[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 173 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53490-53535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17727]



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Part V





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Notice of Funding Availability for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Self-Help 
Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP); Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4951-N-01]


Notice of Funding Availability for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Self-
Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP)

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

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Overview Information

    A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Community Planning and Development.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity 
Program (SHOP).
    C. Announcement Type: Initial announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number for this 
NOFA is FR-4951-N-01. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
paperwork approval number is 2506-0157.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: Self-Help 
Homeownership Opportunity Program. The CFDA number is 14.247.
    F. Application Deadline: The application submission date is 
November 7, 2005. Applications may be submitted electronically or in 
paper version. Applications submitted electronically through 
www.Grants.gov must be received by grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 
p.m. eastern time on the application submission date. Applicants 
submitting paper applications must send their applications via the 
United States Postal Service (USPS) no later than 11:59:59 p.m. eastern 
time on the application submission date. Please see the General Section 
of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published March 21, 2005, for further 
information about application submission, delivery, and timely receipt 
requirements.
    G. Optional, Additional Overview Content Information: SHOP funds 
are awarded to national and regional nonprofit organizations and 
consortia demonstrating experience in administering self-help housing 
programs in which the homebuyers contribute a significant amount of 
sweat-equity toward construction or rehabilitation of the dwelling.
    The amount available for SHOP in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 is 
approximately $24,800,000 to be awarded to eligible applicants.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Description

    SHOP funds are intended to facilitate and encourage innovative 
homeownership opportunities on a national geographically diverse basis 
through self-help housing programs that require a significant amount of 
sweat-equity by the homebuyer toward the construction or rehabilitation 
of the dwelling.
    SHOP programs are administered by national and regional nonprofit 
organizations and consortia. Units developed with SHOP funds must be 
decent, safe, and sanitary non-luxury dwellings and must be made 
available to eligible homebuyers at prices below the prevailing market 
prices. Eligible homebuyers are low-income individuals and families 
(i.e., those whose annual incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the 
median income for the area, as established by HUD) who would otherwise 
be unable to purchase a dwelling but for the provision of sweat equity. 
Housing assisted under this NOFA must involve labor contributed by 
homebuyers and volunteers in the construction of dwellings and by other 
activities that involve the community in the project.

B. Authority

    The funding made available under this program is authorized by 
Section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 
U.S.C. 12805 note) (the ``Extension Act'').

II. Award Information

    Approximately $24,800,000 will be available for this program in FY 
2005. Any unobligated funds from previous competitions or additional 
funds that may become available due to deobligation or recapture from 
previous awards or budget transfers may be added to the FY 2005 
appropriation to fund applications submitted in response to this NOFA. 
Awards will be made to successful applicants in the form of a grant. 
The period for drawing funds is up to 36 months from the date HUD 
establishes a line of credit for successful applicants.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    You must be a national or regional nonprofit public or private 
organization or consortium that has the capacity and experience to 
provide or facilitate self-help housing homeownership opportunities. 
Your organization or consortium must undertake eligible SHOP activities 
directly and/or provide funding assistance to your local affiliates to 
carry out SHOP activities.
    A national organization is defined as an organization that carries 
out self-help housing activities or funds affiliates that carry out 
self-help housing activities on a national scope. A national 
organization must propose in its application to use a significant 
amount of SHOP funds in at least two states.
    A regional organization is defined as an organization that carries 
out self-help housing activities or funds affiliates that carry out 
self-help housing activities on a regional scope. A regional area is a 
geographic area, such as the Southwest or Northeast, that includes at 
least two states. The regional organization must propose to use a 
significant amount of SHOP funds in at least two states. The states in 
the region need not be contiguous, and the service area of the 
organization need not precisely conform to state boundaries. Affiliates 
working under regional organizations must be located within the 
regional organization's service area.
    A consortium is defined as two or more nonprofit organizations 
located in at least two states that individually have the capacity and 
experience to carry out self-help housing activities or fund affiliates 
that carry out self-help housing activities on a national or regional 
scope and enter into an agreement to submit a single application for 
SHOP funding on a national or regional basis. The consortium must 
propose to use a significant amount of SHOP funds in each state 
represented in the consortium. One organization must be designated as 
the lead entity. The lead entity must submit the application and, if 
selected for funding, execute the SHOP Grant Agreement with HUD and 
assume responsibility for the grant on behalf of the consortium in 
compliance with all program requirements.
    A consortium agreement, executed and dated by all consortium 
members for the purpose of applying for and using FY 2005 SHOP funds, 
must be submitted with your application. All consortium members must be 
identified in your application. A consortium's application must be a 
single integrated document that demonstrates the consortium's 
comprehensive approach to self-help housing. If individual consortium 
members use different program designs, your application must briefly 
describe in factor 3 the program design of each consortium member. Upon 
being funded, the lead entity must enter into a separate agreement with 
each consortium member. The agreement must incorporate the requirements 
of the FY 2005 SHOP

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Grant Agreement between HUD and the consortium and outline the 
individual consortium member's responsibilities for compliance with 
HUD's 2005 SHOP program.
    An affiliate is defined as:
    (1) a local public or private nonprofit self-help housing 
organization which is a subordinate organization (i.e., chapter, local, 
post, or unit) of a central organization and covered by the group 
exemption letter issued to the central organization under Section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
    (2) a local public or private nonprofit self-help housing 
organization with which the applicant has an existing relationship 
(e.g., the applicant has provided technical assistance or funding to 
the local self-help housing organization); or
    (3) a local public or private nonprofit self-help housing 
organization with which the applicant does not have an existing 
relationship, but to which the applicant will provide necessary 
technical assistance and mentoring as part of funding under the 
application.
    You must carry out eligible activities or you must enter into an 
agreement to fund affiliates to carry out eligible activities. If you 
are a consortium, each of your affiliates must be linked to an 
individual consortium member.
    Your application may not propose to fund any affiliate or 
consortium member that is also included in another SHOP application. 
You must ensure that any affiliate or consortium member under your FY 
2005 application is not also seeking FY 2005 SHOP funding from another 
SHOP applicant. If an affiliate applies for funds through more than one 
applicant, it may be disqualified for any funding.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

    There is no match requirement for the SHOP funds. However, you are 
expected to leverage resources for the construction of self-help 
housing assisted with SHOP. Failure to provide documentation of 
leveraged resources that meet the submission requirements for firm 
commitments as stated in factor 4 will result in a lower application 
score.

C. Other

1. Eligible Activities
    Eligible activities are:
    a. Land acquisition (including financing and closing costs), which 
may include reimbursing an organization, consortium, or affiliate, upon 
approval of any required environmental review, for non-grant amounts 
expended by the organization, consortium, or affiliate to acquire land 
before completion of the review;
    b. Infrastructure improvements (installing, extending, 
constructing, rehabilitating, or otherwise improving utilities and 
other infrastructure, including removal of environmental hazards); and
    c. Administration, planning, and management development, including 
the costs of general management, oversight, and coordination of the 
SHOP grant, staff and overhead costs of the SHOP grant, costs of 
providing information to the public about the SHOP grant, costs of 
providing civil rights training to local affiliates as well as any 
expenses involved in affirmatively furthering fair housing, and 
indirect costs (such as rent and utilities) of the grantee or affiliate 
in carrying out the SHOP activities.
2. Threshold Requirements
    HUD will not consider an application from an ineligible applicant. 
An applicant must meet all of the applicable threshold requirements of 
Section III.C of the General Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575). 
Each applicant must meet and comply with the SHOP threshold 
requirements described below:
    a. Organization and Eligibility. You must be eligible to apply 
under SHOP (see Section III.A. of this program section).
    b. Non-Profit Status. You must describe how you qualify as an 
eligible applicant and provide evidence of your public or private 
nonprofit status, such as a current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
ruling that your organization is exempt from taxation under Section 
501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. If you are 
a consortium, each participant in your consortium must be a nonprofit 
organization. Each consortium member must submit evidence of its 
nonprofit status to the lead entity for inclusion in the consortium's 
application package.
    c. Consortium Agreement. If you are a consortium, each consortium 
member must enter into and sign a consortium agreement for the purpose 
of applying for and carrying out SHOP activities. Your consortium 
agreement must be submitted as an appendix to your application.
    d. Amount. The amount of SHOP funds you request must be sufficient 
to complete a minimum of 30 self-help housing units and may not exceed 
an average investment of $15,000 per unit.
    e. Homebuyer Eligibility. The population you propose to serve must 
be eligible for SHOP assistance. Eligible homebuyers are low-income 
individuals and families (i.e., those whose incomes do not exceed 80 
percent of the median income for the area, as established by HUD). You 
must specify the definition of ``annual income'' to be used in your 
proposed program. You may use one of the following three definitions of 
``annual income'' to determine whether a homebuyer is income eligible 
under SHOP:
    (1) ``Annual income'' as defined at 24 CFR 5.609; or
    (2) ``Annual income'' as reported under the Census long-form for 
the most recent available decennial Census; or
    (3) ``Adjusted gross income'' as defined for purposes of reporting 
under the IRS Form 1040 series for individual federal annual income tax 
purposes.
    You may also adopt or develop your own definition of annual income 
for use in determining income eligibility under SHOP subject to review 
and approval by HUD.
    f. Experience. You must demonstrate that you have successfully 
completed at least 30 self-help homeownership units in a national or 
regional area within the 24-month period immediately preceding the 
publication of this NOFA. To qualify as self-help homeownership units, 
the homebuyers must have contributed a significant amount of sweat-
equity toward the construction of the dwellings as set forth in Section 
III.C.2(g) below.
    g. Sweat Equity. Your program must require homebuyers to contribute 
a minimum of 100 hours of sweat equity toward the construction or 
rehabilitation of their own homes and/or the homes of other homebuyers 
participating in the self-help housing program. However, in the case of 
a household with only one adult, the requirement is 50 hours of sweat 
equity toward the construction of these homes. This includes training 
for construction on the dwelling units, but excludes homebuyer 
counseling and home maintenance training. All homebuyers must meet 
these minimum hourly sweat equity requirements; however, grantees must 
permit reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities in order 
for them to meet the hourly requirements. For example, homebuyers with 
disabilities may work on less physical tasks or administrative tasks to 
meet this requirement or a volunteer(s) may enter into an agreement to 
substitute for the disabled person.
    h. Community Participation. Your program must involve community 
participation in which volunteers assist in the construction of 
dwellings. Volunteer labor is work performed by an individual without 
promise, expectation, or compensation for the

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work rendered. For mutual self-help housing programs that are assisted 
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Services/Rural 
Development under Section 523 of the Housing Act of 1949 (7 CFR Part 
1944, subpart I) or which have a program design similar to the Section 
523 program, the work by each participating family on other 
participating families' homes may count as volunteer labor. A mutual 
self-help housing program generally involves 4 to 10 participating 
families organized in a group to use their own labor to reduce the 
total construction cost of their homes and complete construction work 
on their homes by an exchange of labor with one another.
    i. Eligible Activities. You must propose to use the SHOP funds for 
eligible activities (see Sections III.C.1 and IV.D.). You must carry 
out the activities or you must fund affiliates to carry out the 
activities.
3. Threshold Submission Requirements
    In order for your application to be rated and ranked, all threshold 
requirements must be met. Threshold requirements 2 (d) through (i) 
above do not require separate submissions. These requirements must be 
addressed under the submission requirements for the rating factors 
listed below in Section V, Application Review Information Criteria, of 
this SHOP NOFA.
4. Other Requirements
    a. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. SHOP recipients must 
affirmatively further fair housing.
    b. Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons 
(Section 3). SHOP recipients must comply with Section 3 of the Housing 
and Urban Development Act of 1968 (Section 3), 12 U.S.C. 170lu 
(Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons in 
Connection with Assisted Projects), and the HUD regulations at 24 CFR 
part 135, including the reporting requirement of subpart E. Section 3 
requires recipients to ensure that to the greatest extent feasible, 
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 business concerns 
that provide economic opportunities to low- and very-low income 
persons.
    c. Ensuring the Participation of Small Businesses, Small 
Disadvantaged Businesses, and Women-Owned Businesses. SHOP recipients 
(grantees and affiliates) must comply with 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's business enterprises, 
and labor surplus area firms are used whenever possible.
    d. Executive Order 13166, ``Improving Access to Services for 
Persons With Limited English Proficiency (LEP).'' See the General 
Section for requirements for providing access to services under this 
Executive Order.
    e. Executive Order 13279, ``Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-
Based and Community Organizations.'' See the General Section.
    f. Participation in HUD-Sponsored Program Evaluation. See the 
General Section.
    g. Executive Order 13202, ``Preservation of Open Competition and 
Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor Relations 
on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects.'' See the 
General Section.
    h. Salary Limitation for Consultants. See the General Section.
    i. Real Property Acquisition and Relocation. SHOP 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 government-wide implementing regulations issued 
by the U.S. Department of Transportation at 49 CFR part 24.
    The Uniform Act is a federal law that establishes minimum standards 
for federally funded programs and projects that require the acquisition 
of real property (real estate) or displace persons from their homes, 
businesses, or farms. The Uniform Act's protections and assistance 
apply to the acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of real 
property for federal or federally funded projects. The Uniform Act was 
enacted by Congress to ensure that people whose real property is 
acquired, or who move as a direct result of projects receiving federal 
funds, are treated fairly and equitably and receive assistance in 
moving from the property they occupy.
    SHOP grantees and affiliates must comply with all applicable 
Uniform Act requirements in order to receive SHOP funds for their 
programs and projects; non-compliance could jeopardize SHOP funding. 
Real property acquisitions for a SHOP-assisted program or project 
conducted prior to completion of an environmental review and HUD's 
approval of a request for release of funds and environmental 
certification are also subject to the Uniform Act. SHOP grantees and 
affiliates must ensure that all such real property acquisitions comply 
with applicable Uniform Act requirements.
    Generally, real property acquisitions conducted without the threat 
or use of eminent domain, commonly referred to as ``voluntary 
acquisitions,'' must satisfy the applicable requirements and criteria 
of 49 CFR 24.101(b)(1) through (5). Evidence of compliance with these 
requirements must be submitted to and be maintained by the SHOP 
grantee. It is also important to note that tenants who occupy property 
which may be acquired through voluntary means must be fully informed as 
to their eligibility for relocation assistance. This includes notifying 
such tenants of their potential eligibility when negotiations are 
initiated, notifying them if they become fully eligible, and, in the 
event the purchase of the property will not occur, notifying them that 
they are no longer eligible for relocation benefits. Evidence of 
compliance with these requirements must be submitted to and be 
maintained by the SHOP grantee.
    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. You will find applicable laws and 
regulations, policy and guidance, publications, training resources, and 
a listing of HUD contacts if you have questions or need assistance.
    j. Environmental Requirements. The environmental review 
requirements for SHOP supersede the environmental requirements in the 
General Section. The provisions contained in section 305(c) of the 
Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994, 
implemented in the Environmental Review regulations at 24 CFR part 58, 
are applicable to properties assisted with SHOP funds. All SHOP 
assistance is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
and related federal environmental authorities. SHOP grant applicants 
are cautioned that no activity or project may be undertaken, or federal 
or non-federal funds or assistance committed, if the project or 
activity would limit reasonable choices or could produce an adverse 
environmental impact until all required environmental reviews and 
notifications have been completed by a unit of general local 
government, tribe, or state and until HUD approves a recipient's 
request for release of funds under the environmental provisions 
contained in 24 CFR part 58. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, in 
accordance with section 11(d)(2)(A) of the Housing Opportunity 
Extension Act of l996 and HUD Notice

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CPD-01-09, an organization, consortium, or affiliate receiving SHOP 
assistance may advance non-grant funds to acquire land prior to 
completion of an environmental review and HUD's approval of a request 
for release of funds and environmental certification. Any advances to 
acquire land prior to such approval are made at the risk of the 
organization, consortium, or affiliate, and reimbursement from SHOP 
funds for such advances will depend on the result of the environmental 
review.
    k. Statutory and Program Requirements. SHOP is governed by Section 
11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 
12805 note) (the Extension Act), and this NOFA. There are no program 
regulations. You must comply with all statutory requirements applicable 
to SHOP as cited in Section I, Funding Opportunity Description, of this 
SHOP NOFA and the program requirements cited in this SHOP NOFA. 
Pursuant to these requirements, you must:
    (1) Develop, through significant amounts of sweat-equity by each 
homebuyer and volunteer labor, at least 30 dwelling units at an average 
cost of no more than $15,000 per unit of SHOP funds for land 
acquisition and infrastructure improvements;
    (2) Use your grant to leverage other sources of funding, including 
private or other public funds, to complete construction of the housing 
units;
    (3) Develop quality dwellings that comply with local building and 
safety codes and standards, that will be made available to homebuyers 
at prices below the prevailing market price;
    (4) Schedule SHOP activities to expend all grant funds awarded and 
substantially fulfill your obligations under your grant agreement, 
including timely development of the appropriate number of dwelling 
units. Grant funds must be expended within 24 months of the date that 
they are first made available for draw-down in a line of credit 
established by HUD for the Grantee, except that grant funds provided to 
affiliates that develop five or more units must be expended within 36 
months; and
    (5) Not require a homebuyer to make an up-front financial 
contribution to a housing unit other than cash contributed for down 
payment or closing costs at the time of acquisition.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address To Request Application Package

    This notice contains all the information necessary for national and 
regional nonprofit organizations and consortia to submit an application 
for SHOP funding. This section describes how you may obtain application 
forms, additional information about the SHOP program NOFA, and 
technical assistance. Copies of the published SHOP NOFA and related 
application forms for this NOFA may be downloaded from the grants.gov 
Web site at www.grants.gov/FIND. You may choose from links provided 
under the topic ``Search Grant Opportunities,'' which allows you to do 
a basic search or to browse by category or agency. If you have 
difficulty accessing the information, you may receive customer support 
from Grants.gov by calling its help line at (800) 518-GRANTS or sending 
an e-mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c6f696c6c736e685c207d3c746e797a21" http: grants.gov">grants.gov</a>">support@grants.gov</a>. The operators will assist you in 
accessing the information. If you do not have Internet access and you 
need to obtain a copy of this NOFA, you may contact HUD's NOFA 
Information Center toll-free at (800) HUD-2209.
    1. Application Kit. There is no application kit for this program. 
All the information you need to apply is contained in this NOFA and 
available at www.grants.gov/Apply. HUD has made an effort to improve 
the readability of this NOFA and publish all required forms for 
application submission in the Federal Register. The NOFA forms are 
available to be downloaded from www.grants.gov/Apply by clicking on 
Apply Step 1. Please pay attention to the submission requirements and 
format for submission specified for this SHOP NOFA to ensure that you 
have submitted all required elements of your application.
    The published Federal Register document is the official document 
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, or at www.grants.gov, the Federal Register publication 
prevails. Please be sure to review your application submission against 
the requirements in the Federal Register for this program NOFA.
    2. Guidebook and Further Information. A guidebook to HUD programs 
entitled, ``Connecting with Communities: A User's Guide to HUD Programs 
and the FY 2005 NOFA Process,'' is available for the HUD NOFA 
Information Center and the HUD Web site at www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/fundsavail.cfm. The guidebook provides a brief description of 
all HUD programs, identifies eligible applicants for the programs, and 
provides examples of how programs can work in combination to serve 
local community needs. You can also get a copy from the NOFA 
Information Center at (800) HUD-8929 or, for the hearing impaired, (800 
HUD-2209 (TTY) (these are toll-free numbers). The NOFA Information 
Center is open between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. eastern time, 
Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

    You must meet all application and submission requirements described 
in Section IV.B of the General Section (70 FR 13581). Your application 
should consist of the items listed in the section below called Assembly 
Format and Content. HUD's standard forms can be found in Appendix B of 
the General Section (70 FR 13599).
    1. Page Limits. There are page limits for responses to the five 
rating factors. A national or regional organization is limited to 60 
pages of narrative to respond to the five rating factors. A consortium 
is permitted up to 10 additional pages total to accommodate the 
requirement to address the capacity and soundness of approach of its 
individual consortium members if they are different from that of the 
lead agency. Required appendices, forms, certifications, statements, 
and assurances are not subject to the page limitations. All pages must 
be numbered sequentially from 1 through 60 or 70, for factors 1 through 
5. For paper submissions, tabs must be inserted to separate each 
factor. Your application may contain only the narrative statements that 
address the five rating factors and the required forms, certifications, 
assurances, and appendices listed in Assembly Format and Content below 
to be submitted for review. In responding to the five factors, 
information must be included in your narrative response to each factor, 
unless this NOFA states that it should be included as an appendix. If 
you are submitting material using the fax method described in the 
General Section (70 FR 13583), the narrative should refer to the 
documents being faxed as part of your narrative response to the factor. 
Any supplemental information not required in the narratives or 
appendices requested by HUD that further explains information required 
in the five factors will not be reviewed for consideration in the 
scoring of the application. Applicants are discouraged from submitting 
unnecessary documentation.

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    2. Assembly Format and Content. Your FY 2005 application will be 
comprised of an Application Overview, Narrative Statements (rating 
factors), Forms, and Appendices. In order to receive full consideration 
for funding, you should use the following checklist to ensure that all 
requirements are addressed and submitted with your electronic 
application. For applicants that submit a paper application, the 
application must be assembled according to the following checklist to 
ensure that all of the required items are submitted.
a. Application Overview (Not subject to the page limitations)

    --SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance (signed by the 
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) of the organization 
eligible to receive funds).
    --SF-424 Supplement, Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for 
Applicants.
    --Self-Help Housing Organization Qualification--Narrative 
describing qualification as an eligible applicant and Evidence of 
Nonprofit Tax Exempt Status (in accordance with section III.C.2. of 
this NOFA).
    --Consortium Agreement, if applicable.
    --Program Summary.

b. Narrative Statements Addressing: (Subject to the page limitations 
described above.)

    --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.

c. Forms, Certifications, and Assurances: (Not subject to the page 
limitations.)

    --HUD-424CB, Grant Application Detailed Budget.
    --HUD-424-CBW, Grant Application Detailed Budget Worksheet.
    --SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, as applicable.
    --HUD-2880, Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report.
    --HUD-2990, Certification of Consistency with the RC/EZ/EC-II 
Strategic Plan.
    --HUD-2993, Acknowledgment of Application Receipt (paper 
submissions only).
    --HUD-96011, Facsimile Transmittal (electronic submissions only).
    --HUD-2994, Client Comments and Suggestions (optional)
    --HUD-96010, Program Outcome Logic Model.
d. Appendices: (Not subject to the page limitations.)

    --A copy of your code of conduct (see section III.C.3 of the 
General Section, 70 FR 13577).
    --Leveraging documentation--firm commitment letters (see factor 4).
    --Survey of potential affiliates, if applicable (see factor 2).
    --Demonstration of past performance for new applicants (see factor 
1).
    --HUD-27300, Questionnaire for HUD's Initiative on Removal of 
Regulatory Barriers (see factor 3).
    --Evaluative criteria for Removal of Regulatory Barriers to 
Affordable Housing in affiliate selection process, if applicable (see 
factor 3).

e. Certifications and Assurances. Applicants are placed on notice that 
by signing the SF-424 cover page noted above in 2.a., Application 
Overview, the applicant is certifying to all information described in 
Section IV.B.2 (``Certifications and Assurances'') in the General 
Section (70 FR 13581).

C. Submission Date and Time

    1. The application submission date is November 7, 2005.
    2. No Facsimiles or Videos. HUD will not accept for review, 
evaluation, or funding, any entire application sent by facsimile (fax). 
However, third-party documents or other materials sent by facsimile in 
compliance with the submission requirements and received by the 
application submission date will be accepted. Facsimile corrections to 
technical deficiencies will be accepted. Also, videos submitted as part 
of an application will not be viewed.

D. Intergovernmental Review

    Executive Order 12372 review does not apply to SHOP.

E. Funding Restrictions

    1. Administrative costs. Administrative costs may not exceed 20 
percent of any SHOP grant. Indirect costs may only be charged to the 
SHOP grant under a cost allocation plan prepared in accordance with OMB 
Circular A-122.
    2. Pre-agreement costs. After submission of the application, but 
before the effective date of the SHOP Grant Agreement, an applicant may 
incur costs that may be charged to its SHOP grant provided the costs 
are eligible (see Section III.C.1.) and in compliance with the 
requirements of this NOFA (including environmental review requirements) 
and the application. Applicants incur costs at their own risk, because 
applicants that do not receive a SHOP grant cannot be reimbursed.
    3. Ineligible Costs. Costs associated with the rehabilitation, 
improvement, or construction of dwellings and any other costs not 
identified in Section III.C.1. are not eligible uses of program funds. 
Acquiring land for land banking purposes (i.e., holding land for an 
indefinite period) is an ineligible use of SHOP funds. Acquisition 
undertaken by the applicant or its affiliate before the submission of 
the application is not an eligible cost.

F. Other Submission Requirements

    1. You must meet all submission requirements described in Section 
IV.F of the General Section, except the requirement for waiver of 
electronic submissions. Please refer to Section IV.F of the General 
Section (70 FR 13582) for detailed submission instructions, including 
methods for submission and timely receipt requirements for electronic 
and mailed applications. Applicants should carefully review these 
instructions as there have been major changes implemented for all HUD's 
2005 NOFAs.
    2. In addition to the submission requirements described in Section 
IV.F.4 of the General Section, please note the following direction 
specific to SHOP. During FY 2005, HUD strongly encourages submission of 
electronic applications. Electronic applications must be submitted 
through the www.Grants.gov portal. While electronic application 
submission through Grants.gov is encouraged, an applicant that wishes 
to submit a paper application must send an original and two copies to 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Central Processing 
Unit, Room 7152, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, ATTN: 
Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP). In subsequent years 
of competition, electronic submissions will be expected.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

Rating Factor 1: Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Organizational 
Staff (30 Points)
    This factor examines the extent to which you, as a single applicant 
or consortium (including individual consortium members), have the 
experience and organizational resources necessary to carry out the 
proposed activities effectively and in a timely manner. Any applicant 
that does not receive at least 20 points under this factor will not be 
eligible for funding.

[[Page 53495]]

    In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider your recent and 
relevant experience in carrying out the activities you propose, and 
your administrative and fiscal management capability to administer the 
grant, including the ability to account for funds appropriately. All 
applicants, including individual consortium members, must have capacity 
and experience in administering or facilitating self-help housing. If 
you are sponsoring affiliate organizations that do not have experience 
in developing self-help housing, HUD will assess your organization's 
experience in providing technical assistance and the ability to mentor 
new affiliates. For applicants that currently have open SHOP grants, 
HUD will assess your organization's past performance based upon 
performance reports that demonstrate your organization's completion of 
eligible SHOP activities, the number of families provided housing, 
financial status information focusing on timely use of funds, and other 
program outcomes. HUD will consider whether you have had funds 
deobligated for failure to meet your drawdown and construction 
schedules or funds were returned because of monitoring findings or 
other program deficiencies. HUD will also rely on monitoring reports, 
audit reports, and other information available to HUD in making its 
determination under this factor. For applicants that currently have 
open SHOP grants from previous years, HUD will assess your pattern of 
meeting benchmarks in the most recent three years of participation in 
the program. If you are not a current recipient of SHOP funds, you must 
summarize your past performance in undertaking similar or the same 
activities during the past three years. You may supplement your 
narrative with existing internal or external performance reports or 
other information that will assist HUD in making this determination and 
submit it as an appendix. Supplemental information and reports from 
applicants that have not received previous SHOP funding do not count 
against the page limitations. Failure to provide this information will 
result in a lower score.
Submission Requirements for Rating Factor 1
    a. Past Experience (12 points). You must describe your past 
experience in carrying out self-help housing activities (specify the 
time frame during which these activities occurred) that are the same 
as, or similar to, the activities you propose for funding, and 
demonstrate that you have had reasonable success in carrying out and 
completing those activities. You must include the average number of 
sweat equity hours provided per homebuyer family, and the average 
number of volunteer labor hours provided per unit. You may demonstrate 
reasonable success by showing that your previous activities were 
carried out as proposed, consistent with the time frame you proposed 
for completion of all work. You must provide evidence regarding your 
performance in meeting established benchmarks for acquiring properties 
and completing housing construction and indicate that performance 
reports were submitted as required. New applicants furnishing 
supplemental material should refer to the introduction to this rating 
factor. To the extent that you encountered delays that were beyond your 
control, please describe the circumstances causing the delays and the 
mitigating actions taken to overcome them to successfully complete your 
program.
    b. Management Structure (12 points). You must provide a description 
of your organization's or consortium's management structure, including 
an organizational chart. You must also describe your key staff and 
their specific roles and responsibilities for day-to-day management of 
your proposed SHOP program. You must indicate if you will or will not 
be working with organizations that are inexperienced in carrying out 
self-help housing and describe how you will provide technical 
assistance and mentor these organizations to develop capacity either 
directly or indirectly.
    c. Experience Developing Accessible Housing (6 points). You must 
demonstrate your experience in and ability to construct and alter self-
help housing by describing the kinds of features that you have used to 
design homes in accordance with universal design and visitability 
standards, or otherwise make homes accessible to the elderly or persons 
with disabilities. You must provide data on the number of accessible 
units you have completed and the time frame during which units were 
constructed and/or altered.
Rating Factor 2: Need/Extent of the Problem (10 Points)
    This factor examines the extent to which you demonstrate an urgent 
need for SHOP funds in your proposed target areas based on the need for 
affordable housing and the quality of the data submitted to 
substantiate that need.
    The purpose of this factor is to make sure that funding is provided 
where a need for funding exists. Under this factor, you must identify 
the community need or needs that your proposed SHOP activities are 
designed to address. If you plan to select some or all affiliates after 
application submission, you must demonstrate how the selection of 
affiliates will help to address the needs identified in the proposed 
target areas.
Submission Requirements for Rating Factor 2
    Extent of Need for Affordable Housing (10 points). You must 
establish the need for affordable housing and the specific need for 
SHOP funds in the communities or areas in which your proposed 
activities will be carried out. You must specifically address the need 
for acquisition and/or infrastructure assistance for self-help housing 
activities in these identified areas and how your proposed SHOP 
activities meet these needs. Also, to the extent information is 
available, you must address the need for accessible homes in the target 
area(s); evidence of housing discrimination in the target area(s); and 
any need for housing shown in the local Analysis of Impediments to Fair 
Housing Choice, if appropriate. Applicants that select affiliates after 
application submission must submit a list of affiliates they surveyed 
and upon which they are basing their need for SHOP funding, as well as 
the specific criteria to be used to select communities or projects 
based on need.
    In reviewing applications, HUD will consider the extent, quality, 
and validity of the information and data submitted that addresses the 
need for affordable housing in the target area. Such information must 
include:
    a. Housing market data in the proposed target areas including, but 
not limited to: Low-income, minority, and disability populations; 
number of home sales and median sales price; and homeownership, rental, 
and vacancy rates. This information can be obtained from state or 
regional housing plans, the American Housing Survey, the United States 
Census, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data or other local data sources, 
such as Consolidated Plans, comprehensive plans, local tax assessor 
databases, or relevant realtor information. Data included in your 
application must be recent and specific to your proposed target areas; 
and
    b. Housing problems in the proposed target areas such as 
overcrowding, cost burden, housing age or deterioration, low 
homeownership rate (especially among minority families, families with 
children, and families with members with disabilities), and lack of 
adequate infrastructure or utilities.

[[Page 53496]]

Rating Factor 3: Soundness of Approach (40 Points)
    This factor examines the quality and soundness of your plan to 
carry out a self-help housing program. In evaluating this factor HUD 
will consider the areas described below:
    a. Your proposed use of SHOP funds, including the number of units 
and the type(s) of housing to be constructed, and the use of sweat 
equity and volunteer labor; your schedule for expending funds and 
completing construction, including interim milestones; the proposed 
budget and cost effectiveness of your program; and your plan to reach 
all potentially eligible homebuyers, including those with disabilities 
and others least likely to apply; and your criteria for selecting 
homebuyers.
    b. How your planned activities further the five HUD policy 
priorities that apply specifically to SHOP in FY 2005 as described in 
the General Section (70 FR 13586). The policy priorities for SHOP are:
    (1) Providing increased homeownership opportunities for low- and 
moderate-income persons, persons with disabilities, the elderly, 
minorities, and families with limited English proficiency;
    (2) Encouraging accessible design features: visitability in new 
construction and substantial rehabilitation and universal design;
    (3) Providing full and equal access to grassroots, faith-based, and 
other community-based organizations in HUD program implementation;
    (4) Participation in Energy Star; and
    (5) Removal of regulatory barriers to affordable housing.
Submission Requirements for Rating Factor 3
    Activities. Describe the types of activities that you propose to 
fund with SHOP and the proposed number of units to be assisted with 
SHOP funding, the housing type(s) (single family or multifamily, or 
both) to be assisted and the form of ownership (fee simple, 
condominium, cooperative, etc.) you propose to use.
    a. Sweat Equity and Volunteer Labor (6 points). Describe your 
program's requirements for sweat equity and volunteer labor (i.e., 
types of tasks and numbers of hours required for both sweat equity and 
volunteer labor) and how you will provide reasonable accommodations for 
persons with disabilities by identifying sweat equity assignments that 
can be performed by the homebuyer regardless of the disability, such as 
doing administrative, clerical, organizational, or other office work or 
minor tasks on site. Reasonable accommodation can include sweat equity 
by the homebuyer that can be performed regardless of the disability or 
substitution of a non-homebuyer designee(s) to perform the sweat equity 
assignments on behalf of the homebuyer. Volunteers who substitute for 
disabled homebuyers must enter into an agreement to complete the work 
on behalf of the homebuyers. Include the dollar value of both the sweat 
equity and volunteer labor contributions and specify the amount by 
which these contributions will reduce the sales price to the homebuyer. 
Applicants showing a larger reduction of the sales price as a result of 
the homebuyer's sweat equity and volunteer labor contributions will 
receive a higher score.
    b. Funds Expenditure, Construction, and Completion Schedules (5 
points). Submit a construction and completion schedule that expends 
SHOP funds and substantially fulfills your obligations if you are 
funded. You must provide a definition of ``substantially fulfills'' by 
specifically stating the percentage or number of properties that you 
propose to be completed and conveyed to homebuyers at the time all 
grant funds are expended. Your construction schedule must include the 
number of dwelling units to be completed within 24 months or, in the 
case of affiliates that develop five or more units, within 36 months, 
and a time frame for completing any unfinished units.
    Your schedule must also include milestones or benchmarks against 
which HUD can measure your progress in selecting local affiliates if 
they are not specifically identified in the application, expending 
funds, and completing acquisition, infrastructure, and housing 
construction activities within these schedules. These milestones or 
benchmarks should be established at reasonable intervals (e.g., 
monthly, quarterly).
    c. Budget (6 points). Provide a detailed budget including a 
breakdown for each proposed task and each budget category (acquisition, 
infrastructure improvements, and administration) funded by SHOP in the 
HUD-424-CB and 424-CBW. If SHOP funds will be used for administration 
of your grant, you must include the cost of monitoring consortium 
members and affiliates at least once during the grant period. Your 
detailed budget must also include leveraged funding to cover costs of 
completing construction of the proposed number of units. Budget amounts 
on the HUD-424-CB and 424-CBW must agree with amounts stated elsewhere 
in the application.
    d. Cost Effective (3 points). Describe how the cost of your 
proposed SHOP units compares to similar units in the target area(s) 
that are not funded with SHOP. You must demonstrate that your SHOP 
costs will not exceed an average of $15,000 per unit, and that your 
proposed self-help housing activities are cost-effective. Applicants 
must address costs of land, infrastructure, and housing construction 
for non-SHOP units.
    e. Policy Priorities (6 points). Describe how each of the five HUD 
policy priorities identified specifically for SHOP is furthered by your 
proposed activities. You will receive up to one point for each policy 
priority (1), (2), (3), and (4) based on how well your proposed work 
activities address the specific policy, and up to two points for how 
you address policy priority (5), removal of regulatory barriers to 
affordable housing, for which you must submit form HUD-27300, 
Questionnaire for HUD's Initiative on Removal of Regulatory Barriers, 
except as provided below. Applicants that identify affiliate 
organizations and jurisdictions to be served in their application to 
HUD should address the questions in Part A or Part B of form HUD-27300 
for the jurisdiction in which the majority or plurality of services 
will be performed. Applicants that do not identify affiliates and 
communities to be served in their application to HUD, but select 
affiliates competitively or through another method after application 
submission to HUD, may address this policy priority by including it as 
an evaluative criterion in their affiliate selection process. Such 
applicants may receive up to two points by requiring affiliate 
applicants for the awarded SHOP funds to complete the questions in 
either Part A or B, as appropriate. In order to receive points, 
applicants that identify affiliates after application submission must 
include their evaluative criterion as an appendix, and, if awarded SHOP 
funds in FY 2004, must demonstrate how the evaluative criteria that 
were included in your FY 2004 application were implemented. You must 
also describe how the evaluative criteria affected the selection and 
funding of affiliates, to the extent this has been completed. The 
narrative for your evaluative criteria does not count against the page 
limits described in Section IV.B.1, Page Limits.
    Applicants applying for funds for projects located in local 
jurisdictions and counties/parishes are invited to answer 20 questions 
under Part A. An applicant that scores at least five in column 2 will 
receive 1 point in the NOFA evaluation. An applicant that scores 10 or 
more in column 2 will

[[Page 53497]]

receive 2 points in the NOFA evaluation. The community(ies) must be 
identified on the form HUD-27300.
    Applicants applying for funds for projects located in 
unincorporated areas or areas otherwise not covered in Part A are 
invited to answer the 15 questions in Part B. Under Part B, an 
applicant that scores at least four points in Column 2 will receive one 
point in the NOFA evaluation. Under Part B, an applicant that scores 
eight points or greater will receive a total of two points in the 
evaluation. The community(ies) must be identified on the form HUD-
27300.
    A limited number of questions on form HUD-27300 expressly request 
the applicant to provide brief documentation with its response. Other 
questions require that, for each affirmative statement made, the 
applicant supply a reference, Web site address, or brief statement 
indicating where the back-up information may be found, and a point of 
contact, including a telephone number or e-mail address. Applicants are 
encouraged to read HUD's notices published in the Federal Register on 
March 22 (69 FR 13450) and April 21 (69 FR 21663), 2004, to obtain an 
understanding of this policy priority and how it can impact your score.
    f. Program Outreach (4 points). Describe materials or services that 
will be used to reach potential homebuyers, including persons least 
likely to apply. For example, what alternative formats will be used to 
reach persons with a variety of disabilities and what language 
accommodations will be made for persons with limited English 
proficiency.
    g. Homebuyer Selection (6 points). Describe your criteria for 
selecting homebuyers, including the minimum and maximum income of 
targeted homebuyers, and other criteria and selection procedures. If 
the selection criteria or procedures used by individual consortium 
members or affiliates are different from your criteria, you must 
describe the differences. You must specify the definition of annual 
income that you will use to determine the income eligibility of 
homebuyers as described in Section III.C.2.e. If a consortium member's 
or affiliate's definition of annual income is different from your 
income definition, you must identify the consortium member or affiliate 
and its definition. For organizations that select affiliates after 
application submission, you must specify how you will impose this 
requirement in your selection of affiliates.
    h. Performance and Monitoring (4 points). Describe your plan for 
overseeing the performance of consortium members and affiliates, 
including a plan for monitoring each consortium member and affiliate 
for program compliance at least once during the term of the grant. Your 
plan should address when and how you will shift funds among consortium 
members and affiliates to ensure timely and effective use of SHOP funds 
within the schedule submitted for item b. above.
Rating Factor 4: Leveraging Resources (10 Points)
    This factor addresses your ability to secure other resources that 
can be combined with HUD's program resources to fully fund your 
proposed program. When combined with the SHOP grant funds, homebuyer 
sweat equity, and volunteer labor, your leveraged resources must be 
sufficient to develop the number of units proposed in your application. 
HUD will consider only those leveraging contributions for which current 
firm commitments as described in this factor have been provided. A firm 
commitment means a written agreement under which the applicant, a 
partner, or an entity agrees to perform services or provide resources 
for an activity specified in your application. Firm commitments in the 
form of cash funding (e.g., grants or loans), in-kind contributions, 
donated land and construction materials, and donated services will 
count as leverage. Leveraging does not include the dollar value of 
sweat equity and volunteer labor for your proposed activities. 
Leveraging does not include financing provided to homebuyers. However, 
financing provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Section 
502 direct loans to homebuyers for construction of their dwellings 
counts as leveraging for mutual self-help housing programs. Firm 
commitments must be substantiated by the documentation described below.
Submission Requirements for Rating Factor 4
    Firm Commitments of Resources (10 Points). Provide firm commitments 
(letters, agreements, pledges, etc.) of leveraged resources or services 
from the source of the commitment. In order to be considered, leveraged 
resources or services must be committed in writing and include your 
organization's name, the contributing organization's name (including 
designation as a Federal, State, local, or private source), the 
proposed type of commitment, and dollar value of the commitment as it 
relates to your proposed activities. Each letter of commitment must be 
signed by an official of the organization legally able to make the 
commitment on behalf of the organization. See section IV.F, Other 
Submission Requirements, of the General Section (70 FR 13583) regarding 
the procedures for submitting third-party documentation. Each letter of 
commitment must specifically support your FY 2005 SHOP application or 
specific projects in your FY 2005 application. If your organization 
depends upon fundraising and donations from unknown sources/providers, 
you must submit a separate letter committing a specific amount of 
dollars in fundraising to your proposed FY 2005 SHOP program. Likewise, 
if you have received funds from organizations and agencies from 
previous years that are not committed to another activity and you have 
the sole discretion to commit these funds to your FY 2005 SHOP program, 
you must submit a separate letter committing these dollars to your FY 
2005 SHOP program. In all instances, the dollar amount must be stated 
in the letters. Letters of commitment may be contingent upon your 
receiving a grant award. Letters of commitment must be included as an 
appendix to your application, and do not count toward the page 
limitation noted in Section IV.B.1. Unsigned, undated, or outdated 
letters, letters only expressing support of your organization or its 
proposal, or those not specifically stating the dollar amount or 
linking the resources to your FY 2005 SHOP application or specific 
projects in your FY 2005 application do not count as firm commitments.
    To receive full credit for leveraging, an applicant's leveraging 
resources must be clearly identified for its FY 2005 SHOP application 
and must total at least 50 percent of the amount shown on forms HUD-
424-CB needed to complete all properties, minus the proposed SHOP grant 
amount, homebuyer sweat equity, and volunteer labor.
Rating Factor 5: Achieving Results and Program Evaluation (10 Points)
    This factor emphasizes HUD's determination to track whether 
applicants meet commitments made in their applications and grant 
agreements and assess their performance in realizing performance goals. 
HUD requires SHOP applicants to develop an effective, quantifiable, 
outcome-oriented evaluation plan for measuring performance and 
determining whether goals have been met using the Logic Model, form 
HUD-96010. ``Outcomes'' are benefits accruing to the families and/or 
communities during or after participation in the SHOP program. The 
self-help housing units developed are outputs as described under this 
factor,

[[Page 53498]]

not outcomes. Applicants must clearly identify the outcomes to be 
achieved and measured. Examples of outcomes for SHOP include increasing 
the homeownership rate in a neighborhood or among low-income families 
by a certain percentage, increasing financial stability (e.g., 
increasing assets of the low-income homebuyer households through 
additional savings or home equity) or increasing housing stability 
(e.g., whether persons and families assisted remain in the home one, 
two, or five or more years after completion). Outcomes must be 
quantifiable.
    In addition, applicants must establish interim benchmarks for which 
outputs lead to the ultimate achievement of outcomes. ``Outputs'' are 
the direct products of the applicant's program activities. Examples of 
outputs for SHOP include the number of houses constructed, number of 
sweat equity hours, or number of homes rehabilitated. Outputs should 
produce outcomes for your program. Outputs must be quantifiable.
    ``Interim benchmarks'' are steps or stages in your activities that, 
if reached or completed successfully, will result in outputs for your 
program. Examples of interim benchmarks for SHOP include income-
qualifying homebuyers, obtaining building permits, or securing 
construction materials and equipment.
    Program evaluation requires that you identify program outcomes, 
outputs, benchmarks, and performance indicators that will allow you to 
measure your performance. Performance indicators should be objectively 
quantifiable and measure actual achievements against anticipated 
achievements. Your evaluation plan should identify what you are going 
to measure, how you are going to measure it, and the steps you have in 
place to make adjustments to your work plan if performance targets are 
not met within established time frames. This factor reflects HUD's goal 
to embrace high standards of ethics, management, and accountability. 
Successful applicants will be required to periodically report on their 
progress in achieving the proposed outcomes identified in the 
application.
Submission Requirements for Rating Factor 5
    Program Evaluation Plan (10 Points). In narrative format, you must 
submit a program evaluation plan that demonstrates how you will measure 
your own program performance. Your plan must identify the interim 
benchmarks, outputs, and outcomes you expect to achieve including time 
frames for accomplishing these goals. Your plan must demonstrate how 
interim benchmarks relate to outputs and subsequently to outcomes in 
your proposed program. Your plan must include performance indicators to 
measure actual accomplishments against anticipated achievements. You 
must indicate how your plan will measure the performance of individual 
consortium members and affiliates, including the standards and 
measurement methods, and the steps you have in place or how you plan to 
make adjustments if you begin to fall short of established benchmarks 
and time frames. In addition to your program evaluation plan, you must 
complete the Logic Model, form HUD-96010. Using form HUD-96010 to 
respond to this factor counts toward the page limits set forth in 
section IV, B of this NOFA. Form HUD-96010 may be downloaded from 
www.grants.gov/Apply. In rating this factor, HUD will consider whether 
the application identifies outcome measures that meet the definition 
set out in this NOFA as well as the effectiveness of proposed 
measurement techniques.

B. Review and Selection Process

1. Factors for Award Used To Evaluate Applications
    HUD will evaluate all SHOP applications that successfully complete 
technical processing and meet threshold and submission requirements for 
Factors 1 through 5. The maximum number of points awarded for the 
rating factors is 100 plus the possibility of an additional 2 RC/EZ/EC-
II bonus points.
2. RC/EZ/EC-II Bonus Points
    Applicants may receive up to 2 bonus points for eligible activities 
that the applicant proposes to locate in federally designated 
Empowerment Zones (EZs), renewal communities (RCs), or enterprise 
communities (ECs) designated by the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) in Round II (EC-IIs) that are intended to serve the 
residents of these areas and that are certified to be consistent with 
the area's strategic plan or RC Tax Incentive Utilization Plan. For 
ease of reference in this notice, all of the federally designated areas 
are collectively referred to as ``RC/EZ/EC-IIs'' and the residents of 
these federally designated areas as ``RC/EZ/EC-II residents.'' The RC/
EZ/EC-II certification must be completed for an applicant to be 
considered for RC/EZ/EC-II bonus points. A list of RC/EZ/EC-IIs can be 
obtained from HUD's grants web page at 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 www.hud.gov/crlocator. Copies of the 
certification can be found in the electronic application and on HUD's 
Web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa05/snofaforms.cfm.
    The certification must be completed and signed by the appropriate 
official in the RC/EZ/EC-II for an applicant to be considered for RC/
EZ/EC-II bonus points.
3. Rating
    Applications that meet all threshold requirements listed in Section 
III.C will be rated against the criteria in Factors 1 through 5 and 
assigned a score. Applications that do not meet all threshold factors 
will be rejected and not rated.
4. Ranking and Selection Procedures
    Applications that receive a total of 75 points or more (without the 
addition of RC/EZ/EC-II bonus points) will be eligible for selection. 
RC/EZ/EC-II bonus points will be awarded as follows: 2 points to an 
applicant with over 25 percent of its proposed units in RC/EZ/EC-II; 1 
point for 10 to 25 percent of units in RC/EZ/EC-IIs; and 0 points below 
10 percent of units in RC/EZ/EC-II zones. After adding any bonus points 
for RC/EZ/EC-IIs, HUD will place applications in rank order. HUD will 
consider rank order, funds availability, and past performance in the 
selection and funding of applications.
5. Technical Deficiencies
    After the application submission date and consistent with 
regulations in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, HUD may not consider any 
unsolicited information you may want to provide. HUD may contact you to 
clarify an item in your application or to correct technical 
deficiencies. 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. However, HUD may not seek clarification of items or 
responses that improve the substantive quality of your response to any 
rating factor.
    Examples of curable (correctible) technical deficiencies include 
inconsistencies in the funding request, a failure to submit the proper 
certifications, or failure to submit an application that contains an 
original signature by an authorized official. In each case, HUD will 
notify you in writing by describing the clarification or

[[Page 53499]]

technical deficiency. Applicants will be notified by facsimile or by 
United States Postal Service (USPS), return receipt requested. 
Clarifications or corrections to technical deficiencies in accordance 
with the information provided by HUD must be submitted within 14 
calendar days of the date of receipt of the HUD notification. If the 
due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, your 
correction must be received by HUD on the next day that is not a 
Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday. If the deficiency is not 
corrected within this time period, HUD will reject your application as 
incomplete and it will not be considered for funding.
6. HUD's Strategic Goals To Implement HUD's Strategic Frameworks and 
Demonstrate Results
    See the General Section (70 FR 13586) for HUD's Strategic Goals.
7. Policy Priorities
    Please refer to Section V.A.2 of the General Section (70 FR 13586) 
for information regarding application criteria addressing HUD's policy 
priorities.

    Note: Upon completion of all applications, grant selections and 
awards, HUD intends to add relevant data for the SHOP program 
obtained from the ``Removal of Regulatory Barriers'' policy priority 
factor to the database on state and local regulatory reform actions 
maintained at the Regulatory Barrier Clearinghouse Web site at 
www.huduser.org.rbc/ used by states, localities, and housing 
providers to identify regulatory barriers and learn of exemplary 
local efforts at regulatory reform.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

    1. HUD reserves the right to:
    a. Fund less than the amount requested by any applicant based on 
the application's rank, the applicant's past performance, and the 
amount of funds requested relative to the total amount of available 
funds;
    b. Fund less than the full amount requested by any applicant to 
ensure a fair distribution of the funds and the development of housing 
on a national, geographically diverse basis as required by the statute; 
and/or
    c. Not award funds to an applicant with significant performance 
problems.
    HUD will not fund any portion of an application that is ineligible 
for funding under program threshold requirements in Section III.C.2 or 
which does not meet other threshold and pre-award requirements in 
Section III.C.4. The minimum grant award shall be the amount necessary 
to complete at least 30 units at an average investment of not more than 
$15,000 per unit or a lesser amount if lower costs are reflected in the 
application. If any funds remain after all selections have been made, 
these funds may be available for subsequent competitions.
    2. Debriefing. For a period of at least 20 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 debriefing request must be made in writing or by email 
by its authorized official whose signature appears on the SF-424 or his 
or her successor in the office and submitted to Ms. Lou Thompson, 
Office of Affordable Housing Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 7164, Washington, DC 
20410-7000. Information provided during a debriefing will include, at a 
minimum, the final score you received for each rating factor, final 
evaluation comments for each rating factor, and the final assessment 
indicating the basis upon which assistance was provided or denied.

B. Administration and National Policy Requirements

    1. When administering your SHOP award, you are required to comply 
with the following administrative and financial requirements:

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).

    2. Copies of the OMB Circulars may be obtained from EOP 
Publications, Room 2200, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503, telephone (202) 395-3080 (this is not a toll-free number) or 
(800) 877-8339 (toll-free TTY Federal Information Relay Service) or 
from the Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html.
    3. Please refer to all award administration information 
requirements described in Section VI (``Award Administration 
Information'') of the General Section (70 FR 13590).
    C. Reporting. Grantees are required to submit quarterly and annual 
reports providing data on the construction status, unit 
characteristics, and income and racial and ethnic composition of 
homeowners in SHOP-funded properties. For each reporting period, as 
part of the required report to HUD, grant recipients must include a 
completed Logic Model (form HUD-96010), which identifies output and 
outcome achievements.

VII. Agency Contact

    Further Information and Technical Assistance. Before the 
application due date, HUD staff is available to provide general 
guidance and technical assistance about this NOFA. However, staff is 
not permitted to assist in preparing your application. Also, following 
selection of applicants, but before awards are announced, staff may 
assist in clarifying or confirming information that is a prerequisite 
to the offer of an award. You may contact Ms. Lou Thompson, SHOP 
Program Manager, Office of Affordable Housing Programs, U.S. Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 7164, 
Washington, DC 20410-7000, telephone (202) 708-2684 (this is not a 
toll-free number). This number can be accessed via TTY by calling the 
toll-free Federal Information Relay Service Operator at (800) 877-8339. 
For technical support for downloading an application or electronically 
submitting an application, please call Grants.gov Customer Support at 
800-518-GRANTS (this is a toll-free number) or e-mail at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eb989e9b9b84999fabd78acb83998e8dd6" http: grants.gov">grants.gov</a>">support@grants.gov</a>.

VIII. Other Information

    A. Please review Section VIII.A., B., E., F., G., and H. (``Other 
Information'') of the General Section (70 FR 13591), and please note 
that these subsections are incorporated by reference.
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act. The information collection requirements 
contained in this document have been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned OMB control number 2506-0157. 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 currently valid OMB 
control number. Public reporting burden for the collection of 
information is estimated to average 60 hours per annum per respondent 
for the application and grant administration. This includes the time 
for collecting, reviewing, and reporting the data for the application, 
quarterly, and annual report, and final report. The information will be 
used for grantee selection and monitoring the administration of funds. 
Response to this request for information is required in order to 
receive the benefits to be derived.

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    C. Environmental Impact. A Finding of No Significant Impact with 
respect to the environment has been made for this Notice in accordance 
with the 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 (C)). 
The Finding of No Significant Impact is available for public inspection 
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Office of the General Counsel, 
Regulations Division, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., Room 10276, Washington DC 20410-0500.

    Dated: August 31, 2005.
Pamela H. Patenaude,
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
BILLING CODE 4210-29-P

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[FR Doc. 05-17727 Filed 9-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-29-C


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