Rural eNews

November 2020

Funding & Finance Opportunities

Covid-19

Administered by seven Mississippi community foundations, The Community Foundations COVID-19 Grant Program provides grants of up to $4,000 to reimburse eligible nonprofit organizations and food pantries for pandemic-related expenses incurred from March 1 through December 30, 2020. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Deadline:  1/15/2021.  Click here for grant guidelines.

Broadband

USDA is offering funding through the Community Connect Program.  This program awards financial assistance to provide service at or above the Broadband Grant Speed to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service does not exist.  Deadline:  12/23/2020.  Click here to review program guidelines.

Housing

HOUSING ASSISTANCE COUNCIL is offering short-term loans at below market interest rates to local nonprofits, for-profits, and government entities that are working to develop affordable housing for low-income, rural communities.  Deadlines: December 15, 2020 is the deadline for applicants to create an account and complete the initial eligibility quiz.  Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.  Click here to learn more.

Native Americans

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES is offering funding through The Community Opioid Intervention Pilot Projects that seeks to address the opioid crisis in American Indian/Alaska Native communities by developing and expanding community education and awareness of prevention, treatment, and recovery activities for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder. The intent is to increase knowledge and use of culturally appropriate interventions and to encourage an increased use of medication-assisted treatment. Deadline: 12/15/2020.  Click here to review program guidelines.

Other

BEYOND WORDS: THE DOLLAR GENERAL SCHOOL LIBRARY RELIEF FUND, administered by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), supports public school libraries in the communities served by Dollar General. The Fund provides grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 to pre-K-12 public schools whose school library programs have been affected by a natural disaster, fire, or an act of terrorism. Schools that have absorbed a significant number of displaced/evacuee students are also eligible to apply. Grants are intended to help replace or supplement books, media, or library equipment. Eligible applicants must be located within 20 miles of a Dollar General Store, distribution center, or corporate office. Deadline:  grant applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Visit the AASL website here to submit an online application.

THE MUFG UNION BANK FOUNDATION supports nonprofit organizations in the communities where the Bank has operations in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The Foundation awards grants to organizations that expand access to economic opportunity in low- and moderate-income communities, specifically in the following areas: Affordable Housing, Economic Development, and Stewardship and Sustainability. Online applications may be submitted throughout the year. Visit the Union Bank's website here to access more information about the Foundation's grant guidelines.

THE FIRST HORIZON FOUNDATION provides support to nonprofit organizations located in communities served by the bank in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The Foundation's areas of interest include arts and culture, education and leadership, environment, financial literacy, and health and human services. Online applications for the 2021 grant cycle opened on October 1, 2020, and the application deadlines vary by region. Visit the Foundation's website here to learn more about the application process for each region.

FOUNDATION FOR APPALACHIAN OHIO: AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY FUND.  In partnership with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, the African American Community Fund is currently offering grant support to Black-led nonprofit and public organizations throughout the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio that have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Since the impact of COVID-19 looks different for every organization, grants will support a wide-range of projects. Deadline: 11/9/2020.  Click here to visit the website for additional information.

FEMA is offering funding through The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program—COVID-19 Supplemental Round 2 allows volunteer and combination fire departments to apply for critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies needed to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This program also supports training on how to use the requested supplies. Deadline:  11/13/2020.  Click here to visit FEMA’s website to review application guidelines.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN (AAUW) works to advance educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States. The AAUW Community Action Grants program provides funds to individuals and AAUW organizations, as well as local community-based nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions, throughout the country for projects focused on encouraging girls to select, before entering college, the physical sciences or engineering as a career. Grants range from $3,000 to $10,000.  Deadline: 12/1/2020. Visit the AAUW website here to submit an online application.

YOUTH SERVICE AMERICA (YSA) supports a global culture of engaged children and youth committed to a lifetime of meaningful service, learning, and leadership. With support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, YSA will award Afterschool Grants of up to $500 each to support youth-led service or service-learning in afterschool programs targeting middle and high school aged youth throughout the country. Applying programs must engage at least 50 youth, primarily from underserved communities, as volunteers in virtual, hybrid, and/or safe in-person service or service-learning projects between December 2020 and May 2021. Deadline is 12/4/2020. Visit the YSA website here to learn more about the Afterschool Grants program.

KidsGardening.org awards funding and gardening supplies to schools and community organizations with youth-centered garden programs.  Deadline: 12/18/2020.  Click here to visit the website and to apply.

USDA is offering grants for the Farm to School Grant Program.  Grants to plan, establish, and/or sustain a Farm to School program that improves access to local foods in schools.  Deadline:  1/8/2021.  Click here to review program guidelines and to apply.

Training Events and Conferences

WEBINARS and other Online Events

“2020 Rural Workforce Development Southern Region Summit: Innovation in Times of Change,” will be held November 5-6, 2020, In-person and Virtual.  Created in partnership with the University of Arkansas Rockefeller Institute, the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, and USDA Rural Development’s Innovation Center, this summit creates space for educators, businesses, legislators, health care workers, nonprofit professionals, and public servants to convene and share innovative practices or resources to address changes and needs to strengthen the rural workforce.  Register here.

On November 6, 2020, 12:30 PM ET a webinar will take place, sponsored by the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy and the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, “Under One Roof: Building an Abolitionist Approach to Housing Justice.” This webinar will explore what housing policy, research, and advocacy can learn from abolitionists and, in particular, the scholarship and advocacy that have shaped movements for prison and police abolition.  Register here.

Monday, November 9, 2020, 12:00-1:30 pm ET, CHAM, the Consortium for Housing and Asset Management, will host a webinar on the joint venture partnership, a tool for asset managers when thinking about growing and preserving a portfolio. As in all relationships, the joint venture partnership is not for the faint of heart. Prospective partners need to be clear about their respective goals, opportunities, obligations, and rights. In this webinar you will hear from active partners about their relationships and how they’ve navigated the negotiation and terms of the lasting agreements.  Register here.

NDC is offering “Rental Housing Development Finance” - Remote Classroom, November 9-18, 2020.  In this eight half-day course, participants learn the underwriting criteria used by lenders and the rates of return demanded by private equity investors in order to determine their investment in a rental housing project.  This course also explores the methods practitioners can utilize to attract the maximum amount private capital to rental housing projects as well as the techniques to fill financing gaps with public resources.  Register here.

“Opportunity Makers:  Melding Health and Equity in Rural Places” is a webinar that will take place November 10, 2020, 3:00-4:00 PM ET.  The ROAD Sessions highlight and unpack rural development ideas and strategies that are critical in response to COVID-19 and to long-term rebuilding and recovery. ROAD Sessions feature stories of on-the-ground practitioners who have experience, wisdom and savvy to share. The series reflects and emphasizes the full diversity of rural America, spotlights rural America’s assets and challenges, and lifts voices and lived experience from a wide range of rural communities and economies.  Register here.

RDI is taking Rural Civic Engagement training virtual. Participants will join others in rural communities interested in understanding advocacy and taking action to implement community priorities. As part of our Rural Civic Engagement Project, RDI is offering this upcoming session:  Building Successful Advocacy Coalitions, Thursday, November 12th, 10:00 AM to noon.  The session is free, but you must register, here.  Learn more about how building coalitions can help you generate support for your issue or campaign. Session topics include defining your interests and positions, understanding catalytic leadership, and project action planning. You will also hear from representatives from successful coalitions about effective strategies for issue advocacy.

The Aspen Institute is offering a webinar “All Land is not Creating Equal: Unleashing Family and Community Wealth through Land Ownership,” Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 1:00-3:00 PM ET.  Learn about heirs' property – what it is, its history, the critical role it plays in wealth inequality – and the Center’s creative breakthroughs in helping families and communities clear through legal and land ownership hurdles to improve their livelihoods.  Click here to register.

National Housing Conference is offering Solutions for Affordable Housing, an online convening to discuss pressing issues that will impact housing policy post-election and beyond on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.  Click here for more information.

Novogradac 2020 Tax Credit Housing Finance Virtual Conference will take place December 3-4, 2020 from 12:00-5:30 PM ET each day.  Join developers, investors, syndicators, lawyers, accountants and others virtually while renewing relationships, building new ones and hearing how to use financing to maximize the impact of affordable housing.   Get details here.

Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University is offering a virtual training course on Addressing Gaps in Housing Disaster Recovery: A Training Program for the Whole Community, December 15, 2020, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM ET.  The curriculum includes opportunities to develop stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors, provide checklist based resources for use in a pre- and post-disaster environment, and best practices for enhancing community mitigation and disaster resilience.  Register here.

 Webinar and Conference Recordings

If you missed it, catch up on Rural Assembly Everywhere programming on the Rural Assembly YouTube Channel here.

Save the Date...

National Housing Conference's Solutions for Affordable Housing online convening will take place Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT via Zoom.

Information and Other Resources

Articles, Reports, and Tools

COVID-19

COVID-19 and associated economic shutdowns have led to unprecedented job losses and concerns about how households will pay rent while unemployed and make up for missed payments once reemployed. While the CDC has temporarily halted evictions until December 31, 2020, accrued rental debt will put many households at risk of eviction once the moratorium expires. Household Rental Debt During COVID-19,” from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia provides new estimates of the number of households with rental debt, and the amount of debt owed, resulting from pandemic-related job losses.  Get the brief here.

Community Collaboration During COVID-19: Reaching Hmong and Latino Residents in a Rural Setting is a report that describes how local and state organizations collaborated to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Hmong and Latino populations in rural north central Wisconsin. Authors discuss the recruitment and training of community liaisons, the impact of the project, and lessons learned.  Get the report here.

NLIHC released a Research Note, Emergency Rental Assistance Programs in Response to COVID-19 that provides a descriptive analysis of over 440 rental assistance programs created or expanded in response to COVID-19.  Get the research here.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the opening of the EDA new Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge, which will enable organizations across the country to address the economic, health, and safety risks caused by the coronavirus pandemic through entrepreneurship and innovation. The SPRINT Challenge is a $25 million national competition funded by the CARES Act.    Click here for more information.

“Income and Poverty in the COVID-19 Pandemic,” is a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research that addresses the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing timely and accurate information on the impact of the current pandemic on income and poverty to inform the targeting of resources to those most affected and assess the success of current efforts.  Get the paper here.

General Information

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, “Exploring Hospital Investments in Community Development,” provides the first in-depth, national analysis of nonprofit hospitals’ reported spending on community building activities, examining how this spending varies by geography and hospital characteristics. The report also includes a qualitative review of related activities undertaken by hospitals in Third District states (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey), highlighting areas of potential alignment with the community development field.

 “The Impact of Coronavirus on Households in Rural America” from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, National Public Radio, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports on the experiences of rural households during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors discuss impacts on finances, employment, healthcare, housing, food, and child care. Concerns related to healthcare include access to care during the pandemic, concerns for those with special health issues such as chronic conditions, and use of telehealth.  Get the report here.

The OneLISC Policy team has released new policy priorities for the coming congressional term, and we are happy to share them.  Working closely with 2,500 local partner organizations—nonprofits with deep roots in their distinctive communities—LISC brings resources and technical assistance to city neighborhoods and rural counties that too often have been isolated from American opportunities. Working in partnership with mission-aligned for profit and nonprofit entities, we bridge the gap to equip community groups with the resources that allow them to do their best work. Our initiatives focus first and foremost on equity and inclusion, which we know are the basis for a prospering, resilient nation. Here is the link for the overall priorities and here’s the rural focused document.

An Article in Shelterforce, “How Engagement and Design Won Over Wary Neighbors” describes how, despite initial opposition, a low-income housing community was built in an upscale subdivision in California.  In the end, we came up with a design solution that was unique, attractive, and shifted the initial perceptions people had of low-income housing.  The design was meant to look as much like a single-family home as possible, even though they were actually triplexes. All of the homes were to have a similar dimensions and setback as the neighbors across the road.  Read the full article here.

A new MIT study shines a light on the unequal cost of homeownership for Black households compared to their White cohorts. The study breaks down the “Black tax” on homeownership, finding that Black households pay on average an extra $743 in mortgage interest payments, $550 in mortgage insurance premiums and $390 in property taxes each year, resulting in an added cost of more than $13,000 over the life of the loan. Get the report here.

“The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation's Schools,” is a study examining the experiences of LGBTQ students and the impacts of school climate on well-being, mental and physical health, and educational outcomes. Provides survey data on issues of harassment, assault, safety concerns, discriminatory policies, and examines support resources available to LGBTQ students. Discusses differences in the prevalence of issues and access to resources in urban and rural school.  Get the study here.

The Journal of the Medical Library Association has published “Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights Critical Gaps in Rural Internet Access for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: A Call for Partnership with Medical Libraries,” a study that highlights the challenges of reaching migrant and seasonal farmworkers with public health information during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Authors discuss migrants' lack of broadband internet as an inhibitor to migrants' ability to access both healthcare and public health information.  Get this study here.

Local Housing Solutions published a brief that highlights 10 policy tools localities can deploy when eviction moratoria expire. From emergency rental assistance to alternative dispute resolution options, support for small landlords, tracking of geographic disparities and greater access to counsel, the policy recommendations focus on maintaining stability for renters and landlords, and preserving racial equity. Get the brief here.

PolicyLink has released two new reports to inform, refocus, and help to prioritize housing policy dialogues in two key jurisdictions: the city of Philadelphia and the state of California. Too many housing reform initiatives have failed to acknowledge the ways that racially biased policymaking has contributed to the current housing crisis and, as a result, have perpetuated the racialized outcomes that limit health and opportunity for households of color.

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COVID-19 Resources

The COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI) developed by Surgo Foundation and featured as a CDC resource - identifies which communities may need the most support as coronavirus takes hold. Mapped to US census tract, county, and state levels, the CCVI helps inform COVID-19 planning and mitigation at a granular level. Access the Index here.

Homebase offers Memos, Guides, and Curated Resources here.

Rural LISC works with 92 partner organizations creating sustainable rural communities across 45 states. Visit our website here and sign up for the Rural LISC RSS feed here. If this email was forwarded to you and you would like to sign up to receive the Rural eNews each month, click here.

Send information on funding opportunities, events, publications, resources, or rural-related issues to sfelzke@lisc.org. Announcements will be published at our discretion based on space and applicability.  Please do not copy this document without permission.