On November 15th, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) issued an update to its Request for Applications (RFA) for the 2023 Nonprofit Infrastructure Capital Investment Program (NICIP) to exclude most organizations licensed to provide health and behavioral health services.
NICIP offers between $50,000 and $500,000 in funding for capital construction projects that improve or maintain the “quality, efficiency, and accessibility” of New York-based not-for-profit human service providers. However, DASNY has now stated that the following organization types are not eligible for this round of NICIP:
- Organizations licensed through the New York State (NYS) Department of Health (DOH), Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office for Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
- Organizations eligible for funding through the NYS Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program (SHCFTP), which includes:
- Hospitals;
- Nursing homes;
- Adult care facilities;
- Article 28 diagnostic and treatment centers;
- Licensed clinics (including those under the Mental Hygiene Law);
- Article 31 children’s residential treatment facilities (RTFs);
- Assisted living programs;
- Licensed behavioral health facilities under Article 31 or Article 32;
- Article 36 licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs);
- Primary care providers;
- Hospice agencies;
- Community-based programs funded under OMH, OASAS, or the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) or through local governmental units;
- Midwifery birthing centers;
- Independent practice associations (IPAs) or organizations; and
- OPWDD residential or day programs licensed or certified under Article 16.
- Organizations that must file a Certificate of Need (CON) application.
DASNY did not specify that affiliates, subsidiaries, or other related organizations of ineligible entities are ineligible. Organizations may wish to consider if their corporate structure allows such options.
DASNY also stated that using other NYS funding “to pay for costs of the project outlined in the NICIP application” would make a given project ineligible. However, this does not invalidate the eligibility of the organization itself. SPG construes this to mean that if an otherwise-eligible organization (i.e., not licensed by one of the above NYS agencies and not SHCFTP-eligible) receives funds from NYS agencies such as OPWDD to support the operating costs of their programs, the organization would remain eligible for a qualifying project.
These restrictions were not in place for the previous NICIP RFA round, awarded in 2017-18, and DASNY made several awards to providers that would now be considered ineligible. DASNY did not provide an explanation for this change. SPG will update clients if additional modifications to the criteria are made.
The updated RFA is available here. Additional updated materials are available here.