A Fundable, Leverage-Rich Strategy.
Homeward Bound NORMAN is designed to unlock public and private funding at scale. Every dollar of philanthropic capital multiplies through federal grants, tax credits, and city match — building $2.6M–$3.8M a year in recurring capacity from an $8M local match.
Four funding lanes. All open now.
Homeward Bound NORMAN is positioned to access multiple federal, philanthropic, and tax-credit funding streams simultaneously — each reinforcing the others.
HUD Continuum of Care (CoC)
The federal gateway. CoC designation is required to access most federal homeless assistance funding — and it legitimizes the entire system to funders. CoC establishes HMIS, Coordinated Entry, Housing Navigation, and makes Norman competitive for annual renewal grants.
FEMA BRIC / HMGP
The Reed Avenue Resilience Center's safe room component qualifies for FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Oklahoma's tornado risk makes this a compelling application — and the safe room transforms a housing project into federally-fundable resilience infrastructure.
LIHTC + Operating Support
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits are the primary private financing mechanism for affordable permanent supportive housing. When Norman demonstrates a coherent, HUD-aligned system, LIHTC applications become more competitive — and operating subsidies through Project-Based Section 8 and HOME funds complete the stack.
Catalytic Foundation Support
Foundation and philanthropic investment is the catalyst that unlocks everything else. Early philanthropic capital funds the planning, staffing, and organizational infrastructure needed to pursue federal grants. Philanthropic capital pays for the planning, staffing and case management that federal capital dollars legally cannot, and satisfies the non-federal match that HUD CoC (25%), ESG (dollar-for-dollar) and HOME (25%) each require before a community can compete at all.
Every funder has an angle here.
Homeward Bound NORMAN speaks directly to the priorities of every major funding audience — foundations, public officials, residents, and service partners.
| Audience | What They Want to Hear | What We Show Them |
|---|---|---|
| 🏦 Foundations | Leverage, outcomes, governance, equity, replication value — their dollar goes further here than anywhere else. | Full capital stack, measurable milestones, stewardship language, lived-experience commitments, downloadable briefs. |
| 🏛️ Public Officials | Deadlines, match strategy, civic legitimacy, partner alignment — and a plan they can champion without political risk. | Grant calendar with deadlines, Reed Avenue rationale, CoC explanation, letters and memos from partners. |
| 🏘️ Norman Residents | Why this helps Norman, where the money goes, how their neighborhood benefits, and how they can be part of it. | Plain-language mission, local proof points, donation and volunteer pathways, neighbor stories. |
| 🤝 Service Partners | Their role in the system, how collaboration works, and that they won't be replaced or marginalized. | Coalition map, partner-specific pages, system architecture documents, next-step meeting invites. |
Grant Calendar & Funding Deadlines.
Every entry below is marked Verified (found on the funder's or agency's own site with a published date), Expected (the cycle repeats annually but the next date is not yet published), or Unconfirmed. We would rather show you an honest gap than a confident guess. Closed and frozen programs are listed too — knowing a door is shut is worth as much as knowing one is open.
🔴 Open Right Now
Act this monthOG&E / OGE Energy Corp. Foundation
Rolling foundation with three cycles a year. The current cycle runs June 1 – September 30, 2026; the committee meets in November. Homelessness is named under Health & Human Services, and Norman sits inside OG&E's service territory. Requires 501(c)(3).
Walmart Spark Good Local Community Grants
$250–$5,000, applied for through individual stores and Sam's Clubs that serve our area — Norman has several. Walmart's other programs are invitation-only; this one is explicitly open. Also open to government entities, schools and faith-based organizations, which makes it one of the few doors not blocked by our pending federal determination. Next cycles: Feb 1 – Apr 15 and May 1 – Jul 15, 2027.
⚖️ Federal — Frozen by Court Order
Prepare now, file when it reopensHUD FY2026 Continuum of Care NOFO — struck down
On August 7, 2026 the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated HUD's FY2026 CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity in full, including the $4.04 billion new-project competition, on Administrative Procedure Act grounds. HUD's own site now states the August 26 application deadline "is no longer in effect" and that it "cannot currently accept applications." HUD has appealed. No reissued NOFO and no FY2027 timeline has been announced.
CoC renewals continue — Public Law 119-75, Sec. 244
Congress anticipated this. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 directs HUD to non-competitively renew expiring CoC projects quarter by quarter at prior award levels with cost-of-living adjustments, and states those renewals "shall not render recipients ineligible for awards under any fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 notices of funding opportunity." OK-504's existing projects are not at risk. Only new projects are frozen.
CoC Bonus and DV Bonus — draft them now
HUD's Estimated ARD report sets OK-504's CoC Bonus ceiling at $76,907 and its DV Bonus ceiling at $96,134. Our Continuum has never won a CoC Bonus and has never applied for a DV Bonus, in a state the Violence Policy Center ranked 2nd in the nation for the rate of women murdered by men in its analysis of 2020 data. The Women's Resource Center already sits at the CoC table. When the competition reopens there will be weeks, not months — the applications should already exist.
Federal appropriations cliff
HUD's FY2026 funding was enacted February 3, 2026, so HUD is not running on a continuing resolution this fall — there is no October 1 cliff. The House CR runs to December 4 and the Senate's to December 11, and the Transportation-HUD bill has not passed either floor. December is the risk window, not October.
📊 Count & Data Deadlines
These drive our federal recordPoint-in-Time count — and 2027 is an unsheltered year
HUD requires a full unsheltered count in odd-numbered years. 2027 is odd. The specific night has not been published yet, but planning starts in the fall — which is now. After a 30.7% reported drop in January 2026 that we believe was a counting artifact, this is the count that either corrects the record or entrenches it. Cleveland Connect's 68-congregation network is ready to help cover the whole county, not just Norman, Moore and Noble.
HDX 2.0 submission — PIT and Housing Inventory Count
The 2026 deadline was April 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM PDT. The 2027 date has not been published. This is the submission that puts our number into the permanent federal record, and System Performance Measure 3.1 is the PIT count.
SAMHSA SOAR — become a local lead
SOAR turns a disability claim into approved income and Medicaid for someone in a shelter. It is not a grant, there is no competition and no match. Training runs through the state SOAR Team Lead; SAMHSA covers travel, lodging and per diem for the Leadership Academy at no cost to attendees. SAMHSA lists ten local SOAR leads in Oklahoma — three in Oklahoma City, three in Tulsa, four in Lawton. None in Cleveland County.
🏛️ State of Oklahoma
OHFA · Commerce · OEM · Mental HealthOHFA Board adopts the final 2027 Qualified Allocation Plan
The 2027 QAP sets the rules and the dates for next year's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit rounds. The draft dates below come from the first draft and are subject to change until this meeting.
OHFA 9% LIHTC — Funding Period One
3:00 p.m. CST. Board decision in May 2027. A $2,000 application fee, wired, and no late applications accepted. A single 9% deal typically raises $10–15 million in equity — this is the largest single lever in Oklahoma affordable housing. Reconfirm this date after the QAP is adopted September 23.
OHFA 9% LIHTC — Funding Period Two
3:00 p.m. CST. Board decision November 2027. Second and final 9% round of the year. 4% bond deals run on a rolling basis with a minimum 60-day review.
OHFA HOME program — suspended, status unresolved
OHFA's Board suspended the HOME program on March 23, 2026 in response to HB 1823, freezing roughly $1.6 million in already-awarded projects. We could not confirm whether it has resumed. Call OHFA before counting on this.
Oklahoma ESG — Emergency Solutions Grant
Administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The FY2026 window ran April 1 – May 29, 2026 with a mandatory workshop in late March. Applicants must be members of their local CoC (OK-504) and use HMIS. Funds emergency housing, supportive services, eviction prevention and rapid rehousing. ESG requires a full dollar of match for every federal dollar — and Norman's $8 million bond is exactly the kind of local public money that satisfies it. Contact: Edith McKinley, 405-213-7960.
CDBG Small Cities — Oklahoma Department of Commerce
The 2026 cycle ran a Letter of Intent due February 16 and a full application due June 19. The 2027 dates are not published. Relevant for capital and public facilities in the smaller Cleveland County towns the count does not reach.
Oklahoma opioid abatement grants — needs a government partner
The 2026 window ran February 18 – March 31 through the Oklahoma Grant Exchange. Eligible applicants are counties, municipalities, public trusts, school districts and higher education — not nonprofits. Cleveland County falls in Tier 2, reported at up to $450,000 over three years. We would need the County or the City as lead applicant. Norman has already directed $553,000 of opioid settlement money to homelessness.
FEMA BRIC — closed, and planning projects no longer qualify
BRIC was terminated in April 2025, reinstated by court order, and ran one combined FY2024–25 window that closed July 23, 2026. The reinstated version funds shovel-ready construction only — planning-only projects are no longer eligible. No new cycle has been announced. This is the vehicle for a tornado-shelter component at Reed Avenue, so it is worth watching. HMGP only opens after a Presidential disaster declaration, and SoonerSafe is not accepting applications. Oklahoma OEM hazard mitigation: HM@oem.ok.gov.
ODMHSAS PATH — and Cleveland County is not a site
PATH funds outreach to people with serious mental illness who are homeless. Oklahoma's PATH service sites are Bartlesville, McAlester, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Norman and Cleveland County are not among them — in the county that hosts Griffin Memorial Hospital. The 2026 public hearing was April 15 with comments open through April 26.
💜 Philanthropy
Oklahoma first, then nationalSarkeys Foundation — headquartered in Norman
Letter of intent December 1, decision February 1, 2027. Second cycle: LOI June 1, 2027, decision August 1. Broad social and human services category, funds statewide. One application per twelve months, so choose the ask carefully. Requires 501(c)(3). (405) 364-3703.
Inasmuch Foundation — confirm we are in scope
Standardized general operating grants of $50,000 or $100,000, second cycle around August 15. Human Services is a named category. But secondary sources describe these grants as serving Oklahoma City specifically, and we could not confirm Norman is eligible. One phone call settles it.
Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation — the best topical match found
"Alleviating & Preventing Homelessness" is an explicit named priority: shelter, temporary and permanent housing, wraparound services, eviction prevention. Roughly $7 million a year across 200+ nonprofits. The full-proposal deadline was June 30, 2026 and the 2027 date is not yet published. Service area is the Tulsa metro "and in special cases statewide." Given how exactly the priorities match, this is worth an ask.
Bank of America Charitable Foundation — Stable Housing
The 2026 window ran May 18 – June 29. Applications route to a local market committee, and we could not confirm the Oklahoma City metro is a recognized market. Confirm with the foundation before the window opens. 800-218-9946.
United Way of Norman
The FY2027 letter of intent and RFP closed in February 2026, before this calendar begins. FY2028 dates are not published. Windows like this open months ahead, so the call should happen now rather than when it is announced. Diane Murphree, 405-329-2025.
Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Cleveland County is named in their service area, but none of their six named community programs covers homelessness or housing, and no deadlines are published. Past homelessness funding appears to have been ad hoc. Worth a call rather than an application. Gabrielle Butler, 405-606-2942.
⚙️ Our Own Milestones
Nobody else will do these for usFiscal sponsorship — Communities Foundation of Oklahoma
CFOK runs a named Fiscal Sponsorship Funds program for "individuals or groups looking to execute a charitable project or service in communities across Oklahoma." Fees and process are not published. This is the single call that unlocks nearly every funder on this page, because it lets us receive grants before our IRS determination arrives. 405-488-1450.
IRS Form 1023 — federal 501(c)(3) determination
If Form 1023 is filed within 27 months of the end of the month in which the organization was legally formed, exemption is retroactive to formation. Filed later, it only counts from the filing date forward — every gift made in between loses its deduction. The exact deadline runs from our Oklahoma Secretary of State incorporation date. Until determination arrives, gifts to us are not tax-deductible, and we say so plainly on our giving page.
Oklahoma Secretary of State — charitable solicitation registration
Form 0101, $15. Required before soliciting contributions in Oklahoma. Small, cheap, and easy to overlook.
January 2027 count planning — with the whole county
HUD's own PIT Count Methodology Guide names soup kitchens and food pantries as valid service-based count locations, and HUD's CoC application asks each Continuum to describe methodology changes, naming "adding a service-based count component" and "additional volunteers" as examples. Cleveland Connect already runs in the towns the count does not reach. The offer to OK-504 is on the record and it costs the City nothing.
🚫 Where Not To Spend Your Time
Verified dead endsEvery list of “major homelessness funders” includes these names. We checked each one against its own website. None of them is a door we can walk through, and saying so saves the next volunteer a week.
- Conrad N. Hilton Foundation — the only open program is restricted to Conejo Valley and Ventura County, California.
- Ballmer Group — “We cannot accept unsolicited grant applications.” Regions are Washington State, Los Angeles County and Southeast Michigan.
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative — the Community Fund covers San Mateo County, California only.
- Bezos Day 1 Families Fund — no application channel exists; awards are made by nomination.
- Home Depot Foundation — requires 501(c)(3) held at least five years, a $300,000 operating budget, three years of audited financials and prior veteran-housing ownership.
- Lowe’s Hometowns — facility repair and volunteer labor, not cash.
- Wells Fargo NeighborhoodLIFT — a homebuyer down-payment product, not a nonprofit grant.
- Kirkpatrick Family Fund — Oklahoma County and Colorado only, and housing is not a priority.
Three more — the Melville Charitable Trust, the Schultz Family Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — publish no open application process at all. They are relationship-driven. An introduction would matter; an application would not arrive anywhere.
Every number on this page has a source.
If you are a funder, a council member, or a neighbor who wants to check us, ask. We will send the document.
Calendar verified 19 August 2026 against each funder’s and agency’s own published materials. Federal deadlines are unsettled: HUD’s FY2026 Continuum of Care competition was vacated by court order on 7 August 2026 and no replacement has been announced. Entries marked Expected repeat annually but the next date has not been published — treat them as planning placeholders, not commitments. Entries marked Unconfirmed need a phone call before anyone relies on them. If you find something here that is out of date, write to us and we will fix it.
Your dollar goes further here.
Request the Foundation Brief or schedule a one-on-one meeting to explore the full leverage story.