant.
    b. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number 
Requirement. All applicants seeking funding directly from HUD must 
obtain a DUNS number and include the number in their Application for 
Federal Assistance submission. Failure to provide a DUNS number will 
prevent an applicant from obtaining an award, regardless of whether it 
is a new award or renewal of an existing one. This policy is pursuant 
to the OMB policy issued in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003 (68 
FR 38402). HUD published its regulation implementing the DUNS number 
requirement on November 9, 2004 (69 FR 65024). A copy of the OMB 
Federal Register notice and HUD's regulation implementing the DUNS 
number can be found on HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/duns.cfm. When registering with Dun and Bradstreet, please 
be sure to use the organization's legal name that is used when filing a 
return with or making payments to the Internal Revenue Service. 
Organizations should also provide the zip code using the zip code plus 
the four additional digits. The DUNS number used in the application 
must be for the applicant organization, not the entity submitting the 
application on behalf of the applicant.
    c. Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.
    (1) With the exception of federally recognized Indian tribes and 
their instrumentalities, applicants must comply with all applicable 
fair housing and civil rights requirements in 24 CFR 5.105(a). If you 
are a federally recognized Indian tribe, you must comply with the 
nondiscrimination provisions enumerated at 24 CFR 1000.12, as 
applicable. In addition to these requirements, there may be program-
specific threshold requirements identified in the individual program 
NOFAs.
    (2) If you, the applicant:
    (a) Have been charged with an ongoing systemic violation of the 
Fair Housing Act; or
    (b) Are a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the 
Department of Justice alleging an ongoing pattern or practice of 
discrimination; or
    (c) Have received a letter of findings identifying ongoing systemic 
noncompliance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, section 
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or section 109 of the Housing 
and Community Development Act of 1974, and the charge, lawsuit, or 
letter of findings referenced in subparagraphs (a), (b), or (c) above 
has not been resolved to HUD's satisfaction before the application 
deadline, then you are ineligible and HUD will not rate and rank your 
application. HUD will determine if actions to resolve the charge, 
lawsuit, or letter of findings taken before the application deadline 
are sufficient to resolve the matter.
    Examples of actions that would normally be considered sufficient to 
resolve the matter include, but are not limited to:
    (i) A voluntary compliance agreement signed by all parties in 
response to a letter of findings;
    (ii) A HUD-approved conciliation agreement signed by all parties;
    (iii) A consent order or consent decree; or
    (iv) An issuance of a final judicial ruling or a HUD Administrative 
Law Judge's decision.
    d. Conducting Business in Accordance with Core Values and Ethical 
Standards/Code of Conduct. Applicants subject to 24 CFR parts 84 or 85 
(most nonprofit organizations and state, local, and Indian tribal 
governments or government agencies or instrumentalities that receive 
federal awards of financial assistance) are required to develop and 
maintain a written code of conduct (see 24 CFR 84.42 and 85.36(b)(3)). 
Consistent with regulations governing specific programs, your code of 
conduct must prohibit real and apparent conflicts of interest that

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may arise among officers, employees, or agents; prohibit the 
solicitation and acceptance of gifts or gratuities by your officers, 
employees, or agents for their personal benefit in excess of minimal 
value; and outline administrative and disciplinary actions available to 
remedy violations of such standards. Before entering into an agreement 
with HUD, an applicant awarded assistance under a HUD program NOFA 
announced in FY2009 will be required to submit a copy of its code of 
conduct and describe the methods it will use to ensure that all 
officers, employees, and agents of its organization are aware of its 
code of conduct. An applicant is prohibited from receiving an award of 
funds from HUD if it fails to meet this requirement for a code of 
conduct. An applicant that previously submitted an application and 
included a copy of its code of conduct will not be required to submit 
another copy if the applicant is listed on HUD's Web site http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/codeofconduct/cconduct.cfm, and if the 
information has not been revised. An applicant not listed on the Web 
site must submit a copy of its code of conduct with its FY2009 
application for assistance. An applicant must also include a copy of 
its code of conduct if the information listed on the above Web site has 
changed (e.g., the person who submitted the previous application is no 
longer the authorized organization representative, the organization has 
changed its legal name or merged with another organization, or the 
address of the organization has changed, etc.). Any applicant that 
needs to may submit its code of conduct to HUD via facsimile using the 
form HUD-96011, ``Facsimile Transmittal'' (``Third Party Documentation 
Facsimile Transmittal'' on Grants.gov) at the time of application 
submission. This form is available as part of your application package 
that was downloaded from Grants.gov. When using the facsimile 
transmittal form, please type the requested information. Use the form 
HUD-96011 as the cover page for the submission and include the 
following header in the top line of the form under Name of Document 
Being Requested: ``Code of Conduct for (insert your organization's 
name, city, and state).'' Fax the information to HUD's toll-free number 
at 800-HUD-1010. If you cannot access the 800 number or have problems, 
you may use 215-825-8798 (this is not a toll-free number). These are 
new numbers for FY2009 applications. These facsimile numbers are not 
those used for FY2008. If you use the wrong fax number, your fax will 
be entered as part of HUD's FY2008 database. HUD cannot search its 
FY2008 database to match FY2009 faxes to FY2009 applications. As a 
result, your application will be reviewed without faxed information if 
you fail to use the FY2009 fax numbers.
    Continuum of Care applicants should follow the directions in the 
Continuum of Care program NOFA for submission of Codes of Conduct.
    e. Delinquent Federal Debts. It is HUD policy, consistent with the 
purposes and intent of 31 U.S.C. 3720B and 28 U.S.C. 3201(e), that 
applicants with an outstanding federal debt will not be eligible to 
receive an award of funds from the Department unless: (1) A negotiated 
repayment schedule is established and the repayment schedule is not 
delinquent, or (2) other arrangements satisfactory to HUD are made 
prior to the award of funds by HUD. If arrangements satisfactory to HUD 
cannot be completed within 90 days of notification of selection, HUD 
will not make an award of funds to the applicant, but offer the award 
to the next eligible applicant. Applicants selected for funding, or 
awarded funds, must report to HUD changes in status of current 
agreements covering federal debt. HUD may withhold funding, terminate 
an award, or seek other remedies from a grantee if a previously agreed-
upon payment schedule has not been adhered to or a new agreement with 
the federal agency to which the debt is owed has not been signed.
    f. Pre-Award Accounting System Surveys. HUD may arrange for a pre-
award survey of the applicant's financial management system if the 
recommended applicant has no prior federal support, if HUD's program 
officials have reason to question whether the applicant's financial 
management system meets federal financial management standards, or if 
the applicant is considered a high risk based upon past performance or 
financial management findings. HUD will not disburse funds to any 
applicant that does not have a financial management system that meets 
federal standards. (Please see 24 CFR 84.21 if you are an institution 
of higher education, hospital, or other nonprofit organization. See 24 
CFR 85.20 if you are a state, local government, or federally recognized 
Indian tribe).
    g. Name Check Review. Applicants are subject to a name check review 
process. Name checks are intended to reveal matters that significantly 
reflect on the applicant's management and financial integrity, 
including if any key individual has been convicted or is presently 
facing criminal charges. If the name check reveals significant adverse 
findings that reflect on the business integrity or responsibility of 
the applicant or any key individual, HUD reserves the right to: (1) 
Deny funding, or in the case of a renewal or continuing award, consider 
suspension or termination of an award immediately for cause, (2) 
require the removal of any key individual from association with 
management or implementation of the award, and (3) make appropriate 
provisions or revisions with respect to the method of payment or 
financial reporting requirements.
    h. False Statements. A false statement in an application is grounds 
for denial or termination of an award and possible punishment, as 
provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.
    i. Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities. Applicants are subject 
to the provisions of Section 319 of Public Law 101-121 (approved 
October 23, 1989) (31 U.S.C. 1352) (the Byrd Amendment), which 
prohibits recipients of federal contracts, grants, or loans from using 
appropriated funds for lobbying the executive or legislative branches 
of the federal government in connection with a specific contract, 
grant, or loan. In addition, applicants must disclose, using Standard 
Form LLL (SF-LLL), ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' any funds, 
other than federally appropriated funds, that will be or have been used 
to influence federal employees, members of Congress, or congressional 
staff regarding specific grants or contracts. Federally recognized 
Indian tribes and tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs) 
established by federally recognized Indian tribes as a result of the 
exercise of the tribe's sovereign power are excluded from coverage of 
the Byrd Amendment, but state-recognized Indian tribes and TDHEs 
established only under state law must comply with this requirement. 
Applicants must submit the SF-LLL if they have used or intend to use 
federal funds for lobbying activities.
    j. Debarment and Suspension. In accordance with 2 CFR part 2424, no 
award of federal funds may be made to applicants that are presently 
debarred or suspended, or proposed to be debarred or suspended from 
doing business with the federal government.
    3. Other Threshold Requirements. The individual program NOFAs for 
which you are applying may specify other threshold requirements. 
Additional threshold requirements may be identified in the discussion 
of ``eligibility'' requirements in the individual program NOFAs. If a 
program NOFA requires a certification of consistency with the 
Consolidated Plan and the applicant fails to provide

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a certification, and such failure is not cured as a technical 
deficiency, HUD will not fund the application. If HUD is provided a 
signed certification indicating consistency with the area's approved 
Consolidated Plan and HUD finds that the activities are not consistent 
with the Consolidated Plan, HUD will not fund the inconsistent 
activities or will deny funding the application if a majority of the 
activities are not consistent with the approved Consolidated Plan. The 
determination not to fund an activity or to deny funding may be 
determined by a number of factors, including the number of activities 
being proposed, the impact of the elimination of the activities on the 
proposal, or the percent of the budget allocated to the proposed 
activities.
    4. Additional Nondiscrimination and Other Requirements. Applicants 
and their subrecipients must comply with:
    a. Civil Rights Laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Age Discrimination Act of 1974 
(42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act 
of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
    b. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. Under section 808(e)(5) 
of the Fair Housing Act, HUD has a statutory duty to affirmatively 
further fair housing. HUD requires the same of its funding recipients. 
If you are a successful applicant, you will have a duty to 
affirmatively further fair housing opportunities for classes protected 
under the Fair Housing Act. Protected classes include race, color, 
national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. Unless 
otherwise instructed in the individual program NOFA, your application 
must include specific steps to:
    (1) Overcome the effects of impediments to fair housing choice that 
were identified in the jurisdiction's Analysis of Impediments (AI) to 
Fair Housing Choice (See Certification requirements under 24 CFR 
91.225);
    (2) Remedy discrimination in housing; and
    (3) Promote fair housing rights and fair housing choice.
    Further, you, the applicant, have a duty to carry out the specific 
activities provided in your responses to the individual program NOFA 
rating factors that address affirmatively furthering fair housing. 
These requirements apply to all HUD programs announced via a NOFA, 
unless specifically excluded in the individual program NOFA.
    c. Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons 
(Section 3). Certain programs to be issued during FY2009 require 
recipients of assistance to comply with section 3 of the Housing and 
Urban Development Act of 1968 (Section 3), 12 U.S.C. 1701u (Economic 
Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons in Connection with 
Assisted Projects), and the HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 135. Review 
the individual program NOFAs to determine if section 3 applies to the 
program for which you are seeking funding. Section 3 requires 
recipients to ensure, to the greatest extent feasible, that training, 
employment, and other economic opportunities will be directed to low- 
and very-low income persons, particularly those who are recipients of 
government assistance for housing, and to business concerns that 
provide economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons in 
the area in which the project is located. The section 3 regulations at 
24 CFR part 135, subpart E, impose certain reporting requirements on 
recipients, including the submission of an annual report, using form 
HUD-60002 or HUD's online system at http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/section3/section3.cfm. Grantees reporting Section 3 activities in paper 
format should mail the report to: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Economic 
Development Opportunity Division, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 5232, 
Washington, DC 20410.
    The annual report is highly important to the Department in 
determining compliance with Section 3. Applicants are placed on notice 
that they are required to annually report section 3 data, as 
applicable. Failure to meet reporting requirements can result in 
sanctions such as debarment, suspension, or denial of participation in 
HUD programs (24 CFR 135.76(g)).
    d. Ensuring the Participation of Small Businesses, Small 
Disadvantaged Businesses, and Women-Owned Businesses. HUD is committed 
to ensuring that small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and 
women-owned businesses participate fully in HUD's direct contracting 
and in contracting opportunities generated by HUD financial assistance. 
Too often, these businesses still experience difficulty accessing 
information and successfully bidding on federal contracts. State, 
local, and Indian tribal governments are required by 24 CFR 85.36(e) 
and nonprofit recipients of assistance (grantees and subgrantees) by 24 
CFR 84.44(b) to take all necessary affirmative steps in contracting for 
the purchase of goods or services to assure that minority firms, women-
owned business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms are used 
whenever possible or as specified in the individual program NOFAs.
    e. Real Property Acquisition and Relocation. Except as otherwise 
provided by federal statute, HUD-assisted programs or projects are 
subject to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended (Uniform Act or URA) (42 
U.S.C. 4601), and the governmentwide implementing regulations issued by 
the U.S. Department of Transportation at 49 CFR part 24. The Uniform 
Act's protections and assistance apply to acquisitions of real property 
and displacements resulting from the acquisition, rehabilitation, or 
demolition of real property for federal or federally assisted programs 
or projects. With certain limited exceptions, real property 
acquisitions for a HUD-assisted program or project must comply with 49 
CFR part 24, subpart B. To be exempt from the URA's acquisition 
policies, real property acquisitions conducted without the threat or 
use of eminent domain, commonly referred to as ``voluntary 
acquisitions,'' must satisfy the applicable requirements of 49 CFR 
24.101(b)(1) through (5). Evidence of compliance with these 
requirements must be maintained by the recipient. The URA's relocation 
requirements remain applicable to any tenant who is displaced by an 
acquisition that meets the requirements of 49 CFR 24.101(b)(1) through 
(5).
    The relocation requirements of the Uniform Act, and its 
implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 24, cover any person who moves 
permanently from real property or moves personal property from real 
property as a direct result of acquisition, rehabilitation, or 
demolition for a program or project receiving HUD assistance. While 
there are no statutory provisions for ``temporary relocation'' under 
the URA, the URA regulations recognize that there are circumstances 
where a person will not be permanently displaced but may need to be 
moved from a project for a short period of time. Appendix A of the URA 
regulation (49 CFR 24.2(a)(9)(ii)(D)) explains that any tenant who has 
been temporarily relocated for a period beyond one year must be 
contacted by the displacing agency and offered URA relocation 
assistance. Some HUD program regulations provide additional protections 
for temporarily relocated tenants. For example, 24 CFR 583.310(f)(1) 
provides guidance on temporary relocation for the Supportive Housing 
Program for the homeless. Before planning their project, applicants

[[Page 79553]]

should review the regulations for the programs for which they are 
applying. Generally, the URA does not apply to displacements resulting 
from the demolition or disposition of public housing covered by section 
18 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
    Additional information and resources pertaining to real property 
acquisition and relocation for HUD-funded programs and projects are 
available on HUD's Real Estate Acquisition and Relocation Web site at 
http://www.hud.gov/relocation. The Web site contains applicable laws 
and regulations, policy and guidance, publications, training resources, 
and a listing of HUD contacts to answer questions or otherwise provide 
assistance.
    f. Executive Order 13166, ``Improving Access to Services for 
Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).'' Executive Order 13166 
seeks to improve access to federally assisted programs and activities 
for individuals who, as a result of national origin, are limited in 
their English proficiency. Applicants obtaining federal financial 
assistance from HUD shall take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful 
access to their programs and activities to LEP individuals. As an aid 
to recipients, HUD published Final Guidance to Federal Financial 
Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National 
Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons (LEP 
Guidance) in the Federal Register on January 22, 2007 (72 FR 2732). For 
assistance and information regarding LEP obligations, go to http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/promotingfh/lep.cfm. A link to the LEP 
Guidance can be found on that page.
    g. Executive Order 13279, ``Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-
Based and Community Organizations.'' HUD is committed to full 
implementation of Executive Order 13279. The Executive Order 
established fundamental principles and policymaking criteria to guide 
federal agencies in formulating and developing policies that have 
implications for faith-based and community organizations, to ensure the 
equal protection for these organizations in social service programs 
receiving federal financial assistance. Consistent with this order, HUD 
has reviewed all Departmental policies and regulations that have 
implications for faith-based and community organizations and has 
established a policy priority to provide full and equal access to 
grassroots faith-based and other community organizations in HUD program 
implementation. HUD revised its program regulations in 2003 and 2004 to 
remove the barriers to participation by faith-based organizations in 
HUD funding programs (68 FR 56396, September 30, 2003; 69 FR 41712, 
July 9, 2004; and 69 FR 62164, October 22, 2004). Copies of the 
regulatory changes can be found at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm.
    h. Accessible Technology. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 
(Section 508) requires HUD and other federal departments and agencies 
to ensure, when developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic 
and information technology (EIT), that the EIT allow, regardless of the 
type of medium, persons with disabilities to access and use information 
and data on a comparable basis as is made available to and used by 
persons without disabilities. Section 508's coverage includes, but is 
not limited to, computers (hardware, software, word processing, e-mail, 
and Internet sites), facsimile machines, copiers, and telephones. Among 
other things, Section 508 requires that, unless an undue burden would 
result to the federal department or agency, EIT must allow individuals 
with disabilities who are federal employees or members of the public 
seeking information or services to have access to and use of 
information and data on a comparable basis as that made available to 
employees and members of the public who are not disabled. Where an 
undue burden exists to the federal department or agency, alternative 
means may be used to allow a disabled individual use of the information 
and data. Section 508 does not require that information services be 
provided at any location other than a location at which the information 
services are generally provided. HUD encourages its funding recipients 
to adopt the goals and objectives of Section 508 by ensuring, whenever 
EIT is used, procured, or developed, that persons with disabilities 
have access to and use of the information and data made available 
through the EIT on a basis comparable as is made available to and used 
by persons without disabilities. This does not affect recipients' 
required compliance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and, 
where applicable, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Applicants and 
recipients seeking further information on accessible technology should 
go to http://www.section508.gov/.
    i. Procurement of Recovered Materials. State agencies and agencies 
of a political subdivision of a state that are using assistance under a 
HUD program NOFA for procurement, and any person contracting with such 
an agency with respect to work performed under an assisted contract, 
must comply with the requirements of section 6002 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
    In accordance with section 6002, these agencies and persons must 
procure items designated in guidelines of the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR part 247 that contain the highest percentage of 
recovered materials practicable, consistent with maintaining a 
satisfactory level of competition, where the purchase price of the item 
exceeds $10,000 or the value of the quantity acquired in the preceding 
fiscal year exceeded $10,000; must procure solid waste management 
services in a manner that maximizes energy and resource recovery; and 
must have established an affirmative procurement program for 
procurement of recovered materials identified in the EPA guidelines.
    j. Participation in HUD-Sponsored Program Evaluation. As a 
condition of the receipt of financial assistance under a HUD program 
NOFA, all successful applicants will be required to cooperate with all 
HUD staff or contractors who perform HUD-funded research or evaluation 
studies.
    k. Executive Order 13202, ``Preservation of Open Competition and 
Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor Relations 
on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects.'' Compliance 
with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 5.108 that implement Executive Order 
13202 is a condition of receipt of assistance under a HUD program NOFA.
    l. Salary Limitation for Consultants. FY2009 funds may not be used 
to pay or to provide reimbursement for payment of the salary of a 
consultant at a rate more than the equivalent of General Schedule 15, 
Step 10.
    m. OMB Circulars and Governmentwide Regulations Applicable to 
Financial Assistance Programs. Certain OMB Circulars (2 CFR 225) also 
apply to HUD program NOFAs. The policies, guidance, and requirements of 
OMB Circulars A-87 (Cost Principles Applicable to Grants, Contracts and 
Other Agreements With State and Local Governments), A-21 (Cost 
Principles for Education Institutions), A-122 (Cost Principles for Non-
Profit Organizations), A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments, and 
Non-Profit Organizations), and the regulations at 24 CFR part 84 
(Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, 
Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations), and 24 CFR part 85 
(Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements

[[Page 79554]]

to State, Local, and Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments) 
may apply to the award, acceptance, and use of assistance under the 
individual program NOFAs, and to the remedies for noncompliance, except 
when inconsistent with the provisions of HUD's Appropriations Act for 
FY2009, other federal statutes or regulations, or the provisions of 
this notice. Compliance with additional OMB circulars or governmentwide 
regulations may be specified for a particular program in the Program 
Section NOFA. Copies of the OMB circulars may be obtained from http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html, or the Executive Office of 
the President Publications, New Executive Office Building, Room 2200, 
Washington, DC 20503; telephone number 202-395-3080 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may 
access this number by dialing 800-877-8339 (toll-free TTY Federal 
Information Relay Service).
    n. Environmental Requirements. If you become a recipient under a 
HUD program that assists in physical development activities or property 
acquisition, you are generally prohibited from acquiring, 
rehabilitating, converting, demolishing, leasing, repairing, or 
constructing property, or committing or expending HUD or non-HUD funds 
for these types of program activities, until one of the following has 
occurred:
    (1) HUD has completed an environmental review in accordance with 24 
CFR part 50; or
    (2) For programs subject to 24 CFR part 58, HUD has approved a 
recipient's Request for Release of Funds (form HUD-7015.15) following a 
responsible entity's completion of an environmental review.
    You, the applicant, should consult the individual program NOFA for 
any program for which you are interested in applying to determine the 
procedures for, timing of, and any modifications or exclusions from 
environmental review under a particular program.
    o. Conflicts of Interest. If you are a consultant or expert who is 
assisting HUD in rating and ranking applicants for funding under HUD 
NOFAs published in FY2009, you are subject to 18 U.S.C. 208, the 
federal criminal conflict-of-interest statute, and the Standards of 
Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch regulation 
published at 5 CFR part 2635. As a result, if you have assisted or plan 
to assist applicants with preparing applications for NOFAs published in 
FY2009, you may not serve on a selection panel and you may not serve as 
a technical advisor to HUD. Persons involved in rating and ranking HUD 
FY2009 NOFAs, including experts and consultants, must avoid conflicts 
of interest or the appearance of such conflicts. Persons involved in 
rating and ranking applications must disclose to HUD's General Counsel 
or HUD's Ethics Law Division the following information, if applicable, 
how the selection or non-selection of any applicant under FY2009 NOFAs 
will affect the individual's financial interests, as provided in 18 
U.S.C. 208, or how the application process involves a party with whom 
the individual has a covered relationship under 5 CFR 2635.502. The 
person must disclose this information before participating in any 
matter regarding an FY2009 NOFA. If you have questions regarding these 
provisions or concerning a conflict of interest, you may call the 
Office of General Counsel, Ethics Law Division, at 202-708-3815 (this 
is not a toll-free number).
    p. Drug-Free Workplace. Applicants awarded funds from HUD are 
required to provide a drug-free workplace. Compliance with this 
requirement means that the applicant will:
    (1) Publish a statement notifying employees that it is unlawful to 
manufacture, distribute, dispense, possess, or use a controlled 
substance in the applicant's workplace and that such activities are 
prohibited. The statement must specify the actions that will be taken 
against employees for violation of this prohibition. The statement must 
also notify employees that, as a condition of employment under the 
federal award, they are required to abide by the terms of the statement 
and that each employee must agree to notify the employer in writing of 
any violation of a criminal drug statute occurring in the workplace no 
later than 5 calendar days after such violation;
    (2) Establish an ongoing drug-free awareness program to inform 
employees about:
    (a) The dangers of drug abuse in the workplace;
    (b) The applicant's policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace;
    (c) Any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, or employee 
maintenance programs; and
    (d) The penalties that may be imposed upon employees for drug abuse 
violations occurring in the workplace;
    (3) Notify the federal agency in writing within 10 calendar days 
after receiving notice from an employee of a drug abuse conviction or 
otherwise receiving actual notice of a drug abuse conviction. The 
notification must be provided in writing to HUD's Office of 
Departmental Grants Management and Oversight, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 3156, Washington DC 20410-
3000, along with the following information:
    (a) The program title and award number for each HUD award covered;
    (b) The HUD staff contact name, telephone, and fax numbers;
    (c) A grantee contact name, telephone, and fax numbers; and
    (4) Require that each employee engaged in the performance of the 
federally funded award be given a copy of the drug-free workplace 
statement required in item (1) above and notify the employee that one 
of the following actions will be taken against the employee within 30 
calendar days of receiving notice of any drug abuse conviction:
    (a) Institution of a personnel action against the employee, up to 
and including termination consistent with requirements of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; or
    (b) Imposition of a requirement that the employee participate 
satisfactorily in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program 
approved for such purposes by a federal, state, or local health, law 
enforcement, or other appropriate agency.
    q. Safeguarding Resident/Client Files. In maintaining resident and 
client files, HUD funding recipients shall observe state and local laws 
concerning the disclosure of records that pertain to individuals. 
Further, recipients are required to adopt and take reasonable measures 
to ensure that resident and client files are safeguarded. This includes 
when reviewing, printing, or copying client files.
    r. Compliance with the Federal Funding Accountability and 
Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282) (Transparency Act). 
Applicants receiving an award from HUD should be aware of the 
requirements of the Transparency Act. The Transparency Act requires the 
establishment of a central Web site that makes information available to 
the public regarding entities receiving federal financial assistance, 
by not later than January 1, 2008. In fulfillment of the requirements 
of the Act, OMB launched http://www.USAspending.gov in December 2007. 
The Web site makes information available to the public on the direct 
awards made by the federal government. The Transparency Act also 
requires, beginning not later than January 2009, that data on subawards 
be made available on the same Web site. In anticipation of the 
implementation of this requirement, HUD is placing

[[Page 79555]]

awardees of its FY2009 competitive funding on notice of these 
requirements and note that once implemented, grantees will be required 
to report their subaward data to HUD or a central federal database. The 
only exceptions to this requirement under the Transparency Act are: (1) 
Federal transactions below $25,000, (2) credit card transactions prior 
to October 1, 2008, (3) awards to entities that demonstrate to the 
Director of OMB that the gross income of such entity from all sources 
did not exceed $300,000 in the previous tax year of such entity, and 
(4) awards to individuals. Guidance for receiving an exception under 
item (3) above has not been finalized by OMB.
    HUD is responsible for placing award information for direct 
grantees on the government Web site. The reporting of subaward data is 
the responsibility of the grantee. Grantees should be aware that the 
law requires the information provided on the federal Web site to 
include the following elements related to all subaward transactions, 
except as noted above:
    (a) The name of the entity receiving the award;
    (b) The amount of the award;
    (c) Information on the award including the transaction type, 
funding agency, the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS) code or Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 
(where applicable), program source, and an award title descriptive of 
the purpose of each funding action;
    (d) The location of the entity receiving the award and primary 
location of performance under the award, including the city, state, 
congressional district, and country;
    (e) A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and of 
the parent entity of the recipient (the DUNS number), should the entity 
be owned by another entity; and
    (f) Any other relevant information specified by OMB.
    HUD expects OMB to issue further guidance on subaward reporting in 
late 2008 or early 2009. Based on preliminary input from the various 
federal agencies, applicants should be aware that consideration is 
being given to requiring the disclosure of additional data elements to 
help track the flow of funding from the original federal award. Such 
data elements under consideration include the tier at which the 
subaward was made, the federal award number issued to the direct 
awardee, the dollar amount of the federal award emanating from the 
direct award going to the subawardee, as well as the total subaward 
amount, which could include funds from other sources. Additional 
information regarding these requirements will be issued by OMB and will 
be provided when available.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Addresses To Request Application Package

    This section describes how applicants may obtain application forms 
and request technical assistance.
    1. Technical Assistance and Resources for Grants.gov Electronic 
Grant Applications.
    a. Grants.gov Customer Support. Grants.gov provides customer 
support information on its Web site at http://www.grants.gov/contactus/contactus.jsp. Applicants having difficulty accessing the application 
and instructions or having technical problems can receive customer 
support from Grants.gov by calling 800-518-GRANTS (this is a toll-free 
number) or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. The customer 
support center is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time, Monday 
through Friday, except federal holidays. The customer service 
representatives will assist applicants in accessing the information and 
addressing technology issues, including accessibility problems, in 
accordance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (See paragraph 
4(h), Accessible Technology). Applicants should ask for a Grants.gov 
call center ticket number if not provided one by the call center 
customer service representative. In case of issues, HUD relies on the 
call center ticket logs as part of the review of records.
    b. HUD Web site. The following documents and information can be 
found on HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm.
    (1) Desktop Users Guide for Submitting Electronic Grant 
Applications. HUD will publish on its Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm an update to its detailed Desktop 
Users Guide that walks applicants through the electronic process, 
beginning with finding a funding opportunity, completing the 
registration process, and downloading and submitting the electronic 
application. The guide will include helpful step-by-step instructions, 
screen shots, and tips to assist applicants in becoming familiar with 
submitting applications electronically and overcoming submission 
issues, based upon past lessons learned from working with applicants 
and the Grants.gov Project Management Office (PMO).
    (2) Connecting with Communities: A User's Guide to HUD Programs and 
the FY2009 NOFA Process Guidebook. This guidebook to HUD programs will 
be available from the HUD NOFA Information Center and at HUD's Funds 
Available Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm after the publication of the General Section and when 
appropriations have been enacted for FY2009. The guidebook provides a 
brief description of all HUD programs that have funding available in 
FY2009, identifies eligible applicants for the programs and the program 
office responsible for the administration of the program.
    (3) NOFA Webcasts. HUD provides technical assistance and training 
on its programs announced through its NOFAs. The NOFA broadcasts are 
interactive and allow potential applicants to obtain a better 
understanding of the threshold, program, and application submission 
requirements for funding. Participation in this training opportunity is 
free of charge and can be accessed via HUD's Web site. The NOFA webcast 
schedule can be found via HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/index.cfm.
    c. HUD's NOFA Information Center. Applicants that do not have 
Internet access and need to obtain a copy of a NOFA can contact HUD's 
NOFA Information Center, toll free, at 800-HUD-8929. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number, toll free, via 
TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339. 
The NOFA Information Center is open between the hours of 10 a.m. and 
6:30 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    d. HUD Staff. HUD staff will be available to provide you with 
general guidance and technical assistance about this notice or about 
individual program NOFAs. However, HUD staff is not permitted to help 
prepare your application. Following selection of applicants, but before 
announcement of awards, HUD staff is available to assist in clarifying 
or confirming information that is a prerequisite to the offer of an 
award or annual contributions contract (ACC) by HUD. If you have 
program-related questions, follow the instructions in section VII of 
the Program Section entitled ``Agency Contact(s)'' in the program NOFA 
under which you are applying. If you have difficulty in submitting your 
application, please first contact the Grants.gov Help Desk. The 
Grants.gov Help Desk can be reached by calling

[[Page 79556]]

800-518-GRANTS or e-mailing Support@Grants.gov. HUD recommends calling 
the Help Desk rather than e-mailing, because determining the basis for 
the problem may take some conversation with the Grants.gov Support 
Customer Service Representative. Grants.gov can try to assist you in 
overcoming technology obstacles, but can only provide assistance with 
24 to 48 hours advance notice so it has resources and time to diagnose 
the problems. Applicants are reminded to retain any Grants.gov Help 
Desk ticket number(s).

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

    1. Use of Adobe Forms Application Packages. In FY2009, HUD is again 
using Adobe Forms in the application packages available from 
Grants.gov. The Adobe Forms packages are compatible with the Microsoft 
Windows Vista operating system, Apple Macintosh computers, and 
Microsoft Office 2007. For more information, see the Grants.gov Web 
site at http://www.grants.gov/assets/Vista_and_office_07_Compatibility.pdf. Applicants need to pay strict attention to the 
submission instructions provided in this notice to have a successful 
submission using the Adobe Forms packages.
    2. Instructions on How to Register for Electronic Application 
Submission. Applicants must submit their applications electronically 
through Grants.gov. Before you can do so, you must complete several 
important steps to register as a submitter. The registration process 
can take approximately 2 to 4 weeks to complete. Therefore, 
registration should be done in sufficient time before you submit your 
application. To register, applicants must complete five sequential 
steps:
    a. Step One: Obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 
System (DUNS);
    b. Step Two: Register with the CCR;
    c. Step Three: Register with the Credential Provider;
    d. Step Four: Register with Grants.gov; and
    e. Step Five: Granting Approval of an AOR to Submit an Application 
on Behalf of the Organization.
    All five steps must be completed to have a valid registration and 
to be able to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov. 
Detailed explanation of each step and important information related to 
each step in the process is available in HUD's Early Registration 
notice, published December 5, 2008 (73 FR 74179). Detailed information 
is also described below.
    3. Key Terms Used as Part of the Registration Process.
    a. Applicant Organization. The applicant organization is an entity 
that is identified as the legal applicant for funding in box 8a on the 
SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, and is the organization 
that HUD will hold accountable to fulfill the requirements of the 
award, should the applicant be selected for funding. Grant writers or 
persons authorized to submit an application for funding by the 
applicant organization eBusiness Point of Contact (see definition 
below) must not enter their organization or their organization's DUNS 
number in the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. Grant writers 
who wish to submit an application on behalf of an applicant 
organization must become an AOR to submit the application. (See 
definition of Authorized Organization Representative below, and 
registration instructions for AORs later in this notice).
    b. Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). The applicant 
organization (applicant legal name on box 8a of the SF-424) E-Biz POC 
must grant permission for a person to become an AOR and submit an 
application on behalf of the applicant organization through the 
Grants.gov system. Authorizing an AOR safeguards the applicant 
organization from unauthorized individuals who may attempt to submit a 
grant application without permission. To check the AOR status, go to 
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/ApplicantLoginGetID. Then, using the 
user name and password (obtained from the Credential Provider), check 
to see if the E-Biz POC has granted approval or if the request to be an 
AOR is noted as ``Request Sent.'' If the information says ``Request 
Sent,'' the approval has not been granted. AORs are advised to contact 
the E-Biz POC to determine the basis for the lack of approval. A 
proposed AOR cannot submit the application to Grants.gov without AOR 
status noted as ``Approved.''
    c. eBusiness Point of Contact (E-Biz POC). The E-Biz POC is 
identified during the Central Contractor Registration Process (Step 2 
of the Registration Process). The E-Biz POC must grant authority for a 
person to be the AOR. An E-Biz POC may serve as an AOR as well as an E-
Biz POC. The E-Biz POC becomes the sole Grants.gov authority for the 
organization and has the capability of designating or revoking an AOR's 
ability to submit a grant application on behalf of the organization 
using the Grants.gov system.
    d. Marketing Partner ID Number (MPIN). As part of the CCR 
Registration Process, the E-Biz POC will be asked to create an MPIN. 
The MPIN is a nine character (alpha numeric) password that is used to 
access other systems and should be well guarded. For organizations 
wishing to apply for federal grants using the Grants.gov system, the 
MPIN is required for the E-Biz POC to log into the Grants.gov system 
and grant the person requesting permission to be an AOR, the permission 
to submit the grant on behalf of the applicant organization.
    e. Trading Partner Identification Number (TPIN). A TPIN is a 
password that is used to access the applicant organization's Central 
Contractor Registration (CCR) data. Organizations that become active in 
CCR are issued a TPIN (password) to access their record in order to 
make, or request, any changes or updates to their CCR registration. 
Because of the sensitivity of this data, CCR recommends that CCR 
registrants not disclose their TPIN to anyone under any circumstances.
    4. Instructions on Completing the Registration Process for New 
Applicants or Applicants Updating or Renewing Registration.
    a. The Need to Register with Grants.gov.
    HUD provides funding to organizations only. This information, 
therefore, is directed to HUD applicants that are organizational 
entities.
    Before an applicant can apply for a grant opportunity, the 
applicant must first register with Grants.gov to provide and obtain 
certain identifying information. Please note that registration is a 
multi-step process. The registration process also requires the 
applicant organization to provide information at Web sites other than 
Grants.gov. Registration protects both HUD and the applicant. 
Specifically, registration confirms that the applicant organization E-
Biz POC has designated and authorized a certain individual or entity to 
submit an application on its behalf and assures HUD that it is 
interacting with a designated representative of the applicant who has 
been authorized to submit the application.
    b. Steps to Register. HUD's NOFA process requires applicants to 
submit applications electronically through Grants.gov. Before being 
able to do so, applicants must complete several important steps to 
register or update/renew their registration to be able to submit the 
application. The registration process can take approximately 2 to 4 
weeks to complete.

[[Page 79557]]

    (1) Step One: Obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 
System (DUNS). Step One of the registration process requires an 
applicant organization to obtain a DUNS number for the organizational 
entity for which an application for federal assistance will be 
submitted. All organizations seeking funding directly from HUD must 
have a DUNS number and include the number on the form SF-424, 
Application for Federal Assistance, which is part of the application 
package. The DUNS number is also required as part of the registration 
process. If the applicant organizational entity identified in box 8a on 
the SF-424 already has a DUNS number, it must use that number. The 
number must be registered with the legal name of the organizational 
entity. Failure to provide a DUNS number or the correct DUNS number 
associated to the applicant organization legal name as entered on the 
form SF-424, box 8a and CCR can prevent you from submitting a grant 
application or obtaining an award, regardless of whether it is a new 
award or renewal of an existing one. This policy is pursuant to OMB 
policy issued in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003 (68 FR 38402). 
HUD codified the DUNS number requirement on November 9, 2004 (69 FR 
65024). A copy of the OMB Federal Register notice and HUD's regulation 
codifying the DUNS number requirement can be found at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/duns.cfm. Applicants cannot submit an 
electronic application without a DUNS number. An incorrect DUNS number 
in an application package will result in Grants.gov rejecting the 
application, because the DUNS number entered in the application will 
not be consistent with the DUNS number associated to the applicant 
legal name as entered in box 8a of the form SF-424, CCR, and Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) records. The applicant legal name and DUNS number 
used on the application must match the DUNS number and organization 
name used in the CCR. Applicants must note that information entered and 
used to obtain the DUNS number will be used to pre-populate the CCR, 
which is Step Two of the registration process. Applicants should, 
therefore, carefully review information entered when obtaining a DUNS 
number. When registering with Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), please be sure 
to use the organizational entity's legal name used when filing a return 
or making a payment to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 
Organizations should also provide the zip code using the zip code plus 
four code (Zip+4).
    Applicants can obtain a DUNS number by calling 866-705-5711 option 
4 for grant applicants. (This is a toll-free number.) Applicants in 
Alaska and Puerto Rico can call 800-234-3867. The approximate time to 
get a DUNS number is 10 to 15 minutes, and there is no charge. 
Applicants may also obtain a DUNS number by accessing the D&B Web site 
at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. The approximate time to create the 
number online is one business day. After obtaining a DUNS number, 
applicants should wait 24 to 48 hours to register with the CCR so that 
its DUNS number has time to become activated in the D&B records 
database.
    (2) Step Two: Register with the CCR. The second step of the 
registration process is registering with the CCR. The CCR is the 
primary registrant database for the federal government. An organization 
planning to submit a grant application for the first time must 
register, using its legal business name and name used with the IRS. CCR 
allows you to establish roles and user names for representatives that 
will use Grants.gov to submit electronic grant applications. Applicant 
organizations must annually update or renew their registration at 
http://www.ccr.gov, by clicking on the link entitled ``Update or Renew 
Registration.'' If you need assistance with the CCR registration 
process, you can contact the CCR Assistance Center, 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week, at 888-277-2423 or 269-961-5757. Applicants can also 
obtain assistance online at http://www.ccr.gov. A CCR Handbook that 
guides applicants through the registration process is available on the 
CCR Web site by clicking on ``Help.'' If an applicant organization 
fails to update/renew its CCR registration, the Grants.gov registration 
will lapse prohibiting the application from being accepted by 
Grants.gov due to failure to have a complete registration. 
Registration, including update/renewal, can take several weeks as CCR 
compares its records to those maintained by D&B and the IRS. The 
records of D&B, CCR, and the IRS must match. If discrepancies arise, 
Step Two cannot be completed until the discrepancies are resolved. For 
this reason, HUD urges applicants to complete the CCR registration, or 
update/renew its existing registration, immediately. Otherwise, the CCR 
check with D&B and IRS records may delay completing the registration 
process and adversely affect the ability to submit a grant application. 
The CCR registration process consists of completing a Trading Partner 
Profile (TPP), which contains general, corporate, and financial 
information about your organization. When completing the TPP, you will 
be required to identify an E-Biz POC, responsible for maintaining the 
information in the TPP and granting authorization to individuals to 
serve as AORs. An AOR is the individual who will submit the application 
through Grants.gov for the applicant organization. Applicants can check 
the CCR registration and E-Biz POC by going to http://www.ccr.gov and 
search by clicking on ``Search CCR.''
    (a) CCR Use of D&B Information. In July 2006, CCR implemented a 
policy change. Under this policy change, instead of obtaining name and 
address information directly from the registrant, CCR obtains the 
following data fields from D&B: Legal Business Name, Doing Business as 
Name (DBA), Physical Address, and Postal Code (Zip+4). Registrants will 
not be able to enter or modify these fields in CCR because they will be 
pre-populated using previously registered DUNS records data. During a 
new registration, or when updating a record, the registrant has a 
choice to accept or reject the information provided from the D&B 
records. If the registrant agrees with the D&B supplied information, 
the D&B data will be accepted into the CCR registrant record. If the 
registrant disagrees with the D&B supplied data, the registrant must go 
to the D&B Web site at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform to modify the 
information contained in D&B's records before proceeding with its CCR 
registration. Once D&B confirms the updated information, the registrant 
must revisit the CCR Web site and ``accept'' D&B's changes. Only at 
this point will the D&B data be accepted into the CCR record. This 
process can take up to 2 business days for D&B to send modified data to 
CCR, and that timeframe may be longer if data is sent from abroad.
    (b) CCR EIN/TIN Validation. To complete the CCR registration and 
qualify as a vendor eligible to bid for federal government contracts or 
apply for federal grants, the EIN/TIN and Employer/Taxpayer Name 
combination you provide in the IRS Consent Form must match exactly to 
the EIN/TIN and Employer/Taxpayer Name used in federal tax matters. It 
will take one to two business days to validate new and updated records 
prior to becoming active in CCR. Please be sure that the data items 
provided to D&B match information provided to the IRS. If the 
registration in D&B and the CCR do not match the IRS information, an 
error message will result. Until the discrepancies have been resolved, 
the registration will not be completed. HUD recommends that applicant

[[Page 79558]]

organizations carefully review their D&B and CCR registration 
information for accuracy immediately upon publication of this notice. 
If you have questions about your EIN/TIN, call 800-829-4933.
    (c) Detailed Steps for NEW applicant organizations to register with 
CCR. The following is a step-by-step guide to help an applicant 
organization register with CCR. Additional assistance is available 
online at http://www.ccr.gov. Before beginning the CCR registration 
process, organizations should designate an individual who will be 
responsible for completing the CCR registration and managing the 
information entered into CCR. The listing below identifies the steps in 
the CCR registration process.
    (i) Go to http://www.ccr.gov/. Once on the site, on the left side 
of the screen, click ``Start a New Registration.'' At the ``Start a New 
Registration'' screen, of the three choices, please select ``I am not a 
U.S. Federal Government entity.'' Click ``Continue.''

    Note: CCR registration is NOT required for individuals; however, 
HUD does not directly fund individuals through its NOFA process.

    (ii) The next screen provides review items that must be completed 
before continuing in CCR. After reviewing the information and all items 
have been completed, click ``Continue with Registration.''
    (iii) To begin registration with CCR, enter the organization 
entity's DUNS number and click ``Next.''
    (iv) At the next screen, ``New Registration,'' enter the 
organization's DUNS number. Then click ``Next.'' The next ``New 
Registration'' screen displays the DUNS number. The registrant will be 
prompted to enter the organization information, e.g., name, address, 
etc. If the information inputted does not match that contained in the 
D&B record for the DUNS number provided, the system will state: ``Try 
again by correcting your input below'' or ``Contact D&B to make a 
change to your D&B DUNS record.''
    (v) The next page of ``New Registration'' is ``Verify Your Results 
with D&B.'' Here the registrant will be asked, ``Is this information 
correct?'' After ensuring the accuracy of the information, click on 
``Accept/Continue or Cancel.''
    (vi) If you ``Accept/Continue,'' the confirmation number will be 
displayed. This is a temporary number that allows the registrant to 
save the registration as a work in progress. Print this page. A 
temporary number along with the organization DUNS number will let the 
registrant access CCR to complete the registration at a later date.
    (vii) Continuing registration from the Confirmation page, click 
``Continue.''
    (viii) ``How to Complete your Registration'' is the next page. Once 
the information has been reviewed and found correct, click 
``Continue.''
    (ix) The ``General Information'' page is the next screen. On this 
page the registrant will need to complete all the required information.
    (x) Creating a Marketing Partner ID Number (MPIN). The final step 
in creating the organization's TPP requires the registrant to create an 
MPIN. The MPIN is a self-defined nine character password that the E-Biz 
POC will need to access Grants.gov to authorize an AOR to be able to 
submit a grant application.
    (xi) Registration Notification. If the registration was submitted 
successfully, the registrant will receive two letters through the U.S. 
Mail or via email. The first welcomes the registrant to CCR and 
includes a copy of the registration. The second contains the 
confidential TPIN. Receipt of the TPIN confirms successful registration 
in CCR and serves as the registrant's confidential password to change 
CCR information.
    (d) Detailed Steps for Updating/Renewing Current Registrations.
    (i) The E-Biz POC for the organization that is identified in box 8a 
of the SF-424 should go to http://www.ccr.gov/. Once on the Web site, 
on the left side of the screen, click ``Update or Renew Registration.'' 
At the ``Update Renew or Registration'' screen, of the three choices, 
please select ``I am not a U.S. Federal Government entity.'' Click 
``Continue.''

    Note: CCR registration is NOT required for individuals. HUD does 
not directly fund individuals through its NOFA process.

    (ii) The next screen asks the E-Biz POC to enter the organization's 
DUNS number and TPIN number sent to the E-Biz POC at the time of the 
last update. Click ``Log In'' to continue.

    Note: If the E-Biz POC can't remember the TPIN, the site 
provides a link to request the TPIN.

    (iii) The next screen, ``General Information,'' displays the 
organization information. This site allows the E-Biz POC to update 
information contained in CCR. Once information has been reviewed and, 
as needed, updated, click on ``Validate/Save Data.''

    Note: The E-Biz POC will validate and save data contained within 
CCR for Corporate Information, Goods/Services, Financial, Points of 
Contact, and IRS content. Once the information has been validated 
and saved in each required section, the last screen will indicate 
``Registration Complete.''

    (e) Current Registrants without an MPIN. If you currently have an 
active registration in CCR and you do not have an MPIN, you will need 
to do the following:
    (i) Access the CCR Web site at http://www.ccr.gov. At the left 
margin, click on ``Update or Renew Registration.''
    (ii) Select ``I am not a U.S. Federal Government entity.'' Click 
``Continue.''
    (iii) Enter the organization's DUNS number and TPIN.
    (iv) On the next page, click on the link ``Points of Contact.'' 
Complete all fields for the E-Biz POC and the alternate E-Biz POC. 
Scroll down to the bottom of the Points of Contact page, and create 
your own MPIN. Once completed, click on the ``Validate/Save'' button.

    Note to Active Registrants in CCR: A TPIN is a password that is 
used to access your CCR data. Organizations that become active in 
CCR are issued a TPIN (password) to access and maintain their data. 
Because of the sensitivity of this data, CCR recommends that you do 
not disclose your TPIN to anyone under any circumstances.

    (3) Step Three: Register with the Credential Provider.
    (a) Registering with Credential Provider. To safeguard the security 
of electronic information, Grants.gov utilizes a Credential Provider to 
determine with a degree of assurance that someone is really who he or 
she claims to be. Once the organization requesting funding has 
identified who will be submitting the Application for Federal 
Assistance on their behalf, the person to submit the application must 
register with a Credential Provider to create his/her user name and 
password. The user name and password created through the credential 
provider will be registered with Grants.gov as part of the next step in 
the registration process. To register with a credential provider, the 
designated person must have the organization's DUNS number that will be 
entered in box 8a of the form SF-424, Application for Federal 
Assistance. The organization's DUNS number used must be identical to 
the DUNS number for the organization found in the CCR registration.
    Since August 30, 2007, organizations can choose from three 
federally approved credential providers available from which to choose 
their authentication services: The Agriculture Department; the Office 
of Personnel Management's Employee Express; and Operational Research 
Consultants (ORC), Inc., which also provided authentication services 
prior to August 30, 2007. Until January 11, 2009, or shortly 
thereafter, users who already hold a Grants.gov user name and password 
through ORC will not experience much change. New users

[[Page 79559]]

will be able to choose from any of the three credential providers 
available.
     To register with a credential provider, go to http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/ORCRegister. Once you have accessed the site, 
scroll down the page and enter the DUNS number, and click on 
``Register.''
     At the next screen, scroll down and select ``Get Your 
Credentials.''
     On the ``eAuthentication User Information'' screen, 
complete and submit all information.
     On the next screen, confirm your information and create 
your own user name and password. Then click ``Submit.'' If all the 
information has been entered correctly, you will receive a notice of 
Registration Success.
    (b) Provision of Credentials by Grants.gov. In January 2009, 
Grants.gov will be terminating service with the current Grants.gov 
credential provider, Operational Research Consultants (ORC). As a 
result of the change, Grants.gov will provide credentials (user name 
and passwords) to Grants.gov registrants.
    (i) New Grants.gov Registrants. After January 2009, or when 
Grants.gov begins providing credential services, when clicking on the 
``For Applicants'' link, new Grants.gov registrants will get a pop-up 
screen asking them to update their user profile. The information 
requested is similar to the information that was previously provided to 
ORC or one of the other credential providers. In addition to updating 
their user profile, registrants will be asked to enter a Secret 
Question and Secret Answer. The Secret Question and Secret Answer 
portion of the information provides for increased security for future 
inquiries about the registrants' account and allows registrants to 
reset their own password. Once created, users will be able to reset 
their password on their own. Previously, users needed to call the 
Grants.gov Help Desk to get a password or user name reset or go back to 
the credential provider to get a password they forgot.
    (ii) Existing/Legacy Registrants. Grants.gov will retain the user 
name and password for existing/legacy registrants. However, existing/
legacy registrants will have to update their profile by clicking on the 
``For Applicants'' link, update their profile, and establish a Secret 
Question and Secret Answer. The automated user name and password reset 
feature will not work if the registrant has not updated his or her 
profile and created the Secret Question and Secret Answer.
    (iii) Forgot My User Name and Forgot My Password Links. New and 
legacy applicants that updated their profile and created a Secret 
Question and Secret Answer will be able to use the ``Forgot My User 
Name'' and ``Forgot My Password'' links on the Applicant Login screen 
to have their user name and password sent to them via email. To do so, 
they will have to know their DUNS number and email address to retrieve 
and reset their user name and password.

    Note: Registration to use Grants.gov to submit a funding 
application on behalf of an organization is not complete until Steps 
Four and Five below are completed.

    (c) Steps for Checking your Credentials.
    (i) Prior to January 11, 2009, or when Grants.gov begins to offer 
credential provider services, if you want to check your credentials 
prior to submitting an application, you may go to http://e-auth.orc.com/. Once you are on the E-Authentication site, scroll down 
the page and click on the link ``Check your Credentials.'' Then enter 
your user name and password. If you enter the correct information, you 
will receive a message that states, ``You have successfully verified 
your registration.'' If you have forgotten your password, click on the 
link ``User Administration'' and select ``Forgotten Password'' located 
in the left margin. On the next screen, enter your user name and click 
``Submit.'' The next screen displays your secret question. Follow 
instructions on this screen and click ``Submit.'' Your password has 
been reset.
    (ii) After January 11, 2009, or when Grants.gov offers credential 
provider services, AORs who have updated their profile and created the 
Secret Question and Secret Answer as a Grants.gov registrant can log 
into Grants.gov and obtain or reset their registered user names and 
password, or reset their user name or password through the Grants.gov 
automated service. If an applicant organization has multiple users, 
each registered Grants.gov user will have to update his or her 
Grants.gov user profile and create a Secret Question and Secret Answer. 
Questions about the changes to the Grants.gov registration process 
should be directed to the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518-GRANTS.
    (4) Step Four: Register with Grants.gov.
    (a) Prior to January 11, 2009, or prior to when Grants.gov offers 
credential provider services, after completing Step 3, creating a user 
name and password with the credential provider, the person(s) named by 
the applicant organization to submit an application for funding on 
behalf of the organization, and which is registered with a Credential 
Provider, must open an account with Grants.gov. Opening the account 
with Grants.gov identifies the person who, as an AOR for the 
organization seeking funding, is requesting permission to submit the 
application. The final step in the registration process is when the E-
Biz POC for the applicant organization identified in Box 8a of the SF-
424, Application for Federal Assistance actually grants authorization 
to the person identified as an AOR. (See Step Five below). To register 
with Grants.gov, go to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/GrantsgovRegister.
    After the proposed AOR registers his or her user name and password 
with Grants.gov, the organization's E-Biz POC will be sent an email 
indicating that someone has requested authority to submit an 
application for the organization and has registered as an AOR.
    (b) After January 11, 2009, or when Grants.gov offers credential 
provider services, the person(s) named by the applicant organization to 
submit an application for funding on behalf of the organization must 
open an account with Grants.gov, or update their existing account. 
Opening the account with Grants.gov identifies the person as a proposed 
AOR seeking funding for the organization named in box 8a of the form 
SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, and who is requesting 
permission to submit the application. To open an account, the proposed 
AOR must complete the profile information and create a Secret Question 
and Secret Answer at Grants.gov. An existing or legacy AOR can log into 
Grants.gov using his or her user name and password, update his or her 
profile, and create a Secret Question and Secret Answer. To register 
with Grants.gov, go to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/GrantsgovRegister.
    After the proposed AOR registers his or her user name and password 
with Grants.gov, the organization's E-Biz POC will be sent an e-mail 
indicating that someone has requested authority to submit an 
application for the organization and has registered as an AOR.
    The final step in the registration process is when the E-Biz POC 
for the applicant organization identified in Box 8a of the SF-424, 
Application for Federal Assistance, actually grants authorization to 
the person identified as an AOR. (See Step Five below).
    (5) Step Five: Granting Approval of an AOR to Submit an Application 
on Behalf of the Organization. The E-Biz POC must log into the 
Grants.gov Web site and give the registered AOR

[[Page 79560]]

approval to submit an application to Grants.gov. By authorizing the AOR 
to submit on behalf of the applicant organization, the E-Biz POC is 
stating that the person has the legal authority to submit the 
electronic application on behalf of the applicant organization and can 
make a legally binding commitment for the applicant organization.
    (a) The E-Biz POC must approve the designated AOR(s). If the E-Biz 
POC does not grant authorization, Grants.gov will not accept the 
application. The E-Biz POC can designate the AOR to submit applications 
on behalf of the organization at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/AorMgrGetID. The registration is complete when an AOR has been approved 
to submit an application on behalf of the applicant organization by the 
E-Biz POC.
    HUD urges applicants to check with their E-Biz POC to make sure 
that they have been authorized to make a legally binding commitment for 
the applicant organization when submitting the application to 
Grants.gov. This is particularly important if, during the CCR 
registration renewal process, the E-Biz POC for the applicant 
organization has been changed. The new E-Biz POC will have to grant 
authorization to all AORs. You can search the CCR registration for the 
E-Biz POC by going to https://www.bpn.gov/CCRSearch/Search.aspx.
    (b) AORs can track their AOR status at any time on Grants.gov by 
going to the Applicant home page at Grants.gov. In ``Quick Links,'' log 
in as an applicant and enter your user name and password. If you have 
not been granted AOR status by the E-Biz POC, you should contact the E-
Biz POC directly.
    5. Instructions on How to Download an Application Package and 
Application Instructions.
    Please note:
    The following instructions are not applicable to Continuum of Care 
applicants because Continuum of Care applications are not submitted to 
Grants.gov. A complete explanation on how to find and apply for 
Continuum of Care grants in 2009 will be provided in the Continuum of 
Care Program NOFA. HUD does provide notification of the availability of 
the registration instructions, applications, or other information 
through the Grants.gov Web site. Grants.gov no longer offers its 
notification service. Grants.gov now offers RSS Feed Services. 
Applicants are advised to sign up for one of the RSS Feed Services, 
which will allow an applicant to be notified of new funding 
opportunities or modifications to an existing funding opportunity. 
Information on RSS Feed options can be found at http://www07.grants.gov/help/rss.jsp. Applicants familiar with this technology 
may select any feed service listed on the Grants.gov site. However, to 
assist applicants with making a selection, HUD is offering these 
suggestions for one of the most popular services:
     eMail with Microsoft Outlook Directions
     Open your Web browser and go to http://www.grants.gov.
     In the upper right corner of the screen, select RSS.
     In the middle of the page, click on the hyperlink in ``Get 
an RSS Reader.''
     From the list of categories, select Windows.
     Select blogbot for Outlook.
     Select Download. A File Download dialog box will appear.
     Select Run. (If you see a Security Warning dialog box, 
select Run.)
     Run Setup Wizard accepting the default settings.
     When the Setup Wizard is finished, open Outlook.
     Look to see if a blogbot icon is visible in the tool bar 
area of Outlook. If not:
     Select View in the menu. Then select Toolbars. Click on 
blogbot. The blogbot icon should now be visible in your toolbars.
     To subscribe to Grants.gov, direct your browser back to 
the Grants.gov RSS page.
     Right-click on the orange icon next to New/Modified 
Opportunities by Agency or New/Modified Opportunities by Category.
     Select Add to blogbot for Outlook. For each subscription 
blogbot, add a subfolder in Inbox\blogbot.
     If the add blogbot for Outlook option does not appear, 
Select the feed to which you want to subscribe and copy the URL from 
the address box.
     From the blogbot toolbar icon, select Subscriptions.
     Paste the URL from Grants.gov into the RSS/Atom URL 
textbox.
     Create a name in the Name textbox.
     Windows Environment Directions
     Direct your web browser to http://www.jetbrains.com.
     Select Downloads at the top of the page.
     Select Omea Reader.
     A File Download dialog box will appear.
     Select Run. (If you see a Security Warning dialog box, 
select Run.)
     Accept the default settings in the Setup Wizard. Note: 
Omea installation may ask to reboot your computer. Accept the choice. 
When the reboot is complete, Omea Startup Wizard should open. If the 
Startup Wizard does not start automatically, double-click on the Omea 
icon on your desktop to start it.
     Accept all defaults in the Wizard.
     When the Wizard is finished, OMEA Reader will start.
     To view messages in groups, from the View menu, select 
Show Items in Groups.
     After you have turned this option on, all items in the 
Items List will be displayed in groups and sorted according to which 
resource column is selected.
     You can group your items by any column of the Items List.
     MAC Users Directions
     Direct Safari to http://www.grants.gov.
     In the upper right corner of the screen, select RSS.
     To view announcements in Safari, simply select one of the 
feed options, e.g., New/Modified Opportunities by Agency or New/
Modified Opportunities by Category. The list of opportunities appears 
in Safari.
     In the column on the right side of the page, select 
Subscribe in Mail.
     Open Mail.
     You should now have a folder under RSS named Grants 
Modified Opportunities List.
     Filter the list by typing the Agency acronym or other term 
into the search box in the upper right corner.
    Applicants that have not signed up for the RSS Feed notification 
service can search for a funding opportunity on Grants.gov by going to 
http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp. On 
this page, you can do a basic search, browse by category, or browse by 
agency. If you are interested in HUD Grants, click on browse by agency 
and then scroll down the page until you see U.S. Department of Housing 
and Urban Development on the right column. When you click on the HUD 
agency name, you will come to a page with all the funding opportunities 
that are posted by HUD at that point in time. When you click on an 
opportunity, you will come to a page that provides a synopsis of the 
opportunity and which also identifies the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance (CFDA) Number for the Program, the Funding Opportunity 
Number and further down the page, a link to the full announcement. To 
download the application and instructions, follow the directions below, 
but first you must be sure you have Adobe Reader 8.1.3 installed. HUD's 
FY2009 applications use Adobe Reader.
    a. The Application Package and Application Instructions. The 
general process for downloading, completing,

[[Page 79561]]

submitting, and tracking grant application packages is described at 
http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. To download 
the application and instructions, go to https://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html and enter the CFDA Number, Funding Opportunity 
Number, or Funding Opportunity Competition ID for the application that 
you are interested in. If you enter more than one criterion, you will 
not find the instructions. You will then come to a page where you will 
find the funding opportunity Download Application & Instructions link. 
Before you can view and complete an application package, you must have 
a compatible Adobe Reader installed. Grants.gov is currently using 
Adobe Reader versions 8.1.2, 8.1.3, and 9.0. While the Grants.gov 
system supports all three versions of Adobe Reader, HUD applicants are 
advised they must download Adobe Reader 8.1.3 available from the 
Grants.gov Web site. HUD has been advised by Grants.gov that Adobe 
Reader 8.1.3 addresses the broken pipe error message and operates 
better than older versions of the reader, and the newer software 
results in faster uploads. Older versions, including Adobe Reader 9.0, 
do not solve the broken pipe issue. When Adobe Reader 9.1 is issued, it 
will address the broken pipe issue. To obtain Adobe 8.1.3 and check for 
compatibility with your system, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html. At that site you can identify the 
software you have installed on your computer and follow the 
instructions for downloading the software compatible with your computer 
and associated to the instructions in this General Section for using 
Adobe Reader Version 8.1.3.
    b. To check which version of Adobe Acrobat you are using, go to the 
Help menu in Adobe Acrobat and then select ``About Acrobat.'' A text 
box will appear containing an Adobe logo with a number. Under that 
information, you will see another number; this is the version number of 
your software (e.g., 8.1.1, 8.1.2, or 8.1.3). If you do not have the 
correct version of Adobe Reader, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html. System requirements for Adobe 
Reader 8.1.3 are listed as follows:
    6. Adobe Reader 8.1.3 System Requirements.
     Windows
     Intel Pentium[supreg] III or equivalent processor
     Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4; Windows Server 
2003; Windows XP Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition with 
Service Pack 2 or 3; Windows Vista with or without Service Pack 1.
     128MB of RAM (256MB recommended for complex forms or large 
documents).
     170MB of available hard-disk space.
     Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or 7.0, Firefox 1.5 or 
2.0, Mozilla 1.7, AOL 9.
     Macintosh
     PowerPC G3, G4, G5, or Intel processor.
     Mac OS X v10.4.11-10.5.5.
     128MB of RAM (256MB recommended for complex forms or large 
documents).
     170MB of available hard-disk space.
     Safari 2.0.2.
     Linux
     32-bit Intel Pentium processor or equivalent.
     LSB (Linux Standard Base) 3.1 compliant systems including 
Red Hat[supreg] Linux WS 5, SUSE[supreg] Linux Enterprise Desktop 
(SLED) 10, and Ubuntu 6.10.
     GNOME or KDE Desktop Environment.
     512MB of RAM (1GB recommended).
     125MB of available hard-disk space (additional 75MB 
required for all supported font packs).
     GTK+ (GIMP Toolkit) user interface library, version 2.6 or 
later.
     Firefox 1.5 or later, Mozilla 1.7.3 or later.
     Solaris
     UltraSPARC[supreg] or UltraSPARC IIIi[supreg] processor.
     Solaris 9 or 10.
     GNOME or KDE Desktop Environment (GNOME only for Solaris 
10).
     512MB of RAM (1GB recommended).
     175MB of available hard-disk space (additional 75MB 
required for all supported font packs).
     GNU C library (glibc) version 2.3 or later.
     GTK+ (GIMP Toolkit) user interface library, version 2.6 or 
later (on Solaris 10; also works with GTK 2.4.9).
     Firefox 1.5 or later, Mozilla 1.7.3 or later.
     OpenGL library.
     OpenSSL 0.9.7, OpenLDAP, and CUPS libraries.
     libstdc++ library.
    a. You can use Adobe Reader 8.1.3 with Adobe Professional 6.0 or 
newer, provided you have updated the default setting on the copy of 
Adobe Professional on your computer so the Adobe Reader default setting 
matches Adobe Reader 8.1.3, which you have just downloaded from the 
Grants.gov Web site and installed on your computer.
    b. Grants.gov has posted instructions in Frequently Asked Questions 
at http://grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp. Applicants should 
review these FAQs as it will assist them in making sure that they are 
properly set up to successfully submit an application. Applicants need 
to make sure that the default setting on their Adobe Reader is set to 
the new 8.1.3 version of Adobe Reader software downloaded from 
Grants.gov. Adobe Reader 8.1.3 is compatible with Adobe Professional 
6.0 or higher. Applicants that need assistance can contact the 
Grants.gov Contact Center by phone at 1-800-518-GRANTS or via e-mail at 
[email protected].
    Critical Notice: Applicants must be aware that all persons working 
on Adobe Forms in the application package must work using the same 
Adobe Reader version available from Grants.gov. Please alert your staff 
and those working on your application that failure to download and use 
the correct Adobe Reader 8.1.3 or to update the Reader on Adobe 
Professional to 8.1.3 and meet the Grants.gov compatibility 
requirements contained in this General Section will result in your not 
being able to create or submit the application package to Grants.gov or 
your application being rejected by Grants.gov. Using incompatible 
versions of Adobe Reader will result in files being corrupted.
    Next, download the application instructions by clicking on the 
Download Instructions link. The Instructions contain the General and 
Program Sections for the funding opportunity, as well as forms that are 
not part of the application download but are included as elements of a 
complete package, as specified in the published NOFA. After you have 
installed Adobe Reader 8.1.3, you can now download the application by 
clicking on the Download Application link. Both the instructions and 
application should be saved on your computer. You do not need to be 
registered to download the instructions or complete the application; 
however, once you have downloaded the application and intend to submit 
an application, you must save it on your computer or local network 
drive.
    Each program NOFA also includes a checklist. Please review the 
checklist in the Program Section to ensure that your application 
contains all the required materials.
    c. Electronic Grant Application Forms.
    (1) Forms contained in the Instructions download are available in 
Microsoft Office Word 2003 (.doc),

[[Page 79562]]

Microsoft Office Excel 2003 (.xls), or Adobe (.pdf) formats. The .pdf 
files are only fillable forms and cannot be saved locally, unless you 
have Adobe Professional software version 6.0 or higher.
    (2) To open the Application download, you must first install Adobe 
Reader 8.1.3. During the download process, the application 
automatically opens. If you have a version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe 
Acrobat reader version 8.0 or older, the application will not open, and 
you will get an error message telling you to first install the correct 
version of the software. If you get an error message, follow the 
instructions in paragraph IV.B.5., Instructions on How to Download an 
Application Package and Application Instructions. The Application 
download will contain a cover page entitled ``Grant Application 
Package.'' The cover page provides information regarding the 
application package you have chosen to download, i.e., Opportunity 
Title, Agency Name, CFDA Number, etc. Review this information to ensure 
that you have selected the correct application. The Grant Application 
cover page separates the required forms into two categories: 
``Mandatory Documents'' and ``Optional Documents.'' To complete a form 
from either the ``Mandatory Documents'' or Optional Documents,'' you 
must first highlight and move the form over to the ``Submission'' box 
and then open the form.
    (3) Please note that regardless of the box in which the forms are 
listed, the published General Section and Program Section NOFA (and any 
technical corrections) in the Federal Register documents are the 
official documents HUD uses to solicit applications. Therefore, 
applicants should follow the instructions provided in the General 
Section and Program Sections of the Instructions download. The 
individual NOFA sections will also identify the forms that may be 
applicable and that need to be submitted with the application.
    (4) Because you will be adding additional attachment files to the 
downloaded application, applicants should save the application to their 
local computer or network drive. Do not download the application or 
attempt to upload the application using a USB flash drive (also called 
a ``key drive,'' ``thumb,'' or ``jump drive''), because Grants.gov has 
found that applicants have problems uploading applications and 
attachments from a USB flash drive. Be sure to read and follow the 
application submission requirements published in each individual NOFA 
for which you are submitting an application. Each program NOFA will 
identify all the required forms and other required information for 
submission.
    (5) HUD's standard forms are identified below:
    (a) Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424);
    (b) Faith-Based EEO Survey (SF-424 Supplement, Survey on Ensuring 
Equal Opportunities for Applicants), if applicable;
    (c) HUD Detailed Budget (HUD-424-CB, Grant Application Detailed 
Budget);
    (d) Grant Application Detailed Budget Worksheet (HUD-424-CBW);
    (e) Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL), if applicable;
    (f) HUD Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report (HUD-2880, Applicant/
Recipient Disclosure/Update Report);
    (g) Certification of Consistency with RC/EZ/EC-II Strategic Plan 
(HUD-2990), if applicable;
    (h) Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan (HUD-
2991), if applicable;
    (i) Acknowledgment of Application Receipt (HUD-2993);
    (j) You Are Our Client Grant Applicant Survey! (HUD 2994-A) 
(Optional);
    (k) Program Outcome Logic Model (HUD-96010);
    (l) HUD Race Ethnic Form (HUD-27061), if applicable; and
    (m) HUD Facsimile Transmittal (HUD-96011, Third Party Documentation 
Facsimile Transmittal).
    All HUD ``program-specific'' forms not available at the Application 
download will be available in the Instructions download in Microsoft 
Word Office 2003 (.doc), Microsoft Excel Office 2003 (.xls), or Adobe 
(.pdf) format, compatible with Adobe Reader 8.1.3. The PDF forms are 
fillable but not savable, unless you have Adobe Professional 6.0 or 
higher. Applicants may use the HUD-96011, ``Third Party Documentation 
Facsimile Transmittal'' (``HUD Facsimile Transmittal'' on Grants.gov) 
form and fax to HUD any forms they have completed but cannot save.
    7. Instructions on How to Complete the Selected Grant Application 
Package.
    a. Ensure You Have the Correct Application Downloaded. Applicants 
must check the application to ensure that the application they have 
downloaded matches the CFDA Number, Funding Opportunity Number, and 
Competition ID for the funding opportunity under which the applicant is 
requesting funds. In FY2009, if HUD receives an application submitted 
under the wrong application package, HUD will rate the application 
under the funding competition ID on the SF-424 for the submitted 
application. Please pay careful attention to which application you 
submit. The CFDA number, Funding Opportunity Number, and Competition ID 
are located on the front page of the downloaded application. If you 
download the wrong application, and it is prior to the deadline date, 
simply go back to Grants.gov and obtain the correct application and 
resubmit.
    b. Mandatory Fields on Application Download Forms. Forms in the 
Application download contain fields with a yellow background. These 
data fields are mandatory and must be completed. Failure to complete 
the fields will result in an error message when checking the package 
for errors.
    c. Completion of SF-424 Fields First. The forms in the application 
package are designed to automatically populate common data such as the 
applicant name and address, DUNS number, etc. In order to trigger this 
function, the SF-424 must be completed first. Once applicants complete 
the SF-424, the entered information will transfer to the other forms.
    d. Submission of Narrative Statements, Third-Party Letters, 
Certifications, and Program-Specific Forms. In addition to program-
specific forms, many of the NOFAs require the submission of other 
documentation, such as third-party letters, certifications, or program 
narrative statements. This section discusses how you should submit this 
additional information electronically as part of your application:
    (1) Narrative Statements to the Factors for Award. If you are 
required to submit narrative statements, you must submit them as an 
electronic file in Microsoft Word Office 2007 (or earlier) (.doc), 
Microsoft Excel 2007 (or earlier) (.xls), or in Adobe (.pdf) format 
that is compatible with Adobe Reader 8.1.3. If HUD receives a file in a 
format or software other than those specified or that is not compatible 
with HUD software, HUD will not be able to read the file, and it will 
not be reviewed. Each response to a Factor for Award should be clearly 
identified and can be incorporated into a single attachment or all 
attachments can be zipped together into a single attached ZIP file. 
However, HUD advises applicants that files zipped within zipped files 
cause problems and can result in the application attachments not able 
to be opened or read. Applicants should develop files, then zip the 
files together, and then place them as an attachment to the 
application. If you have any

[[Page 79563]]

questions, you can contact the NOFA Information Center or the HUD 
program contact listed in the program NOFA. Documents that applicants 
possess in electronic format, e.g., narratives they have written, must 
be submitted as Microsoft documents; graphic images (such as computer 
aided design (CAD) files from an architect) must be saved in PDF 
format. The documents must be compatible with Adobe Reader 8.1.3 and 
attached using the ``Attachments'' form included in the application 
package downloaded from Grants.gov. In addition, some NOFAs may request 
photographs. If this is the case, then the photographs should be saved 
in .jpg or .jpeg format and attached using the ``Attachments'' form. 
When creating attachments to your application, please follow these 
rules:
    (a) Do not attach a copy of the electronic application with your 
attachments as an attachment file. HUD cannot open such files when the 
application is attached as an attachment file.
    (b) Check the attachment file and make sure it has a file extension 
of .doc, .pdf, .xls, .jpg, or .jpeg or, if you save files in Microsoft 
Office 2007, the file extensions should be as follows:

Word 2007 File Type Extension

     docx--Word 2007 XML Document

Excel 2007 File Type Extension

     xlsx--Excel 2007 XML Workbook

PowerPoint 2007 File Extension Type

     pptx--PowerPoint 2007
    (c) Make sure that file extensions are not in upper case. File 
extensions must be lower case for the file to be opened. The software 
will automatically insert the correct file extension when saved.
    (d) Do not adjust file extensions to try to make them conform to 
HUD standards. If you have problems, please contact the HUD contact 
listed in the NOFA.
    (e) Do not use special characters (i.e., , %, /, etc.) in 
a file name.
    (f) Do not include spaces in the file name.
    (g) Limit file names to not more than 50 characters. HUD recommends 
that file names be no more than 32 characters.
    (h) Do not convert Word files or Excel files into PDF format. 
Converting to PDF format increases file size and will make it more 
difficult to upload the application and does not allow HUD to enter 
data from the Excel files into a database.
    (i) Do not submit applications larger than 150 megabytes. These 
file sizes are difficult to upload and HUD cannot guarantee that they 
can be processed, as its system has not been tested with files larger 
than 150 megabytes.
    Failure to follow the directions for items (e), (f), and (g) will 
result in your application being rejected with a ``VirusDetect'' error 
message.
    (2) ZIP Files. In order to reduce the size of attachments, 
applicants can compress several files using a ZIP utility. Applicants 
can then attach the zipped file as described above. HUD's standard zip 
utility is WinZip. Files compressed with the WinZip utility must use 
either the ``Normal'' option or ``Maximum (portable)'' option available 
to ensure that HUD is able to open the file. Files received using 
compression methods other than ``Normal'' or ``Maximum (portable)'' 
cannot be opened and will not be reviewed. Applicants should be aware 
that if HUD receives files compressed using another utility, or not in 
accord with these directions, it cannot open the files and, therefore, 
such files will not be reviewed.
    (3) Third-Party Letters, Certifications Requiring Signatures, and 
Other Documentation. Applicants required to submit third-party 
documentation (e.g., establishing matching or leveraged funds, 
documentation of 501(c)(3) status or incorporation papers, documents 
that support the need for the program, Memorandums of Understanding 
(MOUs), or program-required documentation that supports your 
organization's claims regarding work that has been done to remove 
regulatory barriers to affordable housing) can choose from the 
following two options as a way to provide HUD with the documentation:
    (a) Scanning Documents to Create Electronic Files. Scanning 
documents increases the size of files. If your computer has the memory 
and capacity to upload scanned documents, submit your documents with 
the application by using the Attachments form in the Mandatory or 
Optional Forms section of the application. If your computer does not 
have the memory to upload scanned documents, you should submit them via 
fax, as described below. Electronic files must be labeled so that the 
recipient at HUD will know what the file contains. Program NOFAs will 
indicate any naming conventions that applicants must use when 
submitting files using the Attachments form. Please note that if you do 
not follow the file name limit of not more than 50 characters, and the 
prohibition of using spaces and special characters in the file name, 
the Grants.gov system will treat these files as though they had a virus 
and the application will be rejected with a ``VirusDetect'' error 
message. If an applicant received a ``VirusDetect'' error message and 
the package has been checked for viruses, applicants should check their 
attachment file names for length, delete any spaces, and delete any 
special characters. HUD also recommends that file names be no more than 
32 characters. Once the deficiencies have been addressed, applicants 
should save the application file, and the newly renamed attachments, 
and close the application down. Remove any cookies, reboot your 
computer, and then submit the application. Grants.gov advises 
submitting the application from Internet Explorer.
    (b) Faxing Required Documentation. Applicants may fax the required 
documentation as program-specific forms to HUD. Applicants should use 
this method only when documents cannot be attached to the electronic 
application package as a .pdf, .doc, .xls, .jpeg, or .jpg, or when the 
size of the submission is too large to upload from the applicant's 
computer. If an applicant is trying to submit the application including 
scanned documents, and the application does not upload quickly to 
Grants.gov, HUD advises the applicant to either reconvert the scanned 
documents back to Microsoft Word or Excel files or send the attachments 
in using the fax methodology, because size of the scanned attachment 
files may be exceeding the capacity of your computer or your internet 
server to process the files and obtain a successful upload to 
Grants.gov.
    HUD will not accept entire applications by fax and will disqualify 
applications submitted entirely in that manner.
    (i) Fax form HUD-96011, ``Third Party Documentation Facsimile 
Transmittal'' (HUD Facsimile Transmittal on Grants.gov). Facsimiles 
submitted in response to a NOFA must use the form HUD-96011. The 
facsimile transmittal form, found in the downloaded application, 
contains a unique identifier that allows HUD to match an applicant's 
submitted application via Grants.gov with faxes coming from a variety 
of sources. Each time the application package is downloaded, the forms 
in the package are given a unique ID number. To ensure that all the 
forms in your package contain the same unique ID number, after 
downloading your application, complete the SF-424, save the forms to 
your hard drive, and use the saved forms to create your application. 
When you have downloaded your application package from Grants.gov, be 
sure to first complete the SF-424, and then provide

[[Page 79564]]

copies of the form HUD-96011 to third parties that will submit 
information in support of your application. Do not download the same 
application package from Grants.gov more than once, because if your 
application submission does not match the unique identifier on the 
facsimile transmittal form, HUD will not be able to match the faxes 
received to your application submission. Faxes that cannot be matched 
to an application will not be considered in the review process.
    If you have to provide a copy of the form HUD-96011 to another 
party that will be responsible for faxing an item as part of your 
application, make a copy of the facsimile transmittal cover page from 
your downloaded application and provide that copy to the third party 
for use with the fax transmission. Please instruct third parties to use 
the form HUD-96011 that you have provided as a cover page when they 
submit information supporting your application using the facsimile 
method, because it contains the embedded ID number that is unique to 
your application submission.
    (ii) Use Form HUD-96011 as the Fax Cover Page. For HUD to correctly 
match a fax to a particular application, the applicant must use, and 
require third parties that fax documentation on its behalf to use, the 
form HUD-96011 as the cover page of the facsimile. Using the form HUD-
96011 will ensure that HUD can electronically read faxes submitted by 
and on behalf of an applicant and can match them to the applicant's 
application package received via Grants.gov.
    Failure to use the form HUD-96011 as the cover page will create a 
problem in electronically matching your faxes to the application. If 
HUD is unable to match the faxes electronically due to an applicant's 
failure to follow these directions, HUD will not hand-match faxes to 
applications and will not consider the faxed information in rating the 
application. If your facsimile machine automatically creates a cover 
page, turn this feature off before faxing information to HUD.
    (iii) HUD Fax Number. Applicants and third parties submitting 
information on their behalf must use the form HUD-96011 facsimile 
transmittal cover page and must send the information to the following 
toll-free fax number: 800-HUD-1010. If you cannot access the toll-free 
800 number or experience problems, you may use 215-825-8798 (this is 
not a toll-free number). These are new numbers for FY2009 applications 
only. If you use the wrong fax number, your fax will be entered as part 
of HUD's FY2008 database. HUD cannot search its FY2008 database to 
match FY2009 faxes to FY2009 applications. As a result, your 
application will be reviewed without faxed information if you fail to 
use the FY2009 fax numbers.
    (iv) Fax Individual Documents as Separate Transmissions. It is 
highly recommended that applicants fax individual documents as separate 
submissions to avoid fax transmission problems. When faxing two or more 
documents to HUD, applicants must use the form HUD-96011 as the cover 
page for each document (e.g., Letter of Matching or Leveraging Funds, 
Memorandum of Understanding, Certification of Consistency with the 
Consolidated Plan, etc.). Please be aware that faxing large documents 
at one time may result in transmission failures.
    (v) Check Accuracy of Fax Transmission. Be sure to check the record 
of your transmission issued by the fax machine to ensure that your fax 
submission was completed ``OK.'' For large or long documents, HUD 
suggests that you divide them into smaller sections for faxing 
purposes. Each time you fax a document that you have divided into 
smaller sections, you should indicate on the cover sheet what part of 
the overall section you are submitting (e.g., ``part 1 of 4 parts'' or 
``pages 1 to 10 of 20 pages'').
    Your facsimile machine should provide you with a record of whether 
HUD received your transmission. If you get a negative response or a 
transmission error, you should resubmit the document until you confirm 
that HUD has received your transmission. HUD will not acknowledge that 
it received a fax successfully. When receiving a fax electronically, 
HUD will electronically read it with an optical character reader and 
attach it to the application submitted through Grants.gov. Applicants 
and third parties submitting information on their behalf may submit 
information by facsimile at any time before the application deadline 
date. Applicants must ensure that the form HUD-96011 used to fax 
information is part of the application package downloaded from 
Grants.gov. As stated previously, if your facsimile machine 
automatically generates a cover page, you must ensure that you turn 
that feature off and use the form HUD-96011 as the cover page. Also 
ensure that the fax is transmitted to fit 8\1/2\ x 
11 letter-size paper.
    (vi) Preview Your Fax Transmission. HUD recommends that you 
``preview'' how your fax will be transmitted by using the copy feature 
on your facsimile machine to make a copy of the first two or three 
pages. This way, you will see what HUD will receive as a fax. If the 
fax is not clear or cuts off at the bottom of the page, applicants 
should use a different facsimile machine or have the machine adjusted. 
All faxed materials must be received no later than 11:59:59 p.m. 
eastern time on the application deadline date. HUD will store the 
information and match it to the electronic application when HUD 
receives it from Grants.gov. If you are not faxing any documents, you 
must still complete the facsimile transmittal form. In the section of 
the form titled ``Name of Document Transmitting,'' enter the words 
``Nothing Faxed with this Application.'' Complete the remaining 
highlighted fields and enter the number ``0'' in the section of the 
form titled ``How many pages (including cover) are being faxed?''
    (vii) If You Resubmit an Application. Please be aware that a 
resubmitted application must meet the timely receipt requirements of 
this notice.
    8. Steps To Take Before You Submit Your Application. Approximately 
one week before submitting an application, each applicant should 
configure its proxy and cache servers to ensure transmission of its 
application to Grants.gov. Grants.gov uses HTTP post protocols on port 
80 (your technical support will be able to assist). Prior to 
submitting, applicants should review the application package and all 
the attachments to make sure the application contains all the documents 
the applicant wants to submit. If it does, save it to your computer and 
remove previously saved versions. Check your AOR status on Grants.gov 
to make sure your eBusiness POC has authorized you to submit an 
application on behalf of the applicant organization. Run the Check 
Package for Errors feature on the application package and correct any 
problems identified. Contact any persons or entities that were to 
submit third-party faxes to make sure that the faxes have been 
submitted using the facsimile cover page that you provided in 
accordance with instructions in this General Section. Check your e-mail 
system to ensure that it allows receipt of messages from 
[email protected]. Microsoft Outlook users can set their e-mail to 
receive messages from [email protected] going to their e-mail Inbox, 
clicking on ``Actions'' and selecting ``Junk E-mail'', and then 
selecting ``Junk E-mail Options.'' A dialog box will come up. Click 
``OK.'' Another dialog box will appear and select the ``Safe Senders'' 
folder. Then add @grants.gov to the list of acceptable e-mail domains. 
Click ``OK.'' Applicants not using Microsoft Outlook should check with 
their software provider or IT staff to get directions on how to allow

[[Page 79565]]

e-mail from Grants.gov to come into your Inbox. This is critical as 
notices of receipt, validation, or rejection are sent by e-mail. 
Grants.gov sends the e-mail notification to the e-mail address 
registered during the registration process. The e-mail from Grants.gov 
does not go to the contact name listed on the SF-424 Application for 
Federal Assistance, but to the person designated in the registration at 
Grants.gov. Also check your Trust Manager to ensure that it will allow 
files to go to all sites. To enable Trust Manager, follow the steps 
below:
    a. Click on Edit;
    b. Then click on Preferences;
    c. Then click Trust Manager in the left-hand pane;
    d. Click on Change Settings on the ensuing window;
    e. Select allow all sites listed toward the top of the page;
    f. Click on OK;
    g. Click on JavaScript on the left-hand side of the screen;
    h. Make sure everything is checked here except for things under the 
Debugger heading (do not change);
    i. Click on OK until you get out of the preferences windows;
    j. When this has been done, you can try submitting your 
application. Click ``Allow'' on the pop-up window.

C. Receipt Dates and Times

    Please note: Applicants under the Continuum of Care program 
should follow the directions for application submission and timely 
receipt that are contained in the Continuum of Care program NOFA. 
The instructions below apply only to applicants submitting 
applications via the federal portal http://www.Grants.gov.

    1. The application deadline for receipt of HUD applications via 
Grants.gov is 11:59:59 p.m. on the date identified in the published 
program NOFA. As a result, applications must be received by Grants.gov 
by the deadline in order to meet the program NOFA deadline. Received 
means that the application has been successfully uploaded to the 
Grants.gov server and the applicant has received confirmation of 
successful submission to Grants.gov. Applicants should be aware that 
hitting the ``sign and submit'' button to transmit the application does 
not mean the application has been successfully uploaded to Grants.gov. 
Only when the upload is complete is the application date and time 
stamped by the Grants.gov system. An application that has been rejected 
by Grants.gov is not deemed to have been received by Grants.gov. 
(Please see Section D.1. below for a detailed explanation of Timely 
Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Receipt.) As in the past, HUD 
encourages applicants to submit their applications early and with 
sufficient time to address any issues that might affect the applicant's 
ability to have an application successfully uploaded and received by 
Grants.gov.
    In FY 2009, HUD is establishing a one-day grace period from the 
date of notification of a rejection from Grants.gov, to allow 
applicants that successfully upload an application to Grants.gov prior 
to the deadline date and time, but receive a rejection notice after the 
deadline date and time, to cure the reason for rejection and re-upload 
the application to Grants.gov. The paragraphs below describe HUD's 
Grace Period Policy for FY2009.
    a. Applicants that have successfully uploaded their application to 
Grants.gov prior to the deadline, and subsequently receive a rejection 
notice from Grants.gov after the deadline date and time, will have a 
one-day grace period from the date stamp on the first Grants.gov 
rejection notice after the deadline, to cure the basis for the 
rejection and upload an application that corrects the problems cited in 
the rejection notice. Applicants can upload the application as many 
times as needed to cure noted deficiencies within the one-day grace 
period. The Grants.gov rejection notice identifies the reasons why the 
application was rejected. Applicants that do not understand the error 
messages received in the rejection notice should immediately contact 
the Grants.gov Help Desk so they can get assistance in clearing the 
problem. Generally, Grants.gov will reject an application because it 
contains an incorrect DUNS number or a DUNS number that does not match 
the AOR's registration, the application was submitted by an individual 
without proper authorization as the AOR, and/or the application 
contains file names that trigger a ``VirusDetect'' message. The grace 
period ends one day after the date stamp on the first rejection notice 
received after the deadline date.
    Warning: Applications that contain file names which are longer than 
50 characters (HUD recommends using file names with 32 characters or 
less), or contain spaces or special characters, will result in the file 
being detected as a virus by the Grants.gov system and the application 
will be rejected with a ``VirusDetect'' message. In FY2008, the use of 
spaces and special characters in file names, and the use of file names 
which were longer than fifty characters, resulted in the most instances 
of an applicant receiving a ``VirusDetect'' rejection. Applicants 
should also scan files for viruses because the Grants.gov system will 
also reject files with viruses.
    Applications received by Grants.gov, including those received 
during the grace period, must be validated by Grants.gov to be rated or 
ranked or receive funding consideration by HUD. HUD will use the date 
and time stamp on the Grants.gov system to determine dates when the 
grace period begins and ends.
    b. Applications uploaded to Grants.gov after the deadline date 
under the following circumstances do not qualify for the grace period 
and will not be considered for funding:
    (1) Applications uploaded and received by Grants.gov after the 
deadline date and time for which there is no prior rejection notice in 
the Grants.gov system logs will be considered late and will not be 
rated and ranked or receive funding consideration. Failure to 
successfully upload the application to Grants.gov by the deadline date 
and time does not qualify for the grace period as described above.
    (2) Applications receiving a rejection notice due to the funding 
opportunity being closed will not be provided the one day grace period 
to correct the ``opportunity closed'' deficiency or any other basis for 
rejection because the applicant missed the deadline date and time and 
therefore does not qualify for the grace period as described above.
    (3) If an application is uploaded during the grace period and is 
subsequently rejected after the grace period ends, the applicant will 
not be afforded additional time to correct the deficiency(ies) noted in 
the rejection notice.
    c. The grace period ends at 11:59:59 p.m. one day from the date 
stamp on the first rejection notice issued by the Grants.gov system to 
the e-mail address provided in the Grants.gov registration. Applicants 
must ensure that their e-mail notification address contained in the 
Grants.gov registration is up-to-date. Neither HUD nor Grants.gov will 
be responsible if e-mail messages are not received at the address 
listed in the registration process. Applicants must also ensure that 
their e-mail systems will accept messages from Grants.gov. Applicants 
are responsible for monitoring their e-mail messages. Messages from 
Grants.gov come from [email protected].
    d. The only exceptions to HUD's grace period policy are:
    (1) The Grants.gov system is down and not available to applicants 
for at least 24 hours prior to the deadline date, or the system is down 
for 24 hours or longer, impacting the ability of

[[Page 79566]]

applicants to cure a submission deficiency within the grace period; 
and/or
    (2) There is a presidentially declared disaster in the applicant's 
area. In the event of either or both of these events, HUD will publish 
a notice extending the deadline or cure period, for applicants 
affected, as appropriate.
    e. Busy servers or slow processing are not the basis for HUD to 
extend the deadline dates or the grace period.
    Applicants are advised to monitor the Grants.gov system using the 
Grants.gov blog at http://grants-gov.blogspot.com/. The Grants.gov blog 
provides information on server capacity, traffic on the Grants.gov 
site, and other federal grant closings each day. Applicants should 
monitor the site and take into account the amount of traffic on the 
site when applying.
    2. An applicant will not be provided additional opportunities to 
correct rejection errors if an application is rejected after the one-
day grace period has expired.
    As with any electronic system, applicants may experience issues 
when attempting to submit their application which does not permit the 
uploading of the application to Grants.gov. Such issues can be due to 
firewall and virus protection software that the applicant has placed on 
their system or network; proxy and cache settings; Internet traffic; 
limitation on the size of the files attempting to be transmitted 
established at the applicant's site or by the applicant's Internet 
provider; Grants.gov servers experiencing busy traffic; or any number 
of issues. Therefore, HUD strongly advises applicants to submit their 
applications at least 48 hours prior to the deadline and when the 
Grants.gov Help Desk is open so that assistance can be provided. 
Assistance may require diagnosing an applicant's particular issues. An 
applicant that does not follow HUD's advice increases the applicant's 
risk of not being able to meet the timely receipt requirements. A 
submission attempt less than the recommended 48 hours before the 
deadline does not allow the time needed to research the reason for the 
problem or to work with the applicant in overcoming the uploading 
difficulty. Similarly, attempting to submit within 24 hours of the 
deadline or when the Grants.gov Help Desk is closed does not allow the 
time needed for Grants.gov or HUD to provide the needed assistance. In 
addition, HUD staff cannot provide assistance or contact Grants.gov on 
your behalf after the Help Desk is closed.
    3. Grants.gov Application Processing Steps and Notifications.
    After successful upload of an application to Grants.gov, the 
following processes will occur:
    a. Confirmation of Submission to Grants.gov. When an application is 
successfully uploaded to Grants.gov, the AOR submitting the application 
will receive a confirmation screen on his or her computer that informs 
the submitter that the application has been successfully uploaded to 
Grants.gov and is being processed. This confirmation will include a 
tracking number. Print this confirmation out and save it for your 
records. If you submitted multiple applications, check your 
confirmation for each application submitted. The tracking number, CFDA 
Number, and Funding Opportunity Number, as well as the date and time of 
submission will appear on the confirmation. If you do not receive this 
confirmation, it usually means that your application has not been 
successfully uploaded. If your screen goes blank or you have problems 
uploading or your computer is not saving files, it usually means that 
your computer does not have sufficient memory or processing capability 
to store and upload the application. If you experience these 
difficulties, you should go to http://www.grants.gov and log in using 
your user name and password, and then click on ``Check Application 
Status.'' If your application does not appear, you should immediately 
call Grants.gov support at 800-518-GRANTS for assistance (this is a 
toll-free number). If the Help Desk is closed, you should try reducing 
the size of your application or temporarily taking files off your 
computer to reduce the demand on your system. The files that were 
removed can be placed back on your system after uploading the 
application. (See information on Adobe Version 8.1.3 system 
requirements contained in section IV.B.6 of this General Section.) HUD 
also recommends checking to ensure that the applicant's firewalls and 
anti-virus software allows access to the Grants.gov system.
    b. Application Submission Validation Check. The application will 
then go through a validation process. The validation check ensures 
that:
    (1) The application is virus free (this includes that the file 
names comply with the required size limits and spacing and special 
characters limitations);
    (2) The application meets the deadline requirements established for 
the funding opportunity (this includes the grace period and conditions 
cited earlier in this notice);
    (3) The DUNS number submitted on the application matches the DUNS 
number in the registration, and that the AOR has been authorized to 
submit the application for funding by the organization identified by 
its DUNS number;
    (4) The AOR has been authorized by the applicant's E-Biz POC to 
submit the application;
    (5) All the mandatory (highlighted) fields and forms were completed 
on the application; and
    (6) The correct version of Adobe Reader was used in completing the 
application package forms.
    c. Application Validation and Rejection Notification. If the 
application fails any of the above items during the validation check, 
the grant application will be rejected and Grants.gov will send an e-
mail to the person denoted by the applicant in the registration process 
to receive e-mail notifications from Grants.gov. The e-mail will 
indicate that the grant application has been rejected. The e-mail will 
also include the reasons why the application was rejected. The e-mail 
will come from Support@Grants.gov. The validation check can occur 24 to 
48 hours after the application submission.
    d. Applicants receiving a rejection notice have the opportunity to 
cure the rejection under the terms and provisions listed under HUD's 
grace period policy.
    4. Receipt Dates and Times.
    a. Timely Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission.
    (1) Proof of Application Receipt. Receipt times and rejection 
notifications are automatically recorded by Grants.gov. An electronic 
time stamp is generated within the system when the application has been 
successfully received, the application has been validated, or when an 
application has been rejected. HUD will use these date stamps to 
determine whether an application meets the timely receipt requirements.
    (2) Confirmation Receipt. Upon submitting an application at 
Grants.gov, the person submitting the application will see a 
confirmation screen appear on their computer. The confirmation advises 
the submitter that the application has been successfully uploaded to 
Grants.gov. This confirmation will also include the Grants.gov tracking 
number. Print the confirmation and save it with your records. If you do 
not receive the Confirmation screen, go to http://www.Grants.gov, and 
using the AOR user name and password, click on ``Check Application 
Status.'' If there is no data to display for the submitted application, 
the application was not successfully uploaded and not received by 
Grants.gov.

[[Page 79567]]

    (3) Grants.gov Receipt E-mail. Shortly after displaying the 
successful submission Confirmation screen, Grants.gov will send a 
Receipt Notice to the e-mail address listed in the registration. The 
Receipt Notice will identify the application submitted and the date and 
time it was received by Grants.gov. HUD will use this date and time 
stamp to determine if the application was received by Grants.gov in 
accord with the timely submission requirements in this notice. The 
Receipt Notice merely acknowledges that an application was received. 
The next step in the process is the validation of the registration 
information against the DUNS number information and the applicant 
electronic signature in the application submitted to Grants.gov; and a 
check to see that there are no viruses in the application or that the 
attachment files met the file-naming conventions contained in this 
notice so as to be compatible with the Grants.gov system.
    (4) Validation Receipt via E-mail. Within 24 to 48 hours after 
receiving the Receipt Notice e-mail, the applicant will receive a 
validation receipt or rejection notice via e-mail. The validation 
receipt indicates that the application has passed the validation review 
at Grants.gov and that the application is ready to be retrieved by the 
grantor agency for agency processing. Please be aware that the 
Grants.gov validation does not indicate that the grantor agency has 
reviewed the content of your application; rather, the validation merely 
indicates that the application has been successfully received and is 
ready for pickup by the grantor agency.
    (5) Rejection Notice. If an application fails the validation 
process, the applicant is sent a rejection notice within 24 to 48 hours 
after the notification of receipt by Grants.gov. The e-mail 
notification will be sent to the e-mail address registered in the 
Grants.gov system to receive e-mail notifications. The applicant should 
review the rejection notice because it will include the reason(s) for 
rejection. If the rejection notice is received prior to the deadline 
date, the AOR should try to cure the deficiencies identified and 
resubmit the application as soon as possible prior to the deadline. If 
the rejection notice is received after the deadline date, the AOR 
should try to cure the deficiencies identified and resubmit the 
application prior to the end of the grace period. The most common 
rejection notices are:
    (a) Invalid DUNS.
    ``The DUNS number entered in your package is invalid or does not 
match the DUNS number that is registered with the Central Contractor 
Registry (CCR). Please verify that the DUNS number is entered 
correctly, and is the same as in your Central Contractor Registry (CCR) 
registration.''
    (b) Password ID.
    If the submitter submits using a password not associated with the 
User ID or if the submitter forgets or confuses the password, the 
submitter will not be able to log onto Grants.gov. Attempts to log on 
using the wrong password/ID combination will result in a pop-up JAVA 
Script Window with a Warning Notice. The notice states ``Grants.gov 
cannot log you in with the provided credentials. You have made 1 of 3 
allowed failed logins. Please verify your user name and password and 
attempt to login again.'' Applicants can get their password reset by 
going to their credential provider, obtaining a new password, 
registering that password at Grants.gov and having the E-Biz Point of 
Contact authorize the submitter as an AOR to submit the application 
under the applicant DUNS number using the registered credentials.
    (c) Not Authorized.
    (i) A User that uses a User ID/Password combination that is 
registered but has not been authorized by the applicant's E-Biz POC 
will receive a rejection message that states, ``You are not designated 
by your organization to be an Authorized Organizational Representative 
and your application cannot be validated. You either have not 
successfully completed the registration process or your E-Biz POC has 
not authorized you to submit on behalf of your organization.'' To 
verify whether you have been successfully registered with Grants.gov, 
click https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/ApplicantLoginGetID. To check to 
see if you have been designated by the E-Biz POC as an AOR, go to 
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step6.jsp.
    (ii) Applicants that may have an authorized user name/password but 
who enter the DUNS number incorrectly, or who use a DUNS number that 
they have not been authorized to use, will receive the ``NOT 
AUTHORIZED'' rejection in combination with the invalid DUNS message.
    (iii) Individuals who attempt to apply for a grant for which 
individuals are not an eligible applicant, will receive the Not 
Authorized and Invalid DUNS rejection notices, plus a third rejection 
notice that states: ``The grant opportunity for which you have applied 
is designated for Authorized Organization Representatives (AOR) only. 
However, your application or a grant/grants was not submitted on behalf 
of a company, organization, institution, or government. An AOR submits 
a grant on behalf of a company, organization, institution, or 
government. AORS have the authority to sign grant applications and the 
required certifications and/or assurances that are necessary to fulfill 
the requirements of the application process.''
    (d) VirusDetect.
    A VirusDetect rejection message can be received if the application 
contains a virus or if the application submission contains files which 
do not meet the file-naming conventions stated in this notice.
    (6) Most Common Reasons for Rejection. HUD has found that the most 
common reason for rejection of an application by Grants.gov was the 
failure of the applicant to be authorized by their E-Biz POC to submit 
the application on behalf of the applicant organization. Fifty-nine 
percent of the rejection notices contained the unauthorized notice 
alone, indicating that they had used the correct DUNS number but had 
not completed all the steps in the registration process. The second-
most common error was the use of spaces, special characters and file 
names longer than fifty characters in an attachment file name. Use of 
spaces, special characters, or file names that are longer than fifty 
characters will result in a ``VirusDetect'' error. Twenty-three percent 
of the rejections were due to ``VirusDetect'' errors. The third-most 
common error was not submitting the application using the correct DUNS 
number associated to the applicant organization for which the applicant 
was the authorized AOR. Six percent of the rejected applications failed 
validation for using a DUNS number that did not match the information 
in the Grants.gov registration. Use of a DUNS number that does not 
match the registration information results in three error messages.
    (7) Save and File Receipts. Applicants should save all receipts 
from Grants.gov, as well as facsimile receipts, for proof of timely 
submission. Applicants will be considered meeting the timely submission 
requirements based upon the requirements in section IV.C., Receipt 
Dates and Times, and when all fax transmissions have been received by 
11:59:59 p.m. on the deadline date stated in the program NOFA.
    (8) Checking the Status of Your Application Online. Grants.gov 
allows applicants to check the status of their application online. To 
check your application status, log on at http://www.grants.gov and 
click on Applicant Login, and then enter your user name

[[Page 79568]]

and password. Next, click on ``Check Application Status.'' All 
applications submitted by the applicant with the user name and password 
entered in the login screen will be identified and the status will be 
displayed. Applicants are obligated to check the on-line status of 
their application if they do not receive an immediate confirmation 
notice or an email notice of receipt as well as validation. HUD advises 
applicants to use this service to make sure the application was 
received by Grants.gov in accordance with section IV.C., entitled 
``Receipt Dates and Times,'' and to track the application to see if it 
is validated or rejected by Grants.gov. Applications submitted after 
the one day grace period stipulated in Section IV.C., Receipt Dates and 
Times, will be considered late and will not receive funding 
consideration.
    (9) Understanding the Status Messages. If the application has not 
been uploaded or received by Grants.gov, the status message will state, 
``No data to display.'' Applicants seeing this message should attempt 
to submit their application if the deadline date has not passed. HUD 
will not accept an application that is received after the deadline date 
and time, if there is no prior record of a rejection notice.
    If an application has been received, Grants.gov will note on the 
``Application Status'' display that the application has been received. 
If the application has been received and validated, the status will 
display as validated.
    If an application has been rejected, the status will display that 
the application has been rejected with errors and the applicant should 
click on the rejection to see what the error message was or should 
consult his or her email for the reasons for the rejection.
    If an application has been received by HUD, the status will note 
that the application has been received by the granting agency.
    When HUD assigns a tracking number, the status will indicate that 
the agency has assigned a tracking number.
    Applications are not received by HUD until HUD pulls the 
application from Grants.gov. As long as the application shows validated 
by Grants.gov in accordance with the timely receipt requirement stated 
in this notice, applicants should not be concerned that the application 
was not received by HUD or not assigned a tracking number. That step of 
the process will occur when HUD pulls the applications from the 
Grants.gov site into its backend system.
    (10) Grants.gov Support Ticket Numbers. If you call the Grants.gov 
Support Help Desk, the operator will provide you with a call reference 
ticket number. Applicants should retain a record of the call ticket 
number(s) along with the application receipts or rejection notices 
received from Grants.gov. If the Help Desk does not offer a ticket 
number, ask for one.
    b. Late applications.
    (1) Applications received by Grants.gov after the program NOFA 
deadline date or that do not meet the requirements of HUD's grace 
period policy will be considered a late application and will not be 
considered for funding. Applicants should pay close attention to the 
grace period policy and the timely receipt instructions, as they can 
make a difference in whether HUD will accept the application for 
funding consideration.
    (2) HUD will not consider application information submitted by 
facsimile as part of the application, if received by HUD after the 
published deadline date, unless directed by HUD under the terms of 
paragraph V.B.4., Corrections to Deficient Applications. There is no 
grace period for submission of facsimile transmissions, as the 
facsimile system is not part of Grants.gov. HUD now has the ability to 
match the facsimile transmission to the last application received and 
validated in accordance with the deadline requirements. Please take 
into account the transmission time required for facsimile documents 
related to your application.
    HUD recommends that applicants submit their applications during the 
operating hours of the Grants.gov Help Desk so that, if there are 
questions concerning transmission, operators will be available to 
assist you through the process. Submitting your application early and 
during the Help Desk hours will also ensure that you have sufficient 
time for the application to complete its transmission before the 
application deadline. If you try to submit your application after the 
Grants.gov Support Help Desk closes, please refer to HUD's Desktop 
Users Guide for Submitting Electronic Grant Applications found at 
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants and submission information 
contained in this notice.
    c. Submission Tips.
    (1) Delayed Transmission Time. Applicants using dial-up connections 
should be aware that transmitting your application takes extra time 
before Grants.gov receives it. Grants.gov will provide either an error 
or a successfully received transmission message. The Grants.gov Help 
Desk reports that some applicants abort the transmission because they 
think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please 
be patient and give the system time to process the application. 
Uploading and transmitting a large file, particularly electronic forms 
with associated eXtensible mark-up language (XML) schema, will take 
considerable time to process and be received by Grants.gov. However, 
the upload even for large files should not take longer than one hour. 
If you are still waiting after one hour for the submission to be 
uploaded to Grants.gov, stop the transmission and check the available 
disk space and memory on your computer or check to see if you followed 
the submission requirements, including naming of files, and that you 
are using compatible versions of Adobe 8.1.3 with Adobe Professional on 
your computer operating system. HUD has found that difficulty in 
uploading an application from the applicant's desktop is most 
frequently due to: (a) Use of the wrong DUNS number or user name/
password combination; (b) the application package being too large to be 
handled by the applicant's computer; (c) the applicant not downloading 
and setting the default settings to be compatible with the version of 
Adobe Reader downloaded; (d) the local entity's network limiting the 
size of files going in or out; (e) the Internet service provider having 
a file size limit (it often depends on the level of service contracted 
for); (f) the applicant's firewall is set to limit files going in or 
out, or access to certain Web sites; and (g) the applicant's anti-virus 
software or system set-up has placed other limits on accessing websites 
or file contents. HUD has found that if applicants, when uploading 
their applications, were first asked to permit access, it was usually 
because their firewall settings were preventing access to other 
websites, which resulted in submission failures. Applicants should 
check their firewall setting prior to beginning transmission to allow 
access to the Grants.gov portal. If you, the applicant, are 
experiencing long upload delays, or you receive a time-out error 
message, you should check your package for errors, anti-virus software, 
firewall, or Internet provider to be sure that there are no file size 
limits, and work with your IT support to address Internet, firewall, 
and anti-virus issues. In many instances, firewall and anti-virus 
protection can cause transmission problems and need to be disabled to 
permit a successful transmission. Applicants should also check their 
proxy and cache server configuration settings to ensure the application 
can be transmitted to

[[Page 79569]]

Grants.gov. Grants.gov uses HTTP post protocols on Port 80.
    Please also ensure that file attachments are named in accord with 
the directions in this General Section. Be aware that multiple 
applications on a computer or very large files can overcome the 
processing power of a computer. If this is the case, you are advised to 
reduce the number and size of the attachment files by removing 
attachment files and submitting the attachments via the facsimile 
method, using the form HUD-96011 as the cover page, while the 
application without attachments should be uploaded to Grants.gov. HUD 
will match applications submitted to Grants.gov with facsimiles that 
have been transmitted following the directions in this notice. Do not 
split attachment files into two separate applications. HUD can only 
view the contents of a single application. For HUD to review the 
complete application, files must be transmitted with the application or 
associated with an application through use of the facsimile using the 
Facsimile Transmittal Cover Sheet (form HUD-96011). HUD will not match 
attachment files submitted either in two applications, or without using 
the cover sheet.
    (2) Using Task Manager to Monitor Processing. Applicants 
experiencing long upload times or seeing a screen that states 
``Processing do not close,'' can check to see if the application is 
frozen or just taking awhile to upload by turning on the Task Manager 
to see if there is any processing occurring. To view the Task Manager, 
press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (by holding down Ctrl and Alt and then pressing 
Delete). A dialog box will appear; select Task Manager. There are four 
tabs across the top of the Task Manager. Select the Performance tab; 
then you will see two pairs of windows: CPU and Page file usage and 
usage history. The little windows on the right side (usage history) 
look like little graphs moving from right to left about one tick every 
second. As long as those graphs continue to move toward the left, you 
know your machine is not frozen. If the graph lines stop moving for 
more than a few seconds, your machine is totally frozen and you should 
immediately shut down the application, remove cookies, close down and 
reboot your computer, and then try to upload again.
    (3) Uploading Directly from Your Internet Browser. If you have 
difficulty submitting the application, close down all applications, 
then reboot your computer and follow these steps:
    (a) Open the Internet Explorer browser on your computer.
    (b) Go to the File Menu and select ``Open.'' This will cause the 
``Open'' dialog box to appear.
    (c) Click on the browse button, and another dialog box will appear 
with access to your files.
    (d) In the dialog box, go to the drop-down menu for ``File Types'' 
and select ``All Files.''
    (e) Through the dialog box, find the location of your saved 
application package (including the attachments).
    (f) Once you have located your application package, select it with 
your mouse and click the ``Open'' button. The dialog box will disappear 
and the ``Open'' dialog box will still be present.
    (g) In the ``Open'' dialog box, click on the ``OK'' button. Your 
application package will now appear.
    (h) Within your application package, to submit, click on the 
``Submit and Save'' button.
    (4) Ensure You Have Installed the Free Grants.gov Software. Check 
to ensure that the latest version of the Adobe Reader software 
available from Grants.gov, which is free for system users, has been 
properly installed on your computer. Applicants will find a link to the 
free software for download at the Download Application page for the 
funding opportunity available on Grants.gov. HUD has found that an 
improper installation or not using the recommended version of the Adobe 
Reader 8.1.3 software will result in an application not being able to 
upload properly. If you are not sure how to determine if the software 
is properly installed, call the Grants.gov Support Desk. If you are 
operating your computer through a network, contact your system 
administrator to download the latest software. Please allow sufficient 
time for your network system administrator to respond to your request.
    5. Adobe Reader Error Messages.
    The following are common error messages applicants may encounter 
while completing or uploading an Adobe Reader application package.
    a. An Error Message Occurred During File Transmission.
    This error message means that you are experiencing network 
connectivity issues or the network is slow. The file that you are 
attempting to upload is NOT being fully transmitted to Grants.gov. 
Grants.gov recommends that you check the Internet connection or contact 
your IT support staff to check your network connectivity and then try 
again. Please remember that often networks or Internet service 
providers have limits on the size of files transmitted. Often Internet 
service providers require an upgrade in service to transmit larger 
files or unlimited size files. This may also be true for internal 
organizational networks.
    b. COS Parsing Exception at Position#######.
    If you receive this error message, the application package you 
submitted is corrupt and you have to resubmit a new application. 
Applicants are advised not to use data from the corrupt application to 
copy and paste into the new application because it is likely to corrupt 
the new application or cause transmission errors. Applicants should 
close and delete the corrupt file, download a new application package, 
open, complete the package manually and submit using a supported 
version of Adobe Reader. HUD also advises applicants that have 
attempted to upload the package through their browser to shut the 
browser and close all applications, delete any cookies, and then reboot 
before trying to resubmit.
    c. Error: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException:
    In most cases this error indicates the form opened with software 
that is unsupported such as:
     An incompatible version of Adobe Acrobat Professional.
     An incompatible version of Adobe Reader (other than 
8.1.3).
     Other Software.
    In order to submit an Adobe Reader application package, you must 
have a compatible version of Adobe Reader. If you have received this 
error message it is recommended that you download a new application 
package then open, complete and submit it with the compatible version 
of Adobe Reader. If you collaborate on the application with others, 
please ensure that they have the compatible version of the Adobe 
Reader. If they have more than one version of the Adobe Reader on their 
computer advise them to either reset the default setting or remove the 
non-compatible version of Adobe Reader and replace it with the free 
Adobe Reader software from Grants.gov. HUD also advises applicants that 
have attempted to upload the package through their browser to shut the 
browser and close all applications, delete any cookies, and then reboot 
before trying to resubmit.
    d. File Damaged and Cannot Be Repaired.
    This error message means that your application package is corrupt. 
In order to successfully submit an application package, you will need 
to download a new application and resubmit. To avoid corruption you 
must use a compatible version of the Adobe Reader to view and complete 
the application.
    e. Incompatible version of Adobe.

[[Page 79570]]

    You will receive this error message if your application was opened 
with software other than a compatible version of Adobe Reader. Any and 
all edits made to an Adobe Reader application package must be made with 
a compatible version of Adobe Reader. Applications submitted with other 
than supported versions of Adobe Reader will not work with the 
Grants.gov system. The compatible version of Adobe Reader is available 
at the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html.
    f. Schema Validation Error.
    In most cases this error message indicates the application package 
was opened at one point in time with an unsupported version of:
     Adobe Reader.
     Adobe Professional.
     Other Software.
    You should download a new application package, open and complete 
the package manually and submit using a supported version of the Adobe 
Reader. You cannot use an existing corrupted package or data from the 
package to export and populate a new package because it is likely to 
corrupt the new package and/or cause submission errors.
    g. Intake Servlet is Unable to Save the Data.
    This is an error message that may occur during Grants.gov 
processing. Grants.gov will reprocess the application retaining the 
original submission dates and times. Processing may result in 
validation or rejection of the application. See information on reasons 
for rejection of an application. Applicants receiving the ``Intake 
Servlet Unable to Save the Data'' error message should check the status 
of their application by logging onto Grants.gov with their user name 
and password and checking the application status. If the status does 
not show the application received call the Grants.gov Help Desk.
    h. Broken Pipe. If you receive the ``Broken Pipe'' message, this 
means that there were intermittent interruptions during submission. As 
a result the confirmation screen did not display properly after you 
submitted your application. If the ``Broken Pipe'' error message 
displays, you will not automatically receive a Grants.gov confirmation 
page and tracking number for your application. To ensure that your 
application package was received you have two options:
    (1) Use the on-line ``Track Application Status'' feature on 
Grants.gov and view your submitted applications. If you do not see your 
submitted application listed follow the instructions under item (b):
    (2) Open the Internet browser window (example: Internet Explorer) 
and resubmit your application package as normal. If you still do not 
receive the confirmation page after you resubmit your application 
package, contact the Grants.gov Help Desk by calling 800-518-GRANTS or 
e-mailing Support@Grants.gov. HUD recommends calling the center for 
faster service.
    i. Error: Failed to Update Grant Application XML's LOB:Failed to 
Update Grant Application XML's LOB. Grants.gov automatically 
reprocesses these applications. You should receive a receipt 
notification and either a rejection or validation notice following 
reprocessing. Applicants are advised to track the applications via the 
on-line ``Track Application Status,'' the e-mail notifications or by 
calling the Grants.gov Help Desk. Reprocessed applications retain their 
original receipt times.
    Grants.gov has also established a troubleshooting page for 
applicants at http://www.grants.gov/help/trouble_tips.jsp. Applicants 
are advised to be familiar with this page and pass on this information 
and the General Section instructions to any persons working on your 
application or charged with submitting the application on behalf of 
your organization.
    D. Intergovernmental Review/State Points of Contact (SPOC). 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs,'' was issued to foster intergovernmental partnership and 
strengthen federalism by relying on state and local processes for the 
coordination and review of federal financial assistance and direct 
development. HUD implementing regulations are published at 24 CFR part 
52. The Executive Order allows each state to designate an entity to 
perform a state review function. Applicants can find the official 
listing of SPOCs for this review process at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. States not listed on the Web site have chosen not 
to participate in the intergovernmental review process and, therefore, 
do not have a SPOC. If your state has a SPOC, you should contact the 
SPOC to see if it is interested in reviewing your application before 
you submit it to HUD.
    Please make sure that you allow ample time for this review when 
developing and submitting your application. If your state does not have 
a SPOC, you can submit your application directly to HUD using 
Grants.gov.
    E. Funding Restrictions. The individual program NOFAs will describe 
any funding restrictions that apply to each program.
    F. Other Submission Requirements.
    1. Discrepancies Between the Federal Register and Other Documents. 
The Federal Register documents published by HUD are the official 
documents that HUD uses to solicit applications. Therefore, if there is 
a discrepancy between any materials published by HUD in its Federal 
Register publications and other information provided in paper copy, 
electronic copy, at http://www.grants.gov, or its Help Desk, or at 
HUD's Web site, the Federal Register publication prevails. Please be 
sure to review your application submission against the requirements in 
the Federal Register for the program NOFA or NOFAs to which you are 
applying. If you note discrepancies, please notify HUD immediately by 
calling the program contact listed in the NOFA, or the Office of 
Departmental Grants Management at 202-708-0667 (this is not a toll-free 
number).
    2. Application Certifications and Assurances. Applicants are placed 
on notice that by signing (either through electronic submission or in 
paper copy submission, for those applicants granted a waiver to submit 
in paper) the SF-424 cover page:
    a. The governing body of the applicant's organization has duly 
authorized the application for federal assistance. In addition, by 
signing or electronically submitting the application, the AOR certifies 
that the applicant:
    (1) Has the legal authority to apply for federal assistance and has 
the institutional, managerial, and financial capacity (including funds 
to pay for any non-federal share of program costs) to plan, manage, and 
complete the program as described in the application;
    (2) Will provide HUD with any additional information it may 
require; and
    (3) Will administer the award in compliance with requirements 
identified and contained in the NOFA (General and Program Sections), as 
applicable to the program for which funds are awarded and in accordance 
with requirements applicable to the program.
    b. No appropriated federal funds have been paid or will be paid, by 
or on behalf of the applicant, to any person for influencing or 
attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member 
of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress, in connection with 
this application for federal assistance or any award of funds resulting 
from the submission of this application for federal assistance or its

[[Page 79571]]

extension, renewal, amendment, or modification. If funds other than 
federally appropriated funds have been or will be paid for influencing 
or attempting to influence the persons listed above, the applicant 
agrees to complete and submit the SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying 
Activities, as part of its application submission package. The 
applicant further agrees to and certifies that it will require similar 
certification and disclosure of all subawards at all tiers, including 
subgrants and contracts.
    c. Federally recognized Indian tribes and tribally designated 
housing entities (TDHEs) established by a federally recognized Indian 
tribe, as a result of the exercise of the tribe's sovereign power, are 
excluded from coverage by item b. (also known as the Byrd Amendment). 
However, state-recognized Indian tribes and TDHEs established under 
state law are not excluded from the statute's coverage and, therefore, 
must comply with item b. above.
    By submitting an application, the applicant affirms its awareness 
of these certifications and assurances. The AOR submitting the 
application is affirming that these certifications and assurances are 
material representations of the facts upon which HUD will rely when 
making an award to the applicant. If it is later determined that the 
signatory to the application submission knowingly made a false 
certification or assurance or did not have the authority to make a 
legally binding commitment for the applicant, the applicant may be 
subject to criminal prosecution, and HUD may terminate the award to the 
applicant organization or pursue other available remedies.
    3. Waiver of Electronic Submission Requirements. The regulatory 
framework for HUD's electronic submission requirement is the final rule 
established in 24 CFR 5.1005. Applicants seeking a waiver of the 
electronic submission requirement must request a waiver in accordance 
with 24 CFR 5.1005. HUD's regulations allow for a waiver of the 
electronic submission requirement for good cause. If the waiver is 
granted, the applicable program office's response will include 
instructions on how many copies of the paper application must be 
submitted, as well as how and where to submit them. Applicants that are 
granted a waiver of the electronic submission requirement will not be 
afforded additional time to submit their applications. The deadlines 
for applications will remain as provided in the program section of the 
NOFA. As a result, applicants seeking a waiver of the electronic 
application submission requirement should submit their waiver request 
with sufficient time to allow HUD to process and respond to the 
request. Applicants should also allow themselves sufficient time to 
submit their application so that HUD receives the application by the 
established deadline date. For this reason, HUD strongly recommends 
that if an applicant finds it cannot submit its application 
electronically and must seek a waiver of the electronic grant 
submission requirement, it should submit the waiver request to the HUD 
program office designated in the applicable program NOFA no later than 
15 days before the application deadline. To expedite the receipt and 
review of such requests, applicants may email their requests to the 
program contact listed in the program NOFA. If HUD does not have 
sufficient time to process the waiver request, a waiver will not be 
granted. Paper applications received without a prior approved waiver 
and/or after the established deadline date will not be considered. 
Applicants that submit a paper application with the wrong DUNS number 
will be provided the same one-day grace period to provide a corrected 
SF-424 to the location indicated in the waiver approval. Failure to 
meet the requirements will deem the application late and, as a result, 
the application will not be considered, rated, or ranked.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

    1. Factors Used to Evaluate and Rate Applications. For each program 
NOFA, the points awarded for the rating factors total 100, with a 
possibility of up to 2 bonus points, as specified below:
    a. RC/EZ/EC-II. HUD will award two bonus points to each application 
that includes a valid form HUD-2990 certifying that the proposed 
activities/projects in the application are consistent with the 
strategic plan for an empowerment zone (EZ) designated by HUD or the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the tax incentive utilization 
plan for an urban or rural renewal community designated by HUD (RC), or 
the strategic plan for an enterprise community designated in round II 
by USDA (EC-II); and that the proposed activities/projects will be 
located within the RC/EZ/EC-II identified above and are intended to 
serve the residents. For ease of reference in this notice, all of the 
federally designated areas are collectively referred to as ``RC/EZ/EC-
IIs'' and residents of any of these federally designated areas as ``RC/
EZ/EC-II residents.'' The individual funding announcements will 
indicate if the bonus points are available under the program. This 
notice contains a certification that must be completed for the 
applicant to be considered for RC/EZ/EC-II bonus points. Applicants can 
obtain a list of RC/EZ/EC-IIs from HUD's grants Web page at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. Applicants can determine 
if their program or project activities are located in one of these 
designated areas by using the locator on HUD's Web site at http://egis.hud.gov/egis/.
    b. The Five Standard Rating Factors for FY2009. HUD has established 
the following five standard factors for awarding funds under the 
majority of its FY2009 program NOFAs. When providing information to HUD 
in response to Rating Factor 1, Capacity, applicants should not include 
Social Security Numbers on any resumes submitted to HUD.
    Factor 1: Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Organizational 
Staff.
    Factor 2: Need/Extent of the Problem.
    Factor 3: Soundness of Approach.
    Factor 4: Leveraging Resources.
    Factor 5: Achieving Results and Program Evaluation.
    In FY2009, HUD is establishing standardized points for evaluating 
Logic Models submitted under Rating Factor 5, Achieving Results and 
Program Evaluation. The decision to standardize this rating factor 
resulted from review of submitted Logic Models and rating factor 
narrative statements, and training sessions held with HUD staff and the 
applicant community.
    By standardizing the rating for the Logic Model submission, HUD 
believes that a greater understanding will be gained on the use and 
relationship of the Logic Model to information submitted as part of the 
Rating Factors for award. The standardization of the Logic Model 
submission in Rating Factor 5 highlights the relationship between the 
narratives produced in response to the factors for award, stated 
outputs and outcomes, and discrepancies or gaps that have been found to 
exist in submitted Logic Models. HUD also believes that the 
standardization will strengthen the use of the Logic Model as a 
management and evaluation tool.
    The Logic Model is a tool that integrates program operations and 
program accountability. It links program operations (mission, need, 
intervention, projected results, and actual results), and program 
accountability (measurement tool, data source, and frequency of data 
collection and reporting, including personnel assigned

[[Page 79572]]

to function). Applicants/grantees should use it to support program 
planning, monitoring, evaluation, and other management functions.
    HUD uses the Logic Model and its electronic version, the eLogic 
Model[supreg], to capture an executive summary of the application 
submission in data format, which HUD uses to evaluate the attainment of 
stated applicant goals and anticipated results. HUD also uses the data 
for policy formulation.
    HUD encourages applicants and those selected for award to use the 
Logic Model data to monitor and evaluate their own progress and 
effectiveness in meeting stated goals and achieving results consistent 
with the program purpose. To further this objective, and in response to 
grantee requests, for FY2009 HUD has added an additional column to the 
eLogic Model[supreg] that allows the grantee to input results achieved 
for the reporting period, as well as Year-To-Date (YTD) for each year 
of the award. This will allow the grantee to review performance each 
reporting period and for each year of the award ``at a glance,'' and 
without having to construct a report. For further information, see the 
Instructions in the FY2009 eLogic Model[supreg], form HUD-96010. HUD's 
goal is to measure the effectiveness of programs and ensure that 
housing, economic development programs, and services provided by HUD 
funds provide maximum benefit to low- and moderate-income persons in 
communities nationwide.
    Factor 5, Achieving Results and Program Evaluation, will consist of 
10 points for the Logic Model submission. Program areas can add up to 
an additional 5 points for responses to particular programmatic 
questions to be addressed as part of this factor. The matrix provided 
in Attachment 1 of this General Section identifies how the Logic Model 
will be rated in a standardized way across program areas. Training on 
the rating factor will be provided via satellite broadcast and archived 
on HUD's Web site for repeat viewing.
    Additional details about the five rating factors and the maximum 
points for each factor are provided in the program NOFAs. For a 
specific funding opportunity, HUD may modify these factors to take into 
account explicit program needs or statutory or regulatory limitations. 
Applicants should carefully read the factors for award as described in 
the program NOFA to which they are responding.
    The Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance programs have only two 
factors that receive points: (1) Need and (2) Continuum of Care. 
Additional information will be available in the Continuum of Care 
program NOFA to be published in the Federal Register.
    c. Additional Criteria: Past Performance. In evaluating 
applications for funding, HUD will take into account an applicant's 
past performance in managing funds, including, but not limited to, the 
ability to account for funds appropriately; timely use of funds 
received either from HUD or other federal, state, or local programs; 
timely submission and quality of reports to HUD; meeting program 
requirements; meeting performance targets as established in Logic 
Models approved as part of the grant agreement; timelines for 
completion of activities and receipt of promised matching or leveraged 
funds; and the number of persons to be served or targeted for 
assistance. HUD may consider information available from HUD's records; 
the name check review; public sources such as newspapers, Inspector 
General or Government Accountability Office reports or findings; or 
hotline or other complaints that have been proven to have merit.
    In evaluating past performance, HUD may elect to deduct points from 
the rating score or establish threshold levels as specified under the 
Factors for Award in the individual program NOFAs. Each program NOFA 
will specify how past performance will be rated.

B. Reviews and Selection Process

    1. HUD's Strategic Goals to Implement HUD's Strategic Framework and 
Demonstrate Results. HUD is committed to ensuring that programs result 
in the achievement of HUD's strategic mission. To support this effort, 
grant applications submitted for HUD programs will be rated on how well 
they tie proposed outcomes to HUD's policy priorities and annual goals 
and objectives, as well as the quality of the applicant's proposed 
evaluation and monitoring plans. HUD's strategic framework establishes 
the following goals and objectives for the Department:
    a. Increase Homeownership Opportunities.
    (1) Expand national homeownership opportunities.
    (2) Increase minority homeownership.
    (3) Make the home buying process less complicated and less 
expensive.
    (4) Reduce predatory lending through reform, education, and 
enforcement.
    (5) Help HUD-assisted renters become homeowners.
    (6) Keep existing homeowners from losing their homes.
    b. Promote Decent Affordable Housing.
    (1) Expand access to and the availability of decent, affordable 
rental housing.
    (2) Improve the management accountability and physical quality of 
public and assisted housing.
    (3) Improve housing opportunities for the elderly and persons with 
disabilities.
    (4) Promote housing self-sufficiency.
    (5) Facilitate more effective delivery of affordable housing by 
reforming public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program.
    c. Strengthen Communities.
    (1) Assist disaster recovery in the Gulf Coast region.
    (2) Enhance sustainability of communities by expanding economic 
opportunities.
    (3) Foster a suitable living environment in communities by 
improving physical conditions and quality of life.
    (4) End chronic homelessness and move homeless families and 
individuals to permanent housing.
    (5) Address housing conditions that threaten health.
    d. Ensure Equal Opportunity in Housing.
    (1) Ensure access to a fair and effective administrative process to 
investigate and resolve complaints of discrimination.
    (2) Improve public awareness of rights and responsibilities under 
fair housing laws.
    (3) Improve housing accessibility for persons with disabilities.
    (4) Ensure that HUD-funded entities comply with fair housing and 
other civil rights laws.
    e. Embrace High Standards of Ethics, Management, and 
Accountability.
    (1) Strategically manage human capital to increase employee 
satisfaction and improve HUD performance.
    (2) Improve HUD's management and internal controls to ensure 
program compliance and resolve audit issues.
    (3) Improve accountability, service delivery, and customer service 
of HUD and its partners.
    (4) Capitalize on modernized technology to improve the delivery of 
HUD's core business functions.
    f. Promote Participation of Faith-Based and Other Community 
Organizations.
    (1) Reduce barriers to faith-based and other community 
organizations' participation in HUD-sponsored programs.
    (2) Conduct outreach and provide technical assistance to strengthen 
the capacity of faith-based and community organizations to attract 
partners and secure resources.

[[Page 79573]]

    (3) Encourage partnerships between faith-based/other community 
organizations and HUD's grantees and subgrantees.
    Additional information about HUD's Strategic Plan FY2006-FY2011, 
and 2002-2008 Annual Performance Plans is available at http://www.hud.gov/offices/cfo/reports/cforept.cfm.
    2. Policy Priorities. HUD encourages applicants to undertake 
specific activities that will assist the Department in implementing its 
policy priorities and achieving its goals for FY2009 and beyond. 
Applicants that include work activities that specifically address one 
or more of these policy priorities will receive higher rating scores 
than applicants that do not address these HUD priorities. Each NOFA 
issued in FY2009 will specify which priorities relate to a particular 
program and how many points will be awarded for addressing those 
priorities.
    a. Improving the Knowledge of Homeowners, Homebuyers, and Renters 
to be Aware of Discriminatory Practices in Real Estate and Lending; 
their Rights; and Increase Financial Literacy to Prevent Foreclosure to 
Address the Needs of Households Facing Foreclosure.
    Many households are currently at risk of losing their homes or are 
currently facing foreclosure procedures. Other households, particularly 
households composed of low- and moderate-income persons, persons with 
disabilities, the elderly, minorities, and persons with limited English 
proficiency are shut out of the housing market or face discriminatory 
lending or rental practices. HUD is interested in applicants 
undertaking the following types of activities to address the needs of 
these households such as:
    (1) Providing Credit Counseling and Education for Families and 
Individuals.
     How to track spending and establishing a household budget;
     Managing credit cards and credit card debt;
     Understanding a credit report and how to improve credit 
scores;
     Establishing a savings plan and investment plan;
     How to prevent foreclosure;
     Understanding the foreclosure process and options open to 
homeowners;
     Buying a foreclosed home--opportunities and risks.
    (2) Homebuying Information for New Homeowners.
     Buying a new home;
     Buying an FHA Real Estate Owned Property;
     Buying a foreclosed property;
     Understanding loan alternatives;
     Understanding FHA mortgages and options;
     Financial ability to repay a loan;
     Accounting for additional expenses;
     Understanding the appraisal process;
     Understanding a home inspection process and report;
     Understanding predatory lending practices; and
     Understanding your rights under the Fair Housing Act and 
fair lending practices;
    (3) Rental Housing Options.
     Understanding lease agreements;
     Understanding landlord tenant rights and responsibilities;
     Understanding lending discrimination; and
     Understanding discriminatory rental practices and where to 
seek assistance;
    (4) How to file a housing discrimination complaint.
    (5) Complying with Limited English Proficiency requirements.
    (6) Addressing the needs of homeowners, homebuyers, and renters who 
are persons with disabilities;
     How to design informational literature and presentations 
for persons with disabilities,
     Understanding accessible design and visibility standards 
for educating architects, builders, local, and state officials to 
increase the housing choices for persons with Limited English 
Proficiency or persons with disabilities;
     Understanding how to market to persons with disabilities; 
and
     Educating persons with disabilities on Uniform 
Accessibility Standards (UFAS), which apply to section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
    Applicants seeking a policy priority point must identify the 
specific activities to be undertaken and the expected outcomes to be 
achieved as a result of the activities. The outcomes must be expressed 
in terms of the numbers of households assisted that either obtained 
rental housing or achieved homeownership; were able to improve their 
credit score or prevent foreclosure; were able to retain their home 
after having received a notice of foreclosure; were able to obtain a 
mortgage loan or reduce the rate or the amount owed on their mortgage; 
were able to find affordable rental housing that is accessible and 
visitable; or reported and/or filed a Fair Housing complaint. Copies of 
the UFAS are available online at http://www.access-board.gov/ufas/ufas-html/ufas.htm. The design and construction requirements for covered 
multifamily dwelling units that are applicable to the Fair Housing Act 
are found at http://www.fairhousingfirst.org and select ``Design or 
Construction Requirements.''
    Proposed activities support strategic goals a, b, and d.
    b. Encouraging Accessible Design Features. As described in section 
III.C.2.c., applicants must comply with applicable civil rights laws, 
including the Fair Housing Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These laws and 
regulations implementing them prohibit discrimination based on 
disability and require recipients to ensure that assisted housing, 
facilities, programs, and activities are accessible to persons with 
disabilities, including meeting accessibility design standards. HUD is 
encouraging applicants to add accessible design features beyond those 
required under civil rights laws and regulations. Such features would 
eliminate barriers not addressed by design standards that limit the 
access of persons with disabilities to housing and other facilities. 
Copies of the UFAS are available online at http://www.access-board.gov/ufas/ufas-html/ufas.htm; from the NOFA Information Center at 800-HUD-
8929 (toll free); and from the Office of Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Room 5240, Washington, DC 20410-2000; telephone number 
202-708-2333 (this is not a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or 
speech impairments may access these numbers via TTY by calling the 
Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339. (This is a toll-free 
number.)
    Accessible design features are intended to promote visitability and 
incorporate features of universal design, as described below.
    (1) Visitability in New Construction and Substantial 
Rehabilitation. Applicants are encouraged to incorporate visitability 
features, where feasible, in new construction and substantial 
rehabilitation projects. Visitability features allow a person with 
mobility impairments access into the home, even if such features are 
not required by accessibility standards. Applicants should be aware of 
any locally adopted visitability standards. Generally, visitability 
standards or guidelines do not require that all features of a housing 
or other facility be made accessible to a person with a disability. 
Visitability means that there is at least one entrance at grade (no 
steps), approached by an accessible route such as a sidewalk, and that 
the entrance door and all interior passage doors are at least 2 feet, 
10 inches wide, allowing 32 inches of clear passage space. A visitable 
home also serves

[[Page 79574]]

persons without disabilities, such as a mother pushing a stroller or a 
person delivering a large appliance. More information about 
visitability is available at http://www.concretechange.org/.
    Activities support strategic goals b, c, and d.
    (2) Universal Design. Applicants are encouraged to incorporate 
universal design in the construction or rehabilitation of housing, 
retail establishments, and community facilities funded with HUD 
assistance. Universal design is the design of products and environments 
to be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible, without the 
need for adaptation or specialized design. The intent of universal 
design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, 
communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people 
as possible at little or no extra cost to the user. In addition to any 
applicable required accessibility feature under section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the design and construction requirements 
of the Fair Housing Act, the Department encourages applicants to 
incorporate the principles of universal design when developing housing, 
community facilities, and electronic communication mechanisms, or when 
communicating with community residents at public meetings or events.
    HUD believes that to address affordable housing needs effectively, 
it is necessary to provide affordable housing that is accessible to all 
regardless of ability or age. Likewise, creating places where people 
work, train, and interact that are usable and open to all residents 
increases opportunities for economic and personal self-sufficiency. 
More information on universal design is available from the Center for 
Universal Design at http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/ or the Resource 
Center on Accessible Housing and Universal Design at http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=113573⊤=16029&sectionid=19326.
    To obtain the policy priority point, applicants must identify the 
proposed number of units or facilities which will be provided that 
incorporate Universal Design and/or Visitability Features, including 
what features are planned for inclusion in the design and for how many 
units. Individual NOFAs will identify the minimum number of units or 
community facility areas that must comply with this requirement to 
receive the policy priority point. Selected applicants will be required 
to report on an annual basis the number of units that were completed 
according to the plan; and the actual number of households that were 
placed in the units, including the square footage of units or public 
facilities or common areas. Applicants must identify visitability 
features that will be part of their program of activities and its 
projected results, including linear feet of sidewalk, walkway, or other 
areas that were created or modified to enhance visitability or meet 
locally adopted visitability requirements.
    Activities support strategic goals a through d.
    c. Providing Full and Equal Access to Grassroots Faith-Based and 
Other Community Organizations in HUD Program Implementation.
    (1) HUD encourages applicants to partner with nonprofit 
organizations, including grassroots faith-based and other community 
organizations, in the implementation of the vast array of programs for 
which funding is available through HUD's competitive programs. 
Grassroots organizations have a strong history of providing vital 
community services. Additionally, HUD encourages applicants to include 
grassroots faith-based and other community organizations in their work 
plans. Applicants who identify at least 15 percent of the total work 
activities to be conducted will be performed by grassroots nonprofit 
organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations 
in their program work statement and implementation activities, will be 
eligible to receive the policy priority point.
    (2) Definitions of Grassroots Organizations.
    (a) HUD will consider an organization a ``grassroots organization'' 
if the organization is headquartered in the local community in which it 
provides services; and
    (i) Has a social services budget of $300,000 or less, or
    (ii) Has six or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
    (b) Local affiliates of national organizations are not considered 
``grassroots.'' Local affiliates of national organizations are 
encouraged, however, to partner with grassroots organizations, but must 
demonstrate that they are currently working with a grassroots 
organization (e.g., having a grassroots faith-based or other community 
organization provide volunteers).
    (c) The cap provided in paragraph (2)(a)(i) above includes only 
that portion of an organization's budget allocated to providing social 
services. It does not include other portions of the budget, such as 
salaries and expenses, not directly expended in the provision of social 
services.
    Applicants will be required to identify and describe in detail the 
work activities to be performed by the grassroots organizations 
including projected outputs and outcomes in their application for 
assistance. Selected applicants for funding will be required to report 
in accordance with the reporting requirements for the program, the 
results achieved against the projected outputs and outcomes.
    Activities support strategic goal f.
    d. Participation of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in HUD 
Programs. Pursuant to Executive Orders 13256, ``President's Board of 
Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities;'' 13230, 
``President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for 
Hispanic Americans;'' 13216, ``Increasing Participation of Asian 
Americans and Pacific Islanders in Federal Programs;'' and 13270, 
``Tribal Colleges and Universities,'' HUD is strongly committed to 
broadening the participation of MSIs in its programs. HUD is interested 
in increasing the participation of MSIs in providing assistance to New 
Orleans and other communities that suffer from the long-term and 
devastating effects of presidentially-declared disasters which are 
currently listed as active on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 
(FEMA) Web site. To receive the policy priority point, the applicant 
must include a listing of the proposed work activities to be performed 
by the MSI; the specific sites where the work will be performed; and 
the projected output and outcome of the work to be performed that will 
result in a physical, social, or economic change in the community being 
assisted as a result of the work activities. MSIs that receive direct 
HUD funding are not eligible to receive the policy priority point 
unless they can demonstrate that their work activities are targeted to 
disaster areas and not just areas surrounding their campus, unless it 
is a city or community that experienced a declared and active disaster 
determined by the President. A listing of MSIs can be found on the 
Department of Education Web site at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html or HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. A listing of 
presidentially declared disasters can be found at http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema.
    Activities support strategic goals c and d.
    e. Ending Chronic Homelessness. President Bush has set a national 
goal to end chronic homelessness. HUD

[[Page 79575]]

Secretary Steven Preston has embraced this goal and has pledged that 
HUD's grant programs will be used to support the President's goal and 
better meet the needs of chronically homeless individuals. A person 
experiencing chronic homelessness is defined as an unaccompanied 
individual with a disabling condition who has been continuously 
homeless for a year or more or has experienced four or more episodes of 
homelessness over the last 3 years. A disabling condition is defined as 
a diagnosable substance abuse disorder, serious mental illness, 
developmental disability, or chronic physical illness or disability, 
including the co-occurrence of two or more of these conditions. 
Applicants are encouraged to target assistance to chronically homeless 
persons by undertaking activities that will result in:
    (1) Creation of affordable housing units, supportive housing, and 
group homes;
    (2) Establishment of a set-aside of units of affordable housing for 
the chronically homeless;
    (3) Establishment of substance abuse treatment programs targeted to 
the homeless population;
    (4) Establishment of job training programs that will provide 
opportunities for economic self-sufficiency;
    (5) Establishment of counseling programs that assist homeless 
persons in finding housing, managing finances, managing anger, and 
building interpersonal relationships;
    (6) Provision of supportive services, such as health care 
assistance, that will permit homeless individuals to become productive 
members of society; and
    (7) Provision of service coordinators or one-stop assistance 
centers that will ensure that chronically homeless persons have access 
to housing assistance and a variety of social services.
    Applicants that are developing programs to meet the goals set in 
this policy priority should keep in mind the requirements of the 
regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, in 
particular, 24 CFR 8.4(b)(1)(iv), 8.4(c)(1), and 8.4(d).
    To receive the policy priority point, applicants must coordinate 
with the local Continuum of Care lead agency and propose work 
activities to fill the need already established by the local Continuum 
of Care. Applicants must include supporting documentation from the 
local Continuum of Care or member agency in their application and 
include specific tasks and projected outputs and outcomes. If selected 
for funding, applicants must compare the actual results against 
projected outcomes in accordance with the program NOFA reporting 
periods contained in the program NOFA.
    Activities support strategic goals b and c.
    f. Promoting Energy Star and Green Development. HUD is encouraging 
grantees to take specific energy-saving actions in furtherance of HUD's 
Energy Action Plan described in the August 2006 Report to Congress 
entitled: ``Promoting Energy Efficiency at HUD in a Time of Change,'' 
submitted under section 154 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 
109-58). (A copy of the report can be obtained at http://www.huduser.org/publications/destech/energyefficiency.html.) Under this 
policy priority, HUD is providing up to two policy priority points, as 
follows:
    (1) Applicants/grantees that design, build, rehabilitate, or 
operate housing or community facilities.
    (a) Energy Star Appliances and Products. Grantees that design, 
build, or operate housing or community facilities with funds awarded 
through HUD's NOFAs will receive one policy priority point if they 
incorporate energy-efficiency measures in the design, construction, and 
operation of these properties. To receive a point, grantees must meet 
the following criteria:
     Moderate rehabilitation and/or Building Operation and 
Maintenance: Use Energy Star-labeled appliances and products.
     New construction or substantial rehabilitation (single 
family): All units must be certified by a Home Energy Rater as an 
Energy Star Qualified Home; and all appliances must be Energy Star 
qualified.
     New construction or substantial rehabilitation 
(multifamily): Meet ASHRAE 90.1-2007 plus 20 percent (Appendix G) and 
appliances must be Energy Star qualified. A heat load analysis showing 
compliance with this standard must be completed by the project 
architect or engineer during the design phase of the project.
     Housing Counseling: Provide training on energy costs and 
budgeting, as well as energy efficient products and appliances, 
including Energy Star, in counseling curriculum.
    (b) Green Development. HUD is also interested in promoting green 
building. Therefore, applicants that demonstrate they will undertake 
green development in the implementation of their program are eligible 
to receive one additional policy priority point for green development. 
This additional policy priority point for green development is 
available only to applicants that fulfill the requirements for use of 
Energy Star appliances and products above, plus undertake green 
development.
    Green development means that one of several recognized green rating 
programs, including: the Energy Star Plus Indoor Air Package or Energy 
Star Advanced New Home Construction; Earthcraft; Enterprise Green 
Communities Initiative; the National Association of Home Builders 
(NAHB) Green Building Guidelines; Leadership in Energy and 
Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes (for single family); and LEED New 
Construction (for multifamily) is used in the design and construction 
of properties. For green programs that require third-party 
certification, the applicant must provide evidence of such 
certification. For green programs that require self-certification, the 
applicant must provide evidence of self-certification, such as the 
Enterprise Green Communities checklist. Applicants that elect to meet 
the requirements for Green Development will receive one policy priority 
point.
    Applicants electing to meet these requirements must agree to use 
the HUD/PIH Benchmarking Tool at http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/phecc/econserve.cfm to enter utility data for the first 
year after building occupancy, and report the results to HUD. The 
building would be expected to achieve a score of at least 65 (15 
percent over average). For information on Energy Star Qualified Homes 
and Energy Star qualified products, see http://www.energystar.gov.
    (2) Applicants/grantees that provide housing counseling, housing 
counseling training or community development technical assistance.
    (a) Energy Star Appliances and Products. Applicants/grantees that 
receive funds for HUD's Housing Counseling, Housing Counseling 
Training, and Community Development Technical Assistance programs will 
receive policy priority points if, when providing counseling or 
training services or technical assistance, they include information on 
Energy Star appliances and products and information on the potential 
cost savings associated with buildings constructed using Energy Star 
standards.
    (b) Green Development. Applicants/grantees that receive funds for 
HUD's Housing Counseling, Housing Counseling Training, and Community 
Development Technical Assistance programs will receive one additional 
policy priority point if, when providing counseling or training 
services or technical assistance, they provide information on Green 
Design, Development, and Certification

[[Page 79576]]

Standards in addition to the Energy Star information in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Activities support strategic goals a and b.
    g. Promoting Assistance to Veterans.
    HUD is interested in applicants who incorporate assistance to 
veterans in the development and implementation of their proposed 
program of activities. HUD will provide a policy priority point to 
applicants that provide assistance to veterans in their transition from 
military service to civilian life, by addressing veterans' needs for 
housing, community-based services, or job training and employment 
opportunities. To receive the policy priority point, applicants will 
have to identify specific activities that are targeted to veterans; the 
housing, community development, or economic development need being 
addressed; the number of veterans anticipated to be assisted; and the 
anticipated outcome that will result from the services provided. 
Applicants must provide projected number of veterans to be directly 
assisted, and the actual number of veterans receiving the assistance 
and what were the results of the services delivered in terms of the 
number of veterans provided housing, job training, jobs acquired, or 
social services received. Applicants selected for funding must compare 
actual results against projected outcomes in accordance with the 
program NOFA reporting periods contained in the program NOFA.
    Activities support strategic goals c and d.
    3. Threshold Compliance. Only applications that meet all of the 
threshold requirements will be eligible to receive an award of funds 
from HUD.
    4. Corrections to Deficient Applications. After the application 
deadline, and in accordance with the electronic submission grace period 
described in this notice, HUD may not, consistent with its regulations 
in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, consider any unsolicited information that 
an applicant may want to provide. HUD may contact an applicant to 
clarify an item in its application or to correct curable (correctable) 
technical deficiencies. HUD may not seek clarification of items or 
responses that improve the substantive quality of an applicant's 
response to any rating factors. In order not to unreasonably exclude 
applications from being rated and ranked, HUD may contact applicants to 
ensure proper completion of the application, and will do so on a 
uniform basis for all applicants.
    Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include 
inconsistencies in the funding request, failure to submit the proper 
certifications, and failure to submit an application that contains a 
signature by an official able to make a legally binding commitment on 
behalf of the applicant. In the case of an applicant that received a 
waiver of the regulatory requirement to submit an electronic 
application, the technical deficiency may include failure to submit an 
application that contains an original signature. If HUD finds a curable 
deficiency in the application, HUD will notify the applicant in writing 
by describing the clarification or technical deficiency. HUD will 
notify applicants by e-mail, facsimile, or via the U.S. Postal Service, 
return receipt requested. Clarifications or corrections of technical 
deficiencies in accordance with the information provided by HUD must be 
submitted within 5 calendar days of the date of receipt of the HUD 
notification. (If the deadline date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or 
federal holiday, the applicant's correction must be received by HUD on 
the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday.) In 
the case of electronic submissions to Grants.gov, any clarifications or 
cure items must be submitted electronically using the facsimile 
telephone number and form HUD-96011, Facsimile Cover Page, contained in 
the last application package submitted to HUD. The additional 
information will be matched to the electronic application in HUD's 
files. Applicants must follow the facsimile requirements found 
elsewhere in this notice. If the deficiency is not corrected within the 
above time frame, HUD will reject the application as incomplete, and it 
will not be considered for funding. In order to meet statutory 
deadlines for the obligation of funds or for timely completion of the 
review process, program NOFAs may reduce the number of days for 
submitting a response to a HUD request for clarification or correction 
to a technical deficiency. Please be sure to carefully read this notice 
and each program NOFA for any additional information and instructions. 
An applicant's response to a HUD notification of a curable deficiency 
should be submitted directly to HUD in accordance with the instructions 
provided in the notification.
    5. Rating Panels. To review and rate applications, HUD may 
establish panels that may include persons not currently employed by 
HUD. HUD may include these non-HUD employees to obtain particular 
expertise and outside points of view, including views from other 
federal agencies. Persons brought into HUD to review applications are 
subject to conflict-of-interest provisions. In addition, reviewers 
using HUD IT systems may be subject to an IT security check.
    6. Rating. HUD will evaluate and rate all applications for funding 
that meet the threshold requirements.
    7. Ranking. HUD will rank applicants within each program or, for 
Continuum of Care applicants, across the three programs identified in 
the Continuum of Care NOFA. HUD will rank applicants against only those 
applying for the same program funding.
    Where there are set-asides within a program competition, the 
applicant will compete against only those applicants in the same set-
aside competition.

C. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

    The individual program NOFAs will provide the applicable 
information regarding this subject.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

    1. Negotiation. After it has rated and ranked all applications and 
made selections, HUD may require, depending upon the program, that a 
selected applicant participate in negotiations to determine the 
specific terms of the funding agreement and budget. In cases where HUD 
cannot successfully conclude negotiations with a selected applicant or 
a selected applicant fails to provide HUD with requested information, 
an award will not be made to that applicant. In such an instance, HUD 
may offer an award to, and proceed with negotiations with, the next 
highest-ranking applicant.
    2. Adjustments to Funding.
    a. To ensure the fair distribution of funds and enable the purposes 
or requirements of a specific program to be met, HUD reserves the right 
to fund less than the full amount requested in an application.
    b. HUD will not fund any portion of an application that: (1) Is not 
eligible for funding under specific HUD program statutory or regulatory 
requirements; (2) does not meet the requirements of this notice; or (3) 
is duplicative of other funded programs or activities from prior year 
awards or other selected applicants. Only the eligible portions of an 
application (excluding duplicative portions) may be funded.
    c. If funds remain after funding the highest-ranking applications, 
HUD may fund all or part of the next highest-ranking application in a 
given program. If an applicant turns down an award offer, HUD will make 
an offer of funding to the next highest-ranking application.

[[Page 79577]]

    d. If funds remain after all selections have been made, remaining 
funds may be made available within the current fiscal year for other 
competitions within the program area or be held over for future 
competitions.
    e. If, subsequent to announcement of awards made under the FY2009 
NOFAs, additional funds become available either through a supplemental 
appropriation or recapture of funds during FY2009, HUD reserves the 
right to use the additional funding to provide full funding to an 
FY2009 applicant that was denied the requested amount of funds due to 
insufficient funds to make the full award, and/or to fund additional 
applicants that were eligible to receive an award but for which there 
were no funds available.
    f. Individual program NOFAs may have other requirements, so please 
review the program NOFAs carefully.
    3. Funding Errors. In the event HUD commits an error that, if 
corrected, would result in selection of an applicant during the funding 
round of a program NOFA, HUD may select that applicant for funding, 
subject to the availability of funds.
    4. Performance and Compliance Actions of Funding Recipients. HUD 
will measure and address the performance and compliance actions of 
funding recipients in accordance with the applicable standards and 
sanctions of their respective programs.
    5. Debriefing. For a period of at least 120 days, beginning 30 days 
after the awards for assistance are publicly announced, HUD will 
provide to a requesting applicant a debriefing related to its 
application. A request for debriefing must be made in writing or by 
email by the authorized official whose signature appears on the SF-424 
or by his or her successor in office, and be submitted to the person or 
organization identified as the contact under the section entitled 
``Agency Contact(s)'' in the individual program NOFA under which the 
applicant applied for assistance. Information provided during a 
debriefing will include, at a minimum, the final score the applicant 
received for each rating factor, final evaluator comments for each 
rating factor, and the final assessment indicating the basis upon which 
assistance was provided or denied.
    B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements. See Section 
III.C. of this notice regarding related requirements.

C. Reporting

    1. Use of a Logic Model to Report Performance. In FY2004, HUD began 
using as a planning tool the Logic Model submitted as part of NOFA 
applications. In FY2005, HUD required grant agreements to incorporate 
performance reporting against the approved Logic Model. In FY2006, HUD 
moved to standardized ``master'' Logic Models from which applicants can 
select needs, activities/outputs, and outcomes appropriate to their 
programs. In addition, program offices have identified Program 
Management Evaluation Questions that grantees will be required to 
report on, as specified in the approved program eLogic Model[supreg]. 
The time frame established for the Logic Model reporting will be in 
accordance with the program's established reporting periods and as 
stated in the program NOFA.
    2. Placement of Approved Logic Models and Reports on HUD's Web 
site. It is HUD's intent to publish approved Logic Models and grantee 
progress reports submitted to HUD on its Grants Web site. Starting with 
awards made in FY2007, HUD established a Grants Performance page that 
features program performance ratings issued by OMB under its Program 
Assessment Rating Tool (PART) or its successor tool, for HUD programs 
that have been evaluated by OMB. HUD will also post all approved Logic 
Models that show each awardee's projected outputs and outcomes during 
the period of performance. As required performance reports are received 
by HUD, they will be added to the Web site. HUD is creating this Web 
site page to highlight and make available to the public performance and 
results from HUD-funded programs, in keeping with Executive Order 
13392, issued December 14, 2005, and published in the Federal Register 
on December 19, 2005 (70 FR 75373). HUD believes that informing the 
public on progress is in keeping with presidential and congressional 
intent for transparency in federally funded programs, as demonstrated 
by the passage of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 
Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-282), and creation of the federal Web sites 
http://www.ExpectMore.gov and http://www.Results.gov.
    3. Return on Investment Statements. HUD also intends to propose 
Return on Investment (ROI) Statements for each of its competitive grant 
programs. Before finalizing ROI Statements for implementation, HUD will 
either offer incentive funding for applicants wishing to participate in 
developing an ROI as part of their grant program or HUD will publish 
the proposed ROI Statements for public comment. HUD believes the 
applicant/grantee community can greatly assist HUD in its attempt to 
place a value on the work done under the Department's grant programs. 
While HUD expects grantees to respond to the Management Evaluation 
Questions in their final reports, reporting on the ROI Statements is 
not mandatory at this time. As HUD finalizes ROI Statements for each 
program, they will be included in awards in the future. In FY2008, HUD 
offered ROI incentive funding in the Housing for Persons with AIDS 
(HOPWA) NOFA.
    4. Logic Model Instructions. The Logic Model form (HUD-96010), a 
Microsoft Excel workbook, contains instructions in Tab 1 on how to use 
the form. The form or eLogic Model[reg] incorporates a program-specific 
master list of statements of need, service, or activity/output(s) and 
their associated unit(s) of measure; and outcome(s) and their 
associated unit(s) of measure. Applicants will be required to click on 
a cell within a column. When you click on the cell, the drop-down 
button appears to the right of the cell. Applicants can then select the 
appropriate statement(s) to reflect their proposed program. Applicants 
can select multiple need(s) and services, or activities/outputs and 
outcomes, but each selection is entered in separate cells using the 
drop-down menu. The unit measure, whether for outputs or outcomes, may 
be a number or date. Applicants insert the expected number of units to 
be completed or achieved or date of achievement during the period of 
performance. In this manner, the applicant will build a custom Logic 
Model reflecting their program of activities. The custom Logic Model 
will link the need(s) to the activity/output(s), which in turn are 
linked to the result or expected outcome(s) tailored to each of HUD's 
programs.
    5. Logic Model Format. The following briefly describes the format 
for the HUD Logic Model. Full instructions are contained in the Logic 
Model found in the Instructions Download for the program, on 
Grants.gov. For the Logic Model to work properly, you must enable the 
macros upon opening the file.
    a. Each Logic Model has drop-down menus for HUD Strategic Goals and 
Policy Priorities, to eliminate applicant confusion over what letters 
and numbers to use for the goals and priorities and to improve data 
quality.
    b. Tabs for Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 activities, as well as a tab 
for Total, are provided in each Logic Model. HUD found that applicants 
within a program had varying opinions or interpretations on time frames 
for short, intermediate, and long term and that the use of clearly

[[Page 79578]]

defined time frames eliminated the varying interpretations and provided 
for better quality data. In response to grantee requests, in FY2008, 
HUD added a column labeled YTD (Year-To-Date), which represents 
cumulative totals per year to each reporting period for results 
achieved. The column allows grantees to see immediately what they have 
achieved during the reporting period, what they have achieved as they 
progress throughout the year, what they have achieved on a cumulative 
basis each reporting year, and what they have achieved during the 
period of award. The total tab allows for cumulative projected and 
final results to be shown covering all years of the period of 
performance. Applicants with a one-year period of performance only have 
to complete the Year 1 tab, since the total results will all occur in 
the one-year award period. When reporting, be sure to show 
noncumulative data in the past column and cumulative date in the YTD 
column. In 2008, HUD also increased the number of rows in each Logic 
Model Worksheet to allow applicants to skip a row between groups of 
activities so they could better demonstrate the relationship between 
the activity(ies) and the expected outcomes.
    c. For the grantees' convenience and to call attention to the 
requirements, the Logic Model form contains reporting instructions. The 
instructions ask applicants to identify in their reports to HUD where 
actual results deviated from projected results--either positively or 
negatively. The Reporting Instruction tab includes a text field in 
which grantees can report any deviations, as well as their responses to 
the management questions. While the reporting tab does not add 
additional burden hours to the information collection, HUD believes 
that having the reporting tab in the form assists the applicant in 
completing their Logic Model and provides for better quality Logic 
Models and reporting to HUD. HUD will continue to review data received 
via eLogic Model[reg] in 2008 and would like to thank the applicant/
grantee community for their recommendations and insights.
    In FY2009, HUD added fields for the applicant's DUNS number and 
project location. These data elements make it easier to place logic 
models on HUD's Web site and find application logic models by location. 
In FY2009, to provide for greater consistency in reporting, applicants 
must include all activities and outcomes expected each year of the 
period of performance. Applicants should carefully review the program 
NOFA for required outputs and outcome selections, because some of the 
program NOFAs define what must, at a minimum, be included in the Logic 
Model.
    6. In FY2009, grantees must adhere to the following reporting 
principles:
    a. An evaluation process will be part of the ongoing management of 
the HUD-funded award;
    b. Comparisons will be made between projected and actual numbers 
for outputs and outcomes;
    c. Deviations from projected outputs and outcomes will be 
documented and explained as part of required reporting; and
    d. Data will be analyzed to determine the relationship of outputs 
to outcomes, to determine which outputs produce which outcomes and 
which are most effective.
    As stated above, in FY2007, HUD required each program to establish 
a set of Program Management Evaluation Questions for grantee reporting. 
Grantees must use these questions to self-evaluate the management and 
performance of their program. HUD is continuing this practice in 
FY2009. In developing the Program Management Evaluation Questions for 
the Master Logic Model, HUD trained its program managers on the Carter-
Richmond Methodology, a critical thinking process that identifies key 
management and evaluation questions for HUD's programs. The following 
table identifies the Carter-Richmond generic questions and where the 
source data is found in the Logic Model.

     Carter-Richmond Methodology: \1\ Building Blocks for Effective
                               Management
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Logic model columns for source
          Management questions                         data
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. How many clients are you serving?....  Service/Activity/Output.
2. How many units were provided?........  Service/Activity/Output.
3. Who are you serving?.................  Service/Activity/Output.
4. What services do you provide?........  Service/Activity/Output.
5. What does it cost?...................  Service/Activity/Output.
6. What does it cost per service          Service/Activity/Output/
 delivered?.                               Evaluation.
7. What happens to the ``subjects'' as a  Outcome.
 result of the service? \2\.
8. What does it cost per outcome?.......  Outcome and Evaluation.
9. What is the value of the outcome?....  Outcome and Evaluation.
10. What is the return on investment?...  Evaluation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``The Accountable Agency--How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of
  Public and Private Programs,'' Reginald Carter, ISBN Number
  9780978724924.
\2\ The subject can be a client or a unit, such as a building, and is
  defined in its associated unit of service.

    As a result of this training, each program has developed specific 
Program Management Evaluation Questions tailored to the statutory 
purpose of each of their programs. Each program NOFA will require 
applicants to address these questions based upon the Carter-Richmond 
Methodology in their reports to HUD. The program NOFA Logic Models will 
identify the particular questions to be addressed that relate to the 
statutory purpose and intent of each program. In FY2008, the Management 
Questions were developed as a Microsoft Excel table which formats the 
question as a data element and the response to the question as a data 
element. By creating this table, grantees when reporting can enter the 
response to the management questions in the data field provided, thus 
allowing the management question responses to be placed in the Logic 
Model database for further analysis.
    Training on HUD's Logic Model and on the reporting requirements for 
addressing the Program Management Evaluation Questions will be provided 
via satellite broadcast. The training will also provide examples of how 
to construct the Logic Model using the drop-down lists in the eLogic 
Model[reg]. Training materials and the dates for the training will be 
on HUD's Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. In addition, each program NOFA broadcast will address 
the specific questions and reporting requirements for the specific 
program.

[[Page 79579]]

    Applicants should submit the completed Logic Model as an attachment 
to their application, in accordance with the directions in the program 
NOFA for addressing the factors for award. Each program NOFA will 
identify if it requires the factors for award, including the Logic 
Model that is required as part of the application submission, to be 
submitted as a single attached file or as separate files. Please follow 
the program NOFA directions. When opening the eLogic Model[reg] enable 
the Macros. Do not convert the file to PDF format. Save the file in the 
format you opened it. Grants.gov can now accept Microsoft Office 2007 
files and HUD can read both Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 
2007 files.
    After being selected for funding and awarded funds, grantees will 
be required to submit a completed form HUD-96010, Logic Model, 
indicating results achieved against the proposed output(s) and proposed 
outcome(s) stated in the grantee's approved application and agreed to 
by HUD. The Logic Model and required management questions must be 
submitted to HUD in accordance with the reporting periods identified in 
each program NOFA for providing reports to HUD.
    7. Use of Form HUD-27061, Race and Ethnic Data Reporting Form, to 
Report Race and Ethnicity Data for Beneficiaries of HUD Programs. HUD 
requires grantees that provide HUD program benefits to individuals or 
families to report data on the race and ethnicity of those receiving 
such benefits. Grantees that provide benefits to individuals during the 
period of performance, whether directly, through subrecipients, or 
through contractual arrangements, must report the data using form HUD-
27061, Race and Ethnic Data Reporting Form, on Grants.gov. The form is 
a data collection based on the standards published by OMB on August 13, 
2002. The individual program NOFAs will identify applicable reporting 
requirements related to each program. Applicants reporting to HUD using 
an online system can use that system to meet this requirement, provided 
that the data elements and reports derived from the system are 
equivalent to the data collection in the form HUD-27061. For programs 
where race and ethnicity reporting is required, copies of form HUD-
27061 will be included in the Instructions Download portion of the 
application posted to Grants.gov.
    8. Frequency of Reports and Data Consistency.
    a. Logic Model Reporting. When submitting eLogic Model[reg] reports 
on a quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis, each report should show 
the results that occurred during that reporting period. All final 
reports should provide a final eLogic Model[reg] performance for the 
entire period of the award. See instructions in the eLogic Model[reg] 
on how to label files when reporting. When reporting, be sure to show 
noncumulative data in the past column and cumulative data in the YTD 
column.
    b. Race and Ethnic Data Report. When submitting the Race and Ethnic 
Data Reporting Form (HUD-27061) on a quarterly or semiannual basis, 
each reporting period should show the results that occurred during the 
performance period for all active clients. If a multiyear program is 
funded, then each annual report should show results that occurred 
during that performance year for all active clients. A final form HUD-
27061 should show results for all active clients for the entire period 
of performance.

VII. Agency Contact(s)

    The individual program NOFAs will identify the applicable agency 
contacts related to each program. Questions regarding this notice 
should be directed to the NOFA Information Center between the hours of 
10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. eastern time at 800-HUD-8929. Persons with 
hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TTY by calling 
the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339. (These are toll-
free numbers.) Questions regarding specific program requirements should 
be directed to the agency contacts identified in each program NOFA.

VIII. Other Information

    A. Public Law 106-107, Streamlining Activities and Grants.gov. The 
Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. 
L. 106-107) directed each federal agency to develop and implement a 
plan that, among other things, streamlines and simplifies the 
application, administrative, and reporting procedures for federal 
financial assistance programs administered by the agency. This law also 
required the Director of OMB to direct, coordinate, and assist federal 
agencies in establishing: (1) A common application and reporting system 
and (2) an interagency process for addressing ways to streamline and 
simplify federal financial assistance application and administrative 
procedures, as well as reporting requirements for program applicants. 
Over the last several years, the intergovernmental work groups tasked 
with the implementation of Public Law 106-107 have been engaged in 
various streamlining activities that are now being shared with the 
grantee community for their input prior to being implemented across the 
federal government. Public Law 106-107 sunset in 2008. Despite the 
sunset of the law, federal agencies are still working to simplify and 
streamline their application and submission requirements. Applicants 
and grantees are urged to participate in the broadcasts sponsored by 
the Grants Policy Committee and the federal government work groups to 
become familiar with the proposed changes to simplify requirements, at 
http://www.gpc.gov.
    B. Grants.gov. The Grants.gov initiative focuses on allowing the 
public to easily FIND competitive funding opportunities and then APPLY 
for grant funding electronically via Grants.gov. In FY2004, HUD posted 
all of its funding opportunities, with the exception of Continuum of 
Care, at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp and has continued to do so through FY2009. In 
addition, Grants.gov is working with federal agencies to begin the 
process of accepting mandatory and formula grant program plans and 
application submissions online via Grants.gov. Applicants for HUD's 
formula and competitive programs are urged to become familiar with the 
Grants.gov website, registration procedures, and electronic submissions 
so that, as the website is expanded, applicants will be registered and 
familiar with the find-and-apply functionality. The Grants.gov Internet 
address for Finding Grant Opportunities is http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp. The Grants.gov Internet 
address for Applying for Grant Opportunities is http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp.
    C. HUD-IRS Memorandum of Agreement. HUD and the IRS have entered 
into a memorandum of agreement to provide information to HUD grantees 
serving low-income, disabled, and elderly persons, as well as persons 
with limited English proficiency, on the availability of low-income 
housing tax credits, the earned income tax credit, individual 
development accounts, child tax credits, and the IRS Voluntary Income 
Tax Assistance program. HUD is making available on its website 
information on these IRS asset-building resources. HUD encourages you 
to visit the website and disseminate this information to low-income 
residents in your community and other organizations that serve low-
income residents, so that eligible

[[Page 79580]]

individuals can take advantage of these resources.
    D. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. The information collection 
requirements in this notice have been approved by OMB under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). In accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information, 
unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. Each program 
NOFA will identify its applicable OMB control number.
    E. Environmental Impact. A Finding of No Significant Impact with 
respect to the environment has been made for this notice, in accordance 
with HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 50 that implement Section 102(2)(C) 
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)). As program NOFAs are issued, each will provide a statement 
regarding Environmental Impact. The Finding of No Significant Impact 
for this notice is available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 5 
p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, in 
the Office of General Counsel, Regulations Division, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500.

F. Executive Orders and Congressional Intent

    1. Executive Order 13132, Federalism. Executive Order 13132 
prohibits, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, an agency 
from promulgating policies that have federalism implications and either 
impose substantial direct compliance costs on state and local 
governments and are not required by statute, or preempt state law, 
unless the relevant requirements of Section 6 of the executive order 
are met. This notice does not have federalism implications and does not 
impose substantial direct compliance costs on state and local 
governments or preempt state law within the meaning of the executive 
order.
    2. American-made Products. Sections 708 and 709 of the 
Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, 
and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-115; 
approved Nov. 30, 2005), states that, to the greatest extent 
practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made 
available should be made in the United States.
    3. Eminent Domain. In accordance with Division K, Title IV (General 
Provisions), Section 411 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 
(Pub. L. 110-161, approved December 26, 2007), no funds made available 
in FY2008 may be used to support any federal, state, or local projects 
that seek to use the power of eminent domain, unless eminent domain is 
employed only for a public use. This limitation also applied to FY2007 
appropriated funds. In FY2009, this limitation may apply, subject to 
the language in HUD's final approved appropriation act.
    Based upon language in previous appropriations, for purposes of 
this provision, public use shall not be construed to include economic 
development that primarily benefits private entities.
    Further, any use of funds for mass transit, railroad, airport, 
seaport, or highway projects, as well as utility projects which benefit 
or serve the general public (including energy-related, communication-
related, water-related, and wastewater-related infrastructure), other 
structures designated for use by the general public or which have other 
common-carrier or public-utility functions that serve the general 
public and are subject to regulation and oversight by the government, 
and projects for the removal of an immediate threat to public health 
and safety or brownfields, as defined in the Small Business Liability 
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Pub. L. 107-118), shall be 
considered a public use for purposes of eminent domain.
    G. Public Access, Documentation, and Disclosure. Section 102 of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (HUD 
Reform Act) (42 U.S.C. 3545) and the regulations codified at 24 CFR 
part 4, subpart A, contain a number of provisions that are designed to 
ensure greater accountability and integrity in the provision of certain 
types of assistance administered by HUD. On January 14, 1992, HUD 
published a notice that also provides information on the implementation 
of section 102 (57 FR 1942). The documentation, public access, and 
disclosure requirements of section 102 apply to assistance awarded 
under individual NOFAs published as described below.
    1. Documentation, Public Access, and Disclosure Requirements. HUD 
will ensure that documentation and other information regarding each 
application submitted pursuant to its FY2009 NOFAs are sufficient to 
indicate the basis upon which assistance was provided or denied. This 
material, including any letters of support, will be made available for 
public inspection for a 5-year period beginning not less than 30 days 
after the award of the assistance. Material will be made available in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's 
implementing regulations (24 CFR part 15).
    2. Form HUD-2880, ``Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report'' 
(``HUD Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report'' on Grants.gov). HUD will 
also make available to the public, for 5 years, all applicant 
disclosure reports (form HUD-2880) submitted in connection with an 
FY2009 NOFA. Update reports (also reported on form HUD-2880) will be 
made available along with the applicant disclosure reports, but in no 
case for a period of less than 3 years. All reports, both applicant 
disclosures and updates, will be made available in accordance with the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing 
regulations (24 CFR part 5).
    3. Publication of Recipients of HUD Funding. HUD's regulations at 
24 CFR part 4 provide that HUD will publish a notice in the Federal 
Register to notify the public of all funding decisions made by the 
Department to provide:
    a. Assistance subject to Section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act; and
    b. Assistance provided through grants or cooperative agreements on 
a discretionary (non-formula, non-demand) noncompetitive basis.
    H. Section 103 of the HUD Reform Act. HUD's regulations 
implementing section 103 of the HUD Reform Act, codified at 24 CFR part 
4, subpart B, apply to this funding competition. The regulations 
continue to apply until the announcement of the selection of successful 
applicants.
    HUD employees involved in the review of applications and in the 
making of funding decisions are prohibited by the regulations from 
providing advance information to any person (other than an authorized 
employee of HUD) concerning funding decisions or from otherwise giving 
any applicant an unfair competitive advantage. Persons who apply for 
assistance should confine their inquiries to the subject areas 
permitted under 24 CFR part 4.
    Applicants or employees who have ethics-related questions should 
contact the HUD Ethics Law Division at 202-708-3815 (this is not a 
toll-free number). The toll-free TTY number for persons with speech or 
hearing impairments is 800-877-8339. HUD employees who have specific 
program questions should contact the appropriate field office counsel 
or

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Headquarters counsel for the program to which the question pertains.
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    Instructions
    A maximum of 10 points are assigned for evaluating and scoring the 
logic model.
    The Logic Model Assessment Matrix identifies the four components 
that are to be evaluated when scoring the logic model:
     Row--1--Services.
     Row--2--Outcomes.
     Row--3--Projections.
     Row--4--Evaluation Tools.
    There are four possible conditions that describe each component 
represented by the labels (three conditions for the Evaluation 
component):
     Excellent.
     Good.
     Marginally Satisfactory.
     Unacceptable.
    When reviewing and scoring the logic model, HUD reviewers will 
choose the one statement in each of the four rows (services, outcomes, 
projections, evaluation tools) that best describes your evaluation of 
the logic model and add the assigned points to obtain a total score.

[FR Doc. E8-30600 Filed 12-24-08; 8:45 am]
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