NOFO Explained

Certain times in the year you will hear us mention “NOFO”, but you might be thinking “What is NOFO?”

Each year the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) awards funding to organizations that support HUD initiatives to address homelessness, for programs that provide rental assistance, supportive housing and services.

These funds come through what we call “NOFO,” short for the annual Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) application and competition. This funding is competitive and awarded through HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, which is the largest source of federal grant funding for homeless services and housing programs nationwide. A Continuum of Care (CoC) is HUD’s term for a local homelessness response system. Nearly 400 CoC’s across the country participate in this competition, which gives them the opportunity to renew existing projects, apply for new ones, and to reallocate resources from lower-performing projects.

How does the competition work?

The NOFO application is done collaboratively, meaning all project applications (new or existing) in each community are submitted as one directly to HUD by the lead agency of each CoC. In 2009, it became a requirement to submit a collaborative application to make sure the funds were being used strategically, effectively, and in a coordinated matter. (Previously, there was little collaboration and no technical assistance.)

As lead agency to The Way Home, we are in charge of preparing the annual application to participate in the competition. This requires a performance review of all CoC-funded projects within Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. The performance review allows us to rank new and existing projects to establish funding priority.

Before the NOFO is announced, we work to form a review committee with representatives from various stakeholder groups within our system. This year, our review committee includes people with lived experience, representatives of local governments, a healthcare and victim service provider partner, a youth system representative and veteran system representative.

In some ways, the NOFO competition is like the FIFA World Cup. To begin the collaborative application, partners of The Way Home submit individual applications to the committee, which reviews and scores the project applications based on several factors including project performance and resource utilization — like how athletes in each country have to qualify to secure a spot on their national teams.

After the local review, we submit the final list of projects to HUD for consideration , along with a written narrative of our CoC’s overall performance. This makes us like a coach, coordinating and leading the team throughout the competition.

Then, just like a soccer team would compete against other countries in the World Cup, HUD evaluates applications from CoC’s across the country based on specific guidelines. They consider factors such as quality of application, CoC performance, and national policy priorities.

How does this funding impact our CoC (The Way Home)?

We count on this annual funding to allow us to sustain existing permanent housing slots. It plays a crucial role in keeping existing programs and individuals housed with the supports needed. Any new potential funding is made available through reallocation or from new projects dollars assigned by HUD.

In 2022, The Way Home was awarded over $46.2 million in funding for homelessness programs in the Houston area — including one new Permanent Supportive Housing project — further propelling our goal to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in our region! We are proud to score a win for the homeless response system!

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CFTH Leads 2026 PIT Count of People Experiencing Homelessness

By Catherine Villarreal • February 24, 2026

Houston, Texas (February 24, 2026) – This week, the nonprofit Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County (CFTH) is leading the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey (“PIT Count”) to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness across Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties. “We may see a slight uptick in the number this year, but we have a plan,” said Kelly Young, President & CEO of CFTH. “With the support of the City of Houston, Harris County, and private funders, we have been piloting new interventions to shorten the length of time people in our region experience homelessness. With adequate funding, we look forward to expanding those interventions to help people regain lives of self-determination.” CFTH coordinates the Houston region’s public-private homeless response system, The Way Home . Through this collaboration, The Way Home partners have successfully housed over 36,000 people since 2012. CFTH will release the results of Houston’s 2026 PIT Count in the summer, following independent verification by an epidemiologist. These findings will provide insight into how factors such as increases in the cost of living and the end of federal pandemic relief funding have impacted homelessness in our region. More information about the 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey The PIT Count offers a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness in our region on a single night. This year, the “night of record” is Monday, Feb. 23. CFTH determines the number of people staying in shelters on that night by pulling records electronically from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) . The unsheltered count will be conducted on the following days, from Tuesday, Feb. 24 to Thursday, Feb. 26. More than 400 volunteers and staff of local nonprofit service provider partners will canvass the three-county region to survey people living unsheltered, using an app on their mobile devices. Results from the 2026 PIT Count will help gauge the progress of The Way Home’s ongoing collaborative efforts. It will also help CFTH and partner homeless outreach teams understand geographic shifts and target their outreach throughout the year. The PIT Count illuminates specific programmatic gaps and provides additional information needed to allocate resources most efficiently. The PIT Count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for the annual Continuum of Care (CoC) funding process. HUD furnishes the majority of funding for programs that provide housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in the region. In 2024, HUD granted more than $71 million to the Houston area.

Preparing for a Winter Storm

By Catherine Villarreal • January 21, 2026

As lead agency to The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), CFTH is working with local governmental entities to advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness to ensure their needs are being considered as winter weather affects our region. We will make frequent updates as we receive information. Please check back often for the latest information. Last updated 02/01/2026 at 12:00 p.m.

Press Release: CFTH’S 2025 Point-in-Time Count Results Highlight Shifts in Homelessness Across Houston

By Fryda Ochoa • September 9, 2025

While our system has helped thousands of people move from homelessness to housing, this year’s results highlight the need to broaden our approach.