Annual Continuum of Care
Funding Competition

HUD has confirmed that yes — agencies may voluntarily reduce budgets while retaining renewal project status.

It is considered a new project. Renewal status applies only to projects that are currently funded by the CoC.

Yes — either as a direct applicant or as a subrecipient partnering with an established CoC-funded agency. We recommend engaging with the CoC to learn about regional strategies and resources, reviewing the CoC 101 and NOFO Preparedness Webinar on this page, and reaching out to our team at hsinfo@azmag.gov for new-applicant guidance.

Yes. There is no limit on the number of projects an organization may apply for.

Possibly. It would need to be a clear expansion — CoC funds cannot supplant (replace) existing funding. Because these situations are program-specific, please send the details to hsinfo@azmag.gov and staff will help you assess it.

An SSO Standalone project can fund the services delivered in a new or existing shelter, including the staffing costs to provide those services. It cannot fund shelter operations — the day-to-day costs of running the beds and facility. CoC funds also cannot supplant existing funding.

There is no restriction on programs that operate only part of the year. As with all SSO Standalone funding, it covers services (not operations) and cannot supplant existing funds.

A transition grant is evaluated as a new project, so the scorecard for the component you are transitioning to is used. A PSH project transitioning to Transitional Housing would be scored on the Transitional Housing scorecard.

Yes. Both partnerships and match must be documented, and the CoC will provide a partnership template. Templates are posted to this page as they are finalized.

Yes. The service agreement template must be included with the application. The CoC provides the template, which is posted in the documents section of this page.

If a participant is employed, the 20-hour service-participation requirement can be prorated.

All templates, scorecards, and competition materials are posted to this NOFO page as they are finalized. Check the documents section above, and subscribe to the CoC newsletter to be notified as each item is released.

The local priority ranking and the project scorecards are approved by the CoC Board and posted to this page once approved. We strongly encourage applicants to review the ranking, as it may shape both your project design and which project component you apply for.

Yes. The session recording is posted in the Training & Recordings section of this page, and the slide deck is available in the documents section above.

HUD has confirmed that they would not consider Narcan as “drug paraphernalia.”

They also direct applicants to the following HHS Dear Colleague Letter on Harm Reduction for additional guidance on substance use disorder services permitted under the CoC Program: SAMHSA Executive Order Letter.

Eligible cost categories for each project type may be found in the HUD Virtual Binders.

Details regarding eligible costs may be found in the CoC Program section of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 24 CFR 578.

Yes. An eligible renewal project may submit both a standard renewal application and a new transition project application for the same CoC competition. Submitting both is a reasonable risk-mitigation strategy, particularly for projects that anticipate scoring or ranking below the Tier 1 cutoff as a renewal.

If the renewal application does not make Tier 1, the new transition project application is still evaluated and scored on its own merits within the new project category, under the transition projects category. The project is not automatically funded, and remains subject to HUD's scoring criteria and the CoC's local ranking process.

A recipient that has already decided transitioning is the better long-term path and does not intend to keep operating the project in its current renewal form may choose to submit only the new transition project application rather than both.

Before deciding, applicants should weigh: their project's recent performance and likely competitive ranking; whether they're prepared to operate under the respective new project type requirements if awarded; and HUD's specific FY2026 NOFO eligibility criteria.

While SSO projects may not assist those who are receiving housing or housing assistance, there are no restrictions prohibiting an agency operating a shelter from having a CoC SSO project provide services to those same shelter clients. Shelters are not considered housing or housing assistance per CoC program rules.

This NOFO will fund both renewal and new projects. New project types include transitional housing, street outreach, and supportive service standalone projects. In addition, solely for DV Bonus projects, the NOFO also allows rapid rehousing projects.

As a transition grant, the budget cannot be increased; it must adhere to the existing grant amount.

While HMIS participation is encouraged for existing projects operating in Maricopa County, agencies that are not yet established do not need to be set up in HMIS prior to submitting an application. HMIS access is granted once an agency has a project serving clients in Maricopa County.

Some new‑project application questions reference current HMIS use; however, those apply only to agencies already operating projects in Maricopa County (or to HMIS use in other communities, if applicable).

If your agency is already providing services in Maricopa County, you may request new agency access using the link below:

https://community.solari-inc.org/hmis/submit-a-ticket/

Yes, 100% CE participation is a requirement. However, there may be unique factors such as legacy clients, or specific scenarios (e.g. domestic violence survivors) that create extenuating circumstances. The CoC recommends reaching out directly to staff for further information.

HUD does permit grant terms of 1-5 years. However, the project budget must reflect the full number of years requested, which may significantly increase the total amount of funding tied to the application. Because multi-year requests reduce the resources available for other CoC projects, they are generally not the best option for our local competition.

In practice, projects funded for one year are very likely to continue receiving support in future competitions, assuming performance and eligibility remain strong. For that reason, there is no strategic advantage to submitting a multi-year application.