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Up To $165 Million to Support Community Development in Low-Income Communities
December 21, 2012
Washington, DC-The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released today Notices of Funds Availability
(NOFA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2013 funding rounds of the Community Development
Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance
Program (NACA Program).
The CDFI Fund expects to provide up to $165 million in Financial Assistance and
Technical Assistance awards for FY 2013:
- $130 million for CDFI Program awards;
- $12 million for NACA Program awards; and
- $23 million for Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
No funds have yet been appropriated for these funding rounds; instead, funding to
make awards under the CDFI Program and NACA Program is subject to Congressional
appropriations. Awards under the CDFI Program and the NACA Program support Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and expand their capacity to provide
access to credit, capital, and financial services to low-income communities and
populations.
In order to provide potential applicants with as much time as possible, the CDFI
Fund is posting the CDFI Program and NACA Program NOFAs and application materials
on the Grants.gov website today in advance of the publication of the NOFAs
in the Federal Register (expected during the week of December 24, 2012). Each program
is listed as a separate funding opportunity in the Grants.gov application portal.
Potential applicants should read all application materials and additional guidance.
Please note important information in the NOFAs regarding CDFI Certification requirements.
In order to receive a Financial Assistance award in the FY 2013 funding round, applicants
must first be newly certified or recertified in 2013, unless the applicant is a
certified CDFI whose original three-year certification term has not expired. Additional
information will be forthcoming from the CDFI Fund in late January 2013 regarding
the application process. This information will be announced publicly, as well as
individually sent to each existing certified CDFI.
CDFI Program Overview
Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs
to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable
financial products and services. The CDFI Fund invests in certified CDFIs by awarding
Financial Assistance awards to applicants that have demonstrated the financial and
managerial capacity to provide financial products and services to a low-income target
market and to leverage additional resources effectively. Through Technical Assistance
grants, the CDFI Fund enables certified CDFIs and emerging entities working toward
certification to build their capacity as lending institutions.
In FY 2013, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative will serve as a supplemental funding
opportunity under the CDFI Program for eligible CDFIs that express an interest in
expanding their healthy food-focused financing activities and have also received
Financial Assistance awards under the FY 2013 round of the CDFI Program.
NACA Program Overview
The NACA Program was specifically designed to encourage the creation and strengthening
of CDFIs that primarily serve Native Communities. Financial institutions serve a
wide range of Native Communities and reflect a diversity of institutions in various
stages of development – from organizations in the early planning stages of creating
a CDFI, to tribal entities working to certify an existing lending program, to established
CDFIs in need of further assistance. The CDFI Fund makes both Financial Assistance
and Technical Assistance awards under the NACA Program.
Deadlines
- The deadline for submission of CDFI Program and NACA Program applications is February
28, 2013 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
- The CDFI Fund strongly encourages all applications be submitted at least three days
before the deadline.
All applicants must submit their applications electronically through Grants.gov.
The CDFI Fund will not accept CDFI Program or NACA Program applications through
myCDFIFund accounts, nor will applications be accepted via email, mail, facsimile,
or other forms of communication. Please see the NOFA for more information on submitting
CDFI Program and NACA Program applications.
Application Materials
Reference copies of the CDFI Program NOFA and all application materials can be found
on the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/cdfi. Reference
copies of the NACA Program NOFA and related application materials can be found on
the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/native. Also located
on the CDFI Fund’s website is step by step guidance for completing and submitting
CDFI Program and NACA Program applications.
As there are changes from year to year, it is important for applicants to read all
application materials including the NOFA, Application Guidance, and Application
FAQs.
Learn About Applying to the CDFI and NACA Programs
The CDFI Fund will provide the following opportunities to learn more about the FY
2013 CDFI Program and NACA Program funding round:
- Live Q&A; Webinars: The CDFI Fund will conduct three two-hour live webinars
to review the FY 2013 CDFI Program application and to provide a forum to answer
applicant questions. In addition, the CDFI Fund will host one two-hour live webinar
to review the FY 2013 NACA Program application and to answer applicant questions.
Please see the following table for the dates, times, and registration information
for each webinar.
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Type of CDFI
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Date
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Time (EST)
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Registration Link/Deadline
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Unregulated CDFIs
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Monday, January 14
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1 p.m.
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FY 2013 CDFI Program Application Training Webinar: Unregulated CDFIs
Deadline: January 9, 2013
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NACA Applicants
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Wednesday, January 16
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3 p.m.
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FY 2013 NACA Program Application Training Webinar
Deadline: January 10, 2013
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Banks and Thrifts
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Thursday, January 17
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11 a.m.
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FY 2013 CDFI Program Application Training Webinar: CDFI Banks
Deadline: January 14, 2013
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Credit Unions
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Friday, January 18
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1 p.m.
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FY 2013 CDFI Program Application Training Webinar: Credit Unions
Deadline: January 15, 2013
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- On–site Application Workshop: CDFI Fund staff will conduct a CDFI Program
and NACA Program application workshop in Washington, D.C. and will be available
to answer application questions. Registration: Due to security requirements
at the following Federal facility, anyone wishing to attend the application workshop
must register through the following online registration system. Individuals who
do not register before the applicable registration deadline, and thus do not appear
on the registration list for the facility, will not be admitted. The registration
period is currently open. To register, please visit: FY 2013 CDFI and NACA Programs Application Workshop in Washington,
DC
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Date
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Location
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Registration Deadline
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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Metropolitan Square 655 15th Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Rooms 6N201/6N202
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013
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Questions
For more information on the CDFI Program and NACA Program, the webinars, and the application workshops, please contact the CDFI Fund’s Help Desk by e-mailing cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov or by calling (202) 653-0421.
CDFI Fund Background
The CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of community-based, private, for-profit and non-profit financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed communities. These institutions – certified by the CDFI Fund as Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs – are able to respond to gaps in local markets that traditional financial institutions may not adequately serve. CDFIs provide critically needed capital, credit and other financial products in addition to technical assistance to community residents and businesses, service providers, and developers working to meet community needs. The CDFI Fund's vision is an America in which all people have adequate access to affordable capital, credit and financial services.
For more information about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund's website at: http://www.cdfifund.gov.
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