Community Development Financial Institutions Fund - U. S. Treasury Department

601 Thirteenth Street, NW,
Suite 200, South,
Washington, DC 20005

Tel:  202/622-8662
Fax: 202/622-7754

Web: http://www.cdfifund.gov/who_we_are/index.asp

Background:

The CDFI Fund was created for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization and community development through investment in and assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs). The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994, as a bipartisan initiative.

The CDFI Fund achieves its purpose by promoting access to capital and local economic growth in the following ways:

• Through its CDFI Program by directly investing in, supporting and training CDFIs that provide loans, investments, financial services and technical assistance to underserved populations and communities;
  
  
• Through its New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program by providing an allocation of tax credits to community development entities (CDEs) which enable them to attract investment from the private-sector and reinvest these amounts in low-income communities;
  
  
• Through its Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program by providing an incentive to banks to invest in their communities and in other CDFIs; and
  
  
• Through its Native Initiatives, by taking action to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, and training to Native CDFIs and other Native entities proposing to become or create Native CDFIs.

Since its creation, the CDFI Fund has awarded $820 million to community development organizations and financial institutions; it has awarded allocations of New Markets Tax Credits which will attract private-sector investments totaling $12.1 billion, including $600 million for the Gulf Opportunity Zone.  In April 2008, the CDFI Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program was named as one of the Top 50 Programs that will advance to the final stages of competition for the prestigious 2008 Innovations in American Government Award. The NMTC Program was chosen from approximately 1,000 programs representing all levels of government across the nation that applied for this award.

Programs/Services:

Through monetary awards and the allocation of tax credits, the CDFI Fund helps promote access to capital and local economic growth in urban and rural low-income communities across the nation.

Through its various programs, the CDFI Fund enables locally based organizations to further goals such as: economic development (job creation, business development, and commercial real estate development); affordable housing (housing development and homeownership); and community development financial services (provision of basic banking services to underserved communities and financial literacy training).

The CDFI Fund accomplishes this through the following programs:

• Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program;
• Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program;
• New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program; and its
• Native Initiatives, includes the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program.
• Generally, an organization wishing to utilize the CDFI Fund's programs follows these five steps:

 Step 1 - Certification as a CDFI or CDE

Certification is a designation conferred by the CDFI Fund and is a requirement for accessing funding and tax credits through the CDFI Program and the NMTC Program respectively and for receiving financial assistance under the NACA Program. Certification is not required of applicants to the BEA Program, but is a requirement for certain program benefits.

 Step 2 - Apply to Program

Applications are accepted annually through each of the CDFI Fund's monetary and tax credit programs. Certification applications (not connected to a funding or tax credit application) are accepted at scheduled intervals throughout the year.

 Step 3 - Award Announcement

After a competitive review process, the CDFI Fund will announce the applicants that were selected to receive an award or allocation at a press event or by issuing a press release. The selected applicants are notified directly by the CDFI Fund through a Notice of Award or Allocation. The Fund makes this information immediately available to the public through its website.

 Step 4 - Closing and Disbursement

Successful applicants are then sent a draft Award Agreement (BEA), Assistance Agreement (CDFI or NACA), or Allocation Agreement (NMTC) to be reviewed and signed. Once the agreement is signed, the process to disburse an award may begin (monetary programs).

 Step 5 - Post Award Reporting

The Award Agreement, Assistance Agreement or Allocation Agreement contains information on the annual reporting requirements for the organization receiving the award.

Program Support Contact Information

• CDFI Fund Help Desk

Tel: (202) 622-6355

Email: cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov

• New Markets Tax Credit Support Line

Tel: (202) 622-6355