Refugee Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program

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NOTICE: The published announcement is modified from the announcement published on April 17, 2019. Content is changed in Sections I., IV.2, and V.1, and VIII. The changes to all sections are related to a new requirement to obtain a letter of support from the State Refugee Coordinator or the individual responsible for the statewide or regional coordination of the refugee resettlement programs, as applicable, of the state where the proposed project will be implemented to ensure coordination with the refugee resettlement community. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces funding for the Refugee Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) Program, which establishes and manages IDAs for low-income refugee participants. Eligible refugee participants who enroll in these projects will open and contribute systematically to IDAs for specified Savings Goals, including homeownership, business capitalization, vehicles for educational or work purposes, professional certification, and education (limited to postsecondary and/or continuing education, college entrance exam fees, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and General Education Development (GED) Diploma preparation and test fees). Grantee organizations may use ORR funds to provide matches for the savings in the IDAs of up to $2,000 per individual refugee and $4,000 per refugee household. The “match” mentioned in this announcement does not refer to the applicant finding additional funds to match funds being provided by the Federal government; it is the portion of federal funds to be allocated for matching clients' IDA savings. Successful grantees will be expected to coordinate their policies and procedures for developing and administering refugee IDA projects with ORR and with the existing refugee IDA network.

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