2019 NOFA Headquarters
CoC Application & Priority Listing
Applicant Scoring Tools
Ranking and Appeals
The MDHI Board of Directors met on 09/12/19 and approved the following ranking:
2019 NOFA Timeline
July 3, 2019
HUD released CoC Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)
July 26, 2019
5pm MST
DUE DATE: Non-binding letters of intent from organizations to apply for new funding. Email letters to nofa@mdhi.org. Follow the instructions on this form.
DUE DATE: Letters from renewal applicants indicating if they do not intend to apply for a renewal. (No letters of intent are required this year for renewals if the organization will be reapplying.) Email letters to nofa@mdhi.org.
August 1, 2019
NOFA grantee meeting for new and renewal applicants.
August 16, 2019
5pm MST
DUE DATE: Renewing applicants are required to provide screenshots (in PDF format) from eLOCCS showing drawdown history of each renewing project for the most recently completed grant year and for the current grant year through the end of July 2019. (However, please note if you are in your first grant year, and provide what is available.) Email to nofa@mdhi.org.
Edit: July 30, 2019 - Renewal grantees must send eLOCCS information as described above. We will discuss APR data during the August 1 grantee meeting. We are not planning to pull new data, as there is an expectation the data were cleaned prior to the release of the NOFA.
DUE DATE: All new applications are due.
Edit: August 9, 2019 - We are waiving the requirement for new applicants to turn in anything on August 16, 2019. See the August 23 deadline for an updated description of what is due on August 23. See the "New Applicant" section below for additional details.
August 23, 2019
5pm MST
DUE DATE: New and Renewal Project applications submitted in e-snaps.
Edit August 9, 2019: New Project applicants to email "Threshold Certification" (required) and additional project narrative (optional) to nofa@mdhi.org. You will receive an email when your submission is received.
Edit August August 12, 2019: Renewal applicants may submit a narrative (optional) to explain the data elements (see Renewal Project Scoring Tool below). Applicants must complete and submit the optional narrative using this LINK.
New Applicant Information
As described in the timeline above, new applicants will submit the following items no later than August 23, 2019 at 5pm.
Submit new project application into HUD e-snaps portal. Refer to the CoC NOFA and HUD detailed instructions. (See below for some helpful links and resources.)
Review the threshold information in the FY19 New Applicant Threshold Confirmation Form and the FY2019 NOFA alongside your new project application in e-snaps. Please certify that your proposed new project meets each HUD and CoC Threshold requirement by initialing next to each section of the form.
Submit the completed form to nofa@mdhi.org
Please review your e-snaps application to ensure that you have answered each section following HUD guidance. HUD will be reviewing projects for threshold and may decline to fund an application even if MDHI submits it for funding. While the e-snaps application takes precedence, we are offering new applicants an opportunity to submit an additional two pages of narrative to allow for additional space to describe the proposed project and the applicant's experience.
The additional narrative is optional.
If you elect to submit, please attach along with the submission of the FY19 New Applicant Threshold Confirmation Form.
Include your organization name, project name, project type, and requested amount on the top of the narrative.
The narrative is limited to two pages. Font size must be 11 pts or larger. Margins must be at least 1" on all sides.
HUD Resources
The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition has been posted to the FY 2019 CoC Program Competition: Funding Availability page on the HUD Exchange. Additional resources are available on the e-snaps page on the HUD Exchange.
Project Applicants
Returning project applicants can choose to import the FY 2018 renewal project application responses; however, this must be requested during your registration of the Renewal Funding Opportunity in e-snaps and is only available if you submitted a renewal project application in last year’s FY 2018 CoC Program Competition. Imported responses should be carefully reviewed to ensure accuracy and that the information is a true representation of the project activities.
First-time renewal projects must complete the entire renewal project application.
New project applications must be completed in full and in line with the new project application components permitted in this year’s competition
CoC planning and UFA Costs applications will only be reviewed if submitted by the CoC’s designated Collaborative Applicant identified in the CoC Applicant Profile in e-snaps.
Dedicated HMIS projects, renewal and new, can only be submitted by the CoC’s designated HMIS Lead as identified in the CoC Applicant Profile in e-snaps.
Collaborative Applicants
The CoC Application and CoC Priority Listing with all project applications accepted and ranked or rejected are separate submissions in e-snaps. Collaborative Applicants must submit both parts of the CoC Consolidated Application by the application submission deadline for HUD to consider the CoC Consolidated Application to be complete.
The CoC Competition Report, and instructions on how to access the report, that includes data reported in the Homelessness Data Exchange (HDX) is available for use by Collaborative Applicants to complete portions of the FY 2019 CoC Application.
What’s New for the FY 2019 NOFA?
The list below highlights some important information regarding new concepts CoCs should consider while planning for the FY 2019 CoC Program Competition. This list is not exhaustive and additional details are in the NOFA.
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Renewals. Many of the YHDP projects awarded in FY 2016 are due for first-time renewal in the FY 2019 CoC Program Competition. See Section II.B.6 of the NOFA for additional details.
Expansion Projects. The application submission process for renewal projects that want to submit a new expansion project has changed. See Section III.C.2.j of the NOFA for additional details.
Domestic Violence (DV) Bonus Projects. There is another up to $50 million available for new DV Bonus projects (Section III.B.2.c of the NOFA) and many of the DV Bonus projects awarded in last year’s FY 2018 CoC Program Competition are eligible for renewal.
CoC Bonus. The CoC Bonus is calculated differently in FY 2019. As stated in Section III.C.2.c of the NOFA, “…CoC is eligible to apply for up to 5 percent of its Final Pro Rata Need (FPRN), or 25 percent of the CoC's Preliminary Pro Rata Need (PPRN) minus its Annual Renewal Demand (ARD), whichever is greater. To be eligible to receive a bonus project, a CoC must demonstrate that it ranks projects based on how they improve system performance as outlined in Section VII.B.1.a of this NOFA. The available amount per CoC can be found on the CoC Estimated ARD Report on the HUD Exchange.
See the e-snaps: CoC Program Applications and Grants Management System and the FY 2019 CoC Program Competition: Funding Availability pages on the HUD Exchange for a complete listing of information and guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will OneHome outcomes be considered during the scoring process?
Yes. Scores for OneHome referrals will be compared against other members (by category; i.e., PSH and RRH/Transitional) in the community.
How will scoring of utilization be scored differently for large organizations versus small organizations?
MDHI’s Data team is trying to create a control for utilization and are also investigating if it is even an issue that will affect scoring. This is the purpose for the narrative section on each scoring element so that organizations may describe their individual circumstance.
Will narrative sections be scored?
Narrative will not influence the scores this year, but may influence ranking. Scoring from a narrative could be added to the next NOFA based on what we learn this year.
Will organizations that serve higher need communities get extra points based of their populations?
Those serving higher needs populations will not get a boost, as due to Coordinated Entry, every renewal project should be assisting and prioritizing those in the greatest need.
When should we notify MDHI about money that has not been used for reallocation?
MDHI’s reallocation policy is available here.
Will the 18 months grant term be accessible by those looking the only renew funding?
No, it is only available for new applicants, as it is intended to help them become operational during that extra six months at the beginning.
How does the expansion program work?
You will turn in your renewal application, as well as an application for the specified expansions, then create an overall renewal application that includes the funding from the expansion assuming you receive the funding.
Can the DV bonus for housing and services be used for supportive services?
It can be used to expand services, but HUD very specifically requires that all funding gained from the DV bonus must be used to serve only DV clients.
What is considered a homeless outcome on exit?
Most Jail, Prison, Hospitals, Halfway Houses, or any other temporary destinations are considered negative outcomes, unless otherwise removed from the denominator or specified per HUD's outcome definitions. A link to HUD’s definitions is available here. Reach out to MDHI if you have any questions about specific cases.
When are the APRs being pulled from SAGE? What data cleaning do we need to do before submitting our NOFA application?
The date to clean up any data from your APR has passed (7/24) as it has been directly pulled from Clarity, there is no need to update it for the NOFA. MDHI is pulling the APRs from Clarity HMIS, not SAGE as previously articulated. If there are specific data issues with your organization’s APR, please let MDHI know.
Why are we using the APR instead of a quarterly report that is up to date?
MDHI pulled the APRs from Clarity to create a mechanism by which organizations can know with certainty when their data needs to be prepared by. We hope that this will encourage organizations to focus on data quality throughout the year instead of scrambling to clean it as soon as the NOFA is released.
What is the date range that MDHI will be reviewing renewal projects on the APR?
MDHI is going back two years on APRs to expand the denominator for a sample size of averages. Projects will only be scored on their most recent year’s performance.
How can one be involved in the NOFA committee?
Positions on the NOFA committee cannot be MDHI CoC grantees, which typically means that the members are State or county level officials who have no conflicts of interest. If you are interested in being a part of next year’s NOFA committee, contact Matt Meyer.
More Questions?
If you have questions pertaining to e-snaps technical issues or the FY 2019 CoC Program Competition, submit your questions to the e-snaps Ask A Question (AAQ) portal. To submit a question to the e-snaps AAQ portal, select “e-snaps” from the “My question is related to” dropdown list on Step 2 of the question submission process.
If you have questions related to the CoC Program interim rule or a policy-related question, submit your questions to the CoC Program AAQ portal. To submit a question to the CoC AAQ portal, select “CoC: Continuum of Care Program” from the “My question is related to” dropdown list on Step 2 of the question submission process.