About NACCL
A national professional association for Continuums of Care and the people who lead and coordinate them, built around professional development, peer learning, and a collective voice in federal policy.
How NACCL works with existing organizations
Is this duplicating what the National Alliance to End Homelessness does?
No. NACCL has a specific role: it is a national professional association made up of CoCs and governed by CoC leaders. The National Alliance to End Homelessness and other national organizations play important roles across the broader homelessness field. NACCL is intended to complement that work, not replace it. CoCs can work with and benefit from both.
Frequently asked questions — About NACCL
What is NACCL, in one sentence?
A national professional association for Continuums of Care and the people who lead and coordinate them, built around professional development, peer learning, and a collective voice in federal policy.
Why a 501(c)(6) and not a 501(c)(3)?
NACCL is a membership-based professional association, and the 501(c)(6) structure fits that purpose. It also gives NACCL more flexibility to engage in federal advocacy and lobbying than many member organizations have on their own, which means NACCL can take positions on federal issues identified by its members without asking any one CoC or lead agency to take that on.
What does it mean that NACCL is incorporated?
Incorporating creates the organization in the eyes of the law. NACCL is now a nonprofit corporation in good standing, which means it can seat a board, hold funds, and sign agreements. Tax-exempt status is a separate step that comes from the Internal Revenue Service. NACCL has its federal tax identification number, and the application for 501(c)(6) recognition is next. NACCL operates as usual while that is under review. Dues, membership rights, and the board election all move forward.
Who built this?
CoC leaders did. More than 700 people from 43 states helped shape the governance structure, dues framework, and initial priorities. Members will elect the board and continue setting NACCL's direction.
Frequently asked questions — Membership
Who is eligible to join, and who gets the benefits?
Any HUD-designated Continuum of Care. Membership is held by the CoC, not by an individual or a single agency, and your CoC decides locally which entity enrolls, pays dues, and designates the voting representative: a collaborative applicant, a city or county department, a housing authority, or the governance body itself. One membership covers the whole team, and one vote is cast through the designated representative.
How are dues calculated?
On an eight-tier scale keyed to your CoC's HUD Estimated Annual Renewal Demand, a figure HUD publishes for every CoC. Larger systems pay more, and every CoC still gets the same single vote. CoCs with zero Annual Renewal Demand may participate without dues while they stabilize.
How do CoCs pay for this?
That is a local decision. Use an allowable fund source and follow your own approval, procurement, and grants-compliance requirements, in consultation with your fiscal agent, collaborative applicant leadership, or local counsel. Virginia and Maryland worked within their networks and decided to cover dues statewide, through Virginia Housing and the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Our CoC did not pledge. Can we still join?
Yes. Membership is open to every HUD-designated CoC. A CoC that joins and is current on its dues before voting opens can take part in the first Board election, so there is still time for your CoC to help choose the first board. Founding status itself closed with the window on July 31, 2026, and will not reopen. Founding members received a discount on first-year dues, permanent founding recognition, and direct input on the first-year work plan.
Frequently asked questions — Governance and what comes next
When is the board elected?
Nominations open this fall, with the first Board of Directors seated in the months that follow. Every HUD region and every CoC type holds seats, so small, rural, and balance of state CoCs all have a voice at the table. Four standing committees run alongside the board, all open to members: Advocacy Steering, Finance, Governance and Nominating, and Membership and Engagement.
Who can vote in the first election?
Any member CoC that is current on its dues when voting opens, through the representative it has designated. That includes CoCs joining between now and then, not only founding members. If your CoC has not named a representative, that is the thing to take care of before nominations open.
What happens on December 8?
The national convening in San Diego, California, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The first gathering of the membership under an elected board, and where the first-year priorities get set.
Still have a question? Contact us or join the interest list for updates.