Housing Division By-and-For Application Type Assessment
The purpose of this form is to collect information about applicants who are eligible and interested in applying for funds in any of the programs administered by the Housing Division within the Department of Commerce. Details about program application rounds are being released separately throughout the year, as funds become available. Please visit our Contracting with Commerce page to see our current funding opportunities.
The information provided in this form will assist us in determining which applicants meet the Housing Division definition of a By-and-For Organization. The Housing Division aims to work with By-and-For Organizations on projects and programs that require expertise in reaching and serving a subset of the diverse houseless community in Washington State. If your organization is not a By-and-For Organization, this should not deter you from applying for our Housing Division programs for which you are eligible to apply. We value and honor all work being done to bring equitable housing solutions to WA State.
For technical assistance or questions, please contact Ji Soo: jisoo.kim@commerce.wa.gov
Tribes and Nations:
Tribes, Nations and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) are not required to complete a By-and-For assessment to receive priority consideration and benefit in the same way as By-and-For organizations.
Federally recognized Tribes and Nations are distinct governments, not By-and-For organizations. Tribes and Nations will not be referred to as By-and-For organizations but will still receive the same priority consideration and benefit.
Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) act as the Housing Authority for the Tribe or Nation as defined in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). TDHEs are not required to complete a By-and-For assessment to receive the same priority consideration and benefit as By-and-For organizations.
Organizations that are partnered to conduct mentioned activities supporting tribes and tribal citizens or affiliated with Tribes, Tribal Nations but not part of the Tribal Government should complete a By-and-For Organization Assessment, if they would like to be considered as a By-and-For Organization.
Urban Native or Urban Indian organizations such as Urban Indian Health Programs* should complete the By-and-For Organization Assessment, if they would like to be considered as a By-and-For Organization.
*Urban Indian Health Programs (UIHPs) are private, non-profit, corporations that provide American Indian and Alaska Native people in their serve areas with a range of health and social services, from outreach and referral to full ambulatory care.
(see. Urban Indian Health Institute A Division of the Seattle Indian Health Board)
Housing Division By-and-For Organization Definition:
By-and-For Organizations are operated by and for the communities they serve. Their primary mission and history is serving a specific community. They are culturally based, directed, and substantially controlled by individuals from the population they serve. At the core of their programs, these organizations embody the community’s central cultural values. In the affordable housing context, these communities must have demonstrated disproportionate representation in homelessness, housing instability, and housing affordability.
• Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color including people identified as socially disadvantaged as defined in 13 CFR Sec. 124.103.
• People with disabilities*
• People who identify as part of the d/Deaf and hard of hearing community
• People with behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorder.
• People who identify as LGBTQIA+**
• Survivors of family violence and/or intimate partner violence.
• Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Undocumented individuals, immigrants and refugees, and mixed-immigration-status families and communities.
*The term disability means: (1) a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) a person with a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and (3) a person who is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This may include, but is not limited to: people with physical disabilities, people with chronic health conditions, and/or people who are neurodivergent.
**LGBTQIA+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other identities including but not limited to: two-spirit, non-binary, pansexual, agender, etc.