The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today it is offering more than $40 million to various housing counseling programs. The grants will be awarded competitively to approximately 500 HUD-approved counseling agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies aimed at teaching low- and moderate-income families how to find and keep housing.

“The HUD-approved counseling programs this funding will support not only help families make more informed choices about buying or renting, it is crucial in helping thousands of families avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

The funds will go toward programs offering guidance in areas such as how to avoid mortgage scams, how to avoid foreclosure, how to improve credit scores, how to purchase or rent a home and how to qualify for a reverse mortgage. HUD will grant $36.05 million to comprehensive counseling and $4 million to reverse mortgage counseling.

“We fought hard to persuade Congress to restore funding for housing counseling in HUD’s fiscal year 2012 budget, and I’m pleased that they did so,” Donovan said. “We will now work to make these important resources available to help families as quickly as possible.”

HUD-approved counseling agencies also provide financial literacy education to renters and the homeless.

Application instructions are posted at grants.gov. To apply, go to https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms_apps_idx.html and enter 14.169 in the CFDA field. Only electronic submissions will be accepted. The application deadline is 11:59:59 p.m. eastern time on January 12, 2012. Applicants experiencing difficulties with the application may call 800-518-GRANTS or email support@grants.gov.