Neighborhood Prosperity Fund (NPF)

NEIGHBORHOOD PROSPERITY FUND
FY21 - Open: 2-12-21 / Close: 3-15-21, 4pm ET

Purpose
Neighborhood Prosperity Fund (NPF) incentivizes community development, economic growth, and job creation by leveraging local funds to provide gap financing for projects that attract private investment to distressed communities.

Grant funds support architectural and engineering costs, construction costs, tenant improvements, historical preservation building improvements to maintain compliance with applicable laws, development analysis, rent abatement and/or tenant concessions for up to 3 years to stabilize market rent.

Who's eligible?
Eligible applicants include the following:

501(c)(3) non-profit corporations
For-profit and non-profit developers
Registered business in Good Standing with DCRA, OTR, DOES, and IRS.
Provide proof of property and liability insurance
Provide site control of the business property

> Click to see who's ineligible
Note: Applicants that received NPF awards within the last 3 years are ineligible to apply.

Eligible projects
A project that combines two or more of the following types of development:

Retail Projects - Retail property is a commercially zoned property used solely for business purposes, more specifically the sale of goods/products. Retail applicants include, but are not limited to: retail stores, cafes, grocery stores, pharmacies, sit down restaurants and coffee shops.
Office Projects - Office projects and classification will be considering the location of the building, current built environment, and economic health of the market.
Mixed Use Projects - The Neighborhood Prosperity Fund will fund the commercial portion of a development project only. Mixed use projects must create a minimum of 4 housing units and at least 1/4 of the units designated as affordable housing units.
Special Purpose Projects - Special purpose development is limited to urgent care canters and other health/medical facilities. A special purpose property is defined as property that is appropriate for one use or limited use -- a building that cannot be converted to another use without a large capital investment.

All projects must be located within the boundaries of NPF census tract and must be operated over the period of performance (see FAQ #6).

Grant monies may be used for

Architectural and engineering
Construction costs
Tenant Improvement
Historical preservation
Development analysis
Rent abatement for up to 3 years to stabilize market rent

Ineligible uses of funds
Funds cannot be used to pay for the following items:

Acquisition/Purchase of real property
Any costs to satisfy liens and related penalties
Government impositions
Federal and District taxes
Organizational overhead
Food
Transportation
Equipment
Debt service
Organizational capacity building

Application Overview
Read pg. 11 of the RFA for instructions on completing your application.
Before you begin, the following documents are required to complete this application:

Evidence of site control: Contract of Sale, Letter of Intent, Option to Purchase Agreement, Fee simply ownership, General warranty deed, Executed contract or lease with the property owner with a minimum unexpired term of at least 10 years.
Attachments: A-1: Development Team Resumes; A-2: Organizational Chart; A-3: Design Team Resume; A-4: Organizational Documents including Certificate of Good Standing; F-1: Name of Business(es) & Letter(s) of Intent; F-2: Lease Terms evidencing rent reductions, abatements, amenities and/or option to purchase their properties

Timeline

NOFA released
RFA released
Applications Due
Initial Screening
Independent Review Panel
Final Review

APPLICATION LINK RFA (pg. 4-21) NOFA (pg. 1-4 pdf)

Information Session

Re-visit presentation slides.

---

Need assistance with your application? Find a CBO that can help.

FAQs

1. How do I apply?
Please submit your complete application (including attachments) through the Blackbaud portal located on dmped.dc.gov. All applications must be submitted via this electronic application system.

2. What is the award amount?
Funds are allocated based on the size of each applicant's proposed project. The minimum request amount is $250,000 and the maximum is $3,185,000.

3. Are the grant funds taxable?
Yes, grant funds are considered taxable income for any applicant who pays income taxes.

4. What is the NOFA and RFA?
NOFA stands for Notice of Funding Availability. It is the first announcement of the grant and notifies the public of the available funding for the current fiscal year.
RFA stands for Request for Applications and applications open the day it is released. The RFA is what applicants will find most helpful and use to complete their application successfully. The RFA contains complete information about the details of the grant and specifics of what must be included in your application.

5. When will grantees be announced?
The anticipated time for processing applications is 30 to 45 days after the date applications close. However, this schedule is tentative, depending on the number of applications that processed.

6. What is the award period of performance?
The period of performance extends for one year starting on the date of the execution of the grant agreement. This means that the developer of the project must commit to begin construction on the project within 12 months of the grant agreement date.

Point of Contact - for grant applications
DMPED Grants Team
Phone: (202) 727-6365
Email: [email protected]

Attachment(s):