Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

CDBG Program Overview

The CDBG program is a federally-funded program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We receive CDBG funding every year because we qualify as an entitlement community.  

The main goal of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program is to develop thriving communities by providing decent housing and a good place to live, and increasing economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income people.

Current Funding Application

On February 2, 2026 the Town released up to $375,000 for the CDBG 2026-2027 Program Year. Up to $33,000 of the release can support public service projects. Applications are due via email to housingandcommunity@chapelhillnc.gov by Monday, March 2 at 12:00 PM.

Application Materials

• 2026 Funding Application(DOCX, 202KB)
• Scoring Rubric(XLSX, 50KB)
• Budget Template(XLSX, 12KB)
• Schedule of Receipts and Expenditures(XLSX, 27KB)
• CDBG Certifications(DOCX, 20KB)
• Disclosure of Potential Conflicts(DOCX, 15KB)
• Acknowledgement of CDBG Addendum(DOCX, 16KB)

The Town will hold an Orientation Webinar for potential applicants at 10:00am on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Town staff encourage both prior and new applicants to attend this webinar to learn about important updates to the application and process. Those interested in attending the webinar can register here.

For more information about the CDBG program, see:

• The Federal CDBG website

• The summary of the CDBG program's National Objectives(PDF, 409KB)

• The CDBG Program Overview(PDF, 178KB) one-pager.

•   (PDF, 546KB)

Each spring, the Town Council allocates CDBG funding to organizations who provide housing or programs that benefit low- and moderate-income people. These allocation decisions are guided by the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, which uses feedback from Chapel Hill and County residents to identify important housing and community development needs of low- and moderate- income residents during the next five years.

The Consolidated Plan also identifies needs for the HOME program, which is a federal funding source from HUD that prioritizes housing needs for low- and moderate-income people. The Town does not directly receive HOME funding. Instead, we are part of the Orange County HOME Consortium, which is led by Orange County and also includes the Towns of Hillsborough and Carrboro. To learn more about HOME funding, visit the County's HOME webpage.

We use our Citizen Participation Plan(PDF, 187KB) (CPP) as a guide for community engagement on our CDBG goals and funding.

Each year, we create an Annual Action Plan to determine the use of CDBG funds for the year. At the end of the year, staff develop a Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) to report on the most recent program year's successes.