Skyway-West Hill & North Highline Permanent Affordability Community Planning Support Grant

Skyway-West Hill & North Highline Permanent Affordability Community Planning Support Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: King County Department of Community and Human Services
Amount: Up to US $87,500
Last Updated: May 16, 2025

Summary

The Skyway-West Hill & North Highline Permanent Affordability Community Planning Support Grant aims to address the housing affordability crisis by funding community-based organizations to lead planning processes for permanently affordable housing models. With a total allocation of $175,000, the grant prioritizes community-led efforts to enhance housing stability and prevent displacement. Eligible organizations must demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and address the specific needs of the local communities they serve.

Overview

I. Introduction As our region faces a housing affordability crisis, this RFP seeks community-based organizations (CBOs) to partner with DCHS to advance a community planning process or implementation process to support community-led and community-owned models of permanently affordable housing in Skyway-West Hill and North Highline. This RFP specifically aims to support the capacity of CBO(s) to lead a community-led planning or implementation process. In 2021, King County released the Skyway-West Hill and North Highline Anti-Displacement Strategies Report (Anti-Displacement Strategies Report). In this report, the Executive recommended that these community planning processes needed funding for purposes such as staffing, as well as supporting program expenses including participation stipends and fees for consultants, training, and overhead costs.1 DCHS has allocated up to $175,000 for the Skyway West-Hill and North Highline Community Planning RFP. DCHS seeks to fund, and will prioritize the applications of, community-led and community informed organizations that are reflective of Skyway-West Hill and North Highline. DCHS aims to support organizations that recognize and address the disparities that exist within the communities that they serve. II. RFP Overview A. Program Purpose Statement Amidst displacement pressures and rising costs of housing, community-led and community-owned permanently affordable housing models, such as Community Land Trusts (CLT), converting a rental project to a homeownership project or limited equity co-ops, can provide increased housing stability for generations. The development of community-led and community-owned models of permanently affordable housing is a multi-step process that can take many years, significant financing, strong partnerships, and community buy-in. This RFP will support the capacity of CBO(s) to engage their communities in the planning and development of these housing models. Directed by Ordinance 19146 and Motion 15539, King County released the Anti-Displacement Strategies Report in 2021. Motion 15539 directs the Executive to pursue “strategies to implement community land trusts; including funding a year-long community engagement process with monthly meetings to ensure that the North Highline and Skyway-West Hill community voices are being included in the process to shape any possible strategy; and exploration into a variety of funding sources for such a community land trust.” In response to that recommendation, this RFP will deploy up to $175,000 to initiate a year-long community planning process, or a year-long implementation process to further explore permanently affordable housing models in Skyway-West Hill, or North Highline. The goal of this RFP is to increase the supply of affordable housing to mitigate, repair, or prevent residential displacement in Skyway-West Hill and North Highline. These RFP funds are intended to fund either a community planning process or implementation process to explore permanently affordable housing models in Skyway-West Hill & North Highline communities. B. Objective Community-based organizations funded by this RFP would lead a year-long community planning process or a year-long implementation process within their respective community. A community planning process would focus on exploring different permanently affordable housing models and making recommendations regarding these housing models. An implementation process would focus on utilizing feedback from previous community engagement and planning efforts and translating it into implementing recommended permanently affordable housing models. DCHS released a Request for Information (RFI) in spring 2023 to further inform the objectives and elements of this RFP. This RFI specifically solicited feedback from Skyway-West Hill and North Highline communities and resulted in the recommendations below: Fund underrepresented communities;Ensure community alignment with previous and current work;Provide funding flexibility; andDefine success as supporting the creation of community-informed and community-led permanently affordable housing models that are culturally relevant, sustainably built and strengthens communities. Outcomes The intent of these RFP funds is to support the capacity of one, or more Skyway-West Hill and North Highline CBO(s) to lead community planning processes exploring or implementing community-led and community-owned models of permanently affordable housing. This work includes CBO(s) facilitating monthly community meetings to engage their community to identify models of permanently affordable housing in their neighborhoods and evaluating the possibility of establishing these types of models in their neighborhood, and to provide recommendations about how to best support planning and implementation efforts related to permanently affordable housing models. Successful Applicant(s) will partner with DCHS staff to draft a performance measurement (PM) Plan as part of contract negotiations. During the contracting development process, procedures on regular reporting to DCHS staff on performance measures will be collaboratively defined. This is the method staff will use to evaluate progress made towards key performance measures by each funded CBO, as well as to support HCD Division’s accounting processes. V. Available Funding The total funds available for this RFP is $175,000 for a 12-month program period. DCHS anticipates awarding at least two Applicant(s); at least one per neighborhood, for work within Skyway-West Hill, and/or North Highline.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The following activities may be supported by these funds:Supporting community engagement activities related to community planning for Permanent Affordability Models including, but not limited to, education and training, gathering community input and feedback, community outreach and planning, stipends for community member engagement, and developing partnership agreements.Supporting a community implementation process, activities include, but not limited to, land acquisition, land development planning, predevelopment activities, staffing costs and activities related to project management to support a permanently affordable housing project, or implementation workplan; and increasing a CBO’s organizational capacity to plan for affordable housing development work.Development of final recommendations for permanently affordable housing models.The HCDD’s administrative funds provide up to $175,000 for this one-time RFP. This funding will support planning or implementation efforts for the residents of Skyway-West Hill and North Highline.This RFP is open to nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, tribes and tribal organizations serving the communities of Skyway-West Hill and/or North Highline.This RFP will require Applicant(s) to meet the definition of a “community-based organization” within either the Skyway-West Hill, or North Highline neighborhoods.Eligible Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria: A. The definition of a community-based organization within Skyway-West Hill and North Highline neighborhoods, as defined by the 2023 RFI community feedback:1. Have multiple layers of networks and community partnerships;2. The ability to implement accessible and diverse outreach and community engagement strategies;3. Has a deep history and experience centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) voices and needs;4. Experience centering households impacted by displacement, gentrification, and challenges in accessing affordable housing; and5. Strong candidates will center and honor the history, lived experiences and previous work of local CBO(s) and community partners. B. Experience:1. Previous community development, or community planning work with/within SkywayWest Hill, and/or North Highline communities;2. Holding public trust with excellent communication and transparency;3. Engaging BIPOC communities in Skyway-West Hill, and/or North Highline to learn, explore, and design transformative community economic development initiatives;4. Effective facilitation of BIPOC community groups in meetings, education sessions, program development or program implementation;5. Understanding transformative economic models for community ownership; and6. Staff capacity has the ability or will increase to carry out the proposed planning or implementation process and provide DCHS with ongoing project status updates. Available FundingThe maximum award amount each organization may request is $87,500 with the understanding that more or less might be awarded as a result of the funding decision process.Use of funds need to be aligned with the strategies outlined in the RFP. Applicants should request only what they can spend.Collective applications will be accepted, including organizations who have established fiscal sponsors in place at the time of applying. Please note that one application should be submitted, with one organization acting as the lead applicant, and partner organization(s) should be named in the application. The lead applicant organization should also act as the contractor and subcontract with the partner organizations, submitting only one budget with the application