Outreach and Education Project Funding

The Home Ownership Preservation Initiative for Outreach and Education is administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation through OCR. The goal of the HPI for Outreach and Education is to educate community residents and manufactured home park owners about existing state resources which can be used to improve quality of the infrastructure and housing conditions within manufactured home park communities. HTFC invites eligible applicants to apply for Neighborhood Preservation Program and Rural Preservation Program funding under the HPI for Outreach and Education. See Program Details

Eligible applicants shall be Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies that are in good standing, that are active in areas with high concentrations of manufactured home park communities, that demonstrate a commitment and interest in working to preserve this critical housing stock, and that demonstrate the capacity to:

• Recruit and manage a full-time Education and Outreach Associate who will be responsible for building relationships with owners and residents of manufactured home park communities.
   
• Manage up to 2 full time Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps) Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) members who will work under the direction of the Education and Outreach Associate, contingent on grant approval by AmeriCorps (more information about the AmeriCorps VISTA program can be found in Exhibit B of this RFP).
   
• Support the above-mentioned staff in conducting education and outreach of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) housing resources, including affordable mortgage products and housing grant programs.
   
• Build and strengthen relationships with local, county and state officials to identify communities in need of assistance.
   
• Identify early warning systems for communities in need of a financial support to ensure resources are deployed before conditions have reached “emergency” status.
   
• Provide qualitative information and feedback to HCR staff to guide program development.

Selected Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies shall use the grant for the salary of a full-time Outreach and Education Associate, for two-years. Outreach and Education Associates will lead outreach efforts and recruit, hire, and supervise up to two AmeriCorps VISTA members, who will be hosted by the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Company for a minimum of one year, with the possibility of a one-year extension, contingent on grant approval by AmeriCorps. As the host-site supervisor for its respective AmeriCorps VISTA members, the awardee shall process the travel reimbursements and housing stipends for the AmeriCorps VISTA members, of which funds will be provided through this grant.

Additionally, selected Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Companies may work with State program staff to create a work plan towards the following activities:

• Organize community meetings for manufactured home park community residents to talk about affordable housing resources, including State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) mortgages, Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) grants, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, which may be used to improve the quality of the existing manufactured housing stock.
   
• Organize and host broader community meetings with residents who need access to affordable housing and who may be good candidates for first-time homeownership opportunities.
   
• Establish relationships with manufactured home park community owners who may be interested in taking advantage of HCR’s newly launched Acquisition/Rehabilitation loan program specifically designated for manufactured home park communities (Program brochure can be found on HCR’s website).
   
• Establish relationships and identify opportunities for collaboration with city, county and state officials who also intersect with this housing stock.
   
• Track and monitor the sales of manufactured home park communities.
   
• Track and monitor manufactured home park communities that may be “at-risk” due to violations of code and environmental laws.
   
• Work with affordable housing stakeholders to identify opportunities for acquisition of manufactured home parks that are for sale or at-risk due to deteriorating conditions.
   
• Educate residents of existing manufactured home park communities on “models of ownership” to determine what preservation strategy is appropriate (i.e. nonprofit ownership, limited equity cooperative, joint venture).

Four Applicants will be awarded with funds made available through this RFP.  One Applicant will be awarded in each of the four Eligible Target Areas: Hudson Valley area, North Country/Capitol area, Southern Tier/Central New York area, and Western New York area.  Applicants must clearly identify their ability to cover the entire Eligible Target Area for which they are applying. The Eligible Target Areas are defined based on the distribution of manufactured home park communities in New York state.  A list of manufactured home park communities may be found here: Eligible Target Areas HPI Application