Overview
The Office of Community Renewal recognizes that New York's smaller communities must have an economy that encourages business development and promotes jobs for low- and moderate-income persons. Through the Office of Community Renewal's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Economic Development program, the Office of Community Renewal provides grants to communities that wish to sponsor economic development activities that create or retain jobs for low- and moderate-income persons. The goal of the program is to fund projects that result in high quality, full-time jobs that are well paying and provide benefits and training to low- and moderate-income persons.
The NYS CDBG Economic Development program consists of three funding activities:
Economic Development, Small Business Assistance, and Microenterprise. Eligible applicants must apply on behalf of the business seeking CDBG funds. Awards are made to the applicant community and not directly to businesses. Economic development funds are flexible and can be used for most legitimate business purposes.
The CDBG Economic Development, Small Business Assistance, and Microenterprise Applications operate through an Open Round process in the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) portal. The Open Round applications involve a two-step process. First, an applicant must complete a preliminary application called the Pre-Submission Form. The Pre-Submission Form will be reviewed by the Office of Community Renewal. If the Pre-Submission form meets CDBG program requirements, the applicant will receive a formal invitation to apply. The invitation to apply will allow the applicant to proceed to the second step, the full application. An applicant must complete the full application in the CFA portal within 60 days of the invitation to apply.
The Open Round process for CDBG Economic Development, Small Business Assistance, and Microenterprise do not share the CFA deadline. Open Round applications may be submitted throughout the year. A CFA request for CDBG Economic Development, Small Business, or Microenterprise Assistance cannot include requests for other funding sources within the same application.
Applicants for NYS CDBG funds are required to meet Citizen Participation requirements by issuing a public notice and holding a public hearing prior to submitting an application. Evidence of these requirements is a threshold item for application eligibility.
Project activities must not commence prior to award and approval of environmental materials by the Office of Community Renewal.
There are three funding categories under the NYS CDBG Economic Development Program: (1) Economic Development, (2) Small Business Assistance, and (3) Microenterprise.
Economic Development and Small Business funds are available to municipalities to assist for-profit businesses to create or retain permanent employment, primarily for persons of low- and moderate-income. Microenterprise funds are available to municipalities to create opportunities for the development of businesses within 5 or fewer employees, including the owner, that promote employment opportunities for persons of low-to-moderate income.
Webinar Series
Forms and Documents
Grant Agreement Forms
Environmental Review Forms
Disbursement of CDBG Funds
CDBG Reporting
General Grant Administration
Sample Templates
| Fillable Forms |
|---|
| Equipment Certification |
| Hiring Notice |
| Preliminary Business Summary |
| Admin-Program Delivery Coversheet |
| Disbursement Coversheet |
| Subrecipient Consultant Monitoring Template |
Program Guidelines
Eligibility
Cities, towns, and villages located in non-entitlement areas with a population under 50,000 and counties with an unincorporated population of 200,000 are eligible to apply for CDBG funding. Eligible applicants must be in substantial compliance with all applicable State and Federal laws, regulations, and Executive Orders that pertain to the CDBG Program.
Business Expansion and Startup (BEST) Program Guidelines
| Fillable Forms: |
|---|
| 2024 CDBG Business Expansion and Startup (BEST) RFA |
Microenterprise
| Fillable Forms: |
|---|
| Toolkit Guidance & Index |
| Program Design Plan (sample) |
| Local Grant Application (sample) |
| Local Grant Agreement Guidance |
| Training Syllabus (sample) |
| CDBG Microenterprise FAQ's |
Grant Administration Manual
Funding Round Materials
Funding Round Materials
Pre-Submission
| Pre-Submission | Instructions: |
|---|---|
| Pre-Submission Form Certification | |
| Preliminary Budget Table | |
| Public Hearing Toolkit | |
| Pre-Submission Job Creation & Retention Table | |
| Pre-Submission Job Creation Table (ME) |
Full Application
Resources
OCR On The Ground
Related Links
| Linked webpages are intended to direct visitors to additional CDBG-related information sources. The Office of Community Renewal assumes no responsibility in assuring the accuracy of information obtained from outside sources. |
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) |
| Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) |
| HUD Client Information and Policy System (HUDCLIPS) |
| HUD Datasets - Fair Market Rents |
| HUD Income Limits |
| HUD State-Administered CDBG Program Information |
| New York State Association of Counties |
| New York State Association of Towns |
| New York State Conference of Mayors |