Complete this Stand-Alone Affordability Gap Application and the Stand-Alone Affordability Gap Workbook if you are proposing to provide stand-alone Affordability Gap assistance with Impact Fund dollars. Attach all documents listed in the Required Documents section of the Single Family RFP.

A. Project Information
Project Overview
1.	Organization Name:      

2.	Project/Program Name:      

3.	Briefly describe the proposed project. If it is part of a broader project or initiative, include the name of that project or initiative in this description. (2,000 character max)
     

4.	What criteria will you use to select homebuyers who are purchasing homes with the proposed Affordability Gap funds? (2,000 character max)
     

Target Area
1.	What Target Area(s) will the Applicant serve? Include the address(es), neighborhood(s), city(ies), zip code(s) or county(ies) that is part of the Target Area(s).
     

Income Limit
1.	What is the Impact Fund area median income (AMI) to be served (up to 115% AMI)?      % AMI 

2.	Minnesota Housing will prioritize projects serving lower-income households and reserves the right to reduce the AMI for projects selected for funding. If the project is not feasible with a lower AMI than proposed, please explain. (2,000 character max)
     

Note: Priority will be given to projects serving households at or below 80% AMI. See Section E. Affordability Gap Funding for more information.

B. Minnesota Housing Strategic Priorities 
Minnesota Housing’s strategic priorities fall into five focus areas and guide Minnesota Housing’s work to ensure that affordable housing is available in communities most impacted. Review the strategic priorities in detail before answering the questions below.

Which of the Minnesota Housing strategic priorities does the proposed project help to advance? Read the sub-bullets and only check priorities that the proposed project will advance.

 Improve the Housing System
•	Focus on the people and places most impacted by housing instability (i.e. being cost-burdened, living in overcrowded or substandard housing, not having access to homeownership, etc.)
•	Create an inclusive and equitable housing system
•	Finance housing to support all areas of life
 Preserve and Create Housing Opportunities
•	Preserve the condition and affordability of existing housing
•	Increase the development of new housing that is affordable
•	Support and preserve manufactured housing
 Make Homeownership More Accessible
•	Address homeownership barriers and reduce disparities
 Support People Needing Services
•	Effectively link services with housing
•	Support people with disabilities
•	Support older Minnesotans
 Strengthen Communities
•	Strengthen disinvested communities
•	Support Tribal nations and indigenous communities

Pick the top two priorities checked above and describe how the proposed project meets the strategic priorities. The response must address the items as described in Minnesota Housing’s strategic plan. (2,000 character max)
     

C. Community Need
1.	Describe the need for Affordability Gap assistance in your community and how your proposal best serves the needs of the intended population. Include housing market and community data. Cite data sources. (2,000 character max)
     

2.	A Cooperatively Developed Plan (CDP) is a community supported plan developed by a local unit of government or community group that encompasses multiple affordable housing and related service initiatives in a geographically defined area. 

a.	Is the proposed project a part of a CDP? 	Yes 	  No  

b.	If yes, include the specific CDP name and its geographically defined area(s).
     

D. Project Feasibility
Leverage and Cost Containment
1.	If leverage sources and requested Impact Fund Dollars do not cover all funding gaps, please explain the plan for addressing funding gaps.
     

Partnerships
1.	Will the Applicant partner with other entities to complete the proposed project?   Yes    No 

a.	What is the Applicant’s role in the proposed project? 
     

b.	List the names of each partner. Explain the partner’s role with the proposed project and their experience completing similar projects.
     

2.	Will the Applicant partner with a processing entity to implement the affordability gap/lending portion of the project?    Yes    No 

a.	Provide the name of the Processing Entity. Attach additional sheets if necessary.
Organization Name:	     
Contact Name:		     
NMLS Number:		     

b.	Describe the role(s) and lending experience of the Applicant and/or Processing Entity. 
     

Funds awarded under separate Impact Fund Awards—including to the Applicant, an Implementation Partner, or Processing Entity—cannot be layered in one unit.

E. Affordability Gap Funding
1.	Affordability Gap funding requests will be evaluated based on the extent to which they address a gap not met by existing downpayment and closing cost assistance programs. Downpayment assistance is currently available from Minnesota Housing and other sources such as counties, cities, and federal agencies. Single Family RFP Affordability Gap funds should be used as a last resort. Homebuyers must first use existing assistance if they are eligible. For more information on existing resources, see Minnesota Housing’s website, the Minnesota Homeownership Center’s Affordable Loan & Program Matrix, and DownPayment RESOURCETM.

a.	What unique issues prevent target households from accessing existing downpayment assistance resources, including Minnesota Housing’s Start Up and Step Up programs, and why is there a need for additional downpayment assistance? 
     

2.	What is your program’s maximum combined loan-to-value ratio? (A combined loan-to-value ratio includes the first mortgage and all subordinate liens).
     

3.	Is the Applicant requesting affordability gap funding for, or related to, a Special Purpose Credit Program under 12 C.F.R. § 1002.8 (Reg. B)?     Yes    No 

a.	If yes, describe the Special Purpose Credit Program and how it will be used. 
(2,000 character max)
     

Note: Applicant may need to include Special Purpose Credit Program documentation with the activity application. 
•	If the applicant is a for-profit entity, include a copy of the written plan. 
•	If the applicant is a government agency, include documentation of express authorization allowing for the program.

4.	How is the Applicant requesting Affordability Gap funds? (Carefully read the Single Family RFP Eligible Uses section on Stand-Alone Affordability Gap before making your selection.)
a.	Grants for homes that will be placed in a Community Land Trust    
b.	Repayable balloon loans 
c.	Forgivable loans 
F. Project Fees
Administration Fee (for Affordability Gap requests)
Minnesota Housing allows an Administration Fee of $1,000/unit to be paid from Impact Fund dollars. The Fee may not exceed the actual cost of administering Affordability Gap funds, which include household education specific to the loan or grant, lender coordination, document preparation, and other uses identified in the Procedural Manual section 6.07.   

1.	Is the Applicant requesting an Administration Fee with the Affordability Gap funding? 	
Yes    No 

If yes, indicate the Administration Fee in the Stand-Alone Affordability Workbook. 

2.	If Applicant will provide services beyond the costs of administering Affordability Gap funds noted above, Applicant may request an amount greater than $1,000/unit. Explain the additional services the Applicant will provide. (2,000 character max)
     

An Administration Fee paid from Impact Fund dollars will be in the form of a grant and cannot be rolled into a deferred loan to the homebuyer. 

G. Organizational Capacity
Experience
1.	Over the past five years, how many affordability gap (downpayment assistance) loans has the Applicant closed?      

2.	Describe the types of lending the Applicant has completed and how they compare to the proposed project. (2,000 character max)
     

3.	If the Applicant has closed affordability gap loans or similar loans in the past five years, explain how the Applicant has the capacity to complete the proposed project (e.g., training, new staff, partnerships, etc.). (2,000 character max)
     

H. Funding Priorities
Before completing this section, refer to the following information:

•	RFP Application Guide and Instructions for funding priority guidance  
•	Minnesota Housing’s funding priority methodologies located on the Impact Fund webpage 
•	Minnesota Housing’s Community Profiles for Scoring in 2023 Consolidated RFP  Single Family Consolidated RFP Geographic Scoring Map

Equitable Access to Homeownership
1)	Provide the number and percentage of households the Applicant has served over the past five years that meet the criteria in the grid below:
	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	
% Indigenous, Black and Households of Color 	     	     	     	     	     	
% Households with a Person with a Disability	     	     	     	     	     	
Total # Households Served	     	     	     	     	     	

2)	List the counties that the Applicant has predominately served over the past five years.
     

3)	Describe how the proposal will support one or more of the following outcomes: "address housing disparities, build power in communities most impacted by housing challenges and disparities, pilot innovative challenges, and support inclusive communities." (2,000 character max)
     

4)	Describe how the Applicant plans to measure the success of this outcome. (2,000 character max)
     

Business Entities Owned or Led by People of Color, Indigenous Individuals, and/or Women
1)	Is the owner or executive director (or equivalent) of the applicant entity any of the following?	
a.	Black or Person of Color			Yes    No 
b.	Indigenous Individual and/or Tribal Entity	Yes    No 
c.	Woman					Yes    No 
Homeownership or Financial Education and Counseling 
1)	Will the Applicant require homebuyers to complete pre-purchase homeownership, financial education or counseling from a Qualified Provider?	Yes    No 

A Qualified Provider is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, a member of the Minnesota Homeownership Center’s Homeownership Advisors Network, a provider of Framework, Pathways to Homeownership, or a Minnesota Housing Homeownership Capacity Provider.

Long-Term Affordability
1.	Will the Applicant impose restrictions (e.g., deferred loan with repayment, deed restrictions, resale restrictions, etc.) for three or more years to enhance long term affordability?	Yes    No   

2.	Describe how will the Applicant enforce long term affordability. 
     

I. Required Documents
Applicants must submit the required documents identified in the Single Family RFP. If applicants are unable to provide a required document, include a description as to why.  

Label documents with this file name format: “Organization_Activity Type_Document Name. For example, organization “ABC Community Development” should save this document as “ABCCD_AG_Activity_Application.”