The City of Statesboro is proud to announce it has been selected as an inaugural community of GICH Senior Program from the Georgia Department of Communities Affairs. The Department of Communities Affairs announced the recipients during the Spring GICH Retreat in Tifton, Georgia on April 17, 2024.
The City of Statesboro was originally approved to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing in October of 2019. This was a 3 year term with facilitation provided by the Department of Community Affairs. The City graduated from the program in 2022 and became certified alumni in 2023.
The program was a competitive application process, consisting of 51 eligible alumni communities. Of the 51 communities, 4 communities were selected for the second phase of review, which consisted of a site visit. After the site visit, Statesboro was selected as one of the inaugural communities.
GICH Senior Year will allow communities to receive technical assistance from the Carl Vinson Institute, Georgia Municipal Association and Department of Community Affairs on a number of grants to include:
- Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
- Community Home Improvement Program (CHIP)
- Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
- HUD PRO Flexible Grant (Potential)
While the program does not exempt communities from going through the competitive application process for grant funding, the program does provide specific set asides of funding to provide to communities that properly complete applications. The program also provides resources to pursue other housing initiatives, such as grants and citizen resources.