Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 1 of 52
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability
Application Guide
The following document is an Application Guide for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. The full
application, when it opens in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal, may differ in some
aspects. This Application Guide will be updated to reflect any changes.
Contents
How to Use This Guide ...........................................................................................................2
Contact Information...............................................................................................................3
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Timeline (subject to change)..........................................3
Application Questions ............................................................................................................4
Application Upload Checklist ................................................................................................ 46
Application Submission ........................................................................................................ 47
Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 47
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 2 of 52
How to Use This Guide
This Application Guide was created to provide Project Reinvest: Financial Capability applicants
with further guidance on application questions. NeighborWorks America offers the following
general reminders and tips to successfully complete the application:

Refer to this guide frequently, as it provides more detailed instructions and examples
not available in the actual full application. It is your key to submitting a successful
application.

Assume reviewers know nothing about your organization, its history, structure,
experience, or partners.

For questions that require narrative responses, be concise and clear in your response.
Give as much fact and leave out the extraneous. Space is limited in the narrative text
box. The number of characters available for each question is listed within the narrative
box of the application.

To the extent possible, complete narrative responses in a separate document to avoid
lost work.

The grant system will not auto-save your application. Click “Save” often so that work
is not lost.

Take care to fully complete all data fields and ensure required attachments are included.
Errors or omissions will impact the quality of your organization’s application and result
in an unsatisfactory application. Please note that incomplete applications will be
automatically disqualified in the review process with no opportunity for resubmission.

After completing the application, please review it to ensure that responses throughout
the application are consistent. When taken as a whole, the application must provide
reviewers with clear and convincing evidence that the applicant has the capacity to fully
expend any awarded funds by the completion date. Goals must be reasonable given the
applicant’s past experience with similar projects, planned staffing levels, and ability to
oversee the compliance and quality of services delivered.

Prior to submission, carefully review the upload checklist included below to ensure all
required documents have been uploaded within your application. You may also find it
helpful to utilize the print preview function within the online portal to review the
contents of your application before submitting.

Incomplete applications will be automatically disqualified in the review process with no
opportunity for resubmission. Utilize this guide to ensure that all requirements have
been satisfied in the online application.
To access the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal, visit:
https://neighborworks.fluxx.io
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 3 of 52
To access the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability webpage, visit:
http://www.neighborworks.org/Homes-Finances/Project-Reinvest/Project-ReinvestFinancial-Capability
The application deadline for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability is 8:00PM EST on March 2,
2017. Please note that technical support is only available on business days from 9:00AM to
6:00PM and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants are strongly encouraged
to submit their application early to avoid any interruptions.
In order to log in to the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal, you will first need to register by
clicking the “Create an account now” button. Registration is restricted to Authorized Officials
that have the authority to submit a grant application on behalf of their organization. Refer to
the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal User Guide for further information about user roles
and portal registration.
Contact Information
Grants or Program Support Questions
Please contact the Project Reinvest team at [email protected] with any questions related
to the Opportunity or Application.
Technical Support Questions
Please contact 1-866-720-1807 with any technical questions related to the NeighborWorks
America Grants Portal. This phone number is a help desk for the online application system only.
Hours of operation: 9:00AM to 6:00PM EST (excluding weekends and holidays).
If you are a prospective applicant requires assistance or an accommodation to access the
information necessary to complete the full application, please send an email to
[email protected]. In order to appropriately assist you with an accommodation, we ask
that you please specify the assistance needed.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Timeline (subject to change)
Action
Anticipated Date
NeighborWorks America Releases
Funding Announcement
December 22, 2016
Applications Open
January 19, 2017
Webinar on Funding Opportunity
(visit the Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability webpage for details)
January 25, 2017
Applications Due
March 13, 2017 @ 8pm EDT
Application Review Period
March-April 2017
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 4 of 52
Awards Finalized and Notice of Intent
Sent
May/June 2017
Application Questions
Questions that will be in the application are in bold type.* More explanation on what the
question is seeking follows in italicized type. Applications will be evaluated based on Applicant’s
ability to operate a high-quality financial capability counseling/coaching program to assist
individuals in stabilizing their finances, rebuilding credit and establishing savings; as well as to
provide effective management of program requirements, compliance requirements, grant
funds, and (if applicable), Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or Contracted Counseling Entities.
*Please note that the application language and questions are subject to change.
Sections:
I. APPLICANT INFORMATION
II. PROGRAM DELIVERY STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTATION OF OVERLAPPING GRANT APPLICATIONS
III. EXPERIENCE OF APPLICANT & SUB-GRANTEES/BRANCHES/AFFILIATES/CCEs
IV. PROGRAM DESIGN & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
V. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF APPLICANT & SUB-GRANTEES/BRANCHES/AFFILIATES/ CCEs
VI. PROPOSED COUNSELING/COACHING SERVICES
VII. IMPACT OF SERVICES AND RESPONSIVENESS TO AREAS OF NEED
VIII. MATCHED SAVINGS (OPTIONAL)
VIX. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REQUIRED UPLOADS. Throughout the application, you will be asked to upload various
documents. Please ensure that all required fields are completed before uploading. An
application will not be considered complete if the uploaded documents are not completed.
Before starting the application, download the following attachments from
http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability

Please download the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Applicant Workbook, which
also includes the Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheet (complete if applicable),
and the Grantee and Sub-grantee contact information tabs (complete applicable tabs).
For complete list of required uploads please reference the Application Upload Checklist below.
APPLICATION ELIGIBLITY QUIZ. At the start of the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability
application, applicants will be required to answer a brief series of questions to affirm their
eligibility to apply for funding. Organizations that do not meet the eligibility requirements will
not be able to proceed to the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application. Please be sure
to answer all questions accurately, as inaccurate answers may cause an application to be
disqualified for ineligibility during the review process. Refer to the Funding Announcement,
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 5 of 52
particularly Section II (“Definitions”) and Section IV (“Eligibility and Other Program
Requirements”) for further details on eligibility requirements and definitions of key terms.
State HFA organizations - for the question that asks: Does your organization have an active
IRS Nonprofit Determination Letter or IRS Affirmation Letter for 501(c) (3) nonprofit status? If
your organization has documentation showing evidence of statutory authority to operate as a
State HFA, please select ‘Yes’ for this question.
APPLICANT INFORMATION (COMPLETED AT TIME OF PORTAL REGISTRATION)
Question
Upload
Organization
Narrative
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Auto-populated from registration
Authorized Official
Auto-populated from registration
Organization Editors
Auto-populated from registration
SECTION I: APPLICANT INFORMATION
Question
Upload
Has your organization information changed?
Narrative
70 characters
Please review the organization information we have on file by navigating to the “Organization” hyperlink on the
left side of the grants portal. Use this field to provide any changes to the information NeighborWorks America has
on file.
ALL APPLICANTS: INPUT YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION
BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE REST OF THE ONLINE
APPLICATION.
THE GRANTS PORTAL POPULATES THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU
MUST ANSWER, ACCORDING TO THE APPLICANT TYPE
INDICATED HERE.
1. Select the type of entity that best describes the
Applicant organization.
Upload
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 6 of 52
A. Applicant is a National Financial Capability
Intermediary (FC Intermediary) and has a minimum of
three years of experience as a Financial Capability
Intermediary and a minimum of 10 Sub-grantees,
Branches or Affiliates.
B. Applicant is a Regional or State Financial Capability
Intermediary (FC Intermediary) and has a minimum of
three years of experience as a Financial Capability
Intermediary and a minimum of five Sub-grantees,
Branches or Affiliates.
C. Applicant is a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling
Intermediary (HC Intermediary) and all proposed Subgrantees that are HUD-approved housing counseling
agencies, or meet or exceed guidelines for approval as
HUD housing counseling agencies; and has been
delivering financial capability services for at least the
past 12 months.
D. Applicant is a State Housing Finance Agency and has
evidence of statutory authority to operate as a State
HFA, to apply for and use funds, and to serve the entire
state; and has been delivering financial capability
services for at least the past 12 months.
E. Applicant is a NeighborWorks organization, a
chartered member of the NeighborWorks network in
good standing (defined as having a charter which is not
provisional); and has been delivering financial capability
services for at least the past 12 months.
Please be sure to read the Funding Announcement closely, especially Section II and Section IV, for definitions of
these eligible applicant categories. The Funding Announcement details eligibility requirements applicable to all
categories of applicants as well as specific additional eligibility thresholds and requirements that pertain to each
category (for example, the minimum experience requirement differs for Financial Capability Intermediaries
compared to the other categories of applicants).
In this section, Applicants must also upload documentation pertaining to their specific applicant category;
please refer to the Application and the Funding Announcement for further details on that documentation, and
be sure to upload all documents requested.
2. Upload your organization’s most recent independent
financial audit, and most recent single audit, if
applicable. If a Management Letter was issued, upload
Upload
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 7 of 52
a copy of the letter. You must include a copy of any
Management Letter that was issued. If the audit
disclosed findings, please also upload your
organization’s Management Response and/or
Corrective Action Plan. Note: Management Response
and/or Corrective Action Plan MUST be on Applicant’s
letterhead and signed by its Chief Executive Officer,
President or Executive Director. (Required)
a. Upload most recent Audited Financial Statements.
The Audited Financial Statements must have been
issued within 9 months from the end of your
organization’s most recent fiscal year.
b. Upload most recent single audit, if applicable. This
must have been issued within 9 months from the
end of your organization’s most recent fiscal year.
If not applicable, upload a document on your
organization’s letterhead, signed by the Chief
Executive Officer, President or Executive Director
stating that your organization expended less than
$750,000 in federal funds during the Fiscal Year.
c. Upload receipt or e-mail from the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse verifying the single audit was
submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse
within 9 months from the end of your
organization’s most recent fiscal year. If a single
audit was not required, upload the same document
uploaded in 2B stating so. If the audit was not filed
timely with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse,
upload a document on your organization’s
letterhead explaining why, signed by the Chief
Executive Officer, President or Executive Director.
d. Upload Management Letter, if issued. If a
Management Letter was not issued, upload a
document stating that a Management Letter was
not issued. NOTE: Documents stating no
Management Letter was issued MUST be on
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 8 of 52
Applicant’s letterhead and be signed by its Chief
Executive Officer, President or Executive Director.
e. Upload Corrective Action Plan and/or Management
Response, if applicable. If your organization does
not have a Corrective Action Plan or Management
Response, please upload a document explaining
how your organization will remedy the audit’s
findings and/or implement recommendations from
the Management Letter, or stating that your
organization’s audit did not have any findings and
the Management Letter did not have any
recommendations. NOTE: Management Response,
Corrective Action Plan or document stating there
were no recommendations MUST be on Applicant’s
letterhead and be signed by its Chief Executive
Officer, President or Executive Director.
As a reminder, per the Application questions, a document must be uploaded into each of the sub-sections 2a-2e,
even if the question does not apply to your organization (For example, even if your organization had no audit
findings and therefore no Corrective Action Plan, do not leave 2e blank; rather, upload a letter signed by the CEO,
President, or Executive Director stating that there were no recommendations or findings and therefore no CAP or
management response.)
Please be aware that in section 2d, NeighborWorks is not requesting the letter that is typically addressed from the
organization’s management to the auditors affirming that (among other things) the information that was
submitted to the auditors is accurate. “Management Letter” refers to a letter from the auditors to your
organization in which the auditors may discuss observations that did not rise to the level of formal audit
findings and/or offer recommendations for improvements. It may be distinct/separate from the standard
auditors’ cover letter that accompanies the audit. Not all organizations receive a Management Letter with their
audit, hence the request to upload a document signed by the CEO/President/Executive Director stating that there
was no Management Letter, if that is the case.
If there was no Management Letter (2d) and no Corrective Action Plan or Management Response (2e), the
CEO/President/Executive Director may affirm so in the same letter; however, please be sure to upload that letter
in Section 2d and then again in Section 2e.
To recap, Applicants should be uploading a total of five documents in this section, regardless of their audit
circumstances.
3. Upload your organization’s IRS affirmation or
determination letter demonstrating tax-exempt status
as 501(c)(3) non-profit. (Required)
Upload
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 9 of 52
Note: If you are applying in the State HFA category, upload
instead your evidence of statutory authority to operate as a
State HFA.
4. Upload your organization’s completed W-9 form.
(Required)
5. Upload your organization’s current Certificate of Good
Standing. Required for all states in which your
organization operates. Documentation must have a
date of July 1, 2016 or later. If there is more than one
document, combine them into one PDF file and upload
that one file. (Required)
Upload
Upload
Note: If you are applying in the State HFA category,
upload instead a note stating that your organization is
a State HFA, and is exempt from the Certification of
Good Standing requirement.
Please submit documentation that provides evidence of your organization’s authority to transact business in the
state in which it is incorporated. If the relevant agency in your state does not issue actual Certificates, but rather
maintains an online clearinghouse/repository/database of entities’ status, please print the status from that
website or print a screenshot confirming your organization’s good standing and upload it here. Each state refers
to this document differently, but please follow the instructions provided by your local agency and be sure the
document shows a date within the time period indicated in the application.
Applicant Certifications
As part of their Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application, organizations will be required to review and
affirm a list of certifications; this list can be found in the application.
SECTION II: PROGRAM DELIVERY STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTATION OF OVERLAPPING GRANT APPLICATIONS
Question
ALL APPLICANTS: INPUT YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS QUESTION
BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE REST OF THE ONLINE
APPLICATION, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALSO INPUT
YOUR RESPONSE TO SECTION I, QUESTION 1 (APPLICANT TYPE).
THE GRANTS PORTAL POPULATES THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU
MUST ANSWER, ACCORDING TO YOUR APPLICANT TYPE
INDICATED IN SECTION 1, AS WELL AS THE SERVICE DELIVERY
CHANNELS INDICATED HERE.
Upload
Narrative
n/a
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 10 of 52
1. If your organization receives Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability funding, through which of the following will
it provide counseling/coaching services? Select all that
apply.
 Directly
 Sub-grantee(s)
 Branch(es)
 Affiliate(s)
 Contracted Counseling Entity(ies) (CCEs)
Please refer to the Funding Announcement, Section II (“Definitions”) for detailed definitions of Sub-grantee,
Branch, Affiliate, and CCE. Please also note that CCEs are defined as an agency that a NeighborWorks
organization Grantee hast contracted with to deliver Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Program-funded
counseling/coaching services. Therefore, only applications in the NeighborWorks organization category may
deliver financial capability counseling/coaching services through CCEs. If you are an applicant in the FC
Intermediary, HC Intermediary, or State HFA category do not select CCEs as one of your service delivery channels
here.
2. Are there other organizations already providing
financial capability services in your service areas?
 Yes
 No
2A. If yes to #2, please explain why there is a need for
your organization to also provide financial capability
counseling/coaching services in these areas.
500 characters
3. Does your organization plan to work with Subgrantees, Branches, Affiliates or CCEs that are applying
for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability funds with
more than one FC Intermediary/HC Intermediary/
HFA/NeighborWorks organization OR that have applied
for funds as a direct Applicant?
 Yes
 No
NeighborWorks organizations that are not working with CCEs, answer “No”; this question is not applicable to you.
FC and HC Intermediaries, State HFAs, and NeighborWorks organizations that are proposing to work with CCEs,
this question may be applicable to you if any of your proposed Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates are also
planning to submit their own direct Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application and/or are planning to be
part of another organization’s application in addition to yours.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 11 of 52
Please be sure to request from your proposed Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs a letter that discloses
whether they are part of another Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application, and the number of
counseling/coaching units that they are proposing to deliver under that application. (The Multiple Application
Disclosure Spreadsheet in Tab 13 includes a template with suggested language for these disclosure letters.)
Note that the “multiple application disclosure” provision applies only to Project Reinvest: Financial Capability, not
to the other two of Project Reinvest’s three grant competitions (Homeownership and Neighborhoods, whose
application periods have already closed). You do not need to ascertain or disclose whether your Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs also applied for Project Reinvest: Homeownership or Project Reinvest: Neighborhoods
funding; only complete the Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheet if they are part of multiple Project
Reinvest Financial Capability applications. The Applicant Workbook is posted on
http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
3A. If “yes” to #3, complete the Multiple Application
Disclosure Spreadsheet [TAB # 13A of Applicant
Workbook] to indicate the total number of units of
counseling/coaching that your Sub-grantees, Branches,
Affiliates, or CCEs are proposing to provide as part of
your Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application
as well as under their own direct application or as a
Sub-grantee, Branch, Affiliate, or CCE of another
applicant.
 Yes
 No
Upload
Applicants with Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs that are also part of another Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability application will use this spreadsheet to list those sub-recipients and the number of counseling/coaching
units that they are proposing to deliver under your application as well as all other Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability applications in which they are participating.
Do not include sub-recipients that are only part of your Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application on the
Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheet; the spreadsheet is only for organizations that are part of multiple
applications.
Do not upload the packet of disclosure letters from your Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs here. You
must obtain those letters from your sub-recipients that are part of multiple applications and keep them in your
files, but in the application, you need only upload the Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheet that will
summarize the content of those disclosure letters. The Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheets are noted in
Tabs 13, 13A, 14 and 14A of the Applicant Workbook. The Applicant Workbook is posted on
http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
4. Does your organization plan to seek additional Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability funding (i.e., separate
from this application) as a Sub-grantee, Branch,
Affiliate or CCE of another direct Applicant?
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 12 of 52


Yes
No
Answer “Yes” if your organization is submitting its own application for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability and is
part of another FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, State HFA, or NeighborWorks organization’s application.
Answer “No” if you are only submitting your own application and not participating as a Sub-grantee, Branch,
Affiliate, or CCE of any other applicant.
If answering “Yes” to #4, complete questions 4A-4C.
Note that the “multiple application disclosure” provision applies only to Project Reinvest: Financial Capability, not
to the other two of Project Reinvest’s three grant competitions (Homeownership and Neighborhoods, whose
application periods have already closed). You do not need to indicate in this application whether your
organization also applied for Project Reinvest: Homeownership or Project Reinvest: Neighborhoods funding; only
disclose if you are part of multiple Project Reinvest: Financial Capability applications. The Applicant Workbook is
posted on http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
4A. Describe why multiple Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability awards are critical to meet the financial
capability counseling/coaching needs in the service
area(s).
500 characters
4B. In order to apply for funding directly and under
another FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, State HFA
or NeighborWorks organization, Applicant must (a)
track and report both customer level and aggregate
data via electronic data files, and (b) segregate
customers by funding sources. In particular,
applicants that are part of multiple Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability applications must demonstrate
capacity to report client-level data with unique
identifiers (including but not limited to client name,
address, outcomes, etc.) to prevent duplication of
billing for the same client. Describe your
organization’s ability to carry out these functions.
500 characters
It is important that applicants who are part of multiple Project Reinvest: Financial Capability applications describe
and demonstrate their ability to segregate customers by funding sources, track aggregate and client-level data,
and have systems/processes in place to prevent duplicate billing for the same client across multiple Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability grants and sub-grants. Please be sure to clearly and concisely describe your
organization’s ability to do so in this section of the application.
4C. Please upload the Multiple Application Disclosure
Spreadsheet (see example in Tab 14) in Tab 14A of the
Applicant Workbook to indicate the total number of
units of counseling/coaching your organization is
Upload
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 13 of 52
projecting to provide using Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability funding, both directly and through any other
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application(s).
If your organization is part of other Project Reinvest: Financial Capability applications in addition to your own
direct application, you must provide those other applicants with a disclosure letter indicating: the name(s) of
other organizations under which you are a Sub-grantee, Branch, Affiliate, or CCE in their Project Reinvest
application; the number of counseling/coaching units you are proposing to deliver under each other Project
Reinvest application; and the number of counseling/coaching units you are proposing to deliver under your own
direct Project Reinvest application.
You must also complete Tab 14A of the Multiple Application Disclosure Spreadsheet and upload it in this space.
You should retain copies of the disclosure letters in your files, but do not upload the disclosure letters here; only
upload the spreadsheet which is intended to summarize the information contained in the disclosure letters. The
Applicant Workbook is posted on http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
SECTION III: EXPERIENCE OF APPLICANT, SUB-GRANTEES, BRANCHES, AFFILIATES AND CCEs
Question
Upload
APPLICANT WORKBOOK (EXCEL)
To be uploaded at
end of application
Narrative
The Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application includes an Applicant Workbook that collects required
information about applicants’ experience, staffing, and proposed counseling/coaching goals. The Applicant
Workbook is posted on http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
Applicants must submit ONE Applicant Workbook at the conclusion of the application. (Do not submit separate
applicant workbooks for your organization and your Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, if applicable; all
sub-recipient information should be aggregated into the direct applicant’s Applicant Workbook according to the
instructions within the file.)
The Applicant Workbook contains 16 tabs, 3 of which (Tabs 3, 4, and 5) pertain to Section III in the application.
Detailed instructions for completing the Applicant Workbook and definitions of terms are included in each
workbook tab. Section III also asks several narrative questions, listed below.
1. Please indicate which of the following applies to your
organization:
 Rural areas comprise MORE THAN 75% of the
organization’s overall service area
 Rural areas comprise LESS THAN 75% of the
organization’s overall service area
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 14 of 52
Applicants must self-report whether or not their service area is more than 75% rural according to data available to
their organization or their best estimate of rural coverage. For HC Intermediaries, FC Intermediaries, and State
HFAs, consider the service area of your network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates in the aggregate.
2. Please indicate whether your organization: a) provides
financial capability coaching/counseling services
directly; b) manages a network of Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates or CCEs that offer financial capability
counseling/coaching services; or c) provides a
combination of direct-service and network management
of financial capability counseling/coaching. Discuss how
many years of experience your organization has in either
providing financial capability counseling/coaching
services directly and/or managing a network of Subgrantees, Branches, Affiliates or CCEs providing these
services.
500 characters
Please clearly state whether your organization delivers financial capability counseling/coaching services directly
and/or through a network of Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs. FC Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries,
and State HFAs may directly offer these services, offer them indirectly through their network, or a combination of
both. Please be sure to be specific when discussing your years of experience offering these services indirectly
and/or through a network of Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs.
Keep in mind that only NeighborWorks organization applicants may delivery financial capability
counseling/coaching services through CCEs. If you are an FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, or State HFA
application, do not indicate that you deliver financial capability services through CCEs.
Refer to the Funding Announcement for minimum required experience thresholds for Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability.
3. Please describe the financial education that your
organization (or Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or
CCEs) provides to clients, including examples of topics
covered, methods of delivering the financial education,
and frequency with which financial education content is
offered.
3,000 characters
The Applicant Workbook asks applicants to report on the number of clients who have received financial education
over a 12-month period; however, this is your opportunity to present the reviewer with a detailed and specific
description of the financial education that your organization (or its network of Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates
or CCEs) provides.
4. Describe any financial capability counseling/coaching related training completed or certifications obtained in
the last 12 months by the counselors/coaches listed in
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 15 of 52
Tab 5, Column J of the Applicant Workbook. Include
details about the name and source of the training or
certification (note: this training does not need to be
NeighborWorks’ training). Please list examples of the
types of training undertaken by your staff or staff of
your Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates.
While the Applicant Workbook collects basic information on the number of counselors/coaches who have
achieved a particular training threshold, this is your opportunity to present the reviewer with a more robust and
in-depth description of the financial capability-related trainings that your counselors/coaches (or those of your
Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs) have received.
SECTION IV: PROGRAM DESIGN & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Question
Upload
Narrative
1. What mode of counseling/coaching does your
organization and all Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates or
CCEs provide to clients? Enter the percentage of clients
that receive each service as their primary service type,
with all entries totaling 100%. Enter “0” for none. (For
applicants who indicate “Online” or “Other,” Question
1A is required.)
 In person
 Telephone
 Online
 Other
 Total
This question will include a table in which Applicants will indicate the percentage of each mode of financial
capability counseling/coaching that they deliver, totaling 100%. Applicants with multiple Sub-grantees, Branches,
Affiliates, or CCEs: please estimate the aggregate percentages across your network to the best of your
ability/knowledge.
In person counseling/coaching refers to face-to-face sessions in which the client is physically present with the
counselor/coach. Do not include modes like video chat, Skype, etc. in this category.
Telephone counseling/coaching refers to sessions in which the counselor/coach is speaking with the client over
the phone. Do not include counseling/coaching that involves use of a phone but not a live conversation (i.e.
texting or messaging each other via a smartphone app) in this category.
Online counseling/coaching refers to sessions that are conducted online, for example, via video in a synchronous
manner (i.e. the counselor/coach is communicating live in “real time” with the client). Examples may include
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 16 of 52
video chat (Skype, FaceTime, etc.) via computer, smartphone, or similar device, or a traditional in-office video
conference system.
Other counseling/coaching refers to sessions that are conducted in a manner other than described in the
categories above.
If you provide counseling/coaching through “Online” or “Other” modes, you will be asked to supply additional
information about that counseling/coaching in Question 1A.
1A. For organizations delivering counseling/coaching via
“Online” or “Other” methods, specify the method used
and describe how your organization and any applicable
Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates or CCEs provide
personal contact to counseling/coaching clients.
500 characters
Counseling/coaching methods outside of in-person, telephone, or online can sometimes lack personal touch. This
is your opportunity to detail for reviewers what your organization (or Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs)
has in place to offer additional personal contact for clients who seek it.
**Please note that there is a system error in the online application such that Question 1A references “Video
Conference” instead of “Online” methods. If Question 1A is applicable, please respond as though the question
reads “For organizations delivering counseling/coaching via “Online” or “Other” methods, and disregard the
reference to Video Conference.**
2. Describe your organization’s service delivery model.
Whether your organization directly employs
counselors/coaches, or has Sub-grantees, Branches,
Affiliates or CCEs that work under a unified service
delivery model, be certain to address each of the
following topics, 2A-2D.
2A. Describe your organization’s intake and triage
procedures, including expected response time to each
client’s request to initiate counseling/coaching. Describe
any improvements that your organization has made to
its intake/triage processes over the past 12 months and
how long the current process/system has been in place.
If your organization has not made any improvements to
the system, please state that in the space provided.
2B. Describe your organization’s method(s) of financial
capability counseling or coaching used, including face-toface, phone, internet, email, etc. Describe any
3,000 characters for
each response, 2A-2D
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 17 of 52
improvements that your organization has made to its
processes over time and how long the current
process/system has been in place. If your organization
has not made any improvements to the system, please
state that in the space provided.
2C. Please make sure that you have completed Tab 5 of
the Applicant Workbook, and use the space below to
provide a brief narrative explanation of your
organization’s staff roles in the financial capability
counseling/coaching process. Include in your response:
if counselors or coaches or other staff that work with the
financial capability counselors/coaches are full-time,
part-time, or volunteer; if they are fully dedicated to
financial capability counseling/coaching services or if
they split their time between your financial capability
counseling/coaching program, and management of other
programs; and if they complete all portions of financial
capability counseling/coaching or if they are specialized
in any way to handle only certain aspects of the process
(for example, some counselors or coaches do only intake
and budget counseling/coaching, while other counselors
and staff are dedicated to performing other services).
Describe any improvements that your organization has
made to its staffing processes over time, the impact of
those improvements and how long the current
process/system has been in place. If your organization
has not made any improvements to the process, please
state that in the space provided.
2D. Describe your organization’s data collection,
consolidation and reporting procedures. Describe any
improvements that your organization has made to its
data collection processes over time and how long the
current process/system has been in place. If your
organization has not made any improvements to the
system, please state that in the space provided.
This is your opportunity to provide the reviewers with clear and detailed descriptions of key elements of your
financial capability counseling/coaching service delivery. Each question includes a component that asks whether
your organization has made improvements to systems/processes over time and, if applicable to discuss
improvements made and their impacts.
NeighborWorks recognizes that financial capability work often involves testing and refining processes, and
organizations naturally make adjustments over time in response to a variety of factors (organizational capacity
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 18 of 52
and structure, funding levels, client needs, national and local economic conditions, etc.) Therefore,
NeighborWorks expects that applicants will have made improvements to their programs as needed and
encourages applicants to discuss these improvements; the application scoring process does not penalize
applicants for identifying their program challenges and implementing improvements to address them.
NeighborWorks organizations (with and without CCEs): Respond to the above questions as they pertain to your
organization’s financial capability program. If you are applying with CCEs, please also discuss how you will ensure
high-quality counseling/coaching service delivery in these areas by your CCEs.
HC Intermediaries, FC Intermediaries and State HFAs: If you provide services directly, respond to the above
questions according to your service delivery as well as the service delivery of your network of Sub-grantees,
Branches, or Affiliates if the organizations in that network follow a similar, standard program structure/model. If
your organization does not deliver direct counseling/coaching services and your network of Sub-grantees,
Branches, or Affiliates operate under different service delivery models: 1) indicate whether there are any common
program elements in 2A-2D to which most of your network members adhere; and 2) include details on how your
organization, as the Grantee, has provided and will provide technical assistance in each area to ensure high
quality counseling/coaching, efficiency, and effectiveness.
3. What Client Management System (CMS) will your
organization and/or your Sub-grantees, Branches,
Affiliates, or CCEs use to report Project Reinvest
Financial Capability results? Check all that apply.
 CounselorMax
 Home Counselor Online
 Other system, specify and describe
 Sub-grantees/Branches/Affiliates/CCEs are all
using different systems
3,000 characters for
3A
3A. If your organization has multiple Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates or CCEs and they do not all use
the same CMS, or you checked “Other System”
above, explain how your organization will ensure
all financial capability data is collected,
consolidated, and then consistently reported to
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability.
NeighborWorks does not require the use of a specific CMS for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. (Grantees will
upload their data in .csv file batches, into NeighborWorks’ Data Collection System for the purposes of reporting
and requesting disbursements.) However, it is important, regardless of CMS used, that applicants have the
capacity to effectively track client-level data and, in the case of FC Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries, State HFAs,
and NeighborWorks organizations with CCEs, have a process in place to effectively and accurately collect this data
from Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs and report it to NeighborWorks.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 19 of 52
Please be sure to discuss with specificity how your organization will collect, consolidate, and consistently report
data from your own CMS as well as, if applicable, across multiple platforms of your sub-recipients.
4. If applicable, describe additional tools, databases, or
3,000 characters
systems—other than the Client Management Systems
described above—that your organization uses to
organize or analyze client data or conduct evaluation
activities related to financial capability programming.
This is your opportunity to describe for the reviewers additional tools, databases, or systems that you use to
analyze client data or conduct evaluation activities for your financial capability programming.
This is distinct from the CMS described in Question 3, as the primary function of a CMS is typically to collect and
manage client data, whereas the function of an evaluation system/tool is specifically to conduct analysis or
evaluation of client data for purposes including: identifying important trends in your data, identifying areas for
troubleshooting and making program refinements, evaluating the effectiveness/impact of your program,
understanding the “story” that your data is telling and communicating that story to external audiences, etc.
If you do not have separate evaluation tools, databases, or systems, or typically do not conduct these types of
activities as part of your financial capability programming, please state that in your response. If your CMS serves
both a client-level data-collection and an analysis/evaluation function, state that in your response and describe
how you use the analysis/evaluation functions of your CMS.
5. Describe your organization’s and/or its Sub-grantees’,
Branches’, Affiliates’ or CCEs’ capacity to track which
level of counseling/coaching (Tier 1A or Tier 1B) has
been provided.
3,000 characters
Be sure to refer to Section V of the Funding Announcement for details on how Tier 1A and Tier 1B
Counseling/Coaching are defined, including the counseling/coaching activities that are required in each tier and
the client-file documentation that is required for each tier.
This is your opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer your capacity to specifically track and differentiate which
clients have received Tier 1A Counseling/Coaching and which have received both Tier 1A and Tier 1B
Counseling/Coaching, using the CMS cited in Question #3 or other tools/processes if applicable (i.e. if some of this
tracking is conducted using other tools/processes in addition to your CMS).
6. Describe your organization’s strategy for identifying and
marketing counseling/coaching services to clients who
are in need of financial capability counseling or coaching
services. This should include any partnerships your
organization has established with other organizations to
help identify and reach out to customers.
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 20 of 52
7. Describe your organization’s system, and the system of
its Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, and CCEs, of
storing and disposing of personally-identifiable
information. Please include details for both paper and
electronic files and documents.
3,000 characters
8. Describe your organization’s staffing structure and
strategy for recruiting, orienting, training and
compensating any newly hired counselors or coaches
under this program. Explain how your organization will
accomplish this considering the fact that the funds are
time-limited. Also describe caseload size and managerial
oversight.
3,000 characters
This is your opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewers how your staffing structure, caseload size, program
management/oversight, and recruiting/training strategy facilitates the delivery of high-quality financial capability
counseling/coaching services. Please be sure to specifically discuss how these staffing and management
structures will allow your organization accomplish your proposed Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching goals
within the 18-month period of performance for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability.
SECTION V: ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF APPLICANT & SUB-GRANTEES/BRANCHES/AFFILIATES/CCEs
Question
1. For FC Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries, and State
HFA applicants only: Please complete the table below
indicating which, of any, oversight activities your
organization as an FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary,
State HFA, or NWO with CCEs engages in with Subgrantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs. (Example of
table below.)
Upload
Narrative
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 21 of 52
Activity
Frequency
Check if
Check if Applicant
Applicant
plans to create an
currently does infrastructure to do
this
this
Provide a formal training or on-boarding when new Subgrantees/Branches/Affiliates are added
Hold conference calls with Sub-grantees/ Branches/Affiliates
Hold in-person meetings with Sub-grantees/
Branches/Affiliates
Conduct web-meetings with Sub-grantees/
Branches/Affiliates
Communicate regularly with Sub-grantees/
Branches/Affiliates via email (newsletters, listserv, egroups, etc.)
Remotely monitor adequacy of documentation in
counseling/coaching files of Sub-grantees/
Branches/Affiliates
Provide on-site monitoring of adequacy of documentation in
counseling/coaching files of Subgrantees/Branches/Affiliates
Conduct remote compliance reviews for Subgrantees/Branches/Affiliates
Conduct on-site compliance site visits for Sub-grantees/
Branches/Affiliates
Provide Technical Assistance to underperforming Subgrantees/Branches/Affiliates
Provide peer-learning opportunities for Subgrantees/Branches/Affiliates
Other (specify):
Other (specify):
Other (specify):
Applicants in the FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, and State HFA categories will need to complete the above
table (which will be within the body of the application in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal, not in the
Applicant Workbook) summarizing the nature and frequency of technical assistance, peer communication, and
compliance activities in which you engage with your network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates.
**Please note that the above table will appear in a slightly different format in the NeighborWorks America Grants
Portal.**
This question in the application will offer the following options for “frequency”: “At least monthly;” “At least
quarterly;” “At least semi-annually;” “At least annually;” and “As needed/no regular schedule.” Only indicate a
frequency if your organization is already engaging in these activities. If you do not currently engage in an activity
but plan to do so in the future, check the far right-hand column. If, for any of the listed activities, you do not
conduct those activities and do not intend to conduct them in the future, leave that row of the table blank.
The table includes an “Other” row in which applicants can list additional activities not listed in the rows above;
any activities listed in the “other” row should be specifically related to your role as an Intermediary or HFA in
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 22 of 52
providing management, oversight, quality assurance, technical assistance or similar activities to your network of
Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates.
Applicants in the NeighborWorks organization (NWO) applicant category that are not working with CCEs will not
see this question displayed as part of their online application in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal; this
question is n/a for NWOs without CCEs.
2. For FC Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries, and State
HFA applicants only: Describe your organization’s
experience in acting as an HC Intermediary, FC
Intermediary, or HFA. Include a description of
processes in place for each of the following: 1)
managing and passing funds through to a network of
Sub-grantees, Branches, and Affiliates expeditiously; 2)
determining eligibility of Sub-grantees, Branches, and
Affiliates to participate in the program(s); 3)
experience in managing contracts; 4) experience in
providing training and technical assistance; 5)
experience in data collection and reporting; 6) sharing
best practices; 7) monitoring financial management
capacity of Sub-grantees, Branches, and Affiliates; and
8) ensuring training needs are met. If your organization
is a HFA that will conduct all counseling/coaching
directly with no Sub-grantees, Branches or Affiliates,
please state that here.
3,000 characters
Organizational capacity is a key evaluation criteria for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. This is your
opportunity to illustrate for the reviewer your processes in place for a comprehensive range of management and
oversight activities for your network of Sub-grantees, Branches, and Affiliates. Applicants are strongly
encouraged to address each of the eight points of the question with sufficient detail and clarity for the reviewer to
accurately assess your capacity and experience with respect to acting as an HC Intermediary, FC Intermediary, or
State HFA.
Applicants in the NeighborWorks organization (NWO) applicant category will not see this question displayed in
their online applicant in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal; this question is n/a for NWOs.
3. For NeighborWorks organization (NWO) applicants
only: Describe your organization’s experience, if any,
in working with Contracted Counseling Entities (CCEs).
Include a description of processes in place for each of
the following: 1) managing and passing funds through
to CCEs expeditiously; 2) determining eligibility of CCEs
to participate in the program(s); 3) experience in
managing contracts; 4) experience in providing training
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 23 of 52
and technical assistance; 5) experience in data
collection and reporting; 6) sharing best practices; 7)
monitoring financial management capacity of CCEs;
and 8) ensuring training needs are met. If this is the
first time that your organization will be engaging CCEs,
please clearly state that in your response. If you are a
NeighborWorks organization that is not proposing to
deliver services with CCEs, state that here.
3,000 characters
NeighborWorks Organization (NWO) applicants that are proposing to deliver a portion of their Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability Coaching/Counseling units via one or more Contracted Counseling Entities (CCEs): this is your
opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer processes in place for a comprehensive range of management and
oversight activities for your CCEs. Applicants are strongly encouraged to address each of the eight points of the
question with sufficient detail and clarity for the reviewer to accurately assess your experience and capacity to
effectively manage CCEs. Please be specific when discussing your experience working with CCEs in the past.
NWOs that have not previously worked with CCEs on a past NeighborWorks America-funded project, please state
in your response that this is the first time you will be working with CCEs. Please also discuss any
systems/processes in place that will allow you to address items 1-8 in the question, even though you have not
previously leveraged those systems/processes for the management of CCEs.
As a reminder, per the Funding Announcement, NWOs may propose to work with CCEs provided that several
requirements are met, including that that no more than 50 percent of the awarded counseling/coaching units are
contracted out; for a full list of requirements pertaining to NWOs with CCEs, see Section IV(C)(4) of the Funding
Announcement.
This is set as a “required” question in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal. NWOs that are not working with
CCEs for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability, please state that in your response; the grants portal will not allow
you to leave this question blank.
Applicants in the FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, and State HFA applicant categories will not see this question
displayed in their online applicant in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal; this question is n/a for these
applicants.
4. Describe your organization’s internal procedures for
determining when it and/or a Sub-grantee, Branch,
Affiliate, or CCE is out of compliance with program or
grant requirements. Include a description of each of
the following: 1) procedures for determining when
your organization and/or a Sub-grantee, Branch,
Affiliate or CCE is out of compliance; 2) consequences
for non-compliance; 3) procedures for remedying
compliance issues; and 4) any follow-up that occurs
after a compliance-related issue is raised.
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 24 of 52
Discuss in detail your organization’s internal procedures related to compliance with program or grant
requirements; please be specific, as this is your opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer your capacity to
ensure compliance and sound grant management from your own organization as well as any sub-recipients (if
applicable).
Applicants in the NWO category (without CCEs): discuss your own internal procedures with respect to sub-points
1-4 in the question.
Applicants in the HC Intermediary, FC Intermediary, State HFA categories, and NWOs with CCEs: discuss how you
determine when your own organization is out of compliance and how you determine when a Sub-grantee,
Branch, Affiliate, or CCE is out of compliance. If the same processes apply to both your own organization and your
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, you may state that as part of your response (i.e. you do not
need to repeat the same description of processes twice).
5. Describe systems in place to ensure your organization
and/or its Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates or CCEs
offer efficient delivery of financial capability
counseling/coaching that adheres to program or grant
requirements.
3,000 characters
This is your opportunity to demonstrate to reviewers that your organization (and/or its network of Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs) has systems in place to ensure efficient delivery of the required financial capability
counseling/coaching as well as systems in place specifically to adhere to the program and grant requirements
discussed in the Funding Announcement. Applicants are encouraged to provide a clear and concise description.
6. Please list specific financial capability
programs/initiatives/grants/pilots that your
organization has been a part of in the past three years
(table below).
Name of Financial Capability
Program, Grant, Initiative, or
Pilot
[text field; limit 500 characters]
Did this Program, Grant,
Initiative, or Pilot Involve
Did any
Compliance Monitoring,
compliance
Duration of Program,
Testing, or Auditing on an
findings arise out
Grant, Initiative, or Pilot
annual basis (at minimum) by of this Program,
the funder (or if “multiple,”
Grant, Initiative,
by at least one of the
or Pilot ?
funders)?
[month/year-month-year] [text field; limit 500 characters] Yes/No
Yes/No
Funder of Financial Capability
Program, Grant, Initiative, or
Pilot (if initiative was supported
by more than one grant/funder,
indicate “Multiple”, and note
funders)
This question requires completing the above table that seeks information about applicants’ participation in past
programs, grants, initiatives, or pilots focused on financial capability. This is your opportunity to demonstrate to
reviewers your organization’s experience in financial capability program and grant management, and the extent
to which your organization has experience with financial capability programs that involved compliance
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 25 of 52
monitoring, testing, or auditing from the funder. Please be as specific as possible in listing financial capability
programs, grants, initiatives, or pilots in which you have participated.
If you are applying with Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, only list programs, grants, initiatives, or pilots
in which your organization, as the direct applicant has participated. Do not include information that pertains to
only your individual Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs.
**Please note that the table may appear in a slightly different format in the NeighborWorks America Grants
Portal.**
An example of how an applicant may choose to complete this chart is below:
Name of Financial Capability
Program, Grant, Initiative, or
Pilot
Duration of Program,
Grant, Initiative, or Pilot
Funder of Financial Capability
Program, Grant, Initiative, or
Pilot (if initiative was supported
by more than one grant/funder,
indicate “Multiple”, and note
funders)
Financial Coaching & Emergency January 2016-December Community Foundation of the
Savings Pilot
2016
Greater Metropolitan Area
Mayor's Office of Financial
Credit-Building for
January 2014-present
Empowerment; Financial
Homeownership Initiative
Capability Foundation
Community-based Financial
Community Foundation of the
June 2015-May 2016
Coaching Grant
Greater Metropolitan Area
Did this Program, Grant,
Initiative, or Pilot Involve
Did any
Compliance Monitoring,
compliance
Testing, or Auditing on an
findings arise out
annual basis (at minimum) by of this Program,
the funder (or if “multiple,”
Grant, Initiative,
by at least one of the
or Pilot ?
funders)?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
n/a
Be sure to indicate whether each program, grant, pilot, or initiative listed involved compliance monitoring, testing,
or auditing on an annual basis by the funder.
6A. If you indicated “yes” in any cell in Column 5 of the
table, please fully describe the compliance findings
referenced; indicate whether the compliance findings
have been resolved and if so, how they were resolved.
3,000 characters
If there were any compliance findings that arose out of compliance monitoring, testing, or auditing of the
programs listed in the above table, discuss with specificity what those compliance findings were. If those findings
were resolved, be sure to clearly state that they were resolved and discuss how the findings were resolved; if the
findings have not been fully resolved, state that clearly in your response.
7. Discuss programmatic challenges that your
organization encountered with the programs listed in
the table above, and how you addressed these
challenges.
3,000 characters
NeighborWorks recognizes that programmatic challenges are a normal and common element of financial
capability work, and we anticipate that financial capability programs—even strong, high-quality programs—will
have encountered challenges in their programming. The review and scoring systems do not penalize
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 26 of 52
organizations simply for encountering programmatic challenges. This is your opportunity to demonstrate to
reviewers your organization’s ability to identify and respond effectively to a challenge (or challenges). Please limit
your response to specific challenge(s) encountered in the financial capability programs, initiatives, pilots, or grants
cited in Question 6.
SECTION VI: PROPOSED COUNSELING/COACHING SERVICES
Question
APPLICANT WORKBOOK (EXCEL)
Upload
Narrative
To be uploaded
at end of
application
The Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application includes an Applicant Workbook that collects required
information about applicants’ proposed Financial Capability Coaching/Counseling Goals. The Applicant Workbook
is available for download online at http://www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
Applicants must submit ONE Applicant Workbook at the conclusion of the application. (Do not submit separate
applicant workbooks for your organization and your Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, if applicable; all
sub-recipient information should be aggregated into the direct applicant’s Applicant Workbook according to the
instructions within the file.)
The Applicant Workbook contains 14 tabs, 1 of which (Tab 6) pertains to Section VI in the application. Detailed
instructions for completing the Applicant Workbook and definitions of terms are included in each workbook tab.
The Applicant Workbook will capture an applicant’s numerical Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching Goals.
Because grant award amounts are based upon counseling/coaching production, the Workbook will be used to
generate the grant amounts that applicants will be required to request, corresponding to their
counseling/coaching production goals. Applicants will input grant request amounts from the relevant cells in the
Workbook into several question in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal (those questions appear below).
Applicants are strongly encouraged to double-check their inputs into the Grants Portal against the information
that they have input into the Applicant Workbook.
Also note that certain cells in the Applicant Workbook are "locked" in order to maintain the accuracy of the Excel
formulas that calculate outcome totals, counseling/coaching goal totals, and award amounts that comprise your
grant request. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNLOCK "LOCKED" CELLS IN THIS WORKBOOK, as this may result in
inaccuracies in your grant request amount or outcome/goal totals. If you experience technical difficulties with the
Applicant Workbook file, please contact [email protected] for assistance.
1. Input your Total Proposed Tier 1A Counseling/Coaching
Units from Tab 6, Cell H7 of the Applicant Workbook.
Limit of 4 numerical
characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 27 of 52
Applicants will input the total proposed Tier 1A Counseling/Coaching Units from Tab 6, Cell H7 of the Applicant
Workbook in this space. Do not include proposed Tier 1B units in this count; this question only covers Tier 1A
Counseling/Coaching Units.
Refer to Section V of the Funding Announcement for further details on the activities that constitute Tier 1A and
Tier 1B.
2. Input your Total Proposed Tier 1B Counseling/Coaching
Units from Tab 6, Cell O7 of the Applicant Workbook.
Limit of 4 numerical
characters
Applicants will input the total proposed Tier 1B Counseling/Coaching Units from Tab 6, Cell O7 of the Applicant
Workbook in this space. Do not input your total of proposed Tier 1A + Tier 1B units in this space; this question
only pertains to Tier 1B.
The number input in Question 1 must be less than the number input in Question 2. Because Tier 1B
Counseling/Coaching is a “follow-on” to Tier 1A, all Tier 1B clients must first complete a Tier 1A
Counseling/Coaching session—in other words, it is not possible for an applicant to deliver more Tier 1B units
than Tier 1A units. The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will display an error message upon saving Section
VI of the application if an applicant attempts to input a numerical goal for Tier 1B that exceeds their numerical
goal or Tier 1A.
Refer to Section V of the Funding Announcement for further details on the activities that constitute Tier 1A and
Tier 1B.
3. Your Total Number of Proposed Tier 1A and 1B
Counseling/Coaching Units is:
Limit of 6 numerical
characters
The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will automatically calculate and display your total of Tier 1A and Tier
1B units listed in Questions 1 and 2. You do not need to manually input a response in this space.
4. The total dollar amount for the Counseling/Coaching
Award that you are requesting is:
Dollar amount; limit of 7
figures
In this space, the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will auto-calculate your award request for
Counseling/Coaching based on a rate of $300 per Tier 1A unit proposed and $150 per Tier 1B unit proposed.
These rates are stipulated in the Funding Announcement; applicants are not able to request a
Counseling/Coaching Award calculated on any other basis.
5. The total dollar amount for Program-Related Support
(PRS) that you are requesting is:
Dollar amount; limit of 6
figures
The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will auto-calculate your PRS request at 20% of the
Counseling/Coaching Award. Applicants are not able to request a PRS amount calculated on any other basis.
As a reminder the overall Financial Capability grant award includes three components: the Counseling/Coaching
Award (calculated as described above); Program-Related Support (20% of the Counseling/Coaching award); and
Operational Oversight (7% of the Counseling/Coaching award and available only to FC Intermediaries, HC
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 28 of 52
Intermediaries, and State HFAs.) Refer to Section VI of the Funding Announcement for more detailed definitions
and guidance on allowable uses of funds.
6. Describe how your organization will use the ProgramTable; input percentages
Related Support (PRS) to achieve the projected
counseling/coaching goals.
This is your organization’s opportunity to provide a narrative description of your proposed uses of PRS, and
demonstrate to reviewers the relevance and reasonableness of these proposed uses. Please be sure, in addition to
the narrative description, to provide specific budget line items for PRS and their corresponding dollar amounts.
These dollar amounts may be estimates rounded to the nearest hundred or thousand dollars; in other words, you
do not need to include line items as detailed as (for example) “Staff training: $3,595.”
Please keep in mind that, per the Funding Announcement, FC Intermediaries/HC Intermediaries/HFA applicants
are required to pass 100% of their PRS through to their network of sub-recipients (unless justification is on file for
passing through 50%); therefore, if you are an FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary or HFA applicant, the appropriate
percentage of the dollar amounts listed in your response must be a line item for “Pass-through to Sub-grantees,
Branches, or Affiliates.”
Refer to Section VI of the Funding Announcement for more detailed guidance on the allowable uses of PRS.
7. Does your organization plan to contract out some or all
of its proposed activities under Program-Related
Support?
 Yes
 No
7A. Describe which activities will be contracted out,
and name the entity that will provide the services.
Indicate whether any of these entities are related
corporations or subsidiaries of the Applicant
organization.
3,000 characters
7B. Describe the recent and relevant experience and
expertise of the subcontractor(s). Justify why they are
well-suited to perform the tasks described above.
3,000 characters
7C. Describe how the contractor(s) will report to your
organization and be held accountable for their
performance under this grant.
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 29 of 52
8. The total dollar amount for Operational Oversight (OO)
funds that you are requesting is:
Dollar amount; limit of 6
figures
The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will auto-calculate your OO request at 7% of the Counseling/Coaching
Award. Applicants are not able to request an OO amount calculated on any other basis. Operational Oversight
funds are only available to applicants in the FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary, and State HFA categories.
Refer to Section VI of the Funding Announcement for more detailed definitions and guidance on allowable uses of
Operational Oversight funds.
Applicants in the NeighborWorks organization (NWO) applicant category will not see this question displayed in
their online applicant in the NeighborWorks America Grants Portal; this question is n/a for NWOs.
9. FC Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries and HFAs Only:
Describe how your organization will use Operational
Oversight funds to administer Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability funding.
3,000 characters
This is your organization’s opportunity to provide a narrative description of your proposed uses of Operational
Oversight funds and demonstrate to reviewers the relevance and reasonableness of these proposed uses. Please
be sure to fully describe uses of Operational Oversight; however, you do not need to include specific budget line
items as with Question 6 about uses of PRS.
Refer to Section VI of the Funding Announcement for more detailed guidance on the allowable uses of Operational
Oversight.
10. Your total grant request for Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability (Counseling/Coaching Award + ProgramRelated Support + Operational Oversight, if applicable)
is:
The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will automatically calculate your total grant request comprised of the
Counseling/Coaching Award, PRS, and if applicable, OO funds. You do not need to input an amount manually into
this space.
If you believe that you are encountering a calculation error with the grants portal, please contact
[email protected].
11. Please briefly discuss how your organization (and/or
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates or CCEs if
applicable) will achieve its projected
counseling/coaching goals. If your
counseling/coaching goals for Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability represent a substantial increase in
production over your past performance during a similar
18-month period, please also specifically indicate the
additional staffing, partnerships, systems, or other
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 30 of 52
strategies you will use to achieve this increased volume
of services.
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer your ability (and that of your Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates, and CCEs, if applicable) to achieve your projected Project Reinvest: Financial Capability goals.
There is no competitive advantage for Project Reinvest applicants based on the volume of counseling/coaching
units proposed; each applicant should seek the award amount that is reasonable and achievable for their
organization in terms of ability to deliver the proposed counseling/coaching units and ability to manage the
award.
However, the reviewer will consider the extent to which an applicant’s proposed counseling/coaching goals
appear feasible and achievable in the context of the organization’s recent past performance and
staff/organizational capacity, as detailed in Sections 3 and 5 of the application (and in the Applicant Workbook).
For that reason, applicants proposing to deliver a substantially higher volume of counseling/coaching units than is
evident in their past performance chart are encouraged to use this question to specifically discuss and justify how
their organization will achieve this increased volume.
SECTION VII: IMPACT OF SERVICES AND RESPONSIVENESS TO AREAS OF NEED
Per the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Funding Announcement, at least 75 percent of all Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability Grants will be awarded in distressed communities identified at the MSA level (or state level for
rural areas). In Tabs 7-10 of the Applicant Workbook, applicants will indicate the MSAs and rural areas in which
they propose to deliver financial capability counseling/coaching and specify the number of counseling/coaching
units that they propose to deliver (directly and/or via their Sub-grantees, Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, if
applicable) in each MSA or rural area.
The areas are categorized as follows:




Tab 7: MSAs defined by Project Reinvest as Areas of Greatest Need (AGNs), which includes a subset of
Areas of Extraordinary Need (AENs)
Tab 8: MSAs defined by Project Reinvest as Non-Areas of Greatest Need (Non-AGNs)
Tab 9: Rural areas defined by Project Reinvest as Areas of Greatest Need (AGNs), which includes a subset
of Areas of Extraordinary Need (AENs)
Tab 10: Rural areas defined by Project Reinvest as Non-Areas of Greatest Need (Non-AGNs)
Applicants will project the number of counseling/coaching units to be delivered by MSA or Rural area in each of
these categories. (Applicants are not required to propose units in all categories of MSA or Rural area, although
they may choose to do so.)
Note that for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability, the geographic targeting relates to where each financial
capability counseling/coaching client lives, not your organization’s location, or that of any Sub-grantees,
Branches, Affiliates, or CCEs, if applicable. Depending on the nature of your organization and your existing
financial capability program design, for some organizations, the anticipated addresses of their clients may be the
same as their agency location (e.g., a neighborhood-based organization that delivers in-person
counseling/coaching and predominantly services individuals who live in their neighborhood and nearby
communities); in other cases, your proposed Project Reinvest geographies may be different from your office
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 31 of 52
location(s) (e.g., an organization that primarily delivers phone- or video chat-based counseling/coaching and is
therefore working with clients in areas other than their office location).
Question
Upload
Narrative
1. MSAs in Areas of Greatest Need & Areas of
Extraordinary Need: Indicate in Tab 7 of the Applicant
Workbook the number of Financial Capability
Counseling/Coaching units that your organization is
proposing to deliver in AENs and AGNs. At the bottom
of the list, Excel will auto-sum your total number of
Counseling/Coaching units proposed in the MSA-level
AEN and AGN categories.
Counseling/coaching proposed for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability should not include any
counseling/coaching funded by sources other than Project Reinvest.
Tab 7 of the Applicant Workbook lists all MSAs that are AENs/AGNs. Estimate the number of units of
counseling/coaching your organization expects to deliver in each AEN/AGN MSA that you plan to serve. Note that
if a service area is checked, the system will require an estimated number of units of counseling/coaching to be
delivered in that area to also be entered.
Please be sure to complete all three of the following columns in Tab 7 of the Applicant Workbook:



Place an X next to each AEN/AGN MSA that you plan to serve in Column A of Tab 7. (Column B lists the
MSAs by name, and Column C contains the state or states in which these MSAs are located. AEN MSAs are
listed first and highlighted in blue, followed by AGN MSAs, in alphabetical order by MSA name.)
In Column D, place an X next to each MSA that is new to your organization, i.e. in which you (or your
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates) have not previously provided financial capability services
In Column E, input the estimated number of counseling/coaching units that your organization plans to
deliver in each MSA under Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. (You do not need to distinguish between
Tier 1A and Tier 1B; rather, indicate the total number of counseling units, counting each Tier 1A unit and
each Tier 1B unit as 1 unit.) Keep in mind that this total should represent the number of counseling units
that you propose to deliver, not the number of clients that you propose to serve. (Your number of clients
served would be smaller than the proposed total number of units delivered if, for example, you anticipate
delivering both a Tier 1A and a Tier 1B counseling/coaching session to some clients.)
Project Reinvest applicants are not required to deliver any minimum percentage of overall proposed
counseling/coaching units in either MSA-level or rural-level AENs/AGNs. However, applicants should be aware
that the extent to which a proposed Project Reinvest: Financial Capability project will serve residents of
AENs/AGNs is incorporated substantially into the scoring criteria.
1A. For any MSA checked in Column D as “new,”
please describe how your organization will serve each
of these new MSAs, including outreach and partnership
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 32 of 52
strategies, plans to establish a physical or virtual
presence in these new areas, or other delivery
mechanisms. Please also describe your rationale for
expanding into these new MSAs and demonstrate that
your organization understands the needs of these
communities and is equipped to meet those needs.
An MSA is considered “new” if your organization has not previously delivered financial capability services to
residents of that area. If your organization has provided other types of services in that area besides financial
capability, you should still indicate the MSA as a “new” area for the purposes of Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability.
Applicants that are not proposing to serve any new MSAs should answer “n/a” to this question. Please be sure to
double-check this response and Column D in Tab 7 of the Applicant Workbook for congruence.
1B. If your organization is proposing to deliver
counseling/coaching units to a MSA that is considered
an Area of Extraordinary Need, it will be required to
deliver a set portion of the units of
counseling/coaching it commits to providing in the
MSA before it can receive its next disbursement, within
the established variance. Answering “Yes” below
confirms your understanding of this requirement. If
your organization does not wish to be held to this
requirement, please revise your numbers in the table
above.
In this question, applicants proposing to deliver counseling/coaching units in AENs, must indicate “Yes” here to
affirm that you understand that your organization must deliver the counseling units declared in the table within
the Area of Extraordinary Need. If you are not sure your organization can supply these units of
counseling/coaching within these most challenged areas, do not commit to them in Tab 7 of the Applicant
Workbook. If this is the case, please return to the Applicant Workbook and revise your counseling/coaching
projections accordingly.
1C. If your organization proposes to provide
counseling/coaching services to an MSA that is
considered an Area of Extraordinary Need, please
describe 1) the needs associated with that area and 2)
how your organization will address those needs and
deliver the proposed counseling/coaching units to
meet the goals as stated in this application.
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 33 of 52
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer that you understand the needs associated
with AENs, and that your organization has a strategy to address those needs. This question is incorporated into
the review criteria for applicants serving AENs.
Applicants who are not proposing to serve AENs, please input “n/a” in this field.
2. MSAs NOT in Areas of Greatest Need: Indicate in Tab 8
of the Applicant Workbook the number of Financial
Capability Counseling/Coaching units that your
organization is proposing to deliver in MSAs that are
NOT Areas of Greatest Need (Non-AGNs). At the
bottom of the list, Excel will auto-sum your total
number of Counseling/Coaching units proposed in the
MSA-level non-AGN category.
Counseling/coaching proposed for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability should not include any
counseling/coaching funded by sources other than Project Reinvest.
Tab 8 of the Applicant Workbook lists all MSAs that are NOT Areas of Greatest Need (Non-AGNs). Estimate the
number of units of counseling/coaching your organization expects to deliver in each non-AGN MSA that you plan
to serve. Note that if a service area is checked, the system will require an estimated number of units of
counseling/coaching to be delivered in that area to also be entered.
Please be sure to complete all three of the following columns in Tab 8 of the Applicant Workbook:



Place an X each non-AGN MSA that you plan to serve in Column A of Tab 8. (Column B lists the MSAs by
name, and Column C contains the state or states in which these MSAs are located. Non-AGN MSAs are
listed in alphabetical order by MSA name.)
In Column D, place an X next to each MSA that is new to your organization, i.e. in which you (or your
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates) have not previously provided financial capability services
In Column E, input the estimated number of counseling/coaching units that your organization plans to
deliver in each MSA under Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. (You do not need to distinguish between
Tier 1A and Tier 1B; rather, indicate the total number of counseling units, counting each Tier 1A unit and
each Tier 1B unit as 1 unit.) Keep in mind that this total should represent the number of counseling units
that you propose to deliver, not the number of clients that you propose to serve. (Your number of clients
served would be smaller than the proposed total number of units delivered if, for example, you anticipate
delivering both a Tier 1A and a Tier 1B counseling/coaching session to some clients.)
Project Reinvest applicants are not required to deliver any minimum percentage of overall proposed
counseling/coaching units in either MSA-level or rural-level AENs/AGNs. However, applicants should be aware
that the extent to which a proposed Project Reinvest: Financial Capability project will serve residents of
AENs/AGNs is incorporated substantially into the scoring criteria.
2A. For any MSA checked in Column D as “new,”
please describe how your organization will serve each
3,000 characters
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 34 of 52
of these new MSAs, including outreach and partnership
strategies, plans to establish a physical or virtual
presence in these new areas, or other delivery
mechanisms. Please also describe your rationale for
expanding into these new MSAs and demonstrate that
your organization understands the needs of these
communities and is equipped to meet those needs.
An MSA is considered “new” if your organization has not previously delivered financial capability services to
residents of that area. If your organization has provided other types of services in that area besides financial
capability, you should still indicate the MSA as a “new” area for the purposes of Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability.
Applicants that are not proposing to serve any new MSAs should answer “n/a” to this question. Please be sure to
double-check this response and Column D in Tab 8 of the Applicant Workbook for congruence.
3. Rural Areas of Greatest Need & Areas of Extraordinary
Need: Indicate in Tab 9 of the Applicant Workbook the
number of Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching
units that your organization is proposing to deliver in
Rural areas that are Areas of Extraordinary Need
(AENs) and Areas of Greatest Need (AGNs).
Counseling/coaching proposed for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability should not include any
counseling/coaching funded by sources other than Project Reinvest.
Tab 9 of the Applicant Workbook lists all Rural areas that are AENs/AGNs. These Rural areas are listed on a
statewide basis, and include areas that do not fall into another MSA in their respective state.
Estimate the number of units of counseling/coaching your organization expects to deliver in each AEN/AGN Rural
area that you plan to serve. Note that if a service area is checked, the system will require an estimated number of
units of counseling/coaching to be delivered in that area to also be entered.
Please be sure to complete all three of the following columns in Tab 9 of the Applicant Workbook:



Place an X next to each AEN/AGN Rural area that you plan to serve in Column A of Tab 9. (Column B lists
the Rural areas by state, and Column C contains the state abbreviation. AEN Rural areas are listed first
and highlighted in blue, followed by AGN Rural areas, in alphabetical order by state name.)
In Column D, place an X next to each Rural area that is new to your organization, i.e. in which you (or your
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates) have not previously provided financial capability services
In Column E, input the estimated number of counseling/coaching units that your organization plans to
deliver in each Rural area under Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. (You do not need to distinguish
between Tier 1A and Tier 1B; rather, indicate the total number of counseling units, counting each Tier 1A
unit and each Tier 1B unit as 1 unit.) Keep in mind that this total should represent the number of
counseling units that you propose to deliver, not the number of clients that you propose to serve. (Your
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 35 of 52
number of clients served would be smaller than the proposed total number of units delivered if, for
example, you anticipate delivering both a Tier 1A and a Tier 1B counseling/coaching session to some
clients.)
Project Reinvest applicants are not required to deliver any minimum percentage of overall proposed
counseling/coaching units in either MSA-level or rural-level AENs/AGNs. However, applicants should be aware
that the extent to which a proposed Project Reinvest: Financial Capability project will serve residents of
AENs/AGNs is incorporated substantially into the scoring criteria.
3A. For any Rural area checked in Column D as “new,”
please describe how your organization will serve each
of these new Rural areas, including outreach and
partnership strategies, plans to establish a physical or
virtual presence in these new areas, or other delivery
mechanisms. Please also describe your rationale for
expanding into these new Rural areas and demonstrate
that your organization understands the needs of these
communities and is equipped to meet those needs.
3,000 characters
A Rural area is considered “new” if your organization has not previously delivered financial capability services
to residents of that area. If your organization has provided other types of services in that area besides financial
capability, you should still indicate the Rural area as a “new” area for the purposes of Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability.
Applicants that are not proposing to serve any new Rural areas should answer “n/a” to this question. Please be
sure to double-check this response and Column D in Tab 7 of the Applicant Workbook for congruence
3B. If your organization is proposing to deliver
counseling/coaching units to a Rural area that is
considered an Area of Extraordinary Need, it will be
required to deliver a set portion of the units of
counseling/coaching it commits to providing in the
MSA before it can receive its next disbursement, within
the established variance. Answering “Yes” below
confirms your understanding of this requirement. If
your organization does not wish to be held to this
requirement, please revise your numbers in the table
above.
In this question, applicants proposing to deliver counseling/coaching units in AENs, must indicate “Yes” here to
affirm that you understand that your organization must deliver the counseling units declared in the table within
the Area of Extraordinary Need. If you are not sure your organization can supply these units of
counseling/coaching within these most challenged areas, do not commit to them in Tab 7 of the Applicant
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 36 of 52
Workbook. If this is the case, please return to the Applicant Workbook and revise your counseling/coaching
projections accordingly.
3C. If your organization proposes to provide
counseling/coaching services to an Rural area that is
considered an Area of Extraordinary Need, please
describe 1) the needs associated with that area and 2)
how your organization will address those needs and
deliver the proposed counseling/coaching units to
meet the goals as stated in this application.
3,000 characters
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer that you understand the needs associated
with AENs, and that your organization has a strategy to address those needs. This question is incorporated into
the review criteria for applicants serving AENs.
Applicants who are not proposing to serve AENs, input “n/a” in this field.
4. Rural Areas NOT in Areas of Greatest Need: Indicate in
Tab 10 of the Applicant Workbook the number of
Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching units that
your organization is proposing to deliver in Rural areas
that are NOT Areas of Greatest Need (Non-AGNs). At
the bottom of the list, Excel will auto-sum your total
number of Counseling/Coaching units proposed in the
Rural non-AGN category.
Counseling/coaching proposed for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability should not include any
counseling/coaching funded by sources other than Project Reinvest.
Tab 10 of the Applicant Workbook lists all states with Rural areas that are NOT Areas of Greatest Need (NonAGNs). Estimate the number of units of counseling/coaching your organization expects to deliver in each nonAGN Rural area that you plan to serve. Note that if a service area is checked, the system will require an estimated
number of units of counseling/coaching to be delivered in that area to also be entered.
Please be sure to complete all three of the following columns in Tab 10 of the Applicant Workbook:



Place an X next to each non-AGN Rural area that you plan to serve in Column A of Tab 10. (Column B lists
the Rural areas by state, and Column C contains the state abbreviation. Non-AGN Rural areas are listed in
alphabetical order by state name.)
In Column D, place an X next to each Rural area that is new to your organization, i.e. in which you (or your
network of Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates) have not previously provided financial capability services
In Column E, input the estimated number of counseling/coaching units that your organization plans to
deliver in each Rural area under Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. (You do not need to distinguish
between Tier 1A and Tier 1B; rather, indicate the total number of counseling units, counting each Tier 1A
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 37 of 52
unit and each Tier 1B unit as 1 unit.) Keep in mind that this total should represent the number of
counseling units that you propose to deliver, not the number of clients that you propose to serve. (Your
number of clients served would be smaller than the proposed total number of units delivered if, for
example, you anticipate delivering both a Tier 1A and a Tier 1B counseling/coaching session to some
clients.)
Project Reinvest applicants are not required to deliver any minimum percentage of overall proposed
counseling/coaching units in either MSA-level or rural-level AENs/AGNs. However, applicants should be aware
that the extent to which a proposed Project Reinvest: Financial Capability project will serve residents of
AENs/AGNs is incorporated substantially into the scoring criteria.
4A. For any Rural area checked above as “new,” please
describe how your organization will serve each of these
new Rural areas, including outreach and partnership
strategies, plans to establish a physical or virtual
presence in these new areas, or other delivery
mechanisms. Please also describe your rationale for
expanding into these new Rural areas and demonstrate
that your organization understands the needs of these
communities and is equipped to meet those needs.
3,000 characters
A Rural area is considered “new” if your organization has not previously delivered financial capability services
to residents of that area. If your organization has provided other types of services in that area besides financial
capability, you should still indicate the Rural area as a “new” area for the purposes of Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability.
Applicants that are not proposing to serve any new Rural areas should answer “n/a” to this question. Please be
sure to double-check this response and Column D in Tab 10 of the Applicant Workbook for congruence. .
SECTION VIII: MATCHED SAVINGS [OPTIONAL]
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability includes an opportunity for Matched Savings funding in addition to the grant
award that is comprised of Counseling/Coaching, Program-Related Support, and Operational Oversight funds.
Organizations are required to meet the following minimum eligibility criteria in order to apply for a supplemental
Matched Savings award:


Must be operating an existing matched savings program operating for at least the past 12 months (can be
operated solely by the applicant or by the applicant and a third-party administrative partner; if operated
in conjunction with a partner, the applicant must have a Memorandum of Understanding or similar
formal agreement in place with the partner that outlines roles and responsibilities of each of the parties)
Must apply for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability counseling/coaching funds (in other words,
organizations cannot apply only for a Matched Savings grant; the Matched Savings funding is an “addon” to the main Financial Capability award.)
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 38 of 52

Must propose in the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application (and must deliver in project
implementation) Tier 1B Counseling/Coaching services. (That is, applicants that are only proposing to
deliver Tier 1A services cannot apply for Matched Savings funds. Further, in order to participate in a
Project Reinvest-funded matched savings program, a client must first complete their Tier 1A and Tier 1B
counseling/coaching session prior to enrollment in the matched savings program.)
Refer to Sections V(B) and VI(D) of the Funding Announcement for important further details about Matched
Savings funding eligibility requirements and eligible uses of funds.
Applying for a Matched Savings award is optional for eligible organizations; there is no competitive advantage in
the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability application scoring structure for organizations that apply for Matched
Savings funding over those that do not.
1. Is your organization proposing to perform Tier 1B
Counseling/Coaching services?
 Yes
 No
2. Does your organization currently have a matched
savings program that has been in place for at least the
past 12 months?
 Yes
 No
Only answer “Yes” to this question if your organization either wholly operates the matched savings program
OR has primary “ownership” of the program but operates it in partnership with a third party that serves a
limited function. (One example of such a partnership would be an applicant organization that manages the
majority of the program’s functions, such as outreach, screening, enrollment, and ongoing financial
education/counseling/coaching for savings participants, but partners with an external provider—like a local
financial institution—to hold and administer the participants’ actual savings accounts.)
Organizations that refer interested clients to matched savings program operated elsewhere in their community do
not meet this eligibility threshold; on its own, a referral relationship between an organization and an external
matched savings provider does not constitute a “partnership” for the purposes of Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability Matched Savings eligibility.
3. Please upload 1-3 pieces of documentation of your
existing matched savings program.
Upload
This documentation could include: copies of marketing materials (brochures, participant flyers, screen shots of
website content describing/promoting the matched savings program), news articles on your program, reports to
funders or other external audiences describing the program, or copies of commitment letters from an existing
funder that has supported your matched savings program for at least the past 12 months.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 39 of 52
4. Does your organization administer its matched savings
program, or is the program administered by a thirdparty organization?
 Matched savings program is administered by the
applicant organization.
 Matched savings program is administered by a
partner organization.
Applicants that administer their own matched savings program will answer Question 5 below; skip Questions 6-9,
and resume the application at Question 10.
Applicants that administer the program in partnership will skip Question 5 answer Questions 6-9 below.
The NeighborWorks America Grants Portal will not display the questions that are n/a and to be skipped as
described above.
Limit of 4 numerical
characters
5. In the past 12 months, how many participants has your
organization’s matched savings program enrolled?
Input the number of participants that you enrolled in your matched savings program in the past 12 months; they
do not need to have completed the savings program in order to be included in this count.
6. Please provide the name of your partner organization,
500 characters
and describe their role in your matched savings
program.
Please state the name of your partner organization, and concisely but clearly communicate the specific role they
play in your matched savings program. This information is important for the reviewer to assess your
organization’s experience with specific aspects of operating a matched savings program.
7. Do you have an existing Memorandum of
Understanding or formal agreement with a partner
organization to administer your matched savings
program?
 Yes
 No
Applicants for Matched Savings funds that operate their program in partnership with a third party must have an
existing formal agreement in place regarding the matched savings partnership. This agreement does not need to
be an MOU as such, so long as it is similar in nature/purpose, has been in place for at least the past 12 months
that the program has operated, and clearly delineates roles and responsibilities of the applicant and the partner
entity.
If you are not able to answer “Yes” to this question, do not proceed with the Matched Savings portion of your
application.
7A. Please upload a copy of the MOU or similar formal
agreement with the partner organization here
Upload
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 40 of 52
8. In the past 12 months, how many participants were
Limit of 4 numerical
enrolled in the matched savings program that is
characters
administered by your partner organization?
Input the number of participants that you enrolled in your matched savings program in the past 12 months; they
do not need to have completed the savings program in order to be included in this count.
9. Describe the current process in place for the
management and oversight of your partner
3,000 characters
organization that ensures matched savings program
information is shared accurately and in a timely way.
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer your role in providing management and
oversight of your matched savings partner; applicants should also demonstrate their capacity and that of their
partner to share data and other program information accurately.
10. Please describe your organization’s matched savings
program’s structure, including the savings requirement
to earn a match, what the match ratio is, required
timeframe for accomplishing savings goals and the
maximum amount of money a saver can earn.
3,000 characters
All applicants (those operating their matched savings program solely as well as those operating in partnership),
answer Question 10 and the remaining questions in the application.
In this section, please fully and clearly describe the key elements of your matched savings program, including (as
stated above) program rules and requirements, timeframe for accomplishing savings goals, match ratios,
participants uses of proceeds, etc.
11. Please describe how your organization will use the
3,000 characters
Matched Savings grant funds
For example, in this section, applicants may discuss the estimated number of participants that you will serve,
anticipated match ratio for savings deposits, amount up to which you will match (if applicable), etc. Note that any
projected number of participants should not exceed the projected number of Tier 1B Financial Capability
Counseling/Coaching units that your organization proposed in Section 6 of the application. (Only clients receiving
Tier 1B services are eligible to participate in a Project Reinvest-funded matched savings program. If your program
enrolls additional savings participants that are not undergoing Project Reinvest-funded counseling/coaching,
those participants will need to be covered through other funding sources.)
Please also keep in mind that per the Funding Announcement, Section VI(D), use of Matched Savings funds is
limited to matching participant deposits. Applicants that propose any other uses of Project Reinvest Matched
Savings funds (e.g. marketing and outreach, staff training, overhead) in their answer to this question will be
disqualified from eligibility for a Matched Savings award, and the Matched Savings portion of their application
will not be scored. (This Matched Savings disqualification will not affect the main part of the Project Reinvest:
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 41 of 52
Financial Capability application that covers counseling/coaching.) Please be sure that your description of uses of
funds aligns with the allowable uses as stated in the Funding Announcement.
If you are proposing to serve substantially more matched savings participants than is evident in your past
performance, it is strongly encouraged that you discuss the staffing, management, administrative, outreach, or
other systems that your organization has or will put into place to feasibly achieve a larger volume of participants.
12. Indicate the amount of Matched Savings grant funds
that you are requesting:
Dollar amount; limit of 6
figures
There is no minimum or maximum request for a Matched Savings award. Applicants should propose an amount
that they believe they can reasonably expend, keeping in mind that: 1) grant funds must be spent down by the end
of the period of performance; and 2) use of Matched Savings funds is limited to matching participant deposits.
(However, Matched Savings awardees may use some of their Program-Related Support award to cover additional
costs of delivering the matched savings program.)
The Matched Savings award is not included in the $3,000,000 grant request maximum for Coaching/Counseling,
PRS, and Operational Oversight funds.
13. Describe any successes your organization or its Subgrantees, Branches or Affiliates has experienced in
implementing its matched savings program.
3,000 characters
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to the reviewer the specific capacity, strengths, and
successes of your matched savings program.
14. Describe any challenges your organization or its Subgrantees, Branches or Affiliates has experienced in
implementing its matched savings program. Discuss
plans or procedures put in place to address these
challenges.
3,000 characters
NeighborWorks recognizes that challenges are inherent in matched savings programs. There is no penalty in the
scoring structure for organizations having encountered a challenge related to their matched savings program.
Applicants are encouraged to clearly describe challenges encountered; this is your opportunity to demonstrate to
the reviewer your program’s ability to identify challenges and implement solutions.
15. In the past three years, what percentage of the
participants who have exited your program met their
savings goals?
Limit of 3 numerical
characters
Out of the number of participants that you enrolled in your matched savings program in 2014-2016, please
indicate the percentage that successfully completed the program, which is defined broadly as individuals having
met their savings goals (recognizing that some matched savings programs may have varying requirements for
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 42 of 52
participation, and various ending milestones). Do not include individuals who withdrew or were otherwise deenrolled from your program prior to its end date (if your program has a fixed end date).
This three-year look-back period is longer than the 12-month experience requirement because NeighborWorks
recognizes that due to the longer-term nature of matched savings programs, some individuals enrolled only in the
past 12 months may not have reached program completion yet.
If you do not know this information or your organization does not track it, enter “0” as the percentage.
16. Describe any strategies used to motivate or engage
participants enrolled in your matched savings program
to support their goals.
3,000 characters
This is your organization’s opportunity to demonstrate to reviewers the strengths of your matched savings
program and its potential for continued participant success.
SECTION VIX: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All applicants are required to acknowledge the following statements. If you do not complete the
acknowledgements section, the application will not be able to move forward for submission or review.
Question
1. Does the applicant acknowledge that NeighborWorks
America has the right to request additional information
as needed regarding this application? (Required)
 Yes
2. Does the applicant acknowledge that if it were to be a
successful grantee that it must report quarterly with
detailed reports on all program activity and that
undisbursed grant funds will be suspended if grantee
fails to submit a quarterly report? (Required)
 Yes
3. Does the applicant acknowledge that if its project does
not maintain progress according to the approved
Workplan the organization risks having undisbursed
grant funds de-obligated? (Required)
 Yes
Upload
Narrative
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 43 of 52
4. Does the applicant acknowledge that after the first
disbursement is paid following execution of the grant
agreement, remaining grant funds will be disbursed
according to financial capability counseling/coaching
production thresholds outlined in the Funding
Announcement (or in the Grant Agreement)?
 Yes
5. Does the applicant acknowledge that all program
activities must be completed by November 30, 2018, or
by the completion date stipulated within the executed
Grant Agreement? (Required)
 Yes
6. Does the applicant acknowledge that the final 5% of
any Counseling/Coaching and Operational Oversight
funds awarded through this program will be held until
the grantee submits its final report and 100% project
completion is verified which may include evaluations
and compliance monitoring activities? (Required)
 Yes
7. Does applicant acknowledge that it is required to
notify NeighborWorks America if it is subject to an
investigation related to the use of federal or state
funds? (Required)
 Yes
8. Does the Applicant acknowledge that it will develop a
records retention policy and/or include in its current
records retention policy all records attributable to its
Project Reinvest award will be retained for three years
after the submission of its final report? (Required)
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 44 of 52

Yes
9. Does the Applicant acknowledge that all
disbursements related to the grant will be made
electronically via an ACH transfer to the grantee?
(Required)
 Yes
10. Does the applicant acknowledges that NeighborWorks
America reserves the right to recapture or de—obligate
funds in accordance with the Events of Default and
Remedy Policy? (Required)
 Yes
11. Does the applicant acknowledge that it is required to
submit updated audit packages for the duration of the
performance period?
 Yes
12. Does the applicant acknowledge that it must follow
compliance requirements as described in the Funding
Announcement?
 Yes
13. How much time did you spend preparing and
submitting this application? (Required)
 1-5 Hours
 6-11 Hours
 12+ hours
Question 13 Is for internal use only and will not impact your application score. Information provided will help our
team improve this application for future programming.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 45 of 52
By clicking the “submit application” button, you are agreeing to the following statements:
I, <<Authorized Official>>, hereby acknowledge that the information submitted is accurate to the best of my knowledge.
The Executive Director/CEO and Board President of my organization have authorized the submission of this application.
By clicking on the "I AGREE" button below, I further acknowledge that I have read and understand the requisites of this
Application.
Important note: Once you click on the "submit application" button below, your application will be submitted to
NeighborWorks America and you will not be able to edit the grant application.
Click on Cancel to not submit and return to the application.
I AGREE
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 46 of 52
Application Upload Checklist
 IRS Nonprofit Determination Letter or IRS Affirmation Letter for 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
(Or evidence of statutory authority to operate as a State HFA, for applicants in the State HFA
application category.)
 Certificate of Good Standing in all states in which the organization operates. Certificate(s)
must be dated July 1, 2016 or later. If there are multiple certificates, please combine into
one .pdf and upload. State HFA applicants – this provision is not applicable to your
organization type, however, please check this box so that the system allows you to
continue the application.
 Completed W-9 form
 Most recent Audited Financial Statements. The Audited Financial Statements must have
been issued within nine months from the end of the organization’s most recent fiscal year.
 Most recent Single Audit, if applicable. This must have been issued within 9 months from
the end of your organization’s most recent fiscal year. If not applicable, upload a document
on your organization’s letterhead, signed by the Chief Executive Officer, President or
Executive Director stating that your organization expended less than $750,000 in federal
funds during the Fiscal Year.
 If applicable, receipt or e-mail from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse verifying the single
audit was submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse within 9 months from the end of
your organization’s most recent fiscal year. If a single audit was not required, upload the
same document uploaded in 2B stating so. If the audit was not filed timely with the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse, upload a document on your organization’s letterhead explaining why,
signed by the Chief Executive Officer, President or Executive Director.
 Management Letter, if issued, or document stating no Management Letter was issued.
 Corrective Action Plan and/or Management Response, if applicable. If your organization
does not have a Corrective Action Plan or Management Response, a document explaining
how your organization will remedy the audit’s findings and/or implement recommendations
from the Management Letter, or stating that your organization’s audit did not have any
findings and the Management Letter did not have any recommendations.
 Financial Capability Intermediaries only - a letter on the organization’s letterhead signed by
the Chief Executive Officer, President or Executive Director attesting that your organization
has been providing financial capability counseling/coaching (directly or through Subgrantees, Branches, or Affiliates) for at least three years and that your organization has at
least 10 Sub-grantees, Branches or Affiliates (for National FC Intermediaries) or at least five
Sub-grantees, Branches or Affiliates (for Regional and State FC Intermediaries 3) a reference
letter from a funder affirming that your organization has been providing financial capability
counseling/coaching (directly or through Sub-grantees, Branches, or Affiliates) for at least
three years; or reference letters from multiple funders that cover a three-year period of
time.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 47 of 52
 State HFAs only: evidence of statutory authority to operate as a HFA in your state; and a
copy of your most recent HUD 9902 (or, if applicable, or a document on the agency’s
letterhead signed by the Chief Executive Officer, President, or Executive Director stating that
the organization is not required to complete the 9902 and why)
 HUD Housing Counseling Intermediaries only: a copy of your organization’s most recent
HUD 9902, and a letter on your organization’s letterhead signed by the Chief Executive
Officer, President or Executive Director attesting that all proposed Sub-grantees are HUDapproved housing counseling agencies, or meet or exceed guidelines for approval as HUD
housing counseling agencies and have been delivering financial capability services for at
least the past 12 months.
 NeighborWorks organizations only: your organization’s most recent HUD 9902, if
applicable, or a document on the organization’s letterhead signed by the Chief Executive
Officer, President, or Executive Director stating that your organization is not required to
complete the 9902 and why.
 Completed Applicant Workbook. (Please ensure that all relevant tabs in the Applicant
Workbook are complete and accurate.)
Application Submission
Before submitting, be sure to double check each mandatory field and all attached documents
to ensure completeness and accuracy. Incomplete applications, including those missing a
single required attachment, will be immediately disqualified with no opportunity for
resubmission.
No technical support staff will be available after 8PM EST on the day of the application
deadline. It is highly recommended that applicants submit their full application before the final
day of the application deadline to avoid any technical delays. No applications will be accepted
after the stipulated deadline, without exception. There are a limited number of support staff
available to assist applicants with their application submission and calls will be answered on a
first come, first served basis.
Only an organization’s Authorized Official may submit an application. Make sure to plan
accordingly. An “Authorized Official” is a senior manager within the organization with the
authority to approve and enter into contracts and agreements with third parties. Please refer to
the Grants Portal User Guide for more information about user roles and access.
Definitions
Action Plan. “Action Plan” refers to a written plan created for a client that includes: client
goals identified by the client and coach, the follow-up activities to be taken by the client,
and the timeline for these activities. The Action Plan must be clearly labeled in the client
file. When developing this Action Plan, it is expected that the counselor/coach will do a
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 48 of 52
comprehensive analysis of the client’s situation and goals and recommend the best plan of
action. The Action Plan must include the counselor’s/coach’s Assessment of the client’s
situation with a client-specific recommendation and plan of action. A sample Action Plan is
Exhibit A to this document.
Affiliate. “Affiliate” is a separately incorporated nonprofit organization participating as a
grant sub-recipient through a Financial Capability Intermediary, Housing Counseling
Intermediary, or State Housing Finance Agency for the purposes of its Financial Capability
Program. To be eligible for a sub-grant, an Affiliate must be: (1) duly organized and existing
as a tax-exempt nonprofit and (2) in good standing under the laws of the state of its
organization and (3) authorized to do business in states where it provides or proposes to
provide Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching services.
Application. “Application” is the document eligible applicants must submit to compete for
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability grant funding. The Application is available online at
https://neighborworks.fluxx.io.
Application Guide. The “Application Guide” was created to provide Applicants with further
guidance on Application questions. The Application Guide also provides Applicants with
general tips and guidelines for successful submission of the Application, including an
Application checklist to help Applicants determine if all necessary information and
documentation has been included prior to submission. To access the guide, visit
www.neighborworks.org/projectreinvestfinancialcapability.
Applicant. “Applicant” is an eligible organization applying with a proposed project that
meets all eligibility requirements as described in Section 4 below. “Applicant” refers to
Financial Capability Intermediaries, HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Intermediaries,
State Housing Finance Agencies, and NeighborWorks organizations.
Assessment. An ‘Assessment’ of the client’s goals is performed to determine the current
Financial Capability readiness of the client, and to inform the counselor/coach of the
client’s goals for seeking Financial Capability services.
Authorized Official. “Authorized Official” is a senior or executive level manager within an
organization with the authority to approve and enter into contracts and agreements with
third parties.
Award. “Award” is Project Reinvest: Financial Capability grant funding provided to a
Grantee for eligible uses.
Awardee. “Awardee” is an Eligible Applicant that has been approved for a grant Award
through the Opportunity but that has not yet executed a formal Grant Agreement.
Branch. “Branch” or “Branch Office” refers to an Applicant’s organizational and
subordinate unit of a Financial Capability Intermediary, HUD-Approved Housing Counseling
Intermediary, or State Housing Finance Agency not separately incorporated or organized. A
Branch or Branch Office must be in good standing under the laws of the state where it is
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 49 of 52
authorized to do business and where it proposes to provide Financial Capability
Counseling/Coaching services. A Branch or Branch Office cannot be a Grantee, Affiliate or
Sub-grantee.
Contracted Counseling Entity. A “Contracted Counseling Entity” (CCE) is a Housing
Counseling Agency that a NeighborWorks organization Grantee has contracted with to
deliver Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Program-funded counseling /coaching
services. As part of their executed Grant Agreement, NeighborWorks organization Grantees
must furnish a list of CCEs which includes the organization name, address, contact person
name, e-mail and telephone number. These Grantees may amend their CCE list after
Awards are made by submitting a written request to NeighborWorks America. All active
CCEs that counsel/coach Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Program clients must have
unique Branch identification numbers in the Data Collection System (DCS).
Data Collection System (DCS). For the purposes of this Funding Announcement and
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability in general, “Data Collection System,” when capitalized
or used in its acronym form (DCS) refers to a NeighborWorks America system of the same
name that is used to collect counseling/coaching production and related data from
NeighborWorks America grantees. (It does not refer generically to an organization’s own
system/software/database for data collection unless referred to in lower-case, i.e. “data
collection system,”) The DCS is also the system in which Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability Grantees will submit their production data, quarterly programmatic reports and
final programmatic report.
Events of Default and Remedies Policy. “Events of Default and Remedies Policy” refers to
the policy set forth by the project identifying when a default occurs and what the remedy is
for the default by the Grantee.
Financial Capability. “Financial Capability” refers to the capacity, based on knowledge,
skills and access to financial products and services, to manage financial resources
effectively. Individuals are financially capable when they demonstrate the ability to: cover
monthly expenses with income, track spending, plan ahead and save for the future, select
and manage financial products and services, and gain and exercise financial knowledge.
Financial Capability Agencies. This term refers generally to a nonprofit organization that
provides Financial Capability services (financial education, financial counseling/coaching,
etc.). Organizations that provide Financial Capability services but are not either a
NeighborWorks organization, a State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), a HUD-Approved
Housing Counseling Intermediary (HC Intermediary) or a self-designated Financial
Capability Intermediary (FC Intermediary) are not eligible to apply on their own for Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability. FC Agencies may be part of a State HFA, HC Intermediary,
or FC Intermediary Application as a sub-recipient. HCAs interested in serving as a Subgrantee, Branch, or Affiliate for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability should reach out
directly to a State HFA, HC Intermediary, or FC Intermediary with which they have a
relationship to discuss potential opportunities to participate in those entities’ Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability Application.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 50 of 52
Financial Capability Coaching. “Financial Capability Coaching” refers to providing regular,
client-driven 1:1 sessions with a customer to develop his/her financial goals, Action Plans,
and to facilitate behavior changes to meet these goals.
Financial Capability Counseling. “Financial Capability Counseling” refers to directing
someone to resolve a specific problem generally through a set process driven by the
counselor.
Financial Capability Intermediary. “Financial Capability Intermediary” (or “FC
Intermediary”) refers to a national, regional, or statewide organization that provides
financial education, counseling and/or coaching services. A FC Intermediary can provide
these services directly and/or indirectly through its Branches, Affiliates and/or Subgrantees, for whom it exercises control over the quality and type of services rendered. For
the purposes of this Funding Announcement:

A national Financial Capability Intermediary provides, in multiple states/regions of
the United States: (a) Financial Capability education, coaching and/or counseling
services directly and/or indirectly through its Branches, Affiliates and/or Subgrantees or both; and (b) administrative and supportive services to its network of
Branches, Affiliates, and/or Sub-grantees, including but not limited to oversight,
pass-through funding, training and technical assistance.

A regional Financial Capability Intermediary provides, in one region of the United
States: (a) Financial Capability education, coaching and/or counseling services
directly and/or indirectly through its Branches, Affiliates and/or Sub-grantees or
both; and (b) administrative and supportive services to its network of Branches,
Affiliates, and/or Sub-grantees, including but not limited to oversight, pass-through
funding, training and technical assistance.

A state Financial Capability Intermediary is an organization which operates within a
single state and provides: (a) financial education, coaching and/or counseling
services directly and/or indirectly through its Branches, Affiliates or/Sub-grantees
or both; and (b) administrative and supportive services to its network of Branches,
Affiliates, and/or Sub-grantees, including but not limited to oversight, pass-through
funding, training and technical assistance.
Please note that “Financial Capability Intermediary” is a category of Applicant that
NeighborWorks America has established for the purposes of the Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability funding opportunity. There is no outside entity that confers the official status of
“Financial Capability Intermediary” on an organization. Rather, Project Reinvest: Financial
Capability Applicants may self-identify as a Financial Capability Intermediary; refer to the
definitions in the Funding Announcement, Application, and Application Guide to determine
whether an organization meets the criteria for a Financial Capability Intermediary.
Additionally, the Application and Application Guide detail the documentation that
Applicants in this category are required to submit as part of their Application.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 51 of 52
Grant Agreement. “Grant Agreement” refers to the document sent to Awardees outlining
the terms and conditions governing the disbursement and expenditure of any grant funds
provided by NeighborWorks America to a Grantee.
Grantee. “Grantee” refers to an Eligible Applicant that receives an Award through the
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability funding opportunity and has a fully executed Grant
Agreement.
Housing Counseling Agency (HCA). For the purpose of this Funding Announcement, a
“HCA” is an organization that has either received HUD approval as a Housing Counseling
Agency or meets the minimum standards for HUD approval. HCAs that are members of the
NeighborWorks network may be eligible to apply for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability.
HCAs cannot apply on their own for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability, unless they are
members of the NeighborWorks network. HCAs may be part of a State HFA, HC
Intermediary, FC Intermediary, or NWO Application as a sub-recipient. HCAs interested in
serving as a Sub-grantee, Branch, or Affiliate for Project Reinvest: Financial Capability
should reach out directly to a State HFA, HC Intermediary, or FC Intermediary with which
they have a relationship to discuss potential opportunities to participate in those entities’
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Application.
HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Intermediary. “HUD-Approved Housing Counseling
Intermediary” (or “HC Intermediary”) refers to a Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD)-Approved national or regional organization that has received HUD
approval as a counseling agency and provides housing counseling services through its
Branches, Affiliates or Sub-grantees.
Intake. An ‘Intake’ refers to the client intake procedures performed during or prior to the
initial Tier 1A counseling/coaching session. Organizations must conduct an Intake that
includes collecting key client information, such as, client name, address and basic
demographic information. See the Data Points Exhibit, Exhibit C for the required
information. Organizations conduct Intake in a variety of ways. Those that use electronic
client management systems can submit a screenshot from their system showing that the
minimum required information has been collected. This information must be readily
available in the client file when requested.
Matched Savings Programs. “Matched Savings Programs” are typically monetary savings
accounts that match the deposits of low- and moderate-income savers. For every dollar
saved in a Matched Savings Program, savers receive additional funds from another funding
source depending on the guidelines set forth under the established program. The proceeds
from Matched Savings are typically applied to uses such as postsecondary education, job
training, homeownership, or small business start-up. Project Reinvest: Financial Capability
does not require or prescribe the eligible uses of Matched Savings; rather, it supports the
eligible uses determined by the established programs of its Grantees. In addition to earning
matched dollars, participants typically learn about budgeting and saving while receiving
additional financial education in pursuit of intended goals.
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability | Application Guide Page 52 of 52
Notice of Intent. “Notice of Intent” refers to the Notice of Intent to Fund, which is sent to
all Awardees indicating the amount of funds the Awardee will be eligible to receive if it fully
executes its Grant Agreement and remains in compliance with the program.
NeighborWorks organization (NWO). For the purpose of this Funding Announcement, a
“NWO” is a chartered member of the NeighborWorks network and can apply for Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability funds directly if it does not have a provisional charter. All
other Housing Counseling Agencies or Financial Capability Agencies must apply through a
FC Intermediary, HC Intermediary or State HFA.
Operational Oversight. “Operational Oversight” refers to the funding provided by Project
Reinvest: Financial Capability to cover quality control, day-to-day oversight and
management of the Project Reinvest: Financial Capability Award, and any required
improvements to systems and infrastructure. Operational Oversight is reserved for FC
Intermediaries, HC Intermediaries and State HFAs.
Program-Related Support. “Program-Related Support” refers to the funding provided by
Project Reinvest: Financial Capability for direct costs incurred and/or associated with
increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of a Grantee, its’ Sub-grantees, Branches,
Affiliates and/or CCEs’ ability to provide quality Financial Capability Counseling/Coaching to
clients. This may include, but is not limited to: outreach to potential clients, infrastructure
development and improvements, costs related to staff hiring and training, purchasing or
leasing outcome evaluation tools, collecting data for grant reporting purposes,
administrative costs related to the management of a Matched Savings Program, pulling
credit reports and providing quality control oversight of counseling/ coaching services.
Program Administrator. “Program Administrator” is NeighborWorks America.
State Housing Finance Agency. “State HFA” is defined as the public body, agency or
instrumentality created by a specific act of a state legislature, empowered to finance
activities designed to provide housing and related services (for example through land
acquisition, construction or rehabilitation) throughout an entire state. State HFAs may
provide direct services or sub-grant funds, or both, to affiliated local Housing Counseling
Agencies or Financial Capability Organizations within the HFA’s state.
Sub-grantee. “Sub-grantee” refers to an organization to which the Grantee awards a subgrant, and which is accountable to the Grantee for the use of the funds provided. A Subgrantee may be separately incorporated or organized, but connected with an FC
Intermediary, HC Intermediary or State HFA for the purposes of the Project Reinvest:
Financial Capability funding opportunity.