Community Development Block Grant: Open Application

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides significant funding to urban counties like St. Louis. This grant supports initiatives aimed at benefiting low and moderate-income individuals, addressing urgent community needs, and preventing blight. St. Louis County directs CDBG funds to municipalities and nonprofits to undertake vital community development projects, ensuring compliance with federal regulations and national objectives.

Background
Nationally administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the program allows for “blocks” of grant funding to be disbursed to communities across the country, primarily for the purpose of benefiting low and moderate income people.
While some CDBG programs are administered through state governments, St. Louis County, as an urban county (a county which is over 200,000 in population), is eligible to receive CDBG funds directly from HUD as an entitlement community. Entitlement communities are larger counties to which HUD provides annual grants to be used for “the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons” (42 USC 5301 et seq).
Distribution of Funds
The Office of Community Development, a division of the St. Louis County Department of Health and Human Services is the administrative entity which applies for, receives and provides oversight of CDBG funding for St. Louis County. While the county is the recipient of CDBG funds, it disburses much of its annual allocation to municipalities and nonprofit organizations, called subrecipients, to undertake community development activities in the county that meet one of three National Objectives:
Benefit low and moderate income personsPrevent or eliminate slums or blightAddress community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community for which other funding is not available
St. Louis County can also fund other government departments within the county and unincorporated areas of the county; however, all activities undertaken with CDBG funds must meet a National Objective and be eligible activities as defined in 24 CFR 570.201-207. Because CDBG funds are federal taxpayer dollars, they are subject to a number of federal regulations that help to protect public investment.

Eligibility

Applications to competitively award CDBG funds to nonprofit organizations and County departments.