CASTING CALL – DO YOU FIT THE ROLE?
COME TAKE THE STAGE & SHARE YOUR SUCCESS AT PAHRA’S 2023 BEST PRACTICES SHOWCASE & AWARDS
View the image below for details or click the following links to access rules and entry forms for the 2023 Best Practices Showcase & Awards:
The Keystone Communities Program (KCP) program is designed to encourage the creation of partnerships between the public and private sectors that jointly support local initiatives such as the growth and stability of neighborhoods and communities; social and economic diversity; and a strong and secure quality of life. The program allows communities to tailor the assistance to meet the needs of its specific revitalization effort.
Grants are now available for various initiatives, such as infrastructure development, downtown revitalization, business improvement, and community planning. The KCP aims to empower local communities and foster sustainable economic development across the state of Pennsylvania.
Communities may wish to consider designation through the KCP program as a Keystone Main Street, Keystone Elm Street, Keystone Enterprise Zone, or Keystone Community. Designation is an opportunity for targeted investment and development including the identification of specific needs for investment and/or development and the design and implementation of a strategy to address those needs. Designation applications are accepted at all times.
Click here for additional details including: Funding Guidelines – Designation Guidelines – Application
AHP Online Now Open for 2023 Application Input
The 2023 funding round for the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and voluntary housing grant initiative is now open with approximately $20.3 million in available funding for AHP and $8 million for the voluntary housing grant initiative. All 2023 forms, guides and application attachments are currently available on FHLBank’s website. Forms may be downloaded, completed and then uploaded to AHP Online. Other resources available are detailed below.
Guides for applying in the AHP Online system
All applicants should review the application paper guide, which outlines all the application questions. This should be done prior to completing an application in the AHP Online system.
The following application guides detail the steps you will encounter while completing an AHP application in the system:
Webinar
The AHP Fundamentals and Voluntary Housing Grant Initiative Webinar provides a detailed discussion of the AHP process and the voluntary housing grant initiative, including key scoring and feasibility factors.
Voluntary housing grant initiative product manual
Applicants with projects in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia should review the Voluntary Housing Grant Initiative Product Manual for more information about how this funding will be administered.
Partner matching
Members and project sponsors seeking a partner for this year’s funding round can request matching help by completing the AHP Match Request Form.
Application assistance
As the application assistance period has now closed, support is now limited to AHP Online technical functionality issues only (e.g., system login or issues uploading financial feasibility spreadsheets). For questions related to scoring and feasibility guidelines, please consult the 2023 AHP Implementation Plan.
2023 AHP and voluntary housing grant initiative applications are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Aug. 9. Awards will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 14. If you have questions about the AHP program, please contact ahp@fhlb-pgh.com.
The Eastern Pennsylvania CoC is partnering with the following housing authorities, with each authority slated to receive 5 vouchers:
Harrisburg Housing Authority will receive 5 vouchers in partnership with the Harrisburg/Dauphin County CoC.
The vouchers are part of a comprehensive approach to reduce homelessness, including a previous grant of $486 million to 62 CoC communities. The Stability Voucher Program aims to coordinate efforts between health and housing agencies to help individuals transition from the streets to permanent housing. Once the Stability Vouchers are allocated to selected PHAs, eligible households, including households experiencing or at risk of homelessness and households fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault, will be able to access these vouchers and use them to attain affordable housing.
These actions are part of the House America national initiative launched by the Administration in 2022, with the goal of reducing homelessness by 25 percent by 2025. Here is the full list of PHAs receiving funding.
PAHRA is pleased to announce the winners of our 36th Annual Scholarship Awards. Follow these links to view our brief video or read more about our winners. PAHRA is proud to provide these scholarships as a positive economical and educational impact in helping to forge the foundations for brilliant futures ahead for these stellar students.
Paul G. Pecharko Memorial Scholarships (Adult-Ed)
L. DeWitt Boosel Memorial Scholarships (High School Seniors)
To learn more about our 2023 scholarship recipients, click here to view the full article, including brief bio’s and photos.
Please click here to view a short video of our 36th Annual Scholarship Award winners, where they were given the opportunity to speak out about their goals as well as what has inspired them
$61.5 million will fund 309 housing initiatives in all 67 counties
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today announced the recipients of a new round of funding for housing programs made available through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund. PHFA has identified 309 housing and community development initiatives in all 67 counties that will share a portion of the total $61.5 million in PHARE funding for fiscal year 2022-23. The PHARE fund is managed by PHFA.
“PHARE is one of our most popular programs because local leaders and organizations determine the best application of the funding to address their housing needs,” said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “During the last decade, the PHARE program has an impressive record of accomplishment, in great part because of the high quality of the proposals submitted by groups who best understand the housing needs in their communities.”
Funding for these PHARE awards comes from two main sources. Since 2012, the program has received a portion of the impact fees collected from natural gas companies operating in the state with the goal of addressing the housing shortage caused by the impact of drilling. That is supplemented with funding provided by a portion of the realty transfer tax. The PHARE fund is often referred to as the state’s Housing Trust Fund.
PHFA anticipates that today’s PHARE funding will impact Pennsylvania households through a variety of affordable housing efforts including:
PHFA staff report that at least 66% of the $61.5 million allocated today will be used to fund housing projects benefiting households with incomes below 50% of the area median income.
A list of the proposals receiving PHARE funding is available at www.phfa.org/legislation/act105.aspx. See the bullet for “Funding Announcements.”
The Pennsylvania Association of Housing and Redevelopment Agencies (PAHRA) is an affiliation of Pennsylvania’s housing authorities, redevelopment authorities, community development agencies and nonprofit corporations.
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