How to Prepare a Housing and Homelessness Grant Using GrantCraft

The Housing and Homelessness Funding Landscape

Housing and homelessness is one of the most actively funded areas in both government and philanthropic sectors. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administers billions of dollars annually through programs like the Continuum of Care, Emergency Solutions Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, and Community Development Block Grants. State and local governments add additional layers of funding through housing trust funds, tax credit programs, and emergency assistance funds. On the private side, foundations like the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Melville Charitable Trust, and local community foundations maintain significant housing portfolios.

The complexity of the housing funding landscape means that writing competitive proposals requires not only strong writing skills but a deep understanding of housing policy, evidence-based models, and the specific data and language that housing funders expect. The GrantCraft Proposal Builder provides the structure you need to organize this complexity into a coherent, compelling application.

Documenting Housing Need in Your Community

Housing proposals require robust data at multiple levels. Your need statement should draw from these sources:

• Point-in-Time Count data: The annual count of people experiencing homelessness, conducted by every Continuum of Care in the country. This provides your most direct measure of homelessness in your community.
• Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data: System-level data on who uses homelessness services, how long they stay, and whether they return to homelessness after exiting programs.
• Housing affordability data: HUD fair market rents, vacancy rates, median rents compared to median incomes, and the number of cost-burdened households paying more than 30% of income for housing.
• Eviction and foreclosure data: Eviction filings, eviction rates, and foreclosure activity that indicate housing instability in your area.
• Waitlist data: Public housing authority waitlists and Housing Choice Voucher waitlists that demonstrate unmet demand for affordable housing.
• Demographic data: Disparities in housing instability by race, ethnicity, disability status, veteran status, or family composition.

For detailed guidance on structuring your data into a compelling narrative, see our guide on writing a need statement.

Designing Evidence-Based Housing Interventions

Housing funders, particularly HUD, expect proposals to reference evidence-based practices. The dominant framework in the field is Housing First, which prioritizes rapid placement in permanent housing followed by voluntary supportive services, without requiring sobriety, treatment compliance, or program participation as preconditions. If your program follows a Housing First approach, explicitly state this and describe how your implementation adheres to the model's core principles.

Other evidence-based approaches that funders support include:

Rapid Rehousing

Time-limited rental assistance and services that help people who are experiencing homelessness move quickly into permanent housing. Describe your housing search assistance, financial assistance structure, case management approach, and expected length of assistance.

Permanent Supportive Housing

Long-term housing with integrated supportive services for individuals with chronic homelessness, serious mental illness, or other disabling conditions. Detail your staffing model, service array, housing operations, and approach to voluntary service engagement.

Homelessness Prevention

Interventions that target people at imminent risk of homelessness through emergency financial assistance, mediation, legal services, or case management. Describe your targeting and assessment process, including the use of tools like the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool.

Writing Objectives for Housing Grants

Housing funders expect outcomes aligned with system-level performance measures. HUD evaluates Continuum of Care programs on metrics including the length of time people experience homelessness, returns to homelessness within two years, exits to permanent housing, employment and income growth, and first-time homelessness. Your objectives should directly address these measures where applicable. Use our guide on logic models and theories of change to map the causal pathway from your activities to these outcomes.

Budgeting for Housing Programs

Housing grant budgets often include direct financial assistance to clients, making them larger than typical service grants. Key budget categories include rental assistance payments, security deposits and move-in costs, case management staff, housing navigation staff, landlord engagement activities, and administrative overhead. Federal housing grants have specific match requirements and cost restrictions that you must understand before building your budget. Review our guide on federal cost principles for detailed guidance. The GrantCraft Proposal Builder helps you organize these costs into a clear, compliant budget.

Demonstrating Community Coordination

Housing funders increasingly evaluate proposals based on the applicant's role within the broader community response to homelessness. Describe your participation in the local Continuum of Care, your data sharing through HMIS, your coordination with other housing providers, and your alignment with the community's strategic plan to end homelessness. This community context demonstrates that your program is part of a coordinated system rather than an isolated effort.

Start Building Your Housing Proposal

Use the GrantCraft Proposal Builder to develop your housing and homelessness proposal step by step. Search the Funder Research Tool for housing-focused funding opportunities, and run your final draft through the submission checklist to ensure compliance with all funder requirements.

Learn more about grant writing strategies at Subthesis.

Ready to build a complete grant writing skill set? The Complete Grant Architect course covers everything from needs assessment to budget construction to post-award management.