Community Economic Development Program

The Community Economic Development (CED) program provides community development corporations with grants to revitalize the local economy, expand businesses, and create jobs for individuals with low incomes in communities experiencing high unemployment and persistent poverty. These grants are offered by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Community Services (OCS). They are the only federal grants that are specifically designated for private, nonprofit community development organizations.

We partner with OCS to inform the community development field about grant opportunities and connect local organizations to training and other resources to help them apply for funding. We also bring together community development organizations to advocate for Congressional funding. For every $1 of CED funding that is used on a project, more than $6 from other sources is invested back into low-income communities. And, 75% of all of the jobs created with CED funds are filled by individuals with low-incomes. Read our report, Expanding Opportunity: Job Creation and the Community Economic Development Program, by Bob Zdenek to learn more about the impact of the CED program.

In 2023, 39 awardees across the country received up to $800,000 per organization. Funding opportunities are typically announced in the Spring. The NOFO for 2024 has not yet been announced. Sign up for NOFO alerts by contacting [email protected]. 

Applying for a CED program funding takes considerable planning. Use these resources:

• Watch webinar recordings:  

• Learning from Previous Grant Winners presented by our California member, the California Community Economic Development Association

• Building a Successful CED Grant Application (Passcode: JPm3c1=J) presented by our national partner, the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders

• Getting Ready for CED Funding Opportunities (Passcode: MFjQ?$S8), presented by us

• Access the Developing a Successful Job Creation Project Toolkit to help your organization determine the elements required to design an economic development project that can successfully secure funding.

• View the key considerations for prospective applicants video and previous Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO)