Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
Federal Agency
Sub-Department
Community Planning and Development
Purpose
To help cities, counties, and states recover from Presidentially-declared disasters. The grants focus on low-income areas, subject to availability of supplemental appropriations.
Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements
Funds are awarded to state and local governments that become grantees. Those who receive grant money include state agencies, non-profit organizations, economic development agencies, citizens, and businesses. Eligible use of funds can be found here: https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/CDBG-DR-Policy-Guide.pdf
Decarbonization Considerations
States and local governments have encountered tragic circumstances and the road to recovery is long. Given those circumstances, this adaptive funding resource arrives after the wave of initial FEMA and inter-agency "response" support and provides a longer-term, strategic set of funds for spurring physical investments that prioritize the safety and economic well-being of those most vulnerable in a community. Eligible activities for CDBG-DR can be used for both resilience, recovery and decarbonization of the building, transportation, and power service sectors through infrastructure investments. For example, deploying renewable energy and incorporating energy storage into community facilities and public institutions are suitable measures to maintain reliability. Also, consider establishing local loan loss reserves (possibly in partnership with a local Community Development Financial Institution) to support financing programs for solar energy that are accessible to members of marginalized communities
Equity Considerations
Developing the required Action Plan is a critical step in unlocking CDBG-DR funds for a local government or other qualified recipient (county/state), both procedural and distributional equity emphasis can be and should be employed as stakeholder input is gathered and integrated into the development of the plan and the future use of the CDBG-DR funds within a community. As set forth in HUD guidance, this process encourages local governments and other eligible entities to be proactive and inclusive in implementation. Per HUD's CDBG-DR Guidance, citizen participation is both encouraged and required throughout the CDBG-DR grant process. Each grantee’s Action Plan must include a Citizen Participation Plan which describes how the public will be informed and engaged throughout the grant’s lifecycle. For additional information on planning with equity in mind, check out HUD CDBG-DR's guidance: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbg-dr/resources/#equity-in-disaster-planning-and-recovery
Helpful Tips
For additional guidance, see HUD's policy guidance and fact sheet for CDBG-DR: https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/CDBG-DR-Policy-Guide.pdf https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/CDBG-DR-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Other Notes
To determine eligibility for federal disaster declaration funding, please check FEMA's website at https://www.fema.gov/disasters/disaster-declarations.