Homework Starts with Home (HSWH) Request for Proposals (RFP) Application
2-Year Term:  October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2025 
4-Year Term:  October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2027
Application deadline: Wednesday, March 29 at 4:30 p.m. Central Time

NOTE: Reference the HSWH RFP Application Instructions for more information.

Applicant Information	

Organization Name	
     	

Legal Organization Name
(if different than above)	
     	

Geographic Service Area (list counties and/or Minnesota Indian Reservations)	
     	

Schools Served 	
     	

Contact Person 	
     	

Contact Person Title	
     	

Organization Street Address 	
     	

City, State, Zip Code 	
     	

Telephone number	
     	

Contact Person Email Address	
     	

Funding Request
(include the amount your organization is requesting from each funding source and the total combined request)	
Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) total:      

Housing Trust Fund (HTF) total:      

Total Request (from all funding sources):      

Proposed Total # of Households to be Served	
      	

A.	Project Design (25 points)
1.	Provide a summary of the prevention and homeless needs for households in your organization’s service area. Cite data sources such as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Dashboard, Point in Time Count through the local Continuum of Care, and Wilder Foundation data. Include data for your participating schools, such as school homeless data. Include any discussion about the needs you have had with people with lived expertise, stakeholders, advisory committee members and/or partners.      
2.	Provide a summary of your project and how it will meet the needs identified in Question 1.      
3.	Describe both the role and responsibilities of the household and the role of the supportive services staff to assist the household to apply for assistance or secure stable housing.     
4.	Describe how the project will assist households with transitioning from the project when exited at the end of their participation or at the end of the Grant Contract Agreement period. Include: 
•	Description of how decisions to discontinue a participant’s enrollment in the project will be made
•	Description of approaches that will help ensure access to any support needed on an ongoing basis
•	Description of other factors needed to promote stable and successful transitions. 
     

B.	Equity (30 points)
1.	Recognizing and honoring sovereignty, Tribal Nations will receive automatic points for the Equity section of this application. Check the “Yes” box if you are a Tribal Nation or group of Tribal Nations. 
Yes  Skip all questions in this section and move to the Capacity section (Section C); 30 points will automatically be granted.
No   Continue to Question 2.
2.	Describe the role that people with lived experience will play in the implementation of the project.
     
3.	Describe two practices or methods your organization will utilize so that households receive assistance with patience and empathy when they are in crisis, experiencing trauma, or are facing discrimination and/or marginalization. 
     
4.	Describe two examples of how your organization and partners reflect the demographics of the households intended to be served. 
     

C.	Capacity (30 points)
1.	Describe the ability of your organization to carry out this project so that households will achieve stable housing. Examples include: 
•	Success with prior state or federal program (highlight use of HMIS outcome report)
•	Prior performance based on another grant or program
•	Prior performance based on another grant or program
•	Performance based on experience and qualifications of organization staff
•	Performance demonstrated by engagement with households disparately impacted by homelessness
     
2.	Indicate how your organization can serve any household regardless of their spoken or written language. 
     
3.	Describe how your organization provides support or technical assistance to subgrantees or partners participating in your project, especially new or emerging partners. 
     
4.	Upload along with all other application materials, an unsigned, draft of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) (refer to Section E). The MOU must include the following:
•	Identification of the collaborative partners, which, at a minimum, must include a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Administrator and/or FHPAP Grantee as well as any FHPAP subgrantees, participating school and governmental entity.
•	The roles and responsibilities of each collaborative partner
•	A description of how collaboration and communication will take place during the grant term, including but not limited to:
o	Regular meetings that will be scheduled between the collaborative partners 
o	Identification of governance structure
o	Monitoring and oversight
•	The shared eligibility criteria and any additional eligibility criteria required by each partner
•	Identification of the entity or entities responsible for Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data entry
•	Identification of the entity responsible for reporting expenditures, households served, and annual narrative reports that are to be submitted in the approved Minnesota Housing format 

D.	Budget (15 points)
1.	Complete the 2-Year or 4-Year budget (see separate form)
2.	Although funds available reflect only one biennium, grantees have the option to choose a two-year grant term or the ability to expend the funds over a four year period. Indicate the grant term your organization prefers below:
 Two-year October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2025
 Four-year October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2027
3.	Provide the following detail regarding the budget:
•	Total FTEs:      
•	Average cost of direct assistance per household (include both FHPAP and HTF):
     
•	Optional: Provide additional detail to substantiate and justify the average cost of direct assistance per household: 
     
4.	Describe how your organization will manage the rate of expenditures to demonstrate that funds will be available to operate your project through the duration of the grant period. 
     
5.	Leveraged funds are not required; however, describe any proposed leveraged funds, listing in the table below the source, amount, and purpose:
Source	Amount	Purpose	
Example: Agency XYZ	Example: $50,000	Example: Housing Navigation – .50 FTE	
     	     	     	
     	     	     	
     	     	     	
     	     	     	

E.	Required Documents
Submit the following documents via Minnesota Housing’s online Multifamily Secure Upload Tool no later than Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. Using the online tool, send items to mhfa.app@state.mn.us. Review the Upload Tool Instructions for more information. 
•	This Application 
•	Application Signature Page (with an electronic, digital, or wet signature)
•	Affirmative Action Certification Form (certificate of compliance and additional documentation if required) from both the FHPAP and HTF applicants 
•	Budget  (2-Year or 4-Year) (Refer to Section D, above)
•	Memorandum of understanding (MOU) with all partners (unsigned, draft version) (refer to Section C, above)
•	Current financial information (does not apply to any governmental organization or Tribal Nation): Non-governmental organization applying for $25,000 or more must supply the following financial documentation depending on the organization’s total gross revenue (refer to table below):
Documentation	Total Gross Revenue	
Board-review Financial Statements	Under $50,000 (or not in existence long enough to have completed IRS Form 990 or an audit)	
IRS Form 990 and Aging Schedule	$50,000-$750,000	
Certified Financial Audit	Over $750,000	

The naming convention of the items submitted above should be: HSWH RFP_Applicant name_Name of document

F.	Acknowledgement and Consent	
Applicant acknowledges that this application will be reviewed and scored by a review committee comprised of Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (Minnesota Housing) staff, other state agency staff, and community reviewers with knowledge of homeless programs.  

The applicant further agrees that, by submitting this application to Minnesota Housing, they agree and understand that this RFP response and data submitted as part of this RFP response are governed by the Minnesota Data Practices Act and may be considered private or nonpublic data.

The applicant further consents to Minnesota Housing sharing all data submitted as part of this RFP response, including private or nonpublic data, to individuals outside of Minnesota Housing who agree to assist with the evaluation of the responses and that such individuals will be instructed that they may not further disseminate the private or nonpublic data received.

By completing, signing, dating, and submitting the signature page (separate page), the applicant acknowledges and consents to the above information as well as the information stated on the signature page.