Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), CoC Program. CoCs apply for funding every year through a competitive process in response to HUD’s CoC Program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). After enactment of the annual federal Appropriations Act for the Fiscal Year, HUD issues a NOFA allowing all CoCs in the country to compete for funding.
HUD awards CoC Program funding competitively to nonprofit organizations, states, and/or units of general purpose local governments (often counties), collectively known as recipients. In turn, recipients may contract or sub-grant with other organizations or government entities (known as subrecipients) to carry out the grant’s day-to-day program operations.
The NOFA requires that each CoC design, operate and follow a collaborative process to develop and approve of applications for funding. The CoC has to establish priorities for funding projects in its geographic area and determine if the CoC will file one comprehensive application for funding or more than one.
Funding acquired through the CoC Program NOFA can be used to support: permanent housing (PSH and RRH); Transitional Housing; Supportive Services Only (SSO) (including coordinated entry); HMIS (available to HMIS leads only); and homelessness prevention (limited).
Roles within a CoC: There are many roles that communities fill in order to ensure the CoC functions well and effectively serves people experiencing homelessness.
- CoC: Coalition of local government, nonprofits, and other stakeholders
- CoC Board: The entity established to act on behalf of the CoC. It must be representative of relevant organizations and projects serving homeless subpopulations in the community
- Collaborative Applicant: A legal entity that is designated by the CoC to apply for annual NOFA funding on behalf of the CoC. The Collaborative Applicant also applies for planning funds on behalf of the CoC. Many CoCs delegate additional administrative tasks to the Collaborative Applicant.
- HMIS Lead: A legal entity designated by the CoC to manage the day-to-day operation of the CoC’s Health Management information System (HMIS).
- CoC Program Funding Recipients/Subrecipients (“programs” or “projects”)
- Workgroups or Committees: HUD requires the CoC to establish workgroups and/or committees to help carry out other activities of the CoC.