HUD CDBG New Opportunity Released: Community Development Block Grant Guide 2026

Program Tracks

• CDBG Entitlement Program: Metropolitan cities (population 50,000+) and urban counties automatically receive annual CDBG allocations from HUD. These jurisdictions subgrant to nonprofits and run their own competitive application process — check your city or county's Community Development office.
• CDBG State Program: Smaller cities and rural counties access CDBG through their state agency (usually state Department of Commerce or Community Affairs). States run competitive application cycles — typically one to two rounds per year.
• CDBG-DR (Disaster Recovery): Congress appropriates supplemental CDBG-DR funds after declared disasters. Recent CDBG-DR allocations have targeted hurricane, flood, and wildfire recovery. Applications are managed by state grantees, not HUD directly.
• Section 108 Loan Guarantee: Entitlement communities can use CDBG as collateral for HUD-guaranteed loans up to 5x their annual allocation — financing large economic development projects.

Eligible Activities

• Housing rehabilitation and lead paint abatement for low-income homeowners
• Public infrastructure (streets, water, sewer) serving low/moderate-income areas
• Public facilities: community centers, health clinics, childcare centers, homeless shelters
• Economic development: business loans, microenterprise assistance, job creation/retention
• Public services: limited to 15% of annual CDBG allocation (employment training, senior services, youth programs)
• Planning and capacity building: comprehensive plans, neighborhood planning
• Acquisition and clearance of blighted properties

National Objectives — At Least One Must Be Met

• Low/Moderate Income (LMI) benefit: At least 51% of beneficiaries must be LMI persons or households — the most common objective, required for at least 70% of all CDBG expenditures
• Slum and blight elimination: Activities addressing conditions of blight in a designated area
• Urgent need: Activities addressing an immediate threat to health or welfare — rarely used outside disaster recovery

How Nonprofits and Businesses Access CDBG

• Step 1 — Identify your jurisdiction: Search HUD's CDBG entitlement community list at hud.gov/cdbg. If you're in an entitlement city or county, contact that jurisdiction's Community Development or Housing office directly.
• Step 2 — Request for Proposals (RFP): Entitlement jurisdictions publish annual RFPs for CDBG-funded activities — typically open January–March for funds beginning in July. If you missed this cycle, track the next RFP release.
• Step 3 — State CDBG (non-entitlement): If you're in a rural area or small city, contact your state's CDBG administrator. State programs have their own application cycles and priorities.
• Step 4 — CDBG-DR: If your community was affected by a recent presidentially declared disaster, contact your state disaster recovery office to track CDBG-DR application openings.

FY2026 CDBG Allocation Notes

• FY2026 CDBG appropriation: approximately $3.3 billion (subject to continuing resolution adjustments)
• Allocation formula factors: population, poverty rate, housing overcrowding, age of housing stock, growth lag relative to metropolitan areas
• Entitlement communities must submit a Consolidated Plan (5-year) and Annual Action Plan to receive funds
• HUD's IDIS (Integrated Disbursement and Information System) tracks all CDBG expenditures — data is publicly available