Fair Housing Initiative Program - Education and Outreach Initiative

The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) funds fair housing organizations and other non-profits that assist individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination. Currently FHIP provides funds to eligible organizations through competitive grants under several initiatives to carry out education and outreach and enforcement activities to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices and inform individuals of their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The Initiatives are the Fair Housing Organization Initiative (FHOI), the Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI) and the Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI).  In addition, consistent with HUD appropriations directives, FHEO is publishing a separate NOFO under the EOI for Tester Coordinator Training.

This Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) NOFO makes available approximately $9,425,000 to develop, implement, carry out, and coordinate education and outreach programs designed to inform members of the public concerning their rights and obligations under the provisions of the Fair Housing Act. Under this EOI NOFO, activities are divided into five categories:
EOI National – National Media Campaign Component
Provide funding for a national fair housing media campaign to educate the American public regarding the forms of discrimination that can occur in real estate related transactions, including the lending and appraisal markets. The campaign will provide information on how to file a housing discrimination complaint through HUD.

EOI - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Component
This NOFO includes funding for fair housing organizations to create and/or update existing materials to reflect the clarification that, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision (Bostock v. Clayton Cty., 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), the Fair Housing Act bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

EOI General - Striving for Housing Equity Component
This component will fund local and community-based projects to address barriers that may arise when people protected under the Fair Housing Act exercise their fair housing rights to expand housing choice and projects that promote equity and justice in housing, consistent with the mission of the FHA. These barriers include but are not limited to opposition to the creation of affordable housing, neighbor harassment based on protected characteristics, and obstructing persons with disabilities who seek to enforce their fair housing rights.

Targeted Fair Housing Component
This component provides funds for targeted fair housing education and outreach activities such as projects to: develop law school curricula related to fair housing, improve access to homeownership for underserved populations that have historically been denied such opportunities, and advance community integration.  Funding may also be used to provide fair housing services to underserved communities and underserved populations.

General Component
This component provides funding for general fair housing education and outreach activities aimed to inform people of their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.