City of Cincinnati FY26 Budget Updates:

Cincinnati’s recently approved FY 2026–27 budget includes several major wins for community development and local Community Development Corporations (CDCs). Most notably, the budget maintains and expands its support for CDCs through the continued partnership with HomeBase Cincinnati, the city's recognized manager of multiple neighborhood revitalization programs. This includes funding and expanding Quick Strike Acquisition to $2Million dollars in FY26, and recommended budget funding of $1Million every fiscal year until FY2031!

Additionally, City Council's slotted $1 million for Catalytic Neighborhood Futures, a strategic economic development initiative to be implemented by The Port and the Cincinnati Development Fund. Combined with the $1.64 million for “Leveraged Support” and 81 funded Community Budget Requests (CBRs), Cincinnati’s FY26–27 budget reinforces the city's commitment to equitable neighborhood investment and empowers CDCs to deepen their role as engines of inclusive growth.

Thank you Cincinnati Mayor Aftab, City Manger Long, and all City Council members!

State of Ohio Budget Updates:

State Budget highlights from Ohio CDC Association:

The final budget was reported out of conference committee late last night, and will be voted on in both Chambers this afternoon. The final bill preserves the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and includes our priorities related to the Welcome Home Ohio program. Given how tough this budget was, these are both big wins – and that wouldn’t have been possible without the advocacy of our members, policy committee, staff and lobbying team. A few other budget highlights are included below, and folks are welcome to peruse this 1,173 page budget overview document for any other Easter eggs.”

• Welcome Home Ohio: CDCs are now eligible to be grantees, $45M allocated to grants annually, technical changes made to improve program operation

• Earned Wage Access Regulation: Language regulating Earned Wage Access products without sufficient consumer protections was removed from the budget bill and will now be evaluated as a standalone bill

Additional Ohio State Budget pieces, read more at Greater Ohio Policy Center blog post: Community Revitalization Championed in the Final State Budget:

Brownfield Remediation Program

• Provides $100M per year for the program ($1M reserved for each county in FY26)

• Expands remediation to include demolition and infrastructure development

• Eliminates “first come, first served” application process for competitive funds, requires Ohio Department of Development to review applications and award funds based on “economic merit”

• Contains language about evaluating projects based on ‘economic impact.’ We will push ODOD to consider all project types and end uses

Demolition & Site Revitalization Program

• Provides $21.5M per year for the program

• Eliminates “first come, first served” application process for competitive funds

Ohio Housing Trust Fund

• Current structure of the program has been maintained

Ohio Housing Finance Agency

• Agency has been retained as an independent state agency

 Welcome Home Ohio Program

• Provides $45M per year for the program

• Qualifying median income has been increased from 80% to 120% AMI for the county where residential property is located

• Maximum grant amount for qualifying residential property increased from $30K to $100K for acquisition and construction grants

• Community development nonprofits may now directly apply for the grant portion of the program

 Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program

• Increases the annual cap on the tax credit from $60M per year to $75M per year

Transformational Mixed Use Tax Credit Program

• Increases the annual cap on the tax credit from $100M per year to $125M per year

 Residential Economic Development Districts

• Provides $25M over the two-year budget for the program

• New grant program for counties, cities, and townships to access funds for major working housing projects that construct at least 100 units.

• Program is reserved for communities that adopt “pro housing policies” that includes having a “pre approval” process in place and no or minimal parking requirements for developments that include residential units, among others

 Residential Development Revolving Loan Program

• Provides $100M for the program

• New program is intended to increase the availability of single-family housing in rural areas (counties with a population of 75K or less)

• Program provides loans to develop, repair, or upgrade water, sewer, transportation, electric, or gas infrastructure needed for single-family housing

 Public Transit Funding

• Provides $37M per year for Ohio’s Public Transit Agencies

Federal Budget updates: (From Community Opportunity Alliance)

“President's Budget Proposal Threatens Key Affordable Housing Programs

The Trump Administration’s FY 2026 budget blueprint proposes unprecedented cuts to federal housing and community development programs — slashing HUD’s discretionary funding by more than 50%, from $89 billion to $43.5 billion. The proposal severely impacts or eliminates core programs such as the HOME Program, the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), and rental assistance — including Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Rental Assistance. The CDFI Fund would see its grant funding eliminated entirely, and rural housing programs under USDA would face similar rollbacks. The budget now moves to Congress, where appropriators will determine whether to adopt, reject, or revise the administration’s proposal. View a summary of staff and funding cuts to HUD, USDA, CDFI Fund, and other agencies.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your representatives in the U.S. House and Senate to oppose the President’s budget and share information about how these programs are serving their constituents. Advocacy over the coming weeks will be critical. “