August 4, 2025

2026- 2027 Iowa ESG and SAF Application DRAFT- Comments Invited

The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) is inviting public and stakeholder comments on the proposed draft application for the 2026- 2027 Iowa Statewide Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Shelter Assistance Fund (SAF) competition. The competition will be for grant funding to be expended during the 2026 and 2027 calendar years. The ESG and SAF programs fund homelessness assistance in Iowa including the following activities: Shelter (operations and services, not construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation), Street Outreach, Rapid Rehousing, and Homelessness Prevention.

The proposed application is available for review on the ESG and SAF web pages under the 2026 and 2027 Program heading. Written comments may be submitted to homelessprograms@iowafinance.com by no later than 4:30 PM on August 11, 2025. IFA will review all comments received by the deadline and post responses on the web site in the same location.

Some key components of the proposed application to consider during your review:

The competition is scheduled to open on or around August 13, 2025, and close on or around September 15, 2025.
The proposed application has been updated to reflect changes in the ESG and SAF administrative rules that will become effective August 13, 2025. Links to the current administrative rules can be found on the ESG and SAF web pages under the Program Management heading.
IFA is continuing the two-year application cycle. Applications will be submitted requesting funding in Year One only (the 2026 calendar year). Renewal funding for Year Two (the 2027 calendar year) will be awarded next year subject to available funding and the grantee’s continued compliance with certain threshold conditions and all program rules and requirements. Receipt of a funding award in Year One is not a guarantee of funding award in Year Two.
A regional approach to Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention funding awards is also being continued. Regions are based on Coordinated Entry/Coordinated Services Regions for homelessness services in Iowa. Agencies submitting applications for these services should be prepared to serve an entire region. If more than one application is submitted to serve the same region through these activities, the applications will be reviewed together, and it is possible that only one applicant will be selected for award. Multiple agencies operating within the same region to provide Rapid Rehousing and Homelessness Prevention should collaborate to determine which agencies will provide those services in order to best maximize efficiency and describe the agreed upon plan in the application submission.
IFA will continue to prioritize funding for certain types of shelters, including emergency shelters rather than legacy transitional shelters, shelters that serve the general population rather than a more limited specific target population, and shelters serving areas outside federal Entitlement Cities that receive additional ESG funds directly from HUD.
All applicants for Shelter funding must complete the updated Certification of Local Government Approval, which is also posted under the 2026 and 2027 Program section of the ESG and SAF web pages. This certification form must be completed and signed by an authorized representative of the unit of local government, typically the city, where the Shelter is located. Please plan accordingly to ensure you are able to obtain the required certification in time to upload to your application submission.
The required Performance Outcome Report utilizes data from a two-year period including both 2023 and 2024. Please note that there will be only one report to pull this year instead of three. Instructions for running this report can be found on the ESG and SAF web pages under the 2026 and 2027 Program heading.

We look forward to receiving your comments.

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