FY 2023 Fair Housing Initiatives Program - Education and Outreach Initiative - Test Coordinator Training NOFO
Purpose
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) funds nonprofits and other fair housing organizations and currently provides funding to eligible organizations through competitive grants under several initiatives to carry out education and outreach and enforcement activities to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices and inform individuals of their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The Initiatives are the Fair Housing Organization Initiative (FHOI), the Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI) and the Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI). In addition, consistent with HUD appropriations directives, FHEO is publishing this NOFO under the EOI for Test Coordinator Training.
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) is a significant source of funding for FHIP grantees that conduct fair housing testing in local communities across the country. Fair housing testing refers to the use of testers who, without any bona fide intent to rent, sell or purchase a property, pose as prospective renters, sellers or buyers of residential real estate for the purpose of determining whether housing providers and other real estate professionals are complying with the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The Department continues to be vigilant about ensuring that testing performed with FHIP funds adheres to HUD’s investigatory standards so that it yields credible, objective and admissible evidence to aid in the enforcement of the FHA. To support this goal, this EOI Test Coordinator Training NOFO makes available in FY2023 funding in the amount of $500,000 to support fair housing test coordinator training courses in general/basic fair housing testing as well as in advanced/complex fair housing testing. HUD recognizes that fair housing testing efforts may focus on specific areas of testing such as discriminatory effects, and bias in the home lending, insurance and appraisal markets, etc., and that test coordinators working on those efforts need more than general fair housing testing training to design and coordinate high quality testing programs. Therefore, in addition to funding test coordinator training for general/basic training, this NOFO also supports specific test coordinator training courses in the areas of discriminatory effects (including those resulting from source of income and criminal records related policies); and mortgage lending, homeowners' insurance, and residential appraisal bias and/or discrimination to help meet the needs and requirements of the FHIP. Applicants ineligible to apply for funding under this NOFO may be eligible for the FHIP Education and Outreach NOFO, FR-6700-N-21-A.
Funding of approximately $500,000 is available through this NOFO. HUD expects to make 1 award from the funds available under this NOFO.
Program Office: Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Funding Opportunity Title: Fair Housing Initiatives Program -Education and Outreach Initiative -Test Coordinator Training
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-6700-N-71-A
Assistance Listing Number: 14.416
OMB Approval Number: 2529-0033
Opening Date: September 29, 2023
Deadline Date: November 30, 2023