2008 Request for Proposals - Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I'M HOME)

Table of Contents

Summary

Introduction
Funding Goals
Selection Criteria
Award Parameters
Application & Selection Process
Application Timeline
Appendix

Questions, Information & Technical Help

2008 I'M HOME RFP

CFED is soliciting proposals that address barriers to asset building for owners of manufactured homes. For 2008, the I’M HOME RFP is focusing on new and replacement development and public policy activities.

Organizations may apply for any of three categories of funding:

Applicants may submit separate proposals for both development and public policy activities. Actual grant amounts awarded will be based on the scope of activities and corresponding budget presented in the organization’s proposal.

Homeownership anchors asset building in the United States. For very low-income families, home equity accounts for 80% of household wealth. Yet, for many of the more than 17 million Americans living in manufactured housing,^[1] homeownership has not always fulfilled its traditional wealth-building promise. Despite the prevalence of manufactured housing and its importance as a source of affordable homeownership, there are problems in the sector that have undermined its ability to provide the same level of financial security and wealth-building opportunities offered by traditional, site-built homeownership. When combined with negative stereotypes about the homes and their occupants, many who choose this type of housing are treated, in effect, as second-class homeowners.

The mission of I’M HOME is to ensure that families who choose to purchase manufactured homes reap benefits from the homeownership experience comparable to those enjoyed by buyers of traditional site-built homes. The basic hypothesis underlying I’M HOME is that (1) improvements in home and installation quality, (2) increased access to equitable mortgage and other key financial products, (3) long-term control over the land beneath one’s home, and (4) sound public policy will result in asset appreciation for owners of manufactured homes that more closely resembles that enjoyed by owners of comparable site-built homes. The initiative’s theory of change posits that high-quality new and replacement development and long-term control over home sites by homeowners are necessary preconditions for financial institutions to offer financing for these homes at terms comparable to mainstream mortgage products. Additionally, public policy changes in many areas (such as zoning, titling, resident purchase opportunities, consumer protections, allowable uses of public housing finance dollars, and GSE underwriting criteria) simultaneously undergird and enforce changes in the other three areas that lead to an increase in financial security and appreciation.

In 2005, CFED launched the multi-year, multimillion-dollar I’M HOME initiative with generous support from the Ford Foundation. We also collaborate with a range of other partners including ROC USA, NeighborWorks America, Fannie Mae and the Opportunity Finance Network.

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I’M HOME seeks to put its theory of change into practice by funding and providing technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to programs directly serving communities. In addition, I’M HOME staff, along with our national partners, undertake broader field-building and market-change activities such as communications efforts, convenings, coordination of policy work, and negotiation with housing lenders.

I’M HOME seeks to advance its mission by supporting innovative approaches and sharing the lessons learned with the broader housing field. The initiative has three central objectives:

• To foster innovative, replicable products and approaches that illustrate the use of manufactured housing as an affordable housing and asset-building strategy;
• To build a field of practitioners knowledgeable about this sector and how it impacts low-income families and communities; and
• To lay the groundwork for a national policy discourse that takes into account the true costs and benefits of manufactured housing.

CFED and funded organizations collect evidence and data to draw lessons learned from the work. Successful applicants will join a peer group of organizations addressing manufactured housing as an affordable housing issue. Grantees will receive technical assistance in a peer group setting and be expected to share lessons learned with other organizations in the initiative.

I’M HOME focuses on four issue areas:

1. New and replacement development
2. Public policy
3. Community preservation and conversion
4. Mortgage financing

Please note that this RFP is seeking proposals for work in the new and replacement development and public policy areas only. The I’M HOME initiative continues to work on community preservation and conversion and mortgage financing outside of the RFP process. See Appendix for further details.

New and Replacement Development

Negative perceptions about manufactured homes and their residents seriously hinder efforts to demonstrate that the sector can provide attractive, appreciating and affordable housing. These perceptions are based both in reality – images of substandard homes that were constructed or sited poorly, or that were not maintained by the owners – and in lingering stereotypes of homes built before the federal HUD code.

I’M HOME seeks to partner with developers and others that plan to either replace dilapidated homes or create new housing using good-quality, affordable manufactured homes that are likely to appreciate in value. Examples of such projects include, though are not limited to:

• Cost-effective replacement of older and/or substandard homes with high-quality new units;
• Development of new, high-quality manufactured housing subdivisions;
• Scattered-site or infill development; or
• Replacement or infill development in manufactured housing communities.

 Public Policy

Public policy influences the ability of manufactured housing to hold or appreciate in value over time and thus to serve as a vehicle of wealth creation. The I’M HOME policy agenda was developed in consultation with the diverse set of organizations at the national, state and local levels that comprise the I’M HOME network. The policy agenda reflects the priorities of this network and sets forth recommendations for policy change at the federal, state and local levels. Policy recommendations are grouped under four goals:

1. Preserve and expand the nation’s stock of affordable housing through the use of manufactured housing.
2. Promote resident ownership of manufactured housing communities to support homeowners’ ability to build wealth, increase stability and achieve financial security through homeownership.
3. Ensure that all homeowners enjoy the same rights, privileges, opportunities and responsibilities related to financing and asset accumulation, regardless of whether their home is site-built or manufactured.
4. Foster and preserve healthy and vibrant communities by addressing substandard manufactured housing and substandard park infrastructure.

Each of the policy recommendations under these goals address obstacles that have traditionally kept manufactured housing out of the continuum of housing solutions that foster financial security. See the I’M HOME Policy Agenda for a complete list of these policy recommendations.

Despite the fact that the production of HUD-code homes is regulated at the federal level, state and local policies also play a pivotal role in the manufactured housing ownership experience. I’M HOME seeks to partner with organizations working to advance the goals of the I’M HOME policy agenda at the federal, state, or local levels. Eligible uses of funds include, but are not limited to:

• Efforts that identify gaps or weaknesses in current policy environments as well as potential solutions;
• Nonpartisan research and public education campaigns designed to educate policymakers and other key stakeholders about ways in which federal, state and/or local policies affect owners of manufactured housing; or
• Organizing and/or mobilizing key allies in support of the I’M HOME policy agenda.

In this funding round, I’M HOME is especially, though by no means exclusively, interested in policy work that addresses obstacles to conventional single-family mortgage financing of manufactured homes. Please note that I’M HOME funds cannot be used to support lobbying activities. CFED staff can provide guidance on what types of activities constitute lobbying.

To qualify for consideration:

• Proposals should focus on HUD-code manufactured housing rather than modular, panelized, or pre-fab housing.
• Proposed projects must respond to a demonstrable need in the organization’s target community.
• Proposals must demonstrate how the proposed manufactured housing strategy fits within the organization’s strategic priorities.
• Applicants must demonstrate a desire to share information and collaborate with other members of the learning network comprised of I’M HOME grantees and partners, as well as an openness to representing the I’M HOME initiative locally/regionally.
• Proposed scope of work must benefit low- to moderate-income individuals or families. If the applying organization is not a 501(c)(3) non-profit, it may apply if it can demonstrate a charitable purpose for the funds (see Frequently Asked Questions at www.cfed.org/go/imhome for more information).

Additionally, the strongest proposals will:

• Demonstrate organizational experience in the manufactured housing sector;
• Reflect a strong grasp of the barriers to asset building for owners of manufactured housing and present innovative strategies in response to these challenges;
• Set forth clear, measurable project goals and explain how these align with the goals of I’M HOME;
• Articulate how I’M HOME funding would provide added value (particularly for projects already under way);
• Show potential to leverage external funds beyond the required 1:1 match; and
• Address the ability of the product, program, policy change effort, or research to be replicated by other organizations and/or to inform the broader goals of I’M HOME.

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I’M HOME will award predevelopment grants of up to $50,000, development grants of up to $150,000, and public policy grants of up to $75,000. Actual grant amounts awarded will be based on the scope of activities and corresponding budget presented in the organization’s proposal. Funded organizations must match any I’M HOME investment through external funders on at least a 1:1 basis. These challenge grants are designed to provide incentives to bring new support to the applicant organizations for this work; thus, preexisting grant commitments, or equity or reserves held by the applicant, do not qualify as a match. Loans or recoverable grants also do not qualify as matching sources of funds. Upon request, CFED is able to provide limited support to its partners for their fundraising efforts.

Grants will generally be structured with a one- to two-year term, although exceptions will be made to accommodate the logical timeframe of the proposed scope of work. Funds will be disbursed to successful applicants in installments, generally 40% upon execution of grant agreement, 40% upon attainment of agreed-upon midpoint benchmarks, and 20% upon completion of project. For projects that require significant expenditures up front, CFED will consider requests for alternative disbursement schedules on a case-by-case basis. CFED will work with the grantee to establish mutually agreeable midpoint and final benchmarks, which will generally be drawn from the grantee’s proposal. Attainment of these benchmarks will be a precondition for grant disbursals.

I’M HOME seeks to identify, test, and share innovations that improve the effectiveness and asset-building impact of MH strategies. In order to share local lessons learned with a broader audience on a national basis, outcomes and information resulting from the initiative may be used both by the grantee and by CFED.

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I’M HOME uses a two-step process for proposals. The first step is a concept paper, to be filled out and submitted online, outlining the proposed work. Organizations that submit promising concept papers will be invited to write a more detailed proposal.

CFED may conduct site visits as part of the due diligence process. CFED will be advised in the selection of the awardees by an external Investment Committee, which includes representatives from the affordable housing sector, foundations, the manufactured housing industry and financial institutions. Funding decisions will be announced in August 2008.

Step One: The Concept Paper

The concept paper form should be completed and submitted online at www.cfed.org/go/imhome/cp. The form will ask for:

• Organizational Description (up to 500 words):
  • Brief overview of the organization’s mission and background, current structure, major programs, target market or service area, and any other relevant details; and
  • Evidence of organization’s experience and capacity to carry out the proposed work.
• Project Description (up to 1,000 words):
  • Brief description of the project for which you are soliciting funding, including the market or policy gap to be addressed, a preliminary timeline, and desired outcomes;
  • Description of market to be served and evidence of market demand (predevelopment or development grants) or policy goal(s) and current environment (policy grants);
  • Explanation of strategic “fit” of proposed MH initiative with the organizational mission; and
  • Brief qualifications of key personnel to manage the initiative or project.
• Project Cost (up to 250 words):
  • Estimated total project costs and prospects for matching I’M HOME grant dollars on at least a 1:1 basis.

Please prepare your answers ahead of time in a separate document (it will not be possible to save the online submission before submitting it), and then cut and paste the text into the online form. Please do not format your text, as all formatting (such as bullets, tables, etc.) will be lost when text is pasted into the online form.

The completed concept paper form must be submitted via the website by 5 p.m. PDT on April 18, 2008.

Step Two: The Full Proposal

Applicants that submit promising concept papers will be invited, via e-mail, on May 5, 2008 to submit an eight- to 10-page full proposal, financial statements, and other supporting documentation. The deadline for receiving full proposals from invited organizations is June 6, 2008. CFED staff will be available to provide input and guidance to organizations submitting full proposals.

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Application Timeline

April 18, 2008, 5 p.m. PDT
Deadline for submission of concept papers

May 5, 2008
Invitation for full proposals from selected applicants

June 6, 2008,  5 p.m. PDT
Deadline for submission of full proposals

August 2008
Announcement of funding decision

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