This is the application to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) Senior Year program. GICH SY is available to all GICH certified alumni. This program is an advancement of the education and planning of the traditional GICH program by bringing technical assistance and training directly to your community. Participating communities will receive tailored technical assistance from DCA staff and other subject matter experts to achieve advanced housing planning that will deliver transformative results for local communities. The program has a specific neighborhood focus, meaning that participating communities will designate a target neighborhood for technical assistance and investments.

Applicants will be expected to provide:

·       GICH alumni certified status

·       Proof of application to LIHTC, CHIP, or CDBG

·       Team roster

·       Current housing plan

·       Community narrative

·       GICH SY plan

·       Map of the target neighborhood

·       Detailed list of housing programs you have participated in

·       Detailed list of partner organizations

The GICH Senior Year expects its participants to accept three key program elements:

• Neighborhood focus: participants will narrow in on one target area within the GICH community geography. The program benefits will apply in this specific place and the education will focus on the development of a place-based strategy.
• DCA education: DCA will provide program education tailor-made to help the communities specific needs. Participating communities are expected to participate in discussion related to these programs and how they can benefit their target neighborhood.
• Technical assistance and subject matter expert facilitation: participants will work with external technical assistance providers and/or third party subject matter experts, as planned and provided by DCA, to develop their neighborhood strategy. These external partners will help the participants plan for housing with a focus on community building and provide both general and targeted advice to accomplish the community’s plan for the target investment area.

Applications will be due Friday, April 10th. Please reach out to Austin Chancy at Austin.Chancy@dca.ga.gov if you have any questions.

This application is divided into three sections: Applicant Information, Threshold Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria.

• Applicant Information includes contact information; please ensure you include someone from your housing team who will be responsive to emails.
• Threshold Requirements are the criteria that must be completed in order to be considered as a candidate for the program.
• Evaluation Criteria are the competitive sections where you get to demonstrate your plan for the program as well as your strengths as a community.

The scoring rubric can be found below.

Throughout the application you will be asked to submit documents. Please submit each document as a PDF, with the title "Team Name Document Name Application Year". An example would be "Atlanta Team Roster 2026" or "Thomasville Housing Plan 2026".

We look forward to reading your application!

Scoring Rubric

Alumni Certification Requirements

For this section, please attach the documents you would submit for the GICH Alumni Recertification process. These documents include:

1. An updated team roster. Roster requirements are listed in the “Team Roster” section listed below.

2. Confirmation of two yearly team meetings in 2025. This could be a sign in sheet, meeting minutes, etc.

3. Confirmation of GICH retreat attendance for 2025.

Team Roster (10 points)

Please attach your team roster. Your team roster must include:

• Designated primary and secondary contact (this can overlap with other roster positions)
• Elected local government officials
• Government employees (City Manager, Economic Development/Development Authority, Planners, etc)
• Housing Authority (if applicable)
• School Board official
• Resident of target area

The above categories must be filled on your roster for your application to be considered.

Your team roster should include:

• Representatives from local employers (note: if the community has key employers, representatives from that company should be participants)
• Faith leaders, nonprofit leaders, and/or community-based organization representatives
• Chamber of Commerce representatives 
• County/City government (whichever the applicant is not)

Include any others you feel are important to your GICH team. This section will be scored competitively. While you do not need all categories filled from the “should” list, applicants that have robust teams will be scored higher than those that do not.

LIHTC, CHIP, & CDBG

Please attach proof that your GICH team/community has applied for or offered a letter of support to at least one of the following program during your time in GICH or as an Alumni:

• Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
• Community HOME Investment Program (CHIP)
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for housing related purposes

Your community does not need to have been awarded but must demonstrate that you have applied for one of these programs either during your time in the GICH program or as a GICH alumni.

Housing Plan (10 points)

Please attach a pdf of your housing plan. The plan needs to have been updated in the last two years. The structure of the plan is up to you, as this should be based on the plan you are using in your GICH Team. It should include progress made, projects underway, and the current goals you are working towards.

Community Narrative (20 points)

Write a one-to-three-page narrative about the state of housing in your community. This should include history up to applying for GICH, GICH experience, changes post GICH, and why now is a good time for this investment. Include relevant political and economic issues, as well as a list of housing related accomplishments and summary of local investments made to address housing needs – whether civic or philanthropic. Also include outstanding barriers to fully implementing the local housing plans and any planned or executed activities taken to overcome those barriers. Include your community’s relevant experiences with the programs and resources listed below in the section “Program Participation and Resources” (note: program participation includes both successful and unsuccessful applications and implementation). Consider including data analysis and housing statistics for your community. This could include the number and composition of housing units (including those that are affordable whether subsidized or not and those that are owned or rented), the composition of real estate investment in your community, demographic and socioeconomic analysis, zoning composition, homelessness statistics, and housing cost data for your community.

When writing this narrative, you may talk about the community as a whole but spend most of your time focusing on the target area. The focus should be on how your target area is impacted by housing issues. Help us to get a feel for the community you plan to invest in with this program.

Questions to consider when drafting your narrative:

• What is your GICH team's vision for housing affordability in your community?
• What place-based plan has your team developed or identified as needing program support?
• What experience and external partnerships does your GICH team have to support successful implementation of aligned investment?
• What barriers exist for affordable housing in your community, and how will the GICH Senior Year program enable your GICH team to overcome them?
• What are some examples of your team engaging with the community?

GICH Senior Year Plan (25 points)

Please attach a document detailing your community’s vision for GICH Senior participation. This should include:

• Target areas for development (include these areas’ school district, legislative district, and zoning information). Include details about the surrounding amenities, including transportation options, community benefits, access to essentials, etc.
• What you hope to do with a hypothetical CHIP, CDBG, and/or LIHTC award
• The scope of these projects (how many units, single v. multifamily, etc)
• The community’s need for this investment
• Ways your community will benefit from the DCA targeted education and what you hope to learn

This should be a detailed document no more than two pages in length. In our evaluation, we will be looking at the feasibility of your plan, such as the competitiveness of a proposed LIHTC project, CHIP project, etc, and your neighborhood focus.

Map of Target Area (10 points)

Please include a map of the area you want to target with your GICH Senior Year investment. Draw the specific boundary on the map. This area should ideally constitute an existing neighborhood or community.

Program Participation and Resources (15 points)

Please check the programs and resources below that your community has participated in. For programs you have not participated in, leave it blank.

The GICH Senior Year expects its participants to accept three key program elements:

• Neighborhood focus: participants will narrow in on one target area within the GICH community geography. The program benefits will apply in this specific place and the education will focus on the development of a place-based strategy.
• DCA education: DCA will provide program education tailor-made to help the communities specific needs. Participating communities are expected to participate in discussion related to these programs and how they can benefit their target neighborhood.
• Technical assistance and subject matter expert facilitation: participants will work with external technical assistance providers and/or third party subject matter experts, as planned and provided by DCA, to develop their neighborhood strategy. These external partners will help the participants plan for housing with a focus on community building and provide both general and targeted advice to accomplish the community’s plan for the target investment area.

By submitting your application, you are agreeing that, should your community be chosen, you will participate in all three aspects of the program.

This is the end of the application. Do not click submit unless you have filled out each portion of the application.