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Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) have always been valued partners in community efforts to address pressing social, educational, and economic issues. Most of these institutions of higher education serve remote regions and a growing number of local residents have come to depend heavily on TCU-sponsored education, counseling, health, and economic development initiatives. In support of their efforts to address these growing demands, OUP awards grants through its Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) to TCUs to expand, renovate, and equip their own facilities; as well as expand the role of TCUs into the community through the provision of needed services such as health programs, job training, and economic development activities.

Eligible Applicants. Colleges and universities that meet the definition of a TCU established in Title III of the 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 105-244) can apply for a TCUP grant. Institutions must be fully accredited, or provide a statement that the institution is a candidate for accreditation, by a regional institutional accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Eligible Activities. Eligible TCUP grant activities include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Building a new facility (for example, classrooms, administrative offices, health and cultural centers, gymnasium, technology centers, and so forth).
• Renovating an existing or acquired facility.
• Expanding an existing or acquired facility.
• Equipping university facilities (for example, laboratory equipment, library books, furniture, and so forth).
• Property acquisition.
• Health screening.
• Homeownership counseling/training.
• Technical assistance to establish, expand, or stabilize microenterprises.
• Crime, alcohol and/or drug-abuse prevention activities.
• Youth leadership development programs/activities.
• Tutoring/mentoring programs.
• Childcare/development programs.
• Cultural activities/programs.
• Up to 20 percent of the grant may be used for payments of reasonable grant administrative costs related to planning and executing the project (for example, preparation/submission of HUD reports). Detailed explanations of these costs is provided in OMB circular A–21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions that can be accessed at the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html.

Activities carried out by TCUP grantees must meet a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program national objective. Therefore, the programs must benefit low- or moderate-income individuals; aid in the prevention of slums or blight; or meet other community development needs that have a particular urgency, either because they pose a threat to the health and welfare of the community or because other financial resources are not available to address them.

Program Contact

Sherone Ivey
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of University Partnerships
Room 8106
451 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410
Telephone: (202) 402–4200
Fax: (202) 708–0309
Email: sherone.e.ivey@hud.gov