Five-Year Community Investments Provided With Community Development Block Grants

In the last five years, $2,725,283.00 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding has been invested in the Fayetteville community. Also over the past five years, the CDBG program has maintained the staff size and reduced total administration cost by $21,383.00 while continuing to increase program activities and administer the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiative Grant and the Recovery Act Funds for the City of Fayetteville. Approximately 5,482 persons were assisted through the CDBG program in the past five years.

The CDBG program is a flexible program that began in 1974 and provides communities with resources to address community development needs. This program is one of the longest continuously run programs at HUD. Over the past five years, Fayetteville has provided the following community investments:

Arts Live Theatre 29,603
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NWA 8,500
Credit Counseling of Arkansas 11,911
Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club 17,372
Economic Opportunity Agency 10,848
Elizabeth Richardson Center 10,041
Fayetteville Housing Authority 102,898
Fayetteville Public Library 13, 500
Habitat for Humanity 115,678
Housing Rehabilitation Program 1,506,848
Just Communities 8,683
Legal Aid of Arkansas 23,428
LifeSource International 45,509
Life Styles 68,397
NWACC 33,025
NWAEDD 37,508
NWA Free Health Center 23,734
Ozark Guidance 10,000
Peace at Home 49,675
Redevelopment 220,405
Seven Hills Homeless Center 100,000
Taxi 21,000
Transportation 13,000
Youth Bridge 67,651
You Can 69,637
Yvonne Richardson Center 72,081
1932 Garland 34,351

CDBG funds in the amount of $396,000 were provided for public services through the Subrecipient Grant Program. Non-profits that provide services to low-and-moderate income residents of Fayetteville received this funding. The services provided reached many within the community, including but not limited to, senior citizens, youth, the disabled, domestic violence victims, those with mental health needs and the homeless. CDBG created or retained approximately 223 jobs in the past five years. (These are not permanent full-time jobs. These reflect specific CDBG rehabilitation projects and awards to sub-recipients to cover salaries specific to the CDBG funded programming).

CDBG provides the flexibility to fund a myriad of activities, fill gaps where needed, and leverage and attract additional resources to projects. This combination of CDBG with other resources adds to our local economy through the purchase of goods and services and adds to the betterment of the lives of our local citizens through improved neighborhoods and lives.