Home Repair Notices

Creative Compassion, Inc. is applying for the USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation Grant program (HPG). If awarded, the program would allow Creative Compassion to assist homeowners living in the counties of Cumberland, Fentress, Overton, Putnam, and White with home repairs and modifications so they may live in safe and healthy homes.  This notice is intended to allow the public to review and submit comments regarding the proposed statement of activities, which may be found at our website page: https://ccihomes.org/home-repair-notices

Comments may be made to:
Email: christy@ccihomes.org
Mail or in person: 1535 Sparta HWY, Crossville, TN 38572
Phone: 931-456-6654, ext. 100

The deadline for comments is September 7, 2026.

Statement of Activities
This program provides health, safety, and accessibility repairs—such as roof, HVAC, plumbing, window, and foundation work—along with aging-in-place modifications like grab bars, ramps, high-contrast step markers, widened doorways, raised toilet seats, shower benches, and accessible showers for low- and very-low-income homeowners. Selection begins upon receiving an application, which will be reviewed for completeness and eligibility.  Creative Compassion’s programs staff will evaluate eligible households, and the on-staff Construction Manager will pre-inspect properties to identify needed repairs and obtain suitable estimates from reputable construction professionals. At project completion, a licensed third-party inspector will perform a post-inspection to ensure satisfactory work.

All projects will meet environmental requirements and local jurisdiction codes while using published Rural Development (RD) preservation standards. Creative Compassion brings prior environmental review experience, ensuring full compliance with RD Instruction 1944-N, necessary consultations with the TN State Historic Preservation Office, and standard document retention.

This program will be completed in 24 months. Experienced, certified, and licensed staff at Creative will determine eligible homeowners and properties, recommend necessary modifications and repair work with homeowner input, assist to obtain cost estimates from appropriately licensed and insured construction professionals, and hire a licensed inspector to ensure work is completed satisfactorily.

The estimated number of very low – and low-income households to benefit from this program is 10 households. Eighty percent (80%) of these households will be very-low income.  The counties eligible to be served with this funding include Cumberland, Fentress, Overton, Putnam, and White Counties in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee. 71% of this five-county service area’s homes are 25+ years old, being built in 1999 or prior.  Of these homes, 53% were built prior to 1980, indicating that a large portion of this area’s housing stock is over 45 years old.

The estimated yearly budget for the entire proposed project is approximately $75,000 per year, or $150,000, in total , with 85% direct project costs and 15% or less indirect administrative costs. $94,027 in HPG is the primary expected source of federal funding for the total project (85% direct and 15% admin).  USDA RD’s 504 repair program may be used in combination with HPG as needed, and this program may allow a $750 admin fee to be earned.  Various local and regional nongovernmental funding sources (such as donated professional labor or materials, FHLB of Cincinnati, Cumberland County United Fund, and others, including donors) are projected to total $56,000.00 and will fill the remaining project budget.  Additional federal funding is not anticipated. 

Creative Compassion utilizes Sage 50 accounting software to track its revenues and expenses. This is an accrual-based system and is GAAP compliant. Creative Compassion evaluates program effectiveness through the analysis of program data such as beneficiary data, application advance rates, home repair and modification needs met vs unmet within the limits of the program and how those additional needs were met, quarterly reporting for overall project progress, and compliance monitoring.

This is not an income producing program. Disposition of security instruments held by Creative Compassion would be dissolved and assets would be distributed as outlined in our agency’s Articles of Incorporation on file with the State of Tennessee in the event of Creative Compassion’s closure.

Creative Compassion is a housing nonprofit performing necessary home repairs and modifications since 2009, and we have called Cumberland County home since we were founded in 1989. Our agency’s long-time service to our homeowner population with home repairs has given us the data necessary to recognize the need for repair assistance focused on safety, health, and accessibility.

Creative Compassion has posted this statement of activities in local newspapers and on its website. Outreach efforts will include social media, speaking engagements with community groups, published storytelling of successful repairs, information at community events, flyers  provided to partner agencies. The application will be reasonable and will incorporate non-discrimination language according to Fair Housing Act, Title VI, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Age Discrimination Act of 1975 standards.