46503 - RFA HSO 2025-001 Homelessness Prevention
Funding Opportunity Details
Homeless Strategy Office
Pre Application Deadline: May 7, 2025 3:01 PM
Final Application Deadline: May 22, 2025 3:01 PM
Status Closed
Posted Date May 20, 2025 12:56 PM
Award Amount RangeNot Applicable
Project Dates 08/01/2025 - 07/31/2026
Award Announcement Date
Categorical Area
Recurring Opportunity No
Program Officer Poleth Robledo
Phone (512) 972-6169 x
Description
The City of Austin (City) seeks applications in response to this Request for Applicants (RFA) from qualified nonprofit organization or government entities (Applicants) with demonstrated experience to provide homelessness prevention services to residents of Austin/Travis County. The City will fund programs that provide rental assistance, financial assistance, and supportive services to households at risk of homelessness
Date Issued:
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Intent to Apply and Annual Agency Threshold
Due Date:
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 3 PM CST
Application Due Date:
Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 3 PM CST
Anticipated Start date of contract:
September 01, 2025
Questions regarding the RFA are due on or before:
Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 3 PM CST
Technical Assistance regarding submission of the RFA in Partnergrants are due on or before:
Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 2 PM CST
Questions must be submitted in writing to the Authorized Contact Person or through Partnergrants
Authorized Contact Person:
Poleth Robledo
Homeless Strategy Office
E-Mail: HSOCompetitions@austintexas.gov
Questions and Answers will be available:
In Partnergrants and on the solicitation website.
Optional Pre-Bid Meeting Date(s) and Time(s):
Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 2 PM
Registration Required with this link:
Optional Office Hours with RFA SPOC and staff
Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 2 PM
Registration Required with this link:
Attachments
Website links
| Description | Link |
|---|---|
| RFA Website | https://www.austintexas.gov/article/rfa-hso-2025-001-homelessness-prevention |
| Submitted Date | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2025 10:26 AM | Where can we find the Additional Requirements for applicant agencies that plan to provide rent assistance to clients residing at properties owned by the applicant agency? | Rental Assistance cannot be provided to properties which the applicant owns or financially benefits from unless a third party determines that the rent established in the lease is reasonable, completes the habitability assessment, and approves the amount of rental assistance provided by the project. The third party would need to be an entity which does not have a financial benefit from the rental costs being assessed. For example, the recipient could contract with an other entity to complete the rent responsibility and habitability, but that entity wouldn't benefit from the rental payment made on behalf of those assessments. |
| May 2, 2025 1:17 PM | Is it mandatory for the program to last 24 months, or is there flexibility to propose a program duration of 12 months or 18 months? | There is no requirement for having a 24-month contract once awarded. For the purposes of the RFA, the applicant can propose a different time period up to 24 months. The applicant must include details about the timeline in question 3. Program Timeline. See the Exhibit G - Evaluation Rubric for more information about how each question will be scored. |
| May 2, 2025 1:18 PM | Is Indirect/De Minimis allowed on this contract? | Homeless Strategy Office administers reimbursable agreements, and indirect costs are not allowed. A reimbursable agreement is one in which an agency is reimbursed for expenses incurred and paid through the provision of adequate supporting documentation that verifies the expenses. All expenses must be reimbursable and appear on the general ledger submitted with monthly claims. |
| May 2, 2025 1:18 PM | Is the $2,212,508 for a 2-year or 12-month budget? | The stated funding is all that is available to this solicitation; it is not annual funding. Applicants should explain how they will fund the program over, at most, 2 years. |
| May 12, 2025 11:00 AM | how do i go forward in submitting application? i dont see any cells for me to do the work. AShould I attached documents? if so where do i locate them? | The attachments that need to be completed can be found in the 'Attachments' section of the Homelessness Prevention funding opportunity. |
| May 13, 2025 3:52 PM | I hope this message finds you well. I have a few questions regarding the current HSO Homelessness Prevention RFA 2025-001: Subgrantee Budget Tab: Would it be possible to amend the Subgrantee Budget tab to accommodate a total of 12 subgrantees (i.e., adding 9 more sections)? Budget Narrative Tab – Personnel (B13–B16): The listed titles under Program Personnel do not align with the positions used in our program. We’d like to reflect our actual position titles and can provide descriptions in the corresponding column G. If changes to the titles are not permitted, could you please advise on how best to proceed? Direct Client Assistance: To ensure equitable and efficient service delivery—and to minimize the need for frequent amendments—how flexible can we be in labeling the Direct Client Assistance line items? The current categories do not fully reflect how we deliver HP services. The majority of our costs will fall under rental and utility assistance, and we would appreciate the ability to use more general terms if allowed. Clarification on Subgrantee Budget Narrative (Lines 43, 44, 46): Could you please explain the differences between the subgrantee personnel, operations, and administrative sections in these line items? | Agencies can request a worksheet with additional Sub-Grantees sections from the HSDCompetitions@austintexas.gov. The Scope of Work outlines the eligible activities funded by this solicitation. The corresponding personnel staff titles may be designed at the applicant’s discretion. If a position covers multiple activities, the corresponding allocation of time should be reflected in the budget. For example, a Housing Solutions Support staff (program personnel title) at an annual cost of $55,000 provides outreach at 10%, case management at 70%, and employment assistance services at 20%, so $5,000 would be allocated in the “Outreach and Engagement” budget line item, $38,500 would be allocated in the “Housing Stability Case Management” budget line item, and “$11,000” in the employment Assistance budget line item. Applicants must complete the Budget and Narrative form to a level of detail and specificity that allows project evaluators to clearly evaluate the proposed activities of the project against the goals of the solicitation. Applicants should submit a project budget which identifies the necessary intended costs to achieve the solicited goals of the project. Applicants are not required to allocate costs to all eligible activities. The Subgrantee Budget Narrative lines on the “Budget Narrative” Worksheet reflects the cumulated costs allocated to application subgrantees. This will ensure that costs allocated to the applicant and costs allocated to subgrantees are clearly delineated. |
| May 14, 2025 8:40 AM | Is the $250,000 minimum request for one year or two? | The minimum request is $250,000 and it is for the full 24- month term. Applicants are asked to submit a budget and performance metrics for a full 24-month period. |
| May 15, 2025 10:53 AM | On Q26 in the application, the answer field is asking for" total number of City funds requested." However, the question itself as asking to identify leveraged funds. I am confused on how to answer this. I am currently entering the total amount of City Funds requested as that is what the field is labeled as. | Question 26 has had an error in the answer field. It should state “NON-City funding request”. An updated version is being sent out and posted on the website. Please enter NON-City funding here from other funding sources to be applied to the proposed program. |