January 2017 | Business View Magazine

62 63 The National Community Development Association 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 pro- gram that provides permanent and transitional housing.” Another program, according to Michael Look, a CDBG 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 funding for cities and other jurisdictions to use to provide housing services for peo- ple with AIDS,” he states. As a member-based organization, Watson defines the NCDA’s main focus 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 grant- ees. The Association’s CDBG Basics Course is nationally known for its comprehensive coverage of the CDBG program and the Association’s cadre of HOME workshops provides demand-response training on this very intricate federal program. 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 of the organization, as well as its policy and legislative agenda. She explains that the NCDA’s immediate precursor was an asso- ciation called the Model Cities Director Association, which was created to help implement the Model Cities Program of the late 1960s. “It was meant to help inner city areas with their slum and blight issues,” she says, “as well as provide other services – rec- reation, infrastructure, the razing of blighted buildings.” In 1974, when the federal government’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 explains. “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 members 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 NCDA leads the Community Development Block Grant Coalition that consists of many different national associations that all support the core Community Development Block Grant program. And through that Coalition, we do visits to mem- bers of Congress to educate them about the programs and about the benefits of the pro- grams in their communities. Vicki Watson NCDA Executive director