Nonprofit Organizations

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars can be used to fund a variety of public service activities. Eligible public service activities include, but are not limited to, employment services (e.g., job training), crime prevention, child care, health services, substance abuse services, fair housing counseling, senior services, energy conservation, and recreational services. CDBG funds may be used to pay for labor, supplies, and material, as well as to operate and/or maintain the portion of the public facility in which the public service is located.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for funding, the public service must be categorized under the Low / Mod Benefit National Objective as either "Limited Clientele" or "Area Benefit." The "Limited Clientele" activities benefit a specific targeted group of persons, of which at least 51% must be low / mod. In order to meet the low / mod "Limited Clientele," the activity must:

• Serve at least 51% low / mod, as evidenced by documentation and data concerning beneficiary family size and income
• Have income eligibility requirements which limit the service to persons meeting the low/mod income requirement, as evidenced by the administering agency's procedures, intake / application forms, and other sources of documentation
• Serve a group primarily presumed to be low/mod such as abused children, battered spouses, elderly persons, severely disabled adults, homeless persons, illiterate adults, persons living with AIDS, and migrant farm workers
• Be of a nature and in a location that it may be concluded that the activity's clientele are low / mod

In order to meet the low / mod "Area Benefit," the public service must be offered to all residents of an area where at least 51% of the residents are low / mod. The area must be clearly delineated by the grantee and must be primarily residential. In order to document qualification of public service activities under this objective, the nonprofit must:

• Maintain records of the boundaries of the service area (see census maps for eligible areas)
• Document that the area is primarily residential (e.g., zoning map)
• Document the income characteristics of households in the service area (i.e., census data)