As part of its continuing effort to provide quality housing counseling to the nation’s homeowners, buyers and renters, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced the availability of $2 million in grants for housing counseling training. HUD’s goal is to fund eligible organizations to deliver training across the full spectrum of counseling services.
“These funds for training will help HUD-approved housing counseling organizations be better prepared to offer valuable services assisting families in making better choices in buying or renting homes and in helping thousands of struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “We are pleased that Congress heard our arguments for the vital role housing counseling plays and restored funding for housing counseling in HUD’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget. We are now working to ensure these resources are used as effectively as possible and this training will help us do that.”
HUD-approved counseling agencies provide homeownership counseling as well as financial literacy education to renters and homeless individuals and families. This year, HUD’s Housing Counseling Grant program will provide more than $40 million for comprehensive counseling, reverse mortgage counseling, and supplemental funding for mortgage loan modification and mortgage fraud and scam assistance.
The counseling training funds are available to provide training activities designed to improve and standardize the quality of counseling provided by HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, multi-state organizations, and state housing finance agencies. The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) provides funding details and requirements.
Applicants must be public or private non-profit organizations and must have “tax exempt” status under section 501(a) pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 501(a) and (c)(3). Applicants must have at least two years of experience providing housing counseling training services nationwide. They must propose to provide training nationwide.
