Field Empowerment Fund​

Housing Counseling Services

Informational Webinar • February 12, 2:30 PM ET

Photo by: © Natalia – stock.adobe.com

Keep Up

Get NCRC news and
alerts by email.

The Field Empowerment Fund (FEF) empowers NCRC network members to level up established service lines.

The Housing Counseling Services series within FEF supports HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in driving homeownership, such as through pre- and post-purchase counseling. In addition, the program builds agency knowledge on heirs’ property challenges to better equip first-time and low-income homebuying households with the know-how to retain intergenerational wealth.

In doing so, FEF-HCS aims to help underserved families begin their homeownership journey, with an additional goal of ensuring foresight into the long-term future of their home purchase.

The FEF-HCS series is funded in partnership with Key Bank, and targets communities within the Key Bank branch footprint.

Through a settlement with Key Bank, $2.5 million has been allocated for the subgrants for direct-to-client housing counseling services that will be awarded in three rounds in the FEF-HCS track.

2025 Round: $850,000
2026 Round: $850,000
2027 Round: $800,000

Contact us for more information about NCRC’s Field Empowerment Fund.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Be an active NCRC 501(c)3 member. Join here.

2. Be a HUD-certified housing counseling agency

3. Have a physical office location and attend clients in an eligible geography.
Search your location in the interactive map below.

Funding Support

Awardee agencies will receive subgrants to support their housing counseling services to clients. Final award values may vary due to factors such as application volume, number of clients served per agency, and alignment with NCRC and KeyBank’s partnership announced in April 2024. Minimum award will be $10,000.

Knowledge Building

Awardee agencies will attend a training session on heirs’ property challenges and best practices, hosted by NCRC National Training Academy. Bolstering counselor knowledge on this topic will ensure that your agency is not only serving clients in their personal wealth-building journey now, but also helping them preserve that wealth in generations to come.

ESTIMATED TIMELINE:

  • February 17, 2025 – March 14, 2025: Application Period
  • May 2025: Announcement of Awardees
  • June 2025 – May 2026: Performance Period

FaQ

NCRC anticipates another round of the Field Empowerment Fund in 2025 that will be available to organizations that are not housing counseling agencies. Please follow our newsletter to stay informed of new opportunities as they are announced.

2024 AWARDEES

2024 Grantees

BLACK WOMEN BUILD – BALTIMORE, INC.

BALTIMORE, MD

BRIDGEPORT NEIGHBORHOOD TRUST INC.

BRIDGEPORT, CT

  CALIFORNIA CAPITAL FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

SACRAMENTO, CA

CHANGE LABS

TUBA CITY, AZ

CHICAGO COMMUNITY LOAN FUND

CHICAGO, IL

COALITION FOR NONPROFIT HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON, DC

COMMUNITY & SHELTER ASSISTANCE CORP DBA CASA OF OREGON

SHERWOOD, OR

CORPORATION TO DEVELOP COMMUNITIES OF TAMPA, INC.

TAMPA, FL

PACIFIC ASIAN CONSORTIUM IN EMPLOYMENT

LOS ANGELES, CA

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS

AUSTIN, TX

THE CAPITAL MARKET

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD

THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION MISSION INVESTMENTS COMPANY

NEW HAVEN, CT

WALNUT HILLS REDEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

CINCINNATI, OH

2024 Honorable Mentions

Show
2023 AWARDEES

Housing Counseling

Couleecap logo

Couleecap, Inc.

Westby, WI (Western Wisconsin)
$50,000

Small Business

CommonWealth Kitchen

Boston, MA
$50,000

logo

Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc.

Lawrence, MA
$50,000

Food Trust logo

The Food Trust

Philadelphia, PA
$50,000

Housing Affordability

RONDO logo

Rondo Community Land Trust

St. Paul, MN
$125,000

Show
2022 AWARDEES

ACCESS PLUS CAPITAL

FRESNO, CA
$50,000

ALABAMA SMALL BUSINESS INITIATIVE

BIRMINGHAM, AL
$50,000

BIRMINGHAM BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER

BIRMINGHAM, AL
$50,000

BLACK CULTURAL ZONE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

OAKLAND, CA
$75,000

BRIDGING 
COMMUNITIES INC

DETROIT, MI
$25,000

CAPITAL AREA ASSET BUILDERS

WASHINGTON, DC
$75,000

COALITION FOR NONPROFIT HOUSING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON, DC
$75,000

COMMUNITY FIRST FUND

LANCASTER, PA
$75,000

COMMUNITY LINK

CHARLOTTE, NC
$50,000

COMMUNITY OF CARING CDC

COLUMBUS, OH
$50,000

FAHE

BEREA, KY
$50,000

HARTFORD COMMUNITY LOAN FUND

HARTFORD, CT
$150,000

LATINO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER

WASHINGTON, DC
$125,000

LINC UP NONPROFIT HOUSING CORPORATION 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI
$100,000

LOCAL ENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE FUND

BOSTON, MA
$100,000

MANNA, INC

WASHINGTON, DC
$50,000

MASSACHUSETTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALLIANCE

DORCHESTER CENTER, MA
$50,000

MY PROJECT USA

COLUMBUS, OH
$75,000

PATHSTONE ENTERPRISE CENTER, INC.

ROCHESTER, NY
$125,000

PIDC COMMUNITY CAPITAL

PHILADELPHIA, PA
$75,000

PIMA COUNTY LAND TRUST

TUCSON, AZ
$125,000

REINVESTMENT PARTNERS

DURHAM, NC
$50,000

SOLITA’S HOUSE

TAMPA, FL
$50,000

SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

PHILADELPHIA, PA
$100,000

SOUTHWEST ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS

DETROIT, MI
$50,000

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS

AUSTIN, TX
$100,000

THE ENTERPRISE CENTER 

PHILADELPHIA, PA
$50,000

THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (SCACED)

CHARLESTON, SC

WASHINGTON AREA COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND (WACIF)

WASHINGTON, DC
$50,000

Show