The Community Development Block

Grant (CDBG) Program- Frequently

Asked Questions
1. What is the overall mission of the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) Program?

The CDBG program, authorized by Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974,
provides annual grants to cities, counties and states to develop strong communities by providing decent
housing, a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and
moderate-income persons. CDBG eligible activities are initiated and developed at the state and local
level based upon a community’s needs, priorities, and benefits.

2. What are the requirements for the use of the CDBG funds?

Each grantee receiving CDBG funds is free to determine what activities it will fund as long as certain
requirements are met, including that each activity is eligible and meets one of the following national
objectives: benefits persons of low and moderate income; aids in the prevention or elimination of slums
or blight; or meets an urgent development need which is defined as posing a serious and immediate
threat to the health or welfare of the community in the past 18 months, and that the grantee is unable
to finance on its own nor with other funding sources. Other Federal requirements such as
environmental, labor standards, fair housing, nondiscrimination, also apply to the use of CDBG funds.
3. What is the overall appropriation level for this program and how much has
been invested in communities since the program’s authorization in 1974?

The appropriation level has varied over the 40 year program history. The level is $3.10 B for FY 2014.
Since 1974, CDBG has invested $144 billion in communities nationwide.

4. How many grantees across the nation will receive funding this year, Fiscal
Year 2014?

There are currently 1,220 CDBG grantees that are receiving funding throughout the United States
directly from HUD including cities, counties, states, insular areas, and non-entitlement counties in
Hawaii. However, the potential reach is to every community either directly or indirectly—more than
7,250 local governments have access to funding.

5. Does CDBG fund the local government, organizations or individuals?

CDBG funds states, metropolitan cities and urban counties directly. Organizations and individuals
cannot receive funds directly from HUD, but can apply for funding through their local government
agency.

6. Can citizens participate in the planning/decision-making process around the

use of CDBG funds?

CDBG-funded projects have a better chance of success when citizens are involved from the beginning.
The CDBG law requires that a grantee must develop and follow a detailed plan which provides for, and
encourages, citizen participation and which emphasizes participation by persons of low- or moderate-
income, particularly residents of predominantly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, slum or
blighted areas, and areas in which the grantee proposes to use CDBG funds. The plan must provide
citizens with reasonable and timely access to local meetings, information, and records related to the
grantee's proposed and actual use of funds.
7. What types of activities does the CDBG program fund?

CDBG funds 28 eligible activities that include infrastructure, economic development projects, installation
of public facilities, community centers, housing rehabilitation, public services, clearance/acquisition,
microenterprise assistance, code enforcement, and homeowner assistance, to name a few.

8. What types of activities are most frequently funded with CDBG monies?

Historically, CDBG grantees expend one-third of their funds on public facilities and improvement
projects. CDBG has improved public facilities that benefitted more than 33.7 million people between
fiscal years 2005 and 2013. Infrastructure projects such as sewer systems, sanitary water, safe streets
and transit-ways, improved drainage systems, community centers and public parks, and other
improvements that support our communities and help grow local economies.

9. How Does the CDBG Program Support Economic Growth and Recovery?

From fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2013, CDBG economic development activities have directly created
or retained more than 421,183 permanent jobs. In addition, grantees provide financial assistance to
businesses as loan and grants and the recipients use the CDBG assistance to expand economic
opportunities and create permanent jobs, primarily for low and moderate income Americans. Between
fiscal years 2007-2013, CDBG helped more than 232,000 businesses expand economic opportunities for
our country’s most vulnerable citizens.

10. I need my home rehabilitated? Will CDBG pay for that?

You will need to contact your local grantee to find out if the grantee is using CDBG funds for housing
rehabilitation and for any program requirements.

11. How many homes have been rehabilitated using CDBG funds?

From fiscal year 2004-2013, more than 1.3 million homes have been rehabilitated for low- and
moderate-income homeowners and renters. In Fiscal year 2013 alone, more than 94,000 households
received CDBG funding for some level of housing rehabilitation assistance ranging from emergency
repairs to enable elderly and infirm residents to remain in their own homes to weatherization
improvements that result in more affordable energy bills.
12. Can you leverage other funds with CDBG dollars and how is this done?

CDBG funds can be leveraged with other Federal, state, local or private funds to increase the impact of
the funds. Facing local budget shortfalls, CDBG funding remains a crucial source of funding that helps
communities leverage funds for key infrastructure and economic development projects. On projects
where leveraging was reported for the fiscal years of 2010-2012, grantees reported that every dollar of
CDBG funds leveraged an additional $4.07 of other funds.

13. How does CDBG’s Section 108 Program work with economic developers who
want to leverage jobs with other funds and to create jobs?

The Section 108 Program is the loan guarantee provision of the Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) program that provides states and communities with a source of financing for economic
development, housing rehabilitation, public facilities, and large-scale development projects. This makes
it one of the most important public investment tools that HUD offers to states and local governments. It
allows them to transform a small portion of their CDBG funds into federally guaranteed loans large
enough to pursue economic revitalization projects that can renew entire neighborhoods.

Such public investment is often needed to inspire private economic activity, providing the initial
resources or simply the confidence that private firms and individuals may need to invest in distressed
areas. Section 108 loans are not risk-free, however; local governments borrowing funds guaranteed by
Section 108 must pledge their current and future CDBG allocations to cover the loan amount as security
for the loan. For more information about the Section 108 program go to:
https://www.onecpd.info/section-108/

14. How do I contact a CDBG grantee to find out if funding is available or to

support a project where I live?

The following link provides a listing of all the CDBG grantees that currently receive funding directly from
HUD:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/about/budget/budget14
15. How can a private citizen find out the projects that have received CDBG
funding in their community?

Interested persons can check the CDBG grantee’s website for activities that were funded that program
year and in some cases, in prior years. Please see the website below for the grantee contact
information:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/comm_planning/communitydevelopment/
programs/contacts

16. Where can I learn more about the CDBG Program?

To learn more about the Community Development Block Grant Program, click on the following links:
https://www.onecpd.info/cdbg-entitlement/

https://www.onecpd.info/cdbg-state/