This resource page is designed for community development nonprofits and the associations that serve them. Go directly to COVID-19 resources for:
For policy platforms and resource pages developed by state and regional community development associations, go to our Member Response page.
Housing
Eviction Prevention / Rent Relief
On September 1, the Centers for Disease Control issued a national moratorium on most evictions for nonpayment of rent. The moratorium does not apply to any state, local, territorial or tribal area that has an eviction moratorium that “provides the same or greater level of public-health protection than the requirements” in the CDC’s order. The moratorium applies to an estimated 43 million renters, helping those with COVID-related economic problems, but it does not provide any new funding to pay rents or any other expenses. At the end of the moratorium, tenants will owe any unpaid rent — and landlords are not prevented from charging or collecting fees, penalties, or interest as a result of a tenant’s failure to pay rent on time. To get eviction protection, renters earning less than $99,000 in 2020 (or a joint annual household income below $198,000) must self-affirm they meet a five-point hardship test, listed in an attachment at the end of CDC’s announcement.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and HUD also announced the extension of their eviction moratoriums through December 31. FHFA's eviction moratorium applies only to residents of multifamily properties acquired by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Renters in multifamily properties backed by Fannie and Freddie that are in forbearance are also entitled to enhanced protections. While in forbearance, these properties may not evict tenants for nonpayment of rent.
The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project matches renters with legal assistance and provides advocates with eviction analysis. The Urban Institute's new Emergency Rental Assistance Priority Index can help you prioritize the most vulnerable renters in the state as part of an equitable COVID-19 response. Search for your county or Continuum of Care.
NHC's COVID-19 Resource Center provides numerous resources that can be filtered by state. Some state and local governments are offering additional renter protections. NLIHC tracks state and local emergency rental assistance programs. Eviction Lab's COVID-19 Policy Scorecard provides state-by-state information and their policy tracker provides information about local emergency ordinances.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides information about Protections for Renters During the Pandemic. The National Law Project's Renter and Homeowner Rights During COVID-19 provides resources for advocates, attorneys, and policymakers.
Foreclosure Prevention / Mortgage Relief
The national eviction moratorium ordered by the Centers for Disease Control raises concerns for landlords who need to continue to pay mortgages and other expenses related to rental properties. When describing the available federal assistance made available to tenants. The CDC order does describe the available federal assistance made available to tenants. HUD informed the CDC that entities who received Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) or Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under the CARES Act may use these funds to provide temporary rental assistance.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and HUD announced the extension of their foreclosure moratoriums through December 31. Originally set to expire on August 31, the moratoriums apply to single family mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. To understand what protections are available for a specific property, borrowers should first determine whether their loans are owned or backed by one of these federal entities. Use loan look-up tools for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The National Housing Law Project provides instructions to determine whether a loan is owned or backed by HUD's Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, or the USDA Rural Housing System.
Access information about relief options for mortgages owned or backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and the USDA. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides a Guide to Coronavirus Mortgage Relief Options. The National Law Project's Renter and Homeowner Rights During COVID-19 provides resources for advocates, attorneys, and policymakers. View NHC's FAQs for homeowners.
Multifamily Housing
On June 22, HUD posted Flexibilities/Waivers Granted by the CARES Act + Mega Waivers and Guidance. The compendium covers HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Continuum of Care (CoC) programs, Consolidated Plan waivers, and environmental review policies. CARES Act self-implementing provisions for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program are included. For more information about CDBG, go to the Communities section of this webpage.
View HUD guidance for owners/agents of FHA-insured properties, project-based rental assistance, Section 232 and Section 811 properties. HUD also provides HOME Program FAQs as well as eviction moratorium material for tenants and owners for units assisted by the HOME Program.
Access multifamily resources and updates from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The National Multifamily Housing Council provides a National Multifamily Housing Council Coronavirus Hub provides information for building owners. NHC provides FAQs on property management, multifamily finance, and homeless service providers.
Small Business
The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides numerous loans and resources.
SBA simplifies PPP forgiveness for loans under $50,000
Businesses that borrowed $50,000, or less, under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) now have access to a simplified forgiveness process, SBA announced on October 8. Businesses with a $50,000 loan, or less, simply have to fill out a one-page application form and can ignore the more complex calculations required of larger loans. A link to the Form 3508S is available at sba.gov. According to the SBA, the new rules affect about 3.5 million loans (68% of all PPP borrowers), but only $62 billion (or 12%) of all the SBA money lent. The SBA posted an FAQ on October 13 to help answer borrowers' questions about forgiveness.
Other programs:
- PRIME-2020-01 - Grant opportunity for microenterprise development organizations.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program - Long-term, low interest assistance for a small business or non-profit to help alleviate temporary loss of revenue. EIDL assistance can be used to cover payroll and inventory, pay debt or fund other expenses.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance - Loan advances of up to $10,000 for businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. This loan advance will not have to be repaid.
- SBA Bridge Loans - Small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender can access up to $25,000 quickly.
- SBA Debt Relief - The SBA will automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees of current 7(a), 504, and microloans for a period of six months. The SBA will also automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees for new 7(a), 504, and microloans issued prior to September 27, 2020.
- Coronavirus Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources webpage provides information about what is currently available.
- Please note that the Paycheck Protection Program closed on August 8.
Guide to PPP Loan Forgiveness from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce help borrowers understand the process by which their loan forgiveness amount will be calculated and the overall approach of the loan forgiveness process.
Small Business Relief Tracker from Forbes provides information about funding, grants, and resources offered to small businesses from federal, state and local government agencies, private companies, and nonprofit organizations.
The Centers for Disease Control's Guidance for Reopening in America provides specific information for different types of businesses starting on page 38.
Communities
Community Development Block Grants
The CARES Act passed by Congress in March committed $5 billion to Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). HUD distributed $1 billion in CDBG funding in mid-May. The second round of funding was distributed primarily to states through a methodology HUD developed on pandemic-related needs. The first $2 billion round of CDBG funds was distributed in early April to states and municipalities based on existing formulas. The last $2 billion in CDBG funds as part of the CARES Act (third round) will be distributed to states and municipalities on a rolling basis by HUD through a formula yet to be determined. The CARES Act provides CDBG grantees with flexibilities and waivers similar to those granted for past disasters, including removing some caps on grants to nonprofits.
Economic Development Administration (EDA) will provide $1.5 billion in funding to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. Nonprofits and associations are among those eligible for these CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants, which are intended to be flexible and responsive to the economic development needs and priorities of local and regional stakeholders. These will support a wide range of non-construction and construction activities, including Revolving Loan Funds, in regions across the country experiencing severe economic dislocations brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rural Resources
The USDA's COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide lists federal programs that can provide immediate and long-term assistance to rural residents, organizations, businesses, and communities impacted by COVID-19.
Additional Resources
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides regularly-updated information on how to plan, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19.
CONNECT Platform - Works anywhere in the country to find free and reduced cost services like food, healthcare, job opportunities, benefits enrollment, rent assistance and more anywhere in the country.
NHC provides FAQs for nonprofits.
Banking
Expansion of CRA Credit for Activities in Respond to COVID-19 - Joint statement from the Federal Reserve System, FDIC, and the OCC providing guidance to financial institutions on how they can receive credit on their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities to low- and moderate-income people and communities affected by the coronavirus.
American Bankers Association: Bank Responses to COVID-19 - Alphabetical list of publicly-announced steps banks of all sizes have taken to respond to the crisis.
Racial Equity
The NAACP’s “Ten Equity Implications of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak in the United States” includes sections on “Civil Rights Advocacy Recommendations” and “Promising Emerging Equity Based Efforts” with examples of nonprofits taking direct equity-based action.
The Movement for Black Lives’ National Demands During COVID-19 lists policy platforms centered on protecting Black communities during the pandemic.
Fundraising and Communications
Funding
The National Center of Family Philanthropy has created a list of emergency funding opportunities for nonprofits working towards COVID-19 response and recovery.
Five Foundations, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have announced a joint commitment to increase their payouts to nonprofit organizations with more than $1.7 billion within the next three years to stabilize and sustain the nonprofit sector.
Community Foundation has a list of community foundations with emergency funding packages for nonprofit organizations broken down by states.
Additional funding sources for nonprofits can be found on our Funding Opportunities page.
Communications
Planning for a COVID-19 Outbreak in Your Community from Leading Age provides a framework for organizations developing messaging for media consumption and/or responding to press inquiries about diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in your organization.
Framing COVID-19 from the FrameWorks Institute provides guidance on effective and inclusive communications during the pandemic, including guidance on making a powerful case for nonprofits.
Talking About Homelessness and Housing During COVID-19 from Housing Action Illinois! provides sample messaging on housing and homelessness that members may find useful to quote, adopt, or adapt.
Talking about health, housing & COVID-19: Keeping Equity at the Forefront from Berkeley Media Studies Group provides tools and language to elevate equity-focused solutions in housing and health news for press communication and advocacy.
Communications Toolkit from the Opportunity Agenda provides guidance for developing values-based messages for those working to influence long-term public thinking about social justice issues while also crafting effective short-term campaigns.
Virtual Meeting Tools
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Nonprofit Resources for Remote Work During the COVID-19 Outbreak
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Online Event Resources
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