National Community Development Association

4 5 THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION manager for the City of Seattle, and the NCDA’s current President, is HOPWA– the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program.“It’s another block grant of flexible fund- ing for cities and other jurisdictions to use to provide housing services for people with AIDS,” he states. As a member-based organization, Watson defines the NCDA’s main fo- cus as one of education.“We have two primary conferences where members can come together and learn about the latest updates in their program areas, as well as learn from their peers in terms of how they’re administering their programs.We also have a large training sector that we do on both the CDBG and HOME programs.” In fact, the NCDA is a national leader in providing CDBG and HOME training to grantees. The Association’s CDBG Basics Course is nationally known for its comprehen- sive coverage of the CDBG program and the Association’s cadre of HOME workshops provides demand-response training on this very intricate federal program. Look believes that a primarymission of the NCDA is to provide opportunities for those members who work with these federal programs in their own communities to have a forumwhere they can bounce ideas off of one an- other and help each other understand how they’re doing things.“We’ve got membership across the country from New England down to L.A. and from Seattle down to Miami,”he says.“And each community does things slightly differently.We can learn from each other how best to use these funds.” In addition to its twice-yearly con- ferences, the NCDA also publishes a monthly newsletter, keeping its members informed about develop- ments in housing and community de- velopment. Its website, NCDAonline, provides links to other related AT A GLANCE THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION WHAT: A national, nonprofit organization representing communities that administer federal grant programs WHERE: Washington, DC WEBSITE: www.ncda online.org services – recreation, infrastructure, the razing of blighted buildings.” In 1974, when the federal govern- ment’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program was enacted into law, Model Cities was absorbed into the new entity.“CDBG basically combined several existing block grants from different agencies into one program that’s now centered in HUD,” she ex- plains.“So, our members go back to the ‘60s.” Those members of the NCDA are local government agencies that receive direct funding from HUD for their own city’s or town’s CDBG programs.“Some of our mem- bers also administer a couple of other HUD programs that work in tandem with CDBG,”Watson says.“For example, the Home Investment Partnerships program is an affordable housing block grant. Our members also administer HUD’s Homeless Assistance programs. The Emergency Solutions grant is a homeless block grant that funnels into city and state agencies to help with emergency shelter needs. And then, there’s something called the Continuum of Care program that provides permanent and transitional housing.” Another program, according to Michael Look, a CDBG NCDA leads the Community Development Block Grant Coalition that consists of many different national asso- ciations that all support the core Community Develop- ment Block Grant program. And through that Coalition, we do visits to members of Congress to educate them about the programs and about the benefits of the pro- grams in their communities. VICKI WATSON NCDA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR