Annual Community Needs Assessment

Each year, Lewis and Clark County and the Cities of Helena and East Helena co-host a Community Needs Assessment Public Meeting. This meeting is typically held in the first quarter of the year and is free and open to the public. 

All local governments accessing Community Development funding through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's CDBG and HOME programs are required to hold a set of public hearing events each year, including a general Community Needs Assessment meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to review existing community assets and to assess the challenges and issues faced in making our community a better place to live. The focus of general public meeting is to address matters related to housing, economic development, neighborhood revitalization, and community and public facilities. Community organizations and individuals are invited to present on current or anticipated projects that pertain to these focus areas, particularly those targeting low- and moderate-income residents. There is also a general discussion on prospective funding sources, including the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), the Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), the Montana Coal Endowment Program (MCEP), and other relevant programs that may be available.

New Process for 2024: 

Organizations interested in seeking CDBG sponsorship from Lewis and Clark County or the City of Helena need to complete the following steps prior to seeking CDBG grant sponsorship:

1) Participate in the current year CNA meeting by providing verbal and/or written comment on the need for the proposed project.

2) Set up a pre-application meeting with County and/or City staff at least 5 months in advance of the CDBG grant application deadline.  

3) Download, save, and email the below fillable CDBG Pre-Application Form to County and/or City staff at least 4 months in advance of the CDBG grant application deadline. 

CDBG-Pre-Application-Form.pdf(PDF, 313KB)