The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) 2026 Drug-Free Kids Calendars are being delivered to those who submitted their orders early. There’s no need to suffer from the fear of missing out or being jealous of your colleagues. Purchase the calendar today by downloading and returning the 2026 calendar order form to NAHMA. The calendar cost is $5.50 each, which is an allowable project expense for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The yearly art and poster contest for the NAHMA calendar is open to children and senior residents 55 years or older who live in a community of a NAHMA- or a local AHMA-member company, as well as residents with special needs who live in a permanent supportive housing community or Section 811 community of a NAHMA- or a local AHMA-member company.
The underlying message for the annual contest is always a drug-free theme. Still, NAHMA opens the door for more avenues of expression by incorporating a subtheme into the poster contest. The subtheme for the 2025 art contest was The Power Is Mine: Taking Responsibility for Our Choices.
Besides federal and other popular holidays, the calendar also contains a QR code—which can be scanned using the camera on a smart device—that links to a Calendar of Observances to be more inclusive. The Calendar of Observances features a diverse listing of religious observations and national and international holidays that are searchable by month.
Edriel J. Garcia Costales, 14, a ninth grader from Manatí, Puerto Rico, was selected as the grand prizewinner in this year’s national art contest. The talented artist’s creation appears on the cover of the 2026 NAHMA Drug-Free Kids calendar. Edriel also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for a future NAHMA conference, as well as a $2,500 scholarship from the NAHMA Educational Foundation.
The annual contest consists of the local AHMAs selecting winning posters from their art competitions, which are then sent to NAHMA for consideration in the national contest. Each national winner of the NAHMA contest receives a $1,000 educational scholarship from the NAHMA Educational Foundation. All winners are also featured in the 2026 NAHMA Drug-Free Kids Calendar. Only students are eligible for the grand prize.
Additionally, participants in the annual art contests held by the local AHMAs are eligible to be selected as Regional AHMA Art Contest Honorable Mentions. Those chosen for this distinction will have their artwork featured in a special section of the calendar and receive a $100 scholarship. These participants are in addition to those selected as national winners.
All of the selected artwork can be seen on the national program’s Winning Posters Gallery webpage.
The original grand-prizewinning artwork will be part of the auction at the NAHMA Educational Foundation fundraising gala in October, with the proceeds supporting the foundation’s scholarship program.
The calendars are available for preorder now with a September delivery. The order form is available for download on the Drug-Free Kids Calendar Contest Overview webpage at www.nahma.org. The calendar costs $5.50, which is a HUD and USDA allowable project expense.