Notice of Funds Availability Inviting Applications for Financial Assistance Awards or Technical Assistance Grants Under the Native American CDFI Assistance Fiscal Year 2021 Funding Round, 10413-10432 [2021-03354]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Notices
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any
person who is eligible to receive
benefits or services from the CDFI Fund
or Recipients under any of its programs
is entitled to those benefits or services
without being subject to prohibited
discrimination. The Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Civil Rights and
Diversity enforces various Federal
statutes and regulations that prohibit
discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities
of the CDFI Fund. If a person believes
that s/he has been subjected to
discrimination and/or reprisal because
of membership in a protected group, s/
he may file a complaint with: Associate
Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of
Civil Rights, and Diversity, 1500
Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
20220 or (202) 622–1160 (not a toll-free
number).
E. Statutory and National Policy
Requirements: The CDFI Fund will
manage and administer the Federal
award in a manner so as to ensure that
Federal funding is expended and
associated programs are implemented in
full accordance with the U.S.
Constitution, Federal Law, statutory,
and public policy requirements:
including but not limited to, those
protecting free speech, religious liberty,
public welfare, the environment, and
prohibiting discrimination.
10413
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4701, et seq; 12 CFR
parts 1805 and 1815; 2 CFR part 200.
VIII. Other Information
A. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), an agency may not conduct
or sponsor a collection of information,
and an individual is not required to
respond to a collection of information,
unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. If applicable, the CDFI Fund
may inform Applicants that they do not
need to provide certain Application
information otherwise required.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction
Act, the CDFI Program, and NACA
Program Application has been assigned
the following control number: 1559–
0021, inclusive of PPC–FA, DF–FA, and
HFFI–FA.
B. Application Information Sessions:
The CDFI Fund may conduct webinars
or host information sessions for
organizations that are considering
applying to, or are interested in learning
about, the CDFI Fund’s programs. For
further information, visit the CDFI
Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov.
Jodie L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2021–03356 Filed 2–18–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–70–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability Inviting
Applications for Financial Assistance
Awards or Technical Assistance
Grants Under the Native American
CDFI Assistance Fiscal Year 2021
Funding Round
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of
Funds Availability (NOFA) inviting
Applications for Financial Assistance
(FA) awards or Technical Assistance
(TA) grants under the Native American
CDFI Assistance (NACA Program) fiscal
year (FY) 2021 Funding Round.
Announcement Type: Announcement
of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI–
2021–NACA.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.012.
DATES:
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TABLE 1—FY 2021 NACA PROGRAM FUNDING ROUND CRITICAL DEADLINES FOR APPLICANTS
Description
Deadline
Time
(eastern
time—ET)
Last day to create an Awards Management Information Systems (AMIS) Account (all Applicants).
Last day to enter EIN and DUNS numbers in AMIS
(all Applicants).
Last day to submit SF–424 Mandatory (Application
for Federal Assistance).
Last day to contact NACA Program staff .................
March 22, 2021 ......
11:59 p.m. ......
AMIS.
March 22, 2021 ......
11:59 p.m. ......
AMIS.
March 22, 2021 ......
11:59 p.m. ......
Electronically via Grants.gov.
April 29, 2021 ........
5:00 p.m. ........
Last day to contact AMIS–IT Help Desk (regarding
AMIS technical problems only).
May 3, 2021 ...........
5:00 p.m. ........
Last day to submit NACA Program Application for
Financial Assistance (FA) or Technical Assistance (TA).
May 3, 2021 ...........
11:59 p.m. ......
Service Request 1 via AMIS
or
CDFI Fund Helpdesk:
202–653–0421.
Service Request via AMIS
or
202–653–0422
or
AMIS@cdfi.treas.gov
AMIS.
Executive Summary: Through the
NACA Program, the Community
Development Financial Institutions
(CDFI) Fund provides (i) FA awards of
up to $1 million to Certified Community
Development Financial Institutions
1 Service Request shall mean a written inquiry or
notification submitted to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
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Submission method
(CDFIs) serving Native American,
Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian
populations or Native American areas
defined as Federally-designated
reservations, Hawaiian homelands,
Alaska Native Villages and U.S. Census
Bureau-designated Tribal Statistical
Areas (collectively, ‘‘Native
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Communities’’) to build their financial
capacity to lend to Eligible Markets and/
or their Target Markets, and (ii) TA
grants of up to $150,000 to build
Certified, and Emerging CDFIs’
organizational capacity to serve Eligible
Markets and/or their Target Markets,
and Sponsoring Entities ability to create
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Certified CDFIs that serve Native
Communities. All awards provided
through this NOFA are subject to
funding availability.
I. Program Description
A. History: The CDFI Fund was
established by the Riegle Community
Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 to promote
economic revitalization and community
development through investment in and
assistance to CDFIs. The Native
American CDFI Assistance (NACA)
Program made its first awards in 2002,
after the CDFI Program began making
awards in 1996.
B. Priorities: Through the NACA
Program’s FA awards and TA grants, the
CDFI Fund invests in and builds the
capacity of for-profit and non-profit
community based lending organizations
known as CDFIs. These organizations,
certified as CDFIs by the CDFI Fund,
serve Native Communities.
C. Authorizing Statutes and
Regulations: The CDFI Program is
authorized by the Riegle Community
Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103–
325, 12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) (Authorizing
Statute). The regulations governing the
NACA Program are found at 12 CFR
parts 1805 and 1815 (the Regulations)
and are used by the CDFI Fund to
govern, in general, the NACA Program,
setting forth evaluation criteria and
other program requirements. The CDFI
Fund encourages Applicants to review
the Regulations; this NOFA; the NACA
Program Application for Financial
Assistance or Technical Assistance (the
Application); all related materials and
guidance documents found on the CDFI
Fund’s website (Application materials);
and the Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
(2 CFR part 1000), which is the
Department of the Treasury’s
codification of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
government-wide framework for grants
management at 2 CFR part 200 (the
Uniform Requirements) for a complete
understanding of the NACA Program.
Capitalized terms in this NOFA are
defined in the Authorizing Statute, the
Regulations, this NOFA, the
Application, Application materials, or
the Uniform Requirements. Details
regarding Application content
requirements are found in the
Application and Application materials.
D. Uniform Administrative
Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
(2 CFR part 1000): The Uniform
Requirements codify financial,
administrative, procurement, and
program management standards that
Federal award agencies must follow.
When evaluating Applications,
awarding agencies must evaluate the
risks posed by each Applicant, and each
Applicant’s merits and eligibility. These
requirements are designed to ensure that
Applicants for Federal assistance
receive a fair and consistent review
prior to an award decision. This review
will assess items such as the Applicant’s
financial stability, quality of
management systems, the soundness of
its business plan, history of
performance, ability to achieve
measurable impacts through its
products and services, and audit
findings. In addition, the Uniform
Requirements include guidance on audit
requirements and other award
compliance requirements for Recipients.
E. Funding limitations: The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to fund, in
whole or in part, any, all, or none of the
Applications submitted in response to
this NOFA. The CDFI Fund also
reserves the right to reallocate funds
from the amount that is anticipated to
be available through this NOFA to other
CDFI Fund initiatives that are designed
to benefit Native Communities,
particularly if the CDFI Fund
determines that the number of awards
made through this NOFA is fewer than
projected.
II. Federal Award Information
A. Funding Availability:
1. FY 2021 Funding Round: The CDFI
Fund expects to award, through this
NOFA, approximately $16.5 million as
indicated in the following table:
TABLE 2—FY 2021 FUNDING ROUND ANTICIPATED CATEGORY AMOUNTS
Award Amount
Estimated total
amount
to be awarded
(millions)
Base-FA ...................................................
Persistent Poverty Counties—Financial
Assistance (PPC–FA) ...........................
TA .............................................................
Total (Base-FA, PPC–FA, and TA) .........
Disability Funds—Financial Assistance
(DF–FA) * ..............................................
Healthy Food Financing Initiative—Financial Assistance (HFFI–FA) * .................
$11.9
$150,000
$1,000,000
23
$517,000
$615,000
1.6
3
16.5
100,000
10,000
........................
300,000
$150,000
........................
11
20
54
145,000
148,000
........................
143,750
145,000
........................
3
100,000
500,000
16
187,000
235,000
22
500,000
5,000,000
14
1,600,000
1,692,000
Minimum
Maximum
Estimated
number
of awards for
FY 2021
Estimate
average
amount
awarded in
FY 2021
Funding categories
(see definition in Table 7 for TA or Table
8 for FA)
Average
amount
awarded in
FY 2020
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* DF–FA and HFFI–FA appropriation will be allocated in one competitive round between the NACA and CDFI Program NOFAs.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
award more or less than the amounts
cited above in each category, based
upon available funding and other
factors, as appropriate.
2. Funding Availability for the FY
2021 Funding Round: As of the date of
this NOFA the CDFI Fund is operating
under the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116–260).
3. Anticipated Start Date and Period
of Performance: The Period of
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Performance for TA grants begins with
the date of the award announcement
and includes either (i) an Emerging
CDFI Recipient’s three full consecutive
fiscal years after the date of the award
announcement, or (ii) a Certified CDFI
Recipient’s two full consecutive fiscal
years after the date of the award
announcement, or (iii) a Sponsoring
Entity Recipient’s four full years after
the date of the award announcement,
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during which the Recipient must meet
the Performance Goals and Measures
(PG&Ms) set forth in the Assistance
Agreement. The Period of Performance
for FA awards begins with the date of
the award announcement and includes
a Recipient’s three full consecutive
fiscal years after the date of the award
announcement, during which time the
Recipient must meet the PG&Ms set
forth in the Assistance Agreement.
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B. Types of Awards: Through the
NACA Program, the CDFI Fund
provides two types of awards: Financial
Assistance (FA) and Technical
Assistance (TA) awards. An Applicant
may submit an Application for a TA
grant or an FA award under the NACA
Program, but not both. FA Awards
include the Base Financial Assistance
(Base-FA) award and the following
awards that are provided as a
supplement to the Base-FA award:
Healthy Food Financing InitiativeFinancial Assistance (HFFI–FA),
Persistent Poverty Counties-Financial
Assistance (PPC–FA), and Disability
Funds-Financial Assistance (DF–FA).
The HFFI–FA, PPC–FA, and DF–FA
Applications will be evaluated
independently from the Base-FA
Application, and will not affect the
Base-FA Application evaluation or BaseFA award amount.
However, Applicants that qualify for
the NACA Program may submit two
Applications: One Application—either
for a TA grant or an FA award, but not
both—through the CDFI Program, and
one Application—either for a TA grant
or an FA award, but not both—through
the NACA Program. NACA qualified
Applicants that choose to apply for
awards through both the CDFI Program
and the NACA Program may either
apply for the same type of award under
each Program or for a different type of
award under each Program. NACA
qualified FA Applicants that choose to
apply for an FA award under both the
NACA Program and CDFI Program and
are selected for an award under both
Programs will be provided the FA award
under the CDFI Program. NACA
qualified TA Applicants that choose to
apply for a TA award under both the
NACA Program and CDFI Program and
are selected for an award under both
Programs will be provided the TA
award under the NACA Program. NACA
qualified Applicants that choose to
apply for a TA award and a FA award
under separate programs will be
provided the larger of the two awards.
NACA Applicants cannot receive an
award under both Programs within the
same funding round.
The Indian Community Economic
Enhancement Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116–
261) permanently waived the Matching
Funds 2 requirement for Native
American CDFIs, 3 and as a result,
2 Matching Funds shall mean funds from sources
other than the Federal government as defined in
accordance with the CDFI Program Regulations at
12 CFR 1805.500.
3 A Native American CDFI (Native CDFI) is one
that Primarily Serves a Native Community.
Primarily Serves is defined as 50% or more of an
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Native American CDFI FA Applicants
are not required to provide Matching
Funds. Additionally, TA Applicants are
not required to provide Matching
Funds.
1. Base-FA Awards: Base-FA awards
are provided in the form of a grant. The
CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to provide a Base-FA award
in an amount other than that which the
Applicant requests; however, the award
amount will not exceed the Applicant’s
award request as stated in its
Application.
2. Persistent Poverty Counties—
Financial Assistance (PPC–FA) Awards:
PPC–FA awards will be provided as a
supplement to Base-FA awards;
therefore, only those Applicants that are
selected to receive a Base-FA award
through the NACA Program FY 2021
Funding Round will be eligible to
receive a PPC–FA award. PPC–FA
awards are provided in the form of a
grant. The CDFI Fund reserves the right,
in its sole discretion, to provide a PPC–
FA award in an amount other than that
which the Applicant requests; however,
the award amount will not exceed the
Applicant’s award request as stated in
its Application.
3. Disability Funds—Financial
Assistance (DF–FA) Awards: DF–FA
awards will be provided as a
supplement to Base-FA awards;
therefore, only those Applicants that
have been selected to receive a Base-FA
award through the NACA Program FY
2021 Funding Round will be eligible to
receive a DF–FA award. DF–FA awards
are provided in the form of a grant for
Native American CDFIs. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to provide a DF–FA award in an amount
other than that which the Applicant
requests; however, the award amount
will not exceed the Applicant’s award
request as stated in its Application.
4. Healthy Food Financing Initiative—
Financial Assistance (HFFI–FA)
Awards: HFFI–FA awards will be
provided as a supplement to Base-FA
awards; therefore, only those Applicants
that have been selected to receive a
Base-FA award through the NACA
Program FY 2021 Funding Round will
be eligible to receive an HFFI–FA
award. HFFI–FA awards are provided in
the form of a grant for Native American
CDFIs. The CDFI Fund reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to provide
an HFFI–FA award in an amount other
than that which the Applicant requests;
however, the award amount will not
exceed the Applicant’s award request as
stated in its Application.
Applicant’s activities being directed to a Native
Community.
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5. TA Grants: TA is provided in the
form of grants. The CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
provide a TA grant in an amount other
than that which the Applicant requests;
however, the TA grant amount will not
exceed the Applicant’s request as stated
in its Application.
C. Eligible Activities:
1. FA Awards: Base-FA, PPC–FA, DF–
FA, and HFFI–FA award funds may be
expended for activities serving
Commercial Real Estate, Small Business,
Microenterprise, Community Facilities,
Consumer Financial Products,
Consumer Financial Services,
Commercial Financial Products,
Commercial Financial Services,
Affordable Housing, Intermediary
Lending to Non-Profits and CDFIs, and
other lines of business as deemed
appropriate by the CDFI Fund in the
following five categories: (i) Financial
Products; (ii) Financial Services; (iii)
Loan Loss Reserves; (iv) Development
Services; and (v) Capital Reserves. The
FA Budget is the amount of the award
and must be expended in the five
eligible activity categories prior to the
end of the Budget Period. 4 None of the
eligible activity categories will be
authorized for Indirect Costs or an
associated Indirect Cost Rate. Base-FA
Recipients must meet PG&Ms, which
will be derived from projections and
attestations provided by the Applicant
in its Application, to achieve one or
more of the following FA Objectives: (i)
Increase Volume of Financial Products
in an Eligible Market(s) and/or in the
Applicant’s approved Target Market
and/or Increase Volume of Financial
Services in an Eligible Market(s) and/or
in the Applicant’s approved Target
Market; (ii) Serve Eligible Market(s) or
the Applicant’s approved Target Market
in New Geographic Area or Areas; (iii)
Provide New Financial Products in an
Eligible Market(s) and/or in the
Applicant’s approved Target Market,
Provide New Financial Services in an
Eligible Market(s) and/or in the
Applicant’s approved Target Market, or
Provide New Development Services in
an Eligible Market(s) and/or in the
Applicant’s approved Target Market;
and (iv) Serve New Targeted Population
or Populations. At the end of each year
of the Period of Performance, 50% or
more of the Financial Products closed
by NACA Recipients must be in Native
Communities. FA awards may only be
used for Direct Costs associated with an
eligible activity; no indirect expenses
4 Budget Period means the time interval from the
start date of a funded portion of an award to the
end date of that funded portion during which
Recipients are authorized to expend the funds
awarded.
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are allowed. Up to 15% of the FA award
may be used for Direct Administrative
Expenses associated with an eligible FA
activity. ‘‘Direct Administrative
Expenses’’ shall mean Direct Costs, as
described in 2 CFR 200.413 of the
Uniform Requirements, which are
incurred by the Recipient to carry out
the Financial Assistance. Direct Costs
incurred to provide Development
Services or Financial Services do not
constitute Direct Administrative
Expenses.
The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements, 5
with respect to any Direct Costs. For
purposes of this NOFA, the five eligible
activity categories are defined below:
TABLE 3—BASE-FA, PPC–FA, DF–FA, AND HFFI–FA ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY CATEGORIES
FA eligible activity
FA eligible activity definition *
i. Financial Products ........................
FA expended as loans, Equity Investments and similar financing activities (as determined by the CDFI Fund) including the purchase of
loans originated by Certified CDFIs and the provision of loan guarantees. In the case of CDFI Intermediaries, Financial Products may
also include loans to CDFIs and/or Emerging CDFIs, and deposits
in Insured Credit Union CDFIs, Emerging Insured Credit Union
CDFIs, and/or State-Insured Credit Union CDFIs..
For HFFI–FA, however, the purchase of loans originated by Certified
CDFIs, loan refinancing, or any type of financing for prepared food
outlets are not eligible activities..
FA expended for providing checking, savings accounts, check cashing, money orders, certified checks, automated teller machines, deposit taking, safe deposit box services, and other similar services.
FA set aside in the form of cash reserves, or through accountingbased accrual reserves, to cover losses on loans, accounts, and
notes receivable or for related purposes that the CDFI Fund deems
appropriate.
FA expended for activities undertaken by a CDFI, its Affiliate or contractor that (i) promote community development and (ii) prepare or
assist current or potential borrowers or investees to use the CDFI’s
Financial Products or Financial Services. For example, such activities include financial or credit counseling;.
homeownership counseling; business planning; and management assistance..
FA set aside as reserves to support the Applicant’s ability to leverage
other capital, for such purposes as increasing its net assets or providing financing, or for related purposes as the CDFI Fund deems
appropriate.
ii. Financial Services .......................
iii. Loan Loss Reserves ...................
iv. Development Services ...............
v. Capital Reserves .........................
Eligible CDFI institution types
All.
Regulated Institutions 6 only.
Not applicable for HFFI-FA Recipients.
All.
All.
Regulated Institutions only.
Not applicable for DF–FA.
vi.
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* All FA eligible activities must be in an Eligible Market or the Applicant’s approved Target Market. Eligible Market is defined as (i) a geographic
area meeting the requirements set forth in 12 CFR 1805.201(b)(3)(ii), or (ii) individuals that are Low-Income, African American, Hispanic, Native
American, Native Hawaiians residing in Hawaii, Alaska Natives residing in Alaska, or Other Pacific Islanders residing in American Samoa, Guam
or the Northern Mariana Islands.
2. DF–FA Award: DF–FA award funds
may only be expended for eligible FA
activities (referenced in Table 3) to
directly or indirectly benefit individuals
with disabilities. The DF–FA Recipient
must close Financial Products for the
primary purpose of directly or indirectly
benefiting people with disabilities,
where the majority of the DF–FA
supported loans or investments benefit
individuals with disabilities, in an
amount equal to or greater than 85% of
the total DF–FA provided. Eligible DF–
FA financing activities may include,
among other activities, loans to develop
or purchase affordable, accessible, and
safe housing; loans to provide or
facilitate employment opportunities;
and loans to purchase assistive
technology.
For the purposes of DF- FA, a person
with a Disability is a person who has a
physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major
life activities, a person who has a
history or record of such an impairment,
or a person who is perceived by others
as having such an impairment, as
defined by the American Disabilities
Act (ADA) at https://www.ada.gov/
cguide.htm.
3. TA Grants: TA grant funds may be
expended for the following eight eligible
activity categories: (i) Compensation—
Personal Services; (ii) Compensation—
Fringe Benefits; (iii) Professional
Service Costs; (iv) Travel Costs; (v)
Training and Education Costs; (vi)
Equipment; (vii) Supplies; and (viii)
Incorporation Costs. Only Sponsoring
Entities may use TA grant funds for
Incorporation Costs. The TA Budget is
the amount of the award and must be
expended in the eight eligible activity
categories before the end of the Budget
Period. None of the eligible activity
categories will be authorized for Indirect
Costs or an associated Indirect Cost
Rate. Any expenses that are prohibited
by the Uniform Requirements are
unallowable and are generally found in
Subpart E-Cost Principles. The
Recipient must comply, as applicable,
with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41
U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of
the Uniform Requirements, with respect
to any Direct Costs. For purposes of this
5 2 CFR 200.216 prohibits Recipients and
Subrecipients from obligating or expending loan or
grant funds to procure or obtain, by contract or
otherwise, equipment, services, or systems that use
‘‘covered telecommunications equipment’’. As used
herein, ‘‘covered telecommunications equipment’’ is
telecommunications equipment produced by
Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation
(or any Subsidiary or Affiliate of such entities).
6 Regulated Institutions include Insured Credit
Unions, Insured Depository Institutions, StateInsured Credit Unions and Depository Institution
Holding Companies.
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NOFA, the eight eligible activity
categories are defined below:
TABLE 4—TA ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY CATEGORIES, SUBJECT TO THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE UNIFORM
REQUIREMENTS
(i) Compensation—Personal
Services.
(ii) Compensation—Fringe
Benefits.
(iii) Professional Service
Costs.
(iv) Travel Costs ...................
(v) Training and Education
Costs.
(vi) Equipment ......................
(vii) Supplies .........................
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(viii) Incorporation Costs
(Sponsoring Entities only).
TA paid to cover all remuneration paid currently or accrued, for services of Applicant’s employees rendered during the Period of Performance under the TA grant in accordance with § 200.430 of the Uniform Requirements.
Any work performed directly but unrelated to the purposes of the TA grant may not be paid as Compensation
through a TA grant. For example, the salaries for building maintenance would not carry out the purpose of a
TA grant and would be deemed unallowable.
TA paid to cover allowances and services provided by the Applicant to its employees as Compensation in addition to regular salaries and wages, in accordance with § 200.431 of the Uniform Requirements. Such expenditures are allowable as long as they are made under formally established and consistently applied organizational policies of the Applicant.
TA used to pay for professional and consultant services (e.g., such as strategic and marketing plan development), rendered by persons who are members of a particular profession or possess a special skill (e.g., credit
analysis, portfolio management), and who are not officers or employees of the Applicant, in accordance with
§ 200.459 of the Uniform Requirements. Payment for a consultant’s services may not exceed the current maximum of the daily equivalent rate paid to an Executive Schedule Level IV Federal employee. Professional and
consultant services must build the capacity of the CDFI. For example, professional services that provide direct
Development Services to the customers does not build the capacity of the CDFI to provide those services and
would not be eligible. The Applicant must comply, as applicable, with 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform Requirements, with respect to payment of Professional Service Costs.
TA used to pay costs of transportation, lodging, subsistence, and related items incurred by the Applicant’s personnel who are on travel status on business related to the TA award, in accordance with § 200.475 of the Uniform Requirements. Travel Costs do not include costs incurred by the Applicant’s consultants who are on travel
status. Any payments for travel expenses incurred by the Applicant’s personnel but unrelated to carrying out
the purpose of the TA grant would be deemed unallowable. As such, documentation must be maintained that
justifies the travel as necessary to the TA grant.
TA used to pay the cost of training and education provided by the Applicant for employees’ development in accordance with § 200.473 of the Uniform Requirements. TA can only be used to pay for training costs incurred
by the Applicant’s employees. Training and Education Costs may not be incurred by the Applicant’s consultants.
TA used to pay for tangible personal property, having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost of at least $5,000, in accordance with § 200.1 of the Uniform Requirements. For example, items such
as office furnishings and information technology systems are allowable as Equipment costs. The Applicant
must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of
the Uniform Requirements, with respect to the purchase of Equipment.
TA used to pay for tangible personal property with a per unit acquisition cost of less than $5,000 in accordance
with § 200.1 of the Uniform Requirements. For example, a desktop computer costing $1,000 is allowable as a
Supply cost. The Applicant must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–
8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform Requirements, with respect to the purchase of Supplies.
TA used to pay for incorporation fees in connection with the establishment or reorganization of an organization as
a CDFI, in accordance with § 200.455 of the Uniform Requirements. Incorporation Costs are allowable for
NACA Program Sponsoring Entity Applicants only.
4. HFFI–FA Award: HFFI–FA award
funds may only be expended for eligible
FA activities referenced in Table 3. The
HFFI–FA investments must comply
with the following guidelines:
a. Recipient must close Financial
Products for Healthy Food Retail Outlets
and Healthy Food Non-Retail Outlets in
its approved Target Market in an
amount equal to or greater than 100% of
the total HFFI Financial Assistance
provided. Eligible financing activities to
Healthy Food Retail Outlets and Healthy
Food Non-Retail Outlets require that the
majority of the loan or investment be
devoted to offering a range of Healthy
Food choices, which may include,
among other activities, investments
supporting an existing retail store or
wholesale operation upgrade to offer an
expanded range of Healthy Food
choices, or supporting a nonprofit
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organization that expands the
availability of Healthy Foods in
underserved areas.
b. Recipient must demonstrate that it
has closed Financial Products to
Healthy Food Retail Outlets located in
Food Deserts in the Recipient’s
approved Target Market in an amount
equal to 75% of the total HFFI Financial
Assistance provided.
Definitions:
Healthy Foods: Healthy Foods include
unprepared nutrient-dense foods and
beverages as set forth in the USDA
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–
2025 including whole fruits and
vegetables, whole grains, fat free or lowfat dairy foods, lean meats and poultry
(fresh, refrigerated, frozen or canned).
Healthy Foods should have low or no
added sugars, and be low-sodium,
reduced sodium, or no-salt-added. (See
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USDA Dietary Guidelines: https://
www.dietaryguidelines.gov).
Healthy Food Retail Outlets:
Commercial sellers of Healthy Foods
including, but not limited to, grocery
stores, mobile food retailers, farmers
markets, retail cooperatives, corner
stores, bodegas, stores that sell other
food and non-food items along with a
range of Healthy Foods.
Healthy Food Non-Retail Outlets:
Wholesalers of Healthy Foods
including, but not limited to, wholesale
food outlets, wholesale cooperatives, or
other non-retail food producers that
supply for sale a range of Healthy Food
options; entities that produce or
distribute Healthy Foods for eventual
retail sale, and entities that provide
consumer education regarding the
consumption of Healthy Foods.
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Food Deserts: Distressed geographic
areas where either a substantial number
or share of residents has low access to
a supermarket or large grocery store. For
the purpose of satisfying this
requirement, a Food Desert must either:
(1) Be a census tract determined to be
a Food Desert by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), in its USDA Food
Access Research Atlas; (2) be a census
tract adjacent to a census tract
determined to be a Food Desert by the
USDA, in its USDA Food Access
Research Atlas; which has a median
family income less than or equal to
120% of the applicable Area Median
Family Income; or (3) be a Geographic
Unit as defined in 12 CFR
1805.201(b)(3)(ii)(B), which (i)
individually meets at least one of the
criteria in 12 CFR 1805.201(b)(3)(ii)(D),
and (ii) has been identified as having
low access to a supermarket or grocery
store through a methodology that has
been adopted for use by another
governmental or philanthropic healthy
food initiative.
5. PPC–FA Award: PPC–FA award
funds may only be expended for eligible
FA activities referenced in Table 3. The
PPC–FA Recipient must close Financial
Products in PPC in an Eligible Market or
in the Applicant’s approved Target
Market in an amount equal to or greater
than 100% of the total PPC Financial
Assistance provided. The specific
counties that meet the criteria for
‘‘persistent poverty’’ can be found at:
https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/
CDFIPPCFeb19-2020.xls.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants: For the
purposes of this NOFA, the following
tables set forth the eligibility criteria to
receive an award from the CDFI Fund,
along with certain definitions of terms.
There are four categories of Applicant
eligibility criteria: (1) CDFI certification
criteria (Table 5); (2) requirements that
apply to all Applicants (Table 6); (3)
requirements that apply to TA
Applicants (Table 7); and (4)
requirements that apply to FA
Applicants (Table 8).
TABLE 5—CDFI CERTIFICATION CRITERIA DEFINITIONS
Certified CDFI .................................
Emerging CDFI (TA Applicants) .....
Sponsoring Entity ............................
Definition of Native Other Targeted
Population as Target Market.
• An entity that the CDFI Fund has officially notified that it meets all CDFI certification requirements.
• A non-Certified entity that demonstrates to the CDFI Fund in its Application that it has an acceptable
plan to meet CDFI certification requirements by the end of its Period of Performance, or another date
that the CDFI Fund selects.
• An Emerging CDFI that has prior award(s) must comply with CDFI certification PG&M(s) stated in its
prior Assistance Agreement(s).
• An Emerging CDFI selected to receive a TA grant will be required to become a Certified CDFI by a date
specified in the Assistance Agreement.
• Sponsoring Entities include any legal organization that primarily serves a Native Community with ’’primary’’ meaning, at least 50% of its activities are directed toward the Native Community.
• An eligible organization that proposes to create a separate legal organization that will become a Certified
CDFI serving Native Communities.
• Each Sponsoring Entity selected to receive a TA grant will be required to create a CDFI and ensure that
this newly created CDFI becomes certified by the dates specified in the Assistance Agreement.
The CDFI Fund uses the following definitions, set forth in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Notice, Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (October
30, 1997), as amended and supplemented:
• American Indian, Native American, or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original
peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation
or community attachment; and
• Native Hawaiian (living in Hawaii): A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii.
TABLE 6—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL APPLICANTS
Applicant .........................................
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Application type and submission
overview through Grants.gov and
Awards Management Information
System (AMIS).
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• Only the entity that will carry out the proposed award activities may apply for an award (other than Depository Institution Holding Companies (DIHC) 7—see below and Sponsoring Entities). Recipients may
not create a new legal entity to carry out the proposed award activities (except for Sponsoring Entities).
• The information in the Application should only reflect the activities of the Applicant, including the presentation of financial and portfolio information. Do not include financial or portfolio information from parent
companies, Affiliates, or Subsidiaries in the Application unless it relates to the provision of Development
Services.
• An Applicant that applies on behalf of another organization will be rejected without further consideration,
other than Depository Institution Holding Companies (see below).
• Applicants must submit the Required Application Documents listed in Table 10.
• The CDFI Fund will only accept Applications that use the official Application templates provided on the
Grants.gov and AMIS websites. Applications submitted with alternative or altered templates will not be
considered.
• Applicants undergo a two-step process that requires the submission of Application documents by two
separate deadlines in two different locations: (1) The SF–424 in Grants.gov and (2) all other Required
Application Documents in AMIS.
• Grants.gov and the SF–424:
Æ Grants.gov: Applicants must submit the Standard Form (SF) SF–424, Application for Federal Assistance.
Æ All Applicants must register in the Grants.gov system to successfully submit an Application. The
Grants.gov registration process can take 30 days or more to complete. The CDFI Fund strongly encourages Applicants to register as early as possible.
Æ The CDFI Fund will not extend the SF–424 application deadline for any Applicant that started the
Grants.gov registration process on, before, or after the date of the publication of this NOFA, but did
not complete it by the deadline except in the case of a Federal government administrative or technological error that directly resulted in a late submission of the SF–424.
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TABLE 6—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL APPLICANTS—Continued
Employer
(EIN).
Identification
Number
Dun & Bradstreet, (DUNS) number
System for Award Management
(SAM).
AMIS Account .................................
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501 (c)(4) status ..............................
Compliance with Nondiscrimination
and Equal Opportunity Statutes,
Regulations, and Executive Orders.
Depository Institution Holding Company Applicant.
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Æ The SF–424 must be submitted in Grants.gov on or before the deadline listed in Table 1 and Table
12. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their SF–424 as early as possible in the
Grants.gov portal.
Æ The deadline for the Grants.gov submission is before the AMIS submission deadline.
Æ The SF–424 must be submitted under the NACA Program Funding Opportunity Number for the
NACA Program Application. NACA Program Applicants should be careful to not select the CDFI
Program Funding Opportunity Number when submitting their SF–424 for the NACA Program. NACA
Program Applicants that submit their SF–424 for the NACA Program Application under the CDFI
Program Funding Opportunity Number will be deemed ineligible for the NACA Program Application.
Æ If the SF–424 is not accepted by Grants.gov by the deadline, the CDFI Fund will not review any
material submitted in AMIS and the Application will be deemed ineligible.
• AMIS and all other Required Application Documents listed in Table 10:
Æ AMIS is an enterprise-wide information technology system. Applicants will use AMIS to submit and
store organization and Application information with the CDFI Fund.
Æ Applicants are only allowed one NACA Program Application submission in AMIS.
Æ Each Application in AMIS must be signed by an Authorized Representative.
Æ Applicants must ensure that the Authorized Representative is an employee or officer of the Applicant, authorized to sign legal documents on behalf of the organization. Consultants working on behalf of the organization may not be designated as Authorized Representatives.
Æ Only the Authorized Representative or Application Point of Contact, included in the Application, may
submit the Application in AMIS.
Æ All Required Application Documents must be submitted in AMIS on or before the deadline specified
in Tables 1 and 12.
Æ The CDFI Fund will not extend the deadline for any Applicant except in the case of a Federal government administrative or technological error that directly resulted in the late submission of the Application in AMIS.
• Applicants must have a unique EIN assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
• The CDFI Fund will reject an Application submitted with the EIN of a parent or Affiliate organization.
• The EIN in the Applicant’s AMIS account must match the EIN in the Applicant’s System for Award Management (SAM) account. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to reject an Application if the EIN in the Applicant’s AMIS account does not match the EIN in its SAM account.
• Applicants must enter their EIN into their AMIS profile on or before the deadline specified in Tables 1
and 12.
• Pursuant to OMB guidance (68 FR 38402), an Applicant must apply using its unique DUNS number in
Grants.gov.
• The CDFI Fund will reject an Application submitted with the DUNS number of a parent or Affiliate organization.
• The DUNS number in the Applicant’s AMIS account must match the DUNS number in the Applicant’s
Grants.gov and SAM accounts. The CDFI Fund will reject an Application if the DUNS number in the Applicant’s AMIS account does not match the DUNS number in its Grants.gov and SAM accounts.
• Applicants must enter their DUNS number into their AMIS profile on or before the deadline specified in
Tables 1 and 12.
• SAM is a web-based, government-wide application that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates
business information about the federal government’s trading partners in support of the contract awards,
grants, and electronic payment processes.
• Applicants must register in SAM as part of the Grants.gov registration process.
• Applicants must have a DUNS number and an EIN number in order to register in SAM.
• Applicants must be registered in SAM in order to submit an SF–424 in Grants.gov.
• The CDFI Fund reserves the right to deem an Application ineligible if the Applicant’s SAM account expires during the Application evaluation period, or is set to expire before September 30, 2021, and the
Applicant does not re-activate, or renew, as applicable, the account within the deadlines that the CDFI
Fund communicates to affected Applicants during the Application evaluation period.
• Each Applicant must register as an organization in AMIS and submit all Required Application Documents
listed in Table 10 through the AMIS portal.
• The Application of any organization that does not properly register in AMIS by the deadline set forth in
Table 1—FY 2021 NACA Program Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants—will be rejected
without further consideration.
• The Authorized Representative and/or Application Point of Contact must be included as ‘‘users’’ in the
Applicant’s AMIS account.
• An Applicant that fails to properly register and update its AMIS account may miss important communication from the CDFI Fund and/or may not be able to successfully submit an Application.
• Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 1611, any 501(c)(4) organization that engages in lobbying activities is not eligible
to receive a CDFI or NACA Program award.
• An Applicant may not be eligible to receive an award if proceedings have been instituted against it in,
by, or before any court, governmental agency, or administrative body, and a final determination within
the last three years indicates the Applicant has violated any of the following laws, including but not limited to: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C.2000d); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, (42 U.S.C. 6101–6107), and
Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.
• In the case where a CDFI Depository Institution Holding Company Applicant intends to carry out the activities of an award through its Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution, the Application must be
submitted by the CDFI Depository Institution Holding Company and reflect the activities and financial
performance of the Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution.
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TABLE 6—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL APPLICANTS—Continued
Use of award ...................................
Requested award amount ...............
Pending resolution of noncompliance.
Noncompliance or default status ....
Debarment/Do Not Pay Verification
• Authorized Representatives of both the Depository Institution Holding Company and the Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution must certify that the information included in the Application represents that
of the Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution, and that the award funds will be used to support
the Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution for the eligible activities outlined in the Application.
• All awards made through this NOFA must be used to support the Applicant’s activities in at least one of
the FA or TA Eligible Activity Categories (see Section II. (C)).
• With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, awards may not be used to
support the activities of, or otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar
transaction, and with the CDFI Fund’s prior written consent. The Recipient of any award made through
this NOFA must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2
CFR 200.216 of the Uniform Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
• An Applicant must state its requested award amount in the Application in AMIS. An Applicant that does
not include this amount will not be allowed to submit an Application.
• The CDFI Fund will consider an Application submitted by an Applicant that has pending noncompliance
issues on any of its previously executed award agreement(s), if the CDFI Fund has not yet made a final
compliance determination.
• The CDFI Fund will not consider an Application submitted by an Applicant that has a previously executed award agreement(s) if, as of the date of the Application, (i) the CDFI Fund has made a final determination that such entity is noncompliant or found in default with a previously executed agreement, and
(ii) the CDFI Fund has provided written notification that such entity is ineligible to apply for or receive
any future CDFI Fund awards or allocations. Such entities will be ineligible to submit an Application for
such time period as specified by the CDFI Fund in writing.
• The CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that has defaulted on a loan from the CDFI Fund within
five years of the Application deadline.
• The CDFI Fund will conduct a debarment check and will not consider an Application submitted by an
Applicant (or Affiliate of an Applicant) if the Applicant is delinquent on any Federal debt.
• The Do Not Pay Business Center was developed to support Federal agencies in their efforts to reduce
the number of improper payments made through programs funded by the Federal government. The Do
Not Pay Business Center provides delinquency information to the CDFI Fund to assist with the debarment check.
TABLE 7—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR TA APPLICANTS
CDFI certification status ..................
Matching Funds ..............................
Limitation on Awards ......................
Proposed Activities .........................
Regulated Institution .......................
Target Market ..................................
Certified CDFIs, Emerging CDFIs, or Sponsoring Entities (see definitions in Table 5).
• Matching Funds documentation is not required for TA awards.
• An Emerging CDFI serving Native Communities may not receive more than three TA awards as an
uncertified CDFI.
• A Sponsoring Entity is only eligible to apply for an award if (i) it does not have an active prior award or
(ii) the certification goal in its active award’s Assistance Agreement has been satisfied and it proposes to
create another CDFI that will serve one or more Native Communities.
• Applicants must propose to directly undertake eligible activities with TA awards. For example, an
uncertified CDFI Applicant must propose to become certified as part of its Application and a Certified
CDFI Applicant must propose activities that build its capacity to serve its Target Market or an Eligible
Market.
• With the exception of Sponsoring Entities, Applicants may not propose to use a TA award to create a
separate legal entity to become a Certified CDFI or otherwise carry out the TA award activities.
• Each Regulated Institution TA Applicant must have a CAMELS/CAMEL rating (rating for banks and credit unions, respectively) or equivalent type of rating by its regulator (collectively referred to as ‘‘CAMELS/
CAMEL rating’’) of at least ‘‘4’’.
• TA Applicants with CAMELS/CAMEL ratings of ‘‘5’’ will not be eligible for awards.
• The CDFI Fund will also evaluate material concerns identified by the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency in determining the eligibility of Regulated Institution Applicants.
• TA Applicants must demonstrate that the Certified CDFI, Emerging CDFI, or the CDFI to be created by
the Sponsoring Entity will primarily serve one or more Native Communities as its Target Market.
TABLE 8—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR FA APPLICANTS
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CDFI certification status ..................
Activities in Native Communities ....
• Each FA Applicant must be a Certified CDFI prior to the date of the release of this NOFA.
• The CDFI Fund will consider an Application submitted by an Applicant that has pending noncompliance
issues with its Annual Certification Report if the CDFI Fund has not yet made a final compliance determination.
• If a Certified CDFI loses its certification at any point prior to the award announcement, the Application
will no longer be considered by the CDFI Fund.
• For consideration under this NOFA, each FA Applicant must:
7 Depository Institution Holding Company or
DIHC means a Bank Holding Company or a Savings
and Loan Holding Company.
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TABLE 8—ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR FA APPLICANTS—Continued
Target Market ..................................
•
•
Community Collaboration ................
Matching Funds documentation ......
$5 Million funding cap .....................
•
•
•
•
•
FA Applicants
Partners.
with
Community
•
•
•
•
Regulated Institution .......................
•
•
•
PPC–FA ..........................................
•
DF–FA .............................................
•
HFFI–FA ..........................................
•
Æ Demonstrate that at least 50% of its past activities were in one or more Native Communities; and
Æ Describe how it will target its lending/investing activities to one or more Native Communities.
For consideration under this NOFA, an FA Applicant’s certification Target Market must have one or more
of the following characteristics:
Æ For qualifying with an Investment Area, the Applicant must demonstrate that the Investment Area
approved for certification is also a geographic area of Federally-designated reservations, Hawaiian
homelands, Alaska Native Villages and U.S. Census Bureau designated Tribal Statistical Areas;
and/or
Æ For qualifying with an Other Targeted Population (OTP), the applicant’s Target Market approved for
certification must be an OTP of Native Americans or American Indians, including Alaska Natives living in Alaska and Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii.
Any FA Applicant whose certification Target Market does not meet either of the conditions above will not
be eligible for an FA award under this NOFA.
All FA Applicants must demonstrate strong community collaboration with Native Communities.
Native American CDFIs are not required to provide Matching Funds.
The CDFI Fund is prohibited from obligating more than $5 million in CDFI and NACA Program awards,
in the aggregate, to any one organization and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates during any three-year period
from the Announcement Date.
For TA Applicants, for purposes of this NOFA and per final FY 2021 appropriations language, the CDFI
Fund will include CDFI and NACA Program final awards in the cap calculation that were provided to an
Applicant (and/or its Subsidiaries or Affiliates) under the FY 2019, and 2020 funding rounds, as well as
the requested FY 2021 award, excluding DF–FA and HFFI–FA awards.
For FA Applicants, for purposes of this NOFA and per final FY 2021 appropriations language, the CDFI
Fund will include CDFI and NACA Program final awards in the cap calculation that were provided to an
Applicant (and/or its Subsidiaries or Affiliates) under the FY 2019 and 2020 funding rounds, as well as
the requested FY 2021 award, excluding DF–FA and HFFI–FA awards.
A NACA Applicant can apply for assistance jointly with a Community Partner. The CDFI Applicant must
complete the NACA Program Application and address the Community Partnership in its business plan
and other sections of the Application as specified in the Application materials.
The CDFI Applicant must be a Certified CDFI as defined in Table 5.
An Application with a Community Partner must:
Æ Describe how the NACA Applicant and Community Partner will each participate in the partnership
and how the partnership will enhance eligible activities serving the Investment Area and/or Targeted
Population.
Æ Demonstrate that the Community Partnership activities are consistent with the strategic plan submitted by the NACA Applicant.
Assistance provided upon approval of an Application with a Community Partner shall only be entrusted
to the NACA Applicant and shall not be used to fund any activity carried out directly by the Community
Partner or an Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof.
Each Regulated Institution FA Applicant must have a CAMELS/CAMEL rating (rating for banks and credit unions, respectively) or equivalent type of rating by its regulator (collectively referred to as ‘‘CAMELS/
CAMEL rating’’) of at least ‘‘3’’.
FA Applicants with CAMELS/CAMEL ratings of ‘‘4 or 5’’ will not be eligible for awards.
The CDFI Fund will also evaluate material concerns identified by the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency in determining the eligibility of Regulated Institution Applicants.
All PPC–FA Applicants must:
Æ Submit a CDFI or NACA Program FA Application;
Æ Meet all NACA FA award eligibility requirements; and
Æ Provide a PPC–FA award request amount in AMIS.
All DF–FA Applicants must:
Æ Submit a CDFI or NACA Program FA Application;
Æ Meet all NACA FA award eligibility requirements;
Æ Submit the DF–FA Application; and
Æ Provide a DF–FA award request amount in AMIS.
All HFFI–FA Applicants must:
Æ Submit a CDFI or NACA Program FA Application;
Æ Meet all NACA FA award eligibility requirements;
Æ Submit the HFFI–FA Application; and
Æ Provide a HFFI–FA award request amount in AMIS.
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B. Matching Funds Requirements:
Native American CDFIs are not required
to provide Matching Funds.
TABLE 9—RESERVED
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IV. Application and Submission
Information
A. Address to Request an Application
Package: Application materials can be
found on the CDFI Fund’s website at
www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/
Programs/native-initiatives. Applicants
may request a paper version of any
Application material by contacting the
CDFI Fund Help Desk at cdfihelp@
cdfi.treas.gov. Paper versions of
Application materials will only be
provided if an Applicant cannot access
the CDFI Fund’s website.
B. Content and Form of Application
Submission: All Applications must be
prepared using the English language,
and calculations must be computed in
U.S. dollars. The following table lists
the Required Application Documents for
the FY 2021 Funding Round. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to request and
review other pertinent or public
information that has not been
specifically requested in this NOFA or
the Application. Information submitted
by the Applicant that the CDFI Fund has
not specifically requested will not be
reviewed or considered as part of the
Application. Financial data, portfolio,
and activity information provided in the
Application should only include the
Applicant’s activities. Information
submitted must accurately reflect the
Applicant’s activities.
TABLE 10—REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS
Application documents
Applicant type
Submission format
Active AMIS Account ...............................................................................................
SF–424 ....................................................................................................................
All Applicants .........................................
All Applicants .........................................
NACA Program Application Components: ..............................................................
• Funding Application Detail.
• Data, Charts, and Narrative sections as listed in AMIS and outlined in Application materials.
PPC–FA Application Components: .........................................................................
• Funding Application Detail
• Narratives
• AMIS Charts
DF–FA Application Components: ............................................................................
• Funding Application Detail.
• Narratives.
• AMIS Charts.
HFFI–FA Application Components: .........................................................................
• Funding Application Detail.
• Narratives.
• AMIS charts.
All Applicants .........................................
AMIS.
Fillable PDF in
Grants.gov.
AMIS.
PPC–FA Applicants ...............................
AMIS.
DF–FA Applicants ..................................
AMIS.
HFFI–FA Applicants ..............................
AMIS.
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ATTACHMENTS TO THE APPLICATION: Add to ‘‘Related Attachments’’ related list in Application
Key Staff Resumes .................................................................................................
All Applicants .........................................
Organizational Chart ...............................................................................................
Audited financial statements for the Applicant’s Three Most Recent Historic Fiscal Years.
All Applicants .........................................
FA Applicants: Loan funds, Venture
Capital Funds,8 and other non-Regulated Institutions.
TA Applicants, if available: loan funds,
Venture Capital Funds, and other
non-Regulated Institutions.
FA Applicants: Loan funds, Venture
Capital Funds, and other non-Regulated Institutions.
TA Applicants, if audited financial statements are available: Loan funds,
Venture Capital Funds, and other
non-Regulated Institutions.
Management Letter for the Applicant’s Most Recent Historic Fiscal Year .............
The Management Letter is prepared by the Applicant’s auditor and is a communication on internal control over financial reporting, compliance, and other
matters. The Management Letter contains the auditor’s findings regarding the
Applicant’s accounting policies and procedures, internal controls, and operating policies, including any material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, and
other matters identified during auditing. The Management Letter may include
suggestions for improving on identified weaknesses and deficiencies and/or
best practice suggestions for items that may not be considered to be weaknesses or deficiencies. The Management Letter may also include items that
are not required to be disclosed in the annual audited financial statements.
The Management Letter is distinct from the auditor’s Opinion Letter, which is
required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Management
Letters are not required by GAAP, and are sometimes provided by the auditor
as a separate letter from the audit itself.
Statement(s) in Lieu of Management Letter for Applicant’s Most Recent Historic
Fiscal Year issued by the Board Treasurer or other Board member using the
template provided in the Application materials (required only if Management
Letters are not available for audited financial statements).
Unaudited financial statements for Applicant’s Three Most Recent Historic Years
(required only if audited financial statements are not available).
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FA Applicants: Loan funds, Venture
Capital Funds, and other non-Regulated Institutions.
TA Applicants, if audited financial statements ARE available but the Management Letters are NOT available:
Loan funds, Venture Capital Funds,
and other non-Regulated Institutions.
TA Applicants: Loan funds, Venture
Capital Funds, and other non-Regulated Institutions.
E:\FR\FM\19FEN1.SGM
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PDF or Word document in AMIS.
PDF in AMIS.
PDF in AMIS.
PDF in AMIS.
AMIS.
PDF in AMIS.
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TABLE 10—REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS—Continued
Application documents
Applicant type
Current Year to Date—December 31, 2020 Unaudited financial statements ........
FA and TA Applicants: Loan funds,
Venture Capital Funds, and other
non-Regulated Institutions.
FA Applicants, if applicable ...................
Community Partnership Agreement ........................................................................
C. Application Submission: The CDFI
Fund has a two-step process that
requires the submission of Required
Application Documents (listed in Table
10) on separate deadlines and locations.
The SF–424 must be submitted through
Grants.gov and all other Required
Application Documents through the
AMIS portal. The CDFI Fund will not
accept Applications via email, mail,
facsimile, or other forms of
communication, except in extremely
rare circumstances that have been preapproved in writing by the CDFI Fund.
The deadline for submitting the SF–424
is listed in Tables 1 and 12.
All Applicants must register in the
Grants.gov system to successfully
submit the SF–424. The Grants.gov
registration process can take 45 days or
longer to complete and the CDFI Fund
strongly encourages Applicants to start
the Grants.gov registration process as
early as possible (refer to the following
link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/
register.html). Since the Grants.gov
registration process requires Applicants
to have DUNS and EIN numbers,
Applicants without these required
numbers should allow for additional
time to complete the Grants.gov
registration process. Further, as
described in Section IV. (E) of this
NOFA, new requirements for
registration in the System for Awards
Management (SAM), which is required
as part of the Grants.gov registration
process, may take more time than in
recent years. The CDFI Fund will not
extend the Application deadline for any
Applicant that started the Grants.gov
registration process but did not
complete it by the deadline. An
Applicant that has previously registered
with Grants.gov must verify that its
registration is current and active.
Applicants should contact Grants.gov
directly with questions related to the
registration or submission process as the
CDFI Fund does not maintain the
Grants.gov system.
Each Application must be signed by a
designated Authorized Representative
in AMIS before it can be submitted.
Applicants must ensure that an
Authorized Representative is an
employee or officer and is authorized to
sign legal documents on behalf of the
Applicant. Consultants working on
behalf of the Applicant may not be
designated as Authorized
Representatives. Only a designated
Authorized Representative or
Application Point of Contact, included
in the Application, may submit the
Application in AMIS. If an Authorized
Representative or Application Point of
Contact does not submit the
Application, the Application will be
deemed ineligible.
D. Dun & Bradstreet Universal
Numbering System: Pursuant to the
Uniform Requirements, each Applicant
must provide as part of its Application
submission, a Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number. Applicants without a DUNS
number will not be able to register and
submit an Application in the Grants.gov
system. Allow sufficient time for Dun &
Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/
or requests for DUNS numbers.
E. System for Award Management
(SAM): Any entity applying for Federal
grants or other forms of Federal
financial assistance through Grants.gov
must be registered in SAM before
Submission format
PDF in AMIS.
PDF or Word document in AMIS.
submitting its Application. Registration
in SAM is required as part of the
Grants.gov registration process. The
SAM registration process may take one
month or longer to complete. A signed
notarized letter identifying the SAM
authorized entity administrator for the
entity associated with the DUNS
number is required. This requirement is
applicable to new entities registering in
SAM, as well as to existing entities with
registrations being updated or renewed
in SAM. Applicants without DUNS and/
or EIN numbers should allow for
additional time as an Applicant cannot
register in SAM without those required
numbers. Applicants that have
previously completed the SAM
registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and
active. Each Applicant must continue to
maintain an active SAM registration
with current information at all times
during which it has an active Federal
award or an Application under
consideration by a Federal awarding
agency. The CDFI Fund will deem
ineligible any Applicant that fails to
properly register or activate its SAM
account and, as a result, is unable to
submit the SF–424 in Grants.gov or
Application in AMIS by the applicable
Application deadlines. These
restrictions also apply to organizations
that have not yet received a DUNS or
EIN number. Applicants must contact
SAM directly with questions related to
registration or SAM account changes as
the CDFI Fund does not maintain this
system and has no ability to make
changes or correct errors of any kind.
For more information about SAM, visit
https://www.sam.gov.
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TABLE 11—Grants.gov REGISTRATION TIMELINE SUMMARY
Estimated minimum time
to complete
Step
Agency
Obtain a DUNS number ....................................
Obtain an EIN Number ......................................
Register in SAM.gov ..........................................
Dun & Bradstreet ..............................................
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) .......................
System for Award Management (SAM.gov) ....
One (1) Week. *
Two (2) Weeks. *
Four (4) Weeks. *
or subordinated debt with equity features such as
revenue participation or warrants, and generally
seeks to participate in the upside returns of such
businesses in an effort to at least partially offset the
risk of its investments.
8 A Venture Capital Fund is an organization that
predominantly invests funds in businesses,
typically in the form of either Equity Investments
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Notices
TABLE 11—Grants.gov REGISTRATION TIMELINE SUMMARY—Continued
Estimated minimum time
to complete
Step
Agency
Register in Grants.gov .......................................
Grants.gov ........................................................
One (1) Week. **
* Applicants are advised that the stated durations are estimates only and represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer.
The CDFI Fund will deem ineligible any Applicant that fails to properly register or activate its SAM account, has not yet received a DUNS or EIN
number, and/or fails to properly register in Grants.gov.
** This estimate assumes an Applicant has a DUNS number, an EIN number, and is already registered in SAM.gov.
F. Submission Dates and Times:
1. Submission Deadlines: The
following table provides the critical
deadlines for the FY 2021 Funding
Round.
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TABLE 12—FY 2021 NACA PROGRAM FUNDING ROUND CRITICAL DEADLINES FOR APPLICANTS
Description
Deadline
Time
(eastern time—
ET)
Last day to create an Awards Management Information Systems (AMIS) Account (all Applicants).
Last day to enter EIN and DUNS numbers in AMIS
(all Applicants).
Last day to submit SF–424 (Application for Federal
Assistance).
Last day to contact NACA Program staff ..................
March 22, 2021
11:59 p.m. ........
AMIS.
March 22, 2021
11:59 p.m. ........
AMIS.
March 22, 2021
11:59 p.m. ........
Electronically via Grants.gov.
April 29, 2021 ...
5:00 p.m. ..........
Last day to contact AMIS–IT Help Desk (regarding
AMIS technical problems only).
Last day to submit NACA Program Application for
Financial Assistance (FA) or Technical Assistance
(TA).
May 3, 2021 .....
5:00 p.m. ..........
May 3, 2021 .....
11:59 p.m. ........
Service Request via AMIS
Or CDFI Fund Helpdesk:
202–653–0421.
Service Request via AMIS
Or 202–653–0422 Or AMIS@cdfi.treas.gov
AMIS.
2. Confirmation of Application
Submission in Grants.gov and AMIS:
Applicants are required to submit the
SF–424, Application for Federal
Assistance through the Grants.gov
system, under the NACA Program
Funding Opportunity Number by the
applicable deadline. All other Required
Application Documents (listed in Table
10) must be submitted through the
AMIS website by the applicable
deadline. Applicants must submit the
SF–424 prior to submitting the
Application in AMIS. If the SF–424 is
not successfully accepted by Grants.gov
by the deadline, the CDFI Fund will not
review the Application submitted in
AMIS, and the Application will be
deemed ineligible.
a. Grants.gov Submission Information:
Each Applicant will receive an email
from Grants.gov immediately after
submitting the SF–424 confirming that
the submission has entered the
Grants.gov system. This email will
contain a tracking number for the
submitted SF–424. Within 48 hours, the
Applicant will receive a second email,
which will indicate if the submitted SF–
424 was either successfully validated or
rejected with errors. However,
Applicants should not rely on the email
notification from Grants.gov to confirm
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Submission method
that their SF–424 was validated.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
use the tracking number provided in the
first email to closely monitor the status
of their SF–424 by contacting the
helpdesk at Grants.gov directly. The
Application material submitted in AMIS
is not officially accepted by the CDFI
Fund until Grants.gov has validated the
SF–424.
b. AMIS Submission Information:
AMIS is a web-based portal where
Applicants will directly enter their
Application information and add the
required attachments listed in Table 10.
AMIS will verify that the Applicant
provided the minimum information
required to submit an Application.
Applicants are responsible for the
quality and accuracy of the information
and attachments included in the
Application submitted in AMIS. The
CDFI Fund strongly encourages
Applicants to allow for sufficient time
to review and complete all Required
Application Documents listed in Table
10, and remedy any issues prior to the
Application deadline. Each Application
must be signed by an Authorized
Representative in AMIS before it can be
submitted. Applicants must ensure that
the Authorized Representative is an
employee or officer and is authorized to
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sign legal documents on behalf of the
Applicant. Consultants working on
behalf of the Applicant may not be
designated as Authorized
Representatives. Only an Authorized
Representative or an Application Point
of Contact may submit an Application.
If an Authorized Representative or
Application Point of Contact does not
submit the Application, the Application
will be deemed ineligible. Applicants
may only submit one Base-FA or TA
Application under the NACA Program.
Upon submission, the Application will
be locked and cannot be resubmitted,
edited, or modified in any way. The
CDFI Fund will not unlock or allow
multiple Application submissions.
3. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund
will not accept an Application if the
SF–424 is not submitted and accepted
by Grants.gov by the SF–424 deadline.
Additionally, the CDFI Fund will not
accept an Application if it is not signed
by an Authorized Representative and
submitted in AMIS by the Application
deadline. In either case, the CDFI Fund
will not review any material submitted,
and the Application will be deemed
ineligible.
However, in cases where a Federal
government administrative or
technological error directly resulted in a
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late submission of the SF–424 or the
Application, Applicants are provided
two opportunities to submit a written
request for acceptance of late
submissions. The CDFI Fund will not
consider the late submission of the SF–
424 or the Application that was a direct
result of a delay in a Federal
Government process, unless such delay
was the result of a Federal government
administrative or technological error.
a. SF–424 Late Submission: In cases
where a Federal government
administrative or technological error
directly resulted in the late submission
of the SF–424, the Applicant must
submit a written request for acceptance
of the late SF–424 submission and
include documentation of the error no
later than two business days after the
SF–424 deadline. The CDFI Fund will
not respond to requests for acceptance
of late SF–424 submissions after that
time period. Applicants must submit
late SF–424 submission requests to the
CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service Request
to the NACA Program with a subject
line of ‘‘Late SF–424 Submission
Request.’’
b. Application Late Submission: In
cases where a Federal government
administrative or technological error
directly resulted in a late submission of
the Application in AMIS, the Applicant
must submit a written request for
acceptance of the late Application
submission and include documentation
of the error no later than two business
days after the Application deadline. The
CDFI Fund will not respond to requests
for acceptance of late Application
submissions after that time period.
Applicants must submit late
Application submission requests to the
CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service Request
to the NACA Program with a subject
line of ‘‘Late Application Submission
Request.’’
G. Funding Restrictions: Base-FA,
PPC–FA, DF–FA, HFFI–FA and TA
awards are limited by the following:
1. Base-FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use Base-FA
funds only for the eligible activities
described in Section II. (C)(1) of this
NOFA and its Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company
Applicants, Base-FA awards may not be
used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through,
transferred, or co-awarded to, thirdparty entities, whether Affiliates,
Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or
similar transaction, and with the CDFI
Fund’s prior written consent.
c. Base-FA funds shall only be paid to
the Recipient.
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21:07 Feb 18, 2021
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d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may pay Base-FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and
conditions, which are different from
those requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements,
with respect to any Direct Costs.
2. PPC–FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use PPC–FA
funds only for the eligible activities
described in Section II. (C)(5) of this
NOFA and its Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company
Applicants, PPC–FA awards may not be
used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through,
transferred, or co-awarded to, thirdparty entities, whether Affiliates,
Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or
similar transaction, and with the CDFI
Fund’s prior written consent.
c. PPC–FA funds shall only be paid to
the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may pay PPC–FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and
conditions, which are different from
those requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements,
with respect to any Direct Costs.
3. DF–FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use DF–FA funds
only for the eligible activities described
in Section II. (C)(2) of this NOFA and its
Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company
Applicants, DF–FA awards may not be
used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through,
transferred, or co-awarded to, thirdparty entities, whether Affiliates,
Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or
similar transaction, and with the CDFI
Fund’s prior written consent.
c. DF–FA funds shall only be paid to
the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may pay DF–FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and
conditions, which are different from
those requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements,
with respect to any Direct Costs.
2. HFFI–FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use HFFI–FA
funds only for the eligible activities
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10425
described in Section II. (C)(4) of this
NOFA and its Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company
Applicants, HFFI–FA awards may not
be used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through,
transferred, or co-awarded to, thirdparty entities, whether Affiliates,
Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or
similar transaction, and with the CDFI
Fund’s prior written consent.
c. HFFI–FA funds shall only be paid
to the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may pay HFFI–FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and
conditions, which are different from
those requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements,
with respect to any Direct Costs.
3. TA Grants:
a. A Recipient shall use TA funds
only for the eligible activities described
in Section II. (C) (3) of this NOFA and
its Assistance Agreement.
b. A Sponsoring Entity Recipient must
create the Emerging CDFI as a legal
entity no later than the end of the first
year of the Period of Performance. Upon
creation of the Emerging CDFI, the
Sponsoring Entity must request the
CDFI Fund to amend the Assistance
Agreement to add the Emerging CDFI as
a co-Recipient. The Sponsoring Entity
must add the Emerging CDFI as a coRecipient within 90 days the end of the
first year of the Period of Performance.
The Sponsoring Entity must then
transfer any remaining balances and/or
assets derived from the TA award to the
Emerging CDFI.
c. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company
Applicants, TA awards may not be used
to support the activities of, or otherwise
be passed through, transferred, or coawarded to, third-party entities, whether
Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless
done pursuant to a merger or acquisition
or similar transaction, and with the
CDFI Fund’s prior written consent.
d. TA funds shall only be paid to the
Recipient.
e. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, may pay TA funds in
amounts, or under terms and
conditions, which are different from
those requested by an Applicant.
f. The Recipient must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301–8303 and 2 CFR
200.216 of the Uniform Requirements,
with respect to any Direct Costs.
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V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria: If the Applicant has
submitted an eligible Application, the
CDFI Fund will conduct a substantive
review in accordance with the criteria
and procedures described in the
Regulations, this NOFA, the Application
guidance, and the Uniform
Requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves
the right to contact the Applicant by
telephone, email, or mail for the
purpose of clarifying or confirming
Application information. If contacted,
the Applicant must respond within the
time period communicated by the CDFI
Fund or risk that its Application will be
rejected. The CDFI Fund will review the
Base-FA, DF–FA, PPC–FA, HFFI–FA,
and TA Applications in accordance
with the process below. All internal and
external reviewers will complete the
CDFI Fund’s conflict of interest process.
The CDFI Fund’s Application conflict of
interest policy is located on the CDFI
Fund’s website.
1. Base-FA Application Scoring,
Award Selection, Review, and Selection
Process: The CDFI Fund will evaluate
each Application using a five-step
review process illustrated in the
sections below. Applicants that meet the
minimum criteria will advance to the
next step in the review process.
Applicants applying as a Community
Partnership must describe the
partnership in the Application pursuant
to the requirements set forth in Table 8,
and will be evaluated in accordance
with the review process described
below.
a. Step 1: Eligibility Review: The CDFI
Fund will evaluate each Application to
determine its eligibility status pursuant
to Section III of this NOFA.
b. Step 2: Financial Analysis and
Compliance Risk Evaluation:
i. Step 2: Financial Analysis: For
Regulated Institutions, the CDFI Fund
will consider financial safety and
soundness information from the
Appropriate Federal or State Banking
Agency. As detailed in Table 8, each
Regulated Institution FA Applicant
must have a CAMELS/CAMEL rating of
at least ‘‘3’’ and/or no significant
materials concerns from its regulator.
For non-regulated Applicants, the CDFI
Fund will evaluate the financial health
and viability of each non-regulated
Applicant using financial information
provided by the Applicant. For the
Financial Analysis, each non-regulated
Applicant will receive a Total Financial
Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to
five (5), with one (1) being the highest
rating. The Total Financial Composite
Score is based on the analysis of twentythree (23) financial indicators.
Applications will be grouped based on
the Total Financial Composite Score.
Applicants must receive a Total
Financial Composite Score of one (1),
two (2), or three (3) to advance to Step
3. Applicants that receive an initial
Total Financial Composite Score of four
(4) or five (5) will be re-evaluated and
re-scored by CDFI Fund staff. If the
Total Financial Composite Score
remains four (4) or five (5) after CDFI
Fund staff review, the Applicant will
not advance to Step 3.
ii. Step 2: Compliance Risk
Evaluation: For the compliance
analysis, the CDFI Fund will evaluate
the compliance risk of each Applicant
using information provided in the
Application as well as an Applicant’s
reporting history, reporting capacity,
and performance risk with respect to the
CDFI Fund’s PG&Ms. Each Applicant
will receive a Total Compliance
Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to
five (5), with one (1) being the highest
rating. Applicants that receive an initial
Total Compliance Composite Score of
four (4) or five (5) will be re-evaluated
by CDFI Fund staff. If the Applicant is
deemed a high compliance risk after
CDFI Fund staff review, the Applicant
will not advance to Step 3.
c. Step 3: Business Plan Review:
Applicants that proceed to Step 3 will
be evaluated on the soundness of their
comprehensive business plan. Two
external non-CDFI Fund Reviewers will
conduct the Step 3 evaluation.
Reviewers will evaluate the Application
sections listed in Table 13. All
Applications will be reviewed in
accordance with standard reviewer
evaluation materials. Applications will
be ranked based on Total Business Plan
Scores, in descending order. In order to
advance to Step 4, Applicants must
receive a Total Business Plan Score that
is either (1) equal to receiving a point
score equivalent to a ‘‘Good’’ out of a
ranking scale in descending order of
Excellent, Good, Fair, Limited or Poor,
in each section listed in Table 13, or (2)
within the top 70% of the NACA FA
Applicant pool, whichever is greater. In
the case of tied Total Business Plan
Scores that would prevent an Applicant
from moving to Step 4, all Applicants
with the same score will progress to
Step 4. Lastly, the CDFI Fund may
consider the geographic diversity of
Applicants when determining the Step
4 Applicant pool.
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TABLE 13—STEP 3: BASE-FA BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW SCORING CRITERIA
Base-FA application sections
Possible score
Score needed to advance
Executive Summary ....................................................................
Business Strategy .......................................................................
Market and Competitive Analysis ...............................................
Products and Services ................................................................
Management and Track Record .................................................
Growth and Projections ..............................................................
Total Business Plan Score ..................................................
Not Scored .....
12 ...................
7 .....................
12 ...................
12 ...................
7 .....................
50 ...................
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
NACA Applicants: Top 70% of all NACA Applicant Step 3
Scores.
d. Step 4: Policy Objective Review:
The CDFI Fund internal reviewers will
evaluate each Application to determine
its ability to meet policy objectives of
the CDFI Fund. Each Applicant will be
evaluated in each of the categories listed
in Table 14 below, and will receive a
Total Policy Objective Review
Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to
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five (5), with one (1) being the highest
score. Applicants are then grouped
according to Total Policy Objective
Review Scores.
The CDFI Fund also conducts a due
diligence review for Applications that
includes an analysis of programmatic
risk factors including, but not limited to:
history of performance in managing
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Federal awards (including timeliness of
reporting and compliance); ability to
meet FA Objective(s) selected by BaseFA Applicants in their Applications;
reports and findings from audits; and
the Applicant’s ability to effectively
implement Federal requirements, each
of which could impact the Total Policy
Objective Review Score.
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TABLE 14—STEP 4: BASE-FA POLICY REVIEW SCORING CRITERIA
Score needed
o advance
Section
Possible scores
Economic Distress ......................................................................................
Economic Opportunities ..............................................................................
Community Collaboration ...........................................................................
1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ...........
1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ...........
1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ...........
1
1
1
N/A.
N/A.
N/A.
Total Policy Objective Review Composite Score ................................
1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 ...........
1
All Scores Advance.
e. Step 5: Award Amount
Determination: The CDFI Fund
determines an award amount for each
Application based on the Step 4 Total
Policy Objective Review Score, the
Applicant’s request amount, and on
certain other factors, including but not
limited to, an Applicant’s deployment
track record, minimum award size, and
funding availability. Award amounts
may be reduced from the requested
award amount as a result of this
analysis. For NACA FA Applicants, the
award cannot exceed 100% of the
Applicant’s total portfolio outstanding
as of the Applicant’s most recent
historic fiscal year end. 9
2. Healthy Food Financing InitiativeFA (HFFI–FA) Application Scoring,
Award Selection, Review, and Selection
Process: A CDFI Fund internal reviewer
will evaluate each HFFI–FA Application
associated with a Base-FA Application
that progresses to Step 4 of the FA
Application review process. The
reviewer will evaluate the Application
sections listed in Table 15 and assign a
Total HFFI- FA Score up to 60 points.
The CDFI Fund will make awards to the
highest scoring Applicants first. All
Applications will be reviewed in
accordance with standard reviewer
evaluation materials. Applicants that
fail to receive a Base-FA award will not
be considered for a HFFI–FA award.
High score
The CDFI Fund conducts additional
levels of due diligence for Applications
that are under consideration for an
HFFI–FA award. Award amounts may
be reduced from the requested award
amount as a result of this analysis. The
CDFI Fund may reduce awards sizes
from requested amounts based on
certain variables, including but not
limited to, an Applicant’s loan
disbursement activity, total portfolio
outstanding, or compliance with prior
HFFI–FA awards. Lastly, the CDFI Fund
may consider the geographic diversity of
Applicants when making its funding
decisions.
TABLE 15—STEP 4 HFFI–FA APPLICATION SCORING CRITERIA
Possible score
(points)
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Sections
Target Market Profile ...........................................................................................................................................................................
Healthy Food Financial Products ........................................................................................................................................................
Projected HFFI–FA Activities ...............................................................................................................................................................
HFFI Track Record ..............................................................................................................................................................................
Management Capacity for Providing Healthy Food Financing ............................................................................................................
10
10
15
20
5
Total HFFI–FA Possible Score .....................................................................................................................................................
60
3. Persistent Poverty Counties—
Financial Assistance (PPC–FA)
Application Scoring, Award Selection,
Review, and Selection Process: A CDFI
Fund internal reviewer will evaluate the
PPC–FA request of each associated
Base-FA Application that progresses to
Step 4 of the FA Application review
process. PPC–FA requests are not
scored. PPC–FA award amounts will be
determined based on the total number of
eligible Applicants and funding
availability, the Applicant’s requested
amount, and on certain factors,
including but not limited to, an
Applicant’s overall portfolio size,
historical track record of deployment in
PPC, pipeline of projects in PPC,
minimum award size, and funding
availability. Applicants that fail to
receive a Base-FA award will not be
considered for a PPC–FA award.
4. Disability Funds-Financial
Assistance (DF–FA) Application
Scoring, Award Selection, Review, and
Selection Process: A CDFI Fund internal
reviewer will evaluate each DF–FA
Application associated with a Base-FA
Application that progresses to Step 4 of
the FA Application review process. The
reviewer will evaluate the Application
and assign a Total DF- FA Score on a
scale of one (1) to three (3), with one (1)
being the highest score. Applicants are
then grouped according to Total DF- FA
Score. All Applications will be
reviewed in accordance with standard
reviewer evaluation materials.
Applicants that fail to receive a Base-FA
award will not be considered for a DF–
FA award. Award amounts will be
determined on the basis of the Total
DF–FA Score, the Applicant’s requested
amount, and on certain factors,
including but not limited to, an
Applicant’s deployment track record,
minimum award size, and funding
availability. Award amounts may be
reduced from the requested award
amount as a result of this analysis. The
9 For the purposes of this NOFA, an Applicant’s
most recent historic fiscal year end is determined
as follows.
(A) Applicants with a 3/31 fiscal year end date
will treat FY 2020 as their most recent historic
fiscal year and FY 2021 as their current year.
(B) Applicants with a 6/30 fiscal year end date
will treat FY 2020 as their most recent historic
fiscal year and FY 2021 as their current year.
(C) Applicants with a 9/30 fiscal year end date
and a completed FY 2020 audit will treat FY 2020
as their most recent historic fiscal year and FY 2021
as their current year.
(D) Applicants with a 9/30 fiscal year end date
but without a completed FY 2020 audit will treat
FY 2019 as their most recent historic fiscal year and
FY 2020 as their current year.
(E) Applicants with a 12/31 fiscal year end date,
with or without a completed FY 2020 audit, will
treat FY 2019 as their most recent historic fiscal
year and FY 2020 as their current year.
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CDFI Fund will make awards to the
highest scoring Applicants first.
TABLE 16—STEP 3 DF–FA APPLICATION SCORING CRITERIA
Section
Possible
scores
DF–FA Narrative Questions ....................................................................................................................................
1, 2, or 3 ........
1
Total DF–FA Score ..........................................................................................................................................
1, 2, or 3 ........
1
5. Technical Assistance (TA)
Application Scoring, Award Selection,
Review, and Selection Process: The
CDFI Fund will evaluate each
Application to determine its eligibility
pursuant to Section III of this NOFA. If
the Application satisfies the eligibility
criteria, the CDFI Fund will evaluate the
TA Application. Sponsoring Entity or
Emerging CDFI Applicants must receive
a rating of Low Risk or Medium Risk in
Section I of the TA Business Plan
Review to progress to Section II of the
TA Business Plan Review. Sponsoring
Entity, or Emerging CDFI Applicants
that receive a rating of High Risk in
Section I of the TA Business Plan
Review will not be considered for an
award. Section I of the TA Business
Plan Review is not applicable for
Certified CDFI Applicants. Sponsoring
Entity, Emerging CDFI, and Certified
CDFI Applicants must receive a rating of
Low Risk or Medium Risk in Section II
of the TA Business Plan Review to be
considered for an award. Applicants
that receive a rating of High Risk in
Section II of the TA Business Plan
Review will not be considered for an
award.
An Applicant that is a Certified CDFI
will be evaluated on the demonstrated
need for TA funding to build the CDFI’s
capacity, further the Applicant’s
strategic goals, and achieve impact
within the Applicant’s Target Market.
An Applicant that is an Emerging CDFI
will be evaluated on the Applicant’s
demonstrated capability and plan to
achieve CDFI certification within three
High score
years, or if a prior Recipient, the
certification PG&M stated in its prior
Assistance Agreement. An Applicant
that is an Emerging CDFI will also be
evaluated on its demonstrated need for
TA funding to build the CDFI’s capacity
and further its strategic goals. An
Applicant that is a Sponsoring Entity
will be rated on its demonstrated
capability to create a separate legal
entity within one year that will achieve
CDFI certification within four years. An
Applicant that is a Sponsoring Entity
will also be rated on its demonstrated
need for TA funding to build the CDFI’s
capacity and further its strategic goals.
The CDFI Fund will rate each part of
the TA Business Plan Review as
indicated in Table 17.
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TABLE 17—TA BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW
Business plan review component
Applicant type
Section I:
Primary Mission .......................
Financing Entity .......................
Target Market ...........................
................................................................................................................
Sponsoring Entity and Emerging CDFI Applicants ...............................
Sponsoring Entity and Emerging CDFI Applicants ...............................
Sponsoring Entity and Emerging CDFI Applicants ...............................
Accountability ..................................
Development Services ....................
Section II:
Target Market Needs & Strategy.
Organizational Capacity ...........
Management Capacity .............
Sponsoring Entity and Emerging CDFI Applicants ...............................
Sponsoring Entity and Emerging CDFI Applicants ...............................
Sponsoring Entity, Emerging CDFI, and Certified Applicants ...............
21:07 Feb 18, 2021
Low Risk, Medium Risk, or High
Risk.
Low Risk, Medium Risk, or High
Risk.
Sponsoring Entity, Emerging CDFI, and Certified Applicants.
Sponsoring Entity, Emerging CDFI, and Certified Applicants.
Each TA Application will be
evaluated by one internal CDFI Fund
reviewer. All Applications will be
reviewed in accordance with CDFI Fund
standard reviewer evaluation materials
for the Business Plan Review.
The CDFI Fund conducts additional
levels of due diligence for Applications
that are under consideration for an
award. This due diligence includes an
analysis of programmatic and financial
risk factors including, but not limited to,
financial stability, history of
performance in managing Federal
awards (including timeliness of
reporting and compliance), reports and
findings from audits, and the
Applicant’s ability to effectively
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implement Federal requirements. The
CDFI Fund will also evaluate the
compliance risk of each Applicant using
information provided in the Application
as well as an Applicant’s reporting
history, reporting capacity, and
performance risk with respect to the
CDFI Fund’s PG&Ms. Each Applicant
will receive a Total Compliance
Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to
five (5), with one (1) being the highest
rating. Applicants that receive an initial
Total Compliance Composite Score of
four (4) or five (5) will be re-evaluated
by CDFI Fund staff. If the Applicant is
deemed a high compliance risk after
CDFI staff review, the Applicant will
not be considered for an award. The
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CDFI Fund will also evaluate the
Applicant’s ability to meet certification
criteria of being a legal entity and a nongovernment entity. Award amounts may
be reduced as a result of the due
diligence analysis in addition to
consideration of the Applicant’s funding
request and similar factors. Lastly, the
CDFI Fund may consider the geographic
diversity of Applicants when making its
funding decisions.
6. Regulated Institutions: The CDFI
Fund will consider safety and
soundness information from the
Appropriate Federal or State Banking
Agency. If the Applicant is a CDFI
Depository Institution Holding
Company, the CDFI Fund will consider
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information provided by the
Appropriate Federal or State Banking
Agencies about both the CDFI
Depository Institution Holding
Company and the Certified CDFI
Subsidiary Insured Depository
Institution that will expend and carry
out the award. If the Appropriate
Federal or State Banking Agency
identifies safety and soundness
concerns, the CDFI Fund will assess
whether such concerns cause or will
cause the Applicant to be incapable of
undertaking the activities for which
funding has been requested.
7. Non-Regulated Institutions:
The CDFI Fund must ensure, to the
maximum extent practicable, that
Recipients which are non-regulated
CDFIs are financially and managerially
sound, and maintain appropriate
internal controls (12 U.S.C. 4707(f)(1)(A)
and 12 CFR 1805.800(b)). Further, the
CDFI Fund must determine that an
Applicant’s capacity to operate as a
CDFI and its continued viability will not
be dependent upon assistance from the
CDFI Fund (12 U.S.C. 4704(b)(2)(A)). If
it is determined that the Applicant is
incapable of meeting these
requirements, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right to deem the Applicant
ineligible or terminate the award.
B. Anticipated Award Announcement:
The CDFI Fund anticipates making
NACA Program award announcement
before September 30, 2021. However,
the anticipated award Announcement
Date is subject to change without notice.
C. Application Rejection: The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to reject an
Application if information (including
administrative errors) comes to the CDFI
Fund’s attention that: Adversely affects
an Applicant’s eligibility for an award;
Adversely affects the Recipient’s
certification as a CDFI (to the extent that
the award is conditional upon CDFI
certification); adversely affects the CDFI
Fund’s evaluation or scoring of an
Application; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Applicant’s part.
If the CDFI Fund determines any
portion of the Application is incorrect
in a material respect, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to reject the Application. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to change its
eligibility and evaluation criteria and
procedures, if the CDFI Fund deems it
appropriate. If the changes materially
affect the CDFI Fund’s award decisions,
the CDFI Fund will provide information
about the changes through its website.
The CDFI Fund’s award decisions are
final, and there is no right to appeal
decisions.
D. External Non-CDFI Fund
Reviewers: All external non-CDFI Fund
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21:07 Feb 18, 2021
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reviewers are selected based on criteria
that includes a professional background
in community and economic
development finance, and experience
reviewing the financial statements of all
CDFI institution types. Reviewers must
complete the CDFI Fund’s conflict of
interest process and be approved by the
CDFI Fund. The CDFI Fund’s
Application reader conflict of interest
policy is located on the CDFI Fund’s
website.
VI. Federal Award Administration
Information
A. Award Notification: Each
successful Applicant will receive an
email ‘‘notice of award’’ notification
from the CDFI Fund stating that its
Application has been approved for an
award. Each Applicant not selected for
an award will receive an email stating
that a debriefing notice has been
provided in its AMIS account.
B. Assistance Agreement: Each
Applicant selected to receive an award
must enter into an Assistance
Agreement with the CDFI Fund in order
to receive a payment(s). The Assistance
Agreement will set forth the award’s
terms and conditions, including but not
be limited to the: (i) Award amount; (ii)
award type; (iii) award uses; (iv) eligible
use of funds; (v) PG&Ms; and (vi)
reporting requirements. FA Assistance
Agreements have three-year Periods of
Performance. TA Assistance Agreements
have two-year Periods of Performance
for Certified CDFIs, three-year Periods of
Performance for Emerging CDFIs, and
four-year Periods of Performance for
Sponsoring Entity Recipients. Upon
creation of the Emerging CDFI, the
Sponsoring Entity must request the
CDFI Fund to amend the Assistance
Agreement and add the Emerging CDFI
as a party thereto. The Emerging CDFI,
as co-Recipient, will be subject to all of
the terms and conditions of the
Assistance Agreement, including all
PG&Ms.
1. Certificate of Good Standing: All
FA and TA Recipients that are not
Regulated Institutions will be required
to provide the CDFI Fund with a
certificate of good standing from the
secretary of state for the Recipient’s
jurisdiction of formation prior to
closing. This certificate can often be
acquired online on the secretary of state
website for the Recipient’s jurisdiction
of formation and must generally be
dated within 180 days prior to the date
the Recipient executes the Assistance
Agreement. Due to potential backlogs in
state government offices, Applicants are
advised to submit requests for
certificates of good standing no later
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10429
than 60 days after they submit their
Applications.
2. Closing: Pursuant to the Assistance
Agreement, there will be an initial
closing at which point the Assistance
Agreement and related documents will
be properly executed and delivered, and
an initial payment of FA or TA may be
made. The first payment is the
estimated amount of the award that the
Recipient states in its Application that
it will use for eligible FA or TA
activities in the first 12 months after the
award announcement. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to increase the first
payment amount on any award to
ensure that any subsequent payments
are at least $25,000 for FA and $5,000
for TA awards.
The CDFI Fund will minimize the
time between the Recipient incurring
costs for eligible activities and award
payment(s) in accordance with the
Uniform Requirements. Advanced
payments for eligible activities will
occur no more than one year in advance
of the Recipient incurring costs for the
eligible activities. Following the initial
closing, there may be subsequent
closings involving additional award
payments. Any documentation in
addition to the Assistance Agreement
that is connected with such subsequent
closings and payments shall be properly
executed and timely delivered by the
Recipient to the CDFI Fund.
3. Requirements Prior to Entering into
an Assistance Agreement: If, prior to
entering into an Assistance Agreement,
information (including administrative
errors) comes to the CDFI Fund’s
attention that: Adversely affects the
Recipient’s eligibility for an award;
adversely affects the Recipient’s
certification as a CDFI (to the extent that
the award is conditional upon CDFI
certification); adversely affects the CDFI
Fund’s evaluation of the Application;
indicates that the Recipient is not in
compliance with any requirement listed
in the Uniform Requirements; indicates
that the Recipient is not in compliance
with a term or condition of a prior CDFI
Fund award; indicates the Recipient has
failed to execute and return a prior
round Assistance Agreement to the
CDFI Fund within the CDFI Fund’s
deadlines; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Recipient’s part,
the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion
and without advance notice to the
Recipient, terminate the award or take
such other actions as it deems
appropriate. The CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an award if the Recipient fails
to return the Assistance Agreement,
signed by the Authorized Representative
of the Recipient, and/or provide the
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CDFI Fund with any requested
documentation, within the CDFI Fund’s
deadlines.
In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the Assistance
Agreement and the award made under
this NOFA pending the criteria
described in the following table:
TABLE 18—REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO EXECUTING AN ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT
Requirement
Criteria
Failure to meet reporting requirements.
• If a Recipient received a prior award under any CDFI Fund program and is not in compliance with the reporting
requirements of the previously executed agreement(s), the CDFI Fund may delay entering into an Assistance
Agreement or disbursing an award until such reporting requirements are met. If the Recipient is unable to meet
the requirement(s) within the timeframe specified by the CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind
the Assistance Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• The automated systems the CDFI Fund uses only acknowledge a report’s receipt and are not a determination
of meeting reporting requirements.
• An FA Recipient must be a Certified CDFI.
• If an FA Recipient fails to maintain CDFI certification, the CDFI Fund will terminate and rescind the Assistance
Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• If a TA Recipient is a Certified CDFI at the time of award announcement, it must maintain CDFI certification.
• If a Certified CDFI TA Recipient fails to maintain CDFI certification, the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind
the Assistance Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• The CDFI Fund will delay entering into an Assistance Agreement with a Recipient that has pending noncompliance issues with any of its previously executed CDFI award agreement(s), if the CDFI Fund has not yet made
a final compliance determination.
• If the Recipient is unable to satisfactorily resolve the compliance issues, the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind the Assistance Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• If, at any time prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund determines that a Recipient is
noncompliant or found in default with any previously executed award agreement(s), and the CDFI Fund has
provided written notification that the Recipient is ineligible to apply for or receive any future awards or allocations for a time period specified by the CDFI Fund in writing, the CDFI Fund may delay entering into an Assistance Agreement until the Recipient has cured the noncompliance by taking actions the CDFI Fund has specified within such specified timeframe. If the Recipient is unable to cure the noncompliance within the specified
timeframe, the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind the Assistance Agreement and the award made under
this NOFA.
• If prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement under this NOFA, the Recipient receives a final determination,
made within the last three years, in any proceeding instituted against the Recipient in, by, or before any court,
governmental, or administrative body or agency, declaring that the Recipient has violated the following laws:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, (42 U.S.C. 6101–6107), and Executive Order 13166,
Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, the CDFI Fund will terminate and
rescind the Assistance Agreement and the award made under this NOFA.
• The Do Not Pay Business Center was developed to support Federal agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through programs funded by the Federal government.
• The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to rescind an award if the Recipient (or Affiliate of a
Recipient) determined to be ineligible based on data in the Do Not Pay database.
• If it is determined the Recipient is, or will be, incapable of meeting its award obligations, the CDFI Fund will
deem the Recipient to be ineligible, or require it to improve its safety and soundness prior to entering into an
Assistance Agreement.
Failure to maintain CDFI certification.
Pending resolution of noncompliance.
Noncompliance or default
status.
Compliance with Federal civil
rights requirements.
Do Not Pay ...........................
Safety and soundness .........
C. Reporting:
1. Reporting requirements: On an
annual basis during the Period of
Performance, the CDFI Fund may collect
information from each Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual
Report with the following components
(Annual Reporting Requirements):
TABLE 19—ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS *
Financial Statement Audit Report (Non-profit
Recipient including Insured Credit Unions and
State-Insured Credit Unions).
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Financial Statement Audit Report (For-Profit Recipient).
Financial Statement Audit Report (Depository
Institution Holding Company and Insured Depository Institution).
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A Non-profit Recipient (including Insured Credit Unions and State-Insured Credit Unions) must
submit a Financial Statement Audit (FSA) Report in AMIS, along with the Recipient’s statement of financial condition audited or reviewed by an independent certified public accountant, if any are prepared.
Under no circumstances should this be construed as the CDFI Fund requiring the Recipient to
conduct or arrange for additional audits not otherwise required under Uniform Requirements
or otherwise prepared at the request of the Recipient or parties other than the CDFI Fund.
For-profit Recipients must submit an FSA Report in AMIS, along with the Recipient’s statement of financial condition audited or reviewed by an independent certified public accountant.
If the Recipient is a Depository Institution Holding Company or an Insured Depository Institution, it must submit a FSA Report in AMIS.
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10431
TABLE 19—ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS *—Continued
Financial Statement Audit Report (Sponsoring
Entities).
Single Audit Report (Non-Profit Recipients, if
applicable).
Transaction Level Report (TLR) .........................
Uses of Award Report ........................................
Performance Progress Report ............................
A Sponsoring Entity must submit a FSA Report in AMIS, along with a statement of financial
condition audited or reviewed by an independent certified public accountant, if any are prepared.
Under no circumstances should this be construed as the CDFI Fund requiring the Sponsoring
Entity to conduct or arrange for additional audits not otherwise required under Uniform Requirements or otherwise prepared at the request of the Sponsoring Entity or parties other
than the CDFI Fund.
A non-profit Recipient must complete an annual Single Audit pursuant to the Uniform Requirements (see 2 CFR Subpart F-Audit Requirements) if it expends $750,000 or more in Federal
awards in its fiscal year, or such other dollar threshold established by OMB pursuant to 2
CFR 200.501. If a Single Audit is required, it must be submitted electronically to the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) (see 2 CFR Subpart F-Audit Requirements in the Uniform Requirements) and optionally through AMIS.
The Recipient must submit a TLR to the CDFI Fund through AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository Institution Holding Company that deploys all or a portion of its
Financial Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution, that Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution must also submit a TLR. Furthermore, if the Depository Institution Holding Company itself deploys any portion of the Financial Assistance,
the Depository Institution Holding Company must submit a TLR.
The TLR is not required for TA Recipients.
The Recipient must submit the Uses of Award Report to the CDFI Fund in AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository Institution Holding Company that deploys all or a portion of its
Financial Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution, that Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution must also submit a Uses of Award Report. Furthermore, if the Depository Institution Holding Company itself deploys any portion of the Financial Assistance, the Depository Institution Holding Company must submit a Uses of
Award Report.
The Recipient must submit the Performance Progress Report through AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository Institution Holding Company that deploys all or a portion of its
Financial Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution, that Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository Institution must also submit a Performance Progress Report. Furthermore, if the Depository Institution Holding Company itself deploys any portion of
the Financial Assistance, the Depository Institution Holding Company must submit a Performance Progress Report.
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
* Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is information, which if lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual. Although Applicants are required to enter addresses of individual borrowers/residents of Distressed Communities in AMIS, Applicants should not include the following PII for the individuals who received the Financial Products or Financial Services in AMIS or in the supporting documentation (i.e., name of the individual, Social Security Number, driver’s license or state identification number, passport number, Alien Registration Number, etc.). This information should be redacted from all supporting
documentation.
Each Recipient is responsible for the
timely and complete submission of the
Annual Reporting Requirements.
Sponsoring Entities with co-Recipients
will be informed of any changes to
reporting obligations at the time the
Emerging CDFI is joined to the
Assistance Agreement. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to contact the
Recipient and additional entities or
signatories to the Assistance Agreement
to request additional information and/or
documentation. The CDFI Fund will use
such information to monitor each
Recipient’s compliance with the
requirements of the Assistance
Agreement and to assess the impact of
the NACA Program. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion,
to modify these reporting requirements,
including increasing the scope and
frequency of reporting, if it determines
it to be appropriate and necessary;
however, such reporting requirements
will be modified only after notice to
Recipients.
2. Financial Management and
Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
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Recipients to maintain financial
management and accounting systems
that comply with Federal statutes,
regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the Federal award. These
systems must be sufficient to permit the
preparation of reports required by the
CDFI Fund to ensure compliance with
the terms and conditions of the NACA
Program, including the tracing of funds
to a level of expenditures adequate to
establish that such funds have been
used in accordance with Federal
statutes, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the Federal award.
The cost principles used by
Recipients must be consistent with
Federal cost principles and support the
accumulation of costs as required by the
principles, and must provide for
adequate documentation to support
costs charged to the NACA Program
award. In addition, the CDFI Fund will
require Recipients to: Maintain effective
internal controls; comply with
applicable statutes, regulations, and the
Assistance Agreement; evaluate and
monitor compliance; take appropriate
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action when not in compliance; and
safeguard personally identifiable
information.
VII. Agency Contacts
A. The CDFI Fund will respond to
questions concerning this NOFA and
the Application between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time,
starting on the date that the NOFA is
published through the date listed in
Table 1 and Table 12. The CDFI Fund
strongly recommends Applicants submit
questions to the CDFI Fund via an AMIS
Service Request to the NACA Program,
Office of Certification, Compliance
Monitoring and Evaluation, or IT Help
Desk. The CDFI Fund will post on its
website responses to reoccurring
questions received about the NOFA and
Application. Other information
regarding the CDFI Fund and its
programs may be obtained from the
CDFI Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov. Table 20 lists CDFI
Fund contact information:
E:\FR\FM\19FEN1.SGM
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10432
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Notices
tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TABLE 20—CONTACT INFORMATION
Type of question
Preferred method
Telephone number
(not toll free)
NACA Program ..............................
CCME ............................................
AMIS—IT Help Desk ......................
Service Request via AMIS ...........
Service Request via AMIS ...........
Service Request via AMIS ...........
202–653–0421, option 1 ...............
202–653–0423 ..............................
202–653–0422 ..............................
B. Information Technology Support:
For IT assistance, the preferred method
of contact is to submit a Service Request
within AMIS. For the Service Request,
select ‘‘Technical Issues’’ from the
Program dropdown menu of the Service
Request. People who have visual or
mobility impairments that prevent them
from using the CDFI Fund’s website
should call (202) 653–0422 for
assistance (this is not a toll free
number).
C. Communication with the CDFI
Fund: The CDFI Fund will use the
contact information in AMIS to
communicate with Applicants and
Recipients. It is imperative, therefore,
that Applicants, Recipients,
Subsidiaries, Affiliates, and signatories
maintain accurate contact information
in their accounts. This includes
information such as contact names
(especially for the Authorized
Representative), email addresses, fax
and phone numbers, and office
locations.
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any
person who is eligible to receive
benefits or services from the CDFI Fund
or Recipients under any of its programs
is entitled to those benefits or services
without being subject to prohibited
discrimination. The Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Civil Rights and
Diversity enforces various Federal
statutes and regulations that prohibit
discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities
of the CDFI Fund. If a person believes
that s/he has been subjected to
discrimination and/or reprisal because
of membership in a protected group, s/
he may file a complaint with: Associate
Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of
Civil Rights, and Diversity, 1500
Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC
20220 or (202) 622–1160 (not a toll-free
number).
E. Statutory and National Policy
Requirements: The CDFI Fund will
manage and administer the Federal
award in a manner so as to ensure that
Federal funding is expended and
associated programs are implemented in
full accordance with the U.S.
Constitution, Federal Law, statutory,
and public policy requirements:
Including but not limited to, those
protecting free speech, religious liberty,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:07 Feb 18, 2021
Jkt 253001
public welfare, the environment, and
prohibiting discrimination.
VIII. Other Information
A. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), an agency may not conduct
or sponsor a collection of information,
and an individual is not required to
respond to a collection of information,
unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. If applicable, the CDFI Fund
may inform Applicants that they do not
need to provide certain Application
information otherwise required.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction
Act, the CDFI Program, and NACA
Program Application has been assigned
the following control number: 1559–
0021 inclusive of PPC–FA, DF–FA, and
HFFI–FA.
B. Application Information Sessions:
The CDFI Fund may conduct webinars
or host information sessions for
organizations that are considering
applying to, or are interested in learning
about, the CDFI Fund’s programs. For
further information, visit the CDFI
Fund’s website at https://
www.cdfifund.gov.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4701, et seq.; 12 CFR
parts 1805 and 1815; 2 CFR part 200.
Jodie L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial
Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2021–03354 Filed 2–18–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–70–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request for Forms 1040–PR and 1040–
SS
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on information
collections, as required by the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00200
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Email addresses
cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov
ccme@cdfi.treas.gov
AMIS@cdfi.treas.gov
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The
IRS is soliciting comments concerning
Planilla para la Declaracio´n de la
Contribucio´n Federal sobre el Trabajo
por Cuenta Propia (Incluyendo el
Cre´dito Tributario Adicional por Hijos
para Residentes Bona Fide de Puerto
Rico) and U.S. Self-Employment Tax
Return (Including the Additional Child
Tax Credit for Bona Fide Residents of
Puerto Rico).
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before April 20, 2021 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Kinna Brewington, Internal Revenue
Service, Room 6526, 1111 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the forms and instructions
should be directed to Martha R. Brinson,
at (202) 317–5753, or at Internal
Revenue Service, Room 6526, 1111
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20224, or through the internet at
Martha.R.Brinson@irs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Planilla para la Declaracio´n de
la Contribucio´n Federal sobre el Trabajo
por Cuenta Propia (Incluyendo el
Cre´dito Tributario Adicional por Hijos
para Residentes Bona Fide de Puerto
Rico).
OMB Number: 1545–0090.
Form Number: 1040–PR.
Abstract: Form 1040–PR is used by
self-employed individuals to figure and
report self-employment tax under IRC
chapter 2 of Subtitle A, and provide
credit to the taxpayer’s social security
account. Anejo H–PR is used to
compute household employment taxes
and the Form 1040–PR burden
calculation includes this burden of
2,400 responses with 5,376 hours.
Current Actions: There are no changes
being made to the form at this time.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households, Businesses and other forprofit organizations, Farms.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
154,860.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 11
hours, 34 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 1,792,208.
E:\FR\FM\19FEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 32 (Friday, February 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10413-10432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03354]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability Inviting Applications for Financial
Assistance Awards or Technical Assistance Grants Under the Native
American CDFI Assistance Fiscal Year 2021 Funding Round
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
inviting Applications for Financial Assistance (FA) awards or Technical
Assistance (TA) grants under the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA
Program) fiscal year (FY) 2021 Funding Round.
Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2021-NACA.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.012.
DATES:
Table 1--FY 2021 NACA Program Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time (eastern time--
Description Deadline ET) Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last day to create an Awards March 22, 2021.............. 11:59 p.m............. AMIS.
Management Information Systems
(AMIS) Account (all Applicants).
Last day to enter EIN and DUNS March 22, 2021.............. 11:59 p.m............. AMIS.
numbers in AMIS (all
Applicants).
Last day to submit SF-424 March 22, 2021.............. 11:59 p.m............. Electronically via
Mandatory (Application for Grants.gov.
Federal Assistance).
Last day to contact NACA Program April 29, 2021.............. 5:00 p.m.............. Service Request \1\ via
staff. AMIS
or
CDFI Fund Helpdesk:
202-653-0421.
Last day to contact AMIS-IT Help May 3, 2021................. 5:00 p.m.............. Service Request via AMIS
Desk (regarding AMIS technical or
problems only). 202-653-0422
or
[email protected]
Last day to submit NACA Program May 3, 2021................. 11:59 p.m............. AMIS.
Application for Financial
Assistance (FA) or Technical
Assistance (TA).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Summary: Through the NACA Program, the Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund provides (i) FA awards
of up to $1 million to Certified Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFIs) serving Native American, Alaska Native, or Native
Hawaiian populations or Native American areas defined as Federally-
designated reservations, Hawaiian homelands, Alaska Native Villages and
U.S. Census Bureau-designated Tribal Statistical Areas (collectively,
``Native Communities'') to build their financial capacity to lend to
Eligible Markets and/or their Target Markets, and (ii) TA grants of up
to $150,000 to build Certified, and Emerging CDFIs' organizational
capacity to serve Eligible Markets and/or their Target Markets, and
Sponsoring Entities ability to create
[[Page 10414]]
Certified CDFIs that serve Native Communities. All awards provided
through this NOFA are subject to funding availability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Service Request shall mean a written inquiry or notification
submitted to the CDFI Fund via AMIS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Program Description
A. History: The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to promote
economic revitalization and community development through investment in
and assistance to CDFIs. The Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA)
Program made its first awards in 2002, after the CDFI Program began
making awards in 1996.
B. Priorities: Through the NACA Program's FA awards and TA grants,
the CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of for-profit and non-
profit community based lending organizations known as CDFIs. These
organizations, certified as CDFIs by the CDFI Fund, serve Native
Communities.
C. Authorizing Statutes and Regulations: The CDFI Program is
authorized by the Riegle Community Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-325, 12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.)
(Authorizing Statute). The regulations governing the NACA Program are
found at 12 CFR parts 1805 and 1815 (the Regulations) and are used by
the CDFI Fund to govern, in general, the NACA Program, setting forth
evaluation criteria and other program requirements. The CDFI Fund
encourages Applicants to review the Regulations; this NOFA; the NACA
Program Application for Financial Assistance or Technical Assistance
(the Application); all related materials and guidance documents found
on the CDFI Fund's website (Application materials); and the Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements
for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000), which is the Department of the
Treasury's codification of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
government-wide framework for grants management at 2 CFR part 200 (the
Uniform Requirements) for a complete understanding of the NACA Program.
Capitalized terms in this NOFA are defined in the Authorizing Statute,
the Regulations, this NOFA, the Application, Application materials, or
the Uniform Requirements. Details regarding Application content
requirements are found in the Application and Application materials.
D. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000): The Uniform
Requirements codify financial, administrative, procurement, and program
management standards that Federal award agencies must follow. When
evaluating Applications, awarding agencies must evaluate the risks
posed by each Applicant, and each Applicant's merits and eligibility.
These requirements are designed to ensure that Applicants for Federal
assistance receive a fair and consistent review prior to an award
decision. This review will assess items such as the Applicant's
financial stability, quality of management systems, the soundness of
its business plan, history of performance, ability to achieve
measurable impacts through its products and services, and audit
findings. In addition, the Uniform Requirements include guidance on
audit requirements and other award compliance requirements for
Recipients.
E. Funding limitations: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to fund,
in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the Applications submitted in
response to this NOFA. The CDFI Fund also reserves the right to
reallocate funds from the amount that is anticipated to be available
through this NOFA to other CDFI Fund initiatives that are designed to
benefit Native Communities, particularly if the CDFI Fund determines
that the number of awards made through this NOFA is fewer than
projected.
II. Federal Award Information
A. Funding Availability:
1. FY 2021 Funding Round: The CDFI Fund expects to award, through
this NOFA, approximately $16.5 million as indicated in the following
table:
Table 2--FY 2021 Funding Round Anticipated Category Amounts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Award Amount Estimated Estimate Average
Funding categories (see definition in Table 7 for TA or total amount -------------------------------- number of average amount amount
Table 8 for FA) to be awarded awards for FY awarded in awarded in FY
(millions) Minimum Maximum 2021 FY 2021 2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Base-FA................................................. $11.9 $150,000 $1,000,000 23 $517,000 $615,000
Persistent Poverty Counties--Financial Assistance (PPC- 1.6 100,000 300,000 11 145,000 143,750
FA)....................................................
TA...................................................... 3 10,000 $150,000 20 148,000 145,000
Total (Base-FA, PPC-FA, and TA)......................... 16.5 .............. .............. 54 .............. ..............
Disability Funds--Financial Assistance (DF-FA) *........ 3 100,000 500,000 16 187,000 235,000
Healthy Food Financing Initiative--Financial Assistance 22 500,000 5,000,000 14 1,600,000 1,692,000
(HFFI-FA) *............................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* DF-FA and HFFI-FA appropriation will be allocated in one competitive round between the NACA and CDFI Program NOFAs.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to award more or less than the
amounts cited above in each category, based upon available funding and
other factors, as appropriate.
2. Funding Availability for the FY 2021 Funding Round: As of the
date of this NOFA the CDFI Fund is operating under the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260).
3. Anticipated Start Date and Period of Performance: The Period of
Performance for TA grants begins with the date of the award
announcement and includes either (i) an Emerging CDFI Recipient's three
full consecutive fiscal years after the date of the award announcement,
or (ii) a Certified CDFI Recipient's two full consecutive fiscal years
after the date of the award announcement, or (iii) a Sponsoring Entity
Recipient's four full years after the date of the award announcement,
during which the Recipient must meet the Performance Goals and Measures
(PG&Ms) set forth in the Assistance Agreement. The Period of
Performance for FA awards begins with the date of the award
announcement and includes a Recipient's three full consecutive fiscal
years after the date of the award announcement, during which time the
Recipient must meet the PG&Ms set forth in the Assistance Agreement.
[[Page 10415]]
B. Types of Awards: Through the NACA Program, the CDFI Fund
provides two types of awards: Financial Assistance (FA) and Technical
Assistance (TA) awards. An Applicant may submit an Application for a TA
grant or an FA award under the NACA Program, but not both. FA Awards
include the Base Financial Assistance (Base-FA) award and the following
awards that are provided as a supplement to the Base-FA award: Healthy
Food Financing Initiative-Financial Assistance (HFFI-FA), Persistent
Poverty Counties-Financial Assistance (PPC-FA), and Disability Funds-
Financial Assistance (DF-FA). The HFFI-FA, PPC-FA, and DF-FA
Applications will be evaluated independently from the Base-FA
Application, and will not affect the Base-FA Application evaluation or
Base-FA award amount.
However, Applicants that qualify for the NACA Program may submit
two Applications: One Application--either for a TA grant or an FA
award, but not both--through the CDFI Program, and one Application--
either for a TA grant or an FA award, but not both--through the NACA
Program. NACA qualified Applicants that choose to apply for awards
through both the CDFI Program and the NACA Program may either apply for
the same type of award under each Program or for a different type of
award under each Program. NACA qualified FA Applicants that choose to
apply for an FA award under both the NACA Program and CDFI Program and
are selected for an award under both Programs will be provided the FA
award under the CDFI Program. NACA qualified TA Applicants that choose
to apply for a TA award under both the NACA Program and CDFI Program
and are selected for an award under both Programs will be provided the
TA award under the NACA Program. NACA qualified Applicants that choose
to apply for a TA award and a FA award under separate programs will be
provided the larger of the two awards. NACA Applicants cannot receive
an award under both Programs within the same funding round.
The Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-
261) permanently waived the Matching Funds \2\ requirement for Native
American CDFIs, \3\ and as a result, Native American CDFI FA Applicants
are not required to provide Matching Funds. Additionally, TA Applicants
are not required to provide Matching Funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Matching Funds shall mean funds from sources other than the
Federal government as defined in accordance with the CDFI Program
Regulations at 12 CFR 1805.500.
\3\ A Native American CDFI (Native CDFI) is one that Primarily
Serves a Native Community. Primarily Serves is defined as 50% or
more of an Applicant's activities being directed to a Native
Community.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Base-FA Awards: Base-FA awards are provided in the form of a
grant. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
provide a Base-FA award in an amount other than that which the
Applicant requests; however, the award amount will not exceed the
Applicant's award request as stated in its Application.
2. Persistent Poverty Counties--Financial Assistance (PPC-FA)
Awards: PPC-FA awards will be provided as a supplement to Base-FA
awards; therefore, only those Applicants that are selected to receive a
Base-FA award through the NACA Program FY 2021 Funding Round will be
eligible to receive a PPC-FA award. PPC-FA awards are provided in the
form of a grant. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to provide a PPC-FA award in an amount other than that
which the Applicant requests; however, the award amount will not exceed
the Applicant's award request as stated in its Application.
3. Disability Funds--Financial Assistance (DF-FA) Awards: DF-FA
awards will be provided as a supplement to Base-FA awards; therefore,
only those Applicants that have been selected to receive a Base-FA
award through the NACA Program FY 2021 Funding Round will be eligible
to receive a DF-FA award. DF-FA awards are provided in the form of a
grant for Native American CDFIs. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in
its sole discretion, to provide a DF-FA award in an amount other than
that which the Applicant requests; however, the award amount will not
exceed the Applicant's award request as stated in its Application.
4. Healthy Food Financing Initiative--Financial Assistance (HFFI-
FA) Awards: HFFI-FA awards will be provided as a supplement to Base-FA
awards; therefore, only those Applicants that have been selected to
receive a Base-FA award through the NACA Program FY 2021 Funding Round
will be eligible to receive an HFFI-FA award. HFFI-FA awards are
provided in the form of a grant for Native American CDFIs. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide an HFFI-FA
award in an amount other than that which the Applicant requests;
however, the award amount will not exceed the Applicant's award request
as stated in its Application.
5. TA Grants: TA is provided in the form of grants. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide a TA grant in an
amount other than that which the Applicant requests; however, the TA
grant amount will not exceed the Applicant's request as stated in its
Application.
C. Eligible Activities:
1. FA Awards: Base-FA, PPC-FA, DF-FA, and HFFI-FA award funds may
be expended for activities serving Commercial Real Estate, Small
Business, Microenterprise, Community Facilities, Consumer Financial
Products, Consumer Financial Services, Commercial Financial Products,
Commercial Financial Services, Affordable Housing, Intermediary Lending
to Non-Profits and CDFIs, and other lines of business as deemed
appropriate by the CDFI Fund in the following five categories: (i)
Financial Products; (ii) Financial Services; (iii) Loan Loss Reserves;
(iv) Development Services; and (v) Capital Reserves. The FA Budget is
the amount of the award and must be expended in the five eligible
activity categories prior to the end of the Budget Period. \4\ None of
the eligible activity categories will be authorized for Indirect Costs
or an associated Indirect Cost Rate. Base-FA Recipients must meet
PG&Ms, which will be derived from projections and attestations provided
by the Applicant in its Application, to achieve one or more of the
following FA Objectives: (i) Increase Volume of Financial Products in
an Eligible Market(s) and/or in the Applicant's approved Target Market
and/or Increase Volume of Financial Services in an Eligible Market(s)
and/or in the Applicant's approved Target Market; (ii) Serve Eligible
Market(s) or the Applicant's approved Target Market in New Geographic
Area or Areas; (iii) Provide New Financial Products in an Eligible
Market(s) and/or in the Applicant's approved Target Market, Provide New
Financial Services in an Eligible Market(s) and/or in the Applicant's
approved Target Market, or Provide New Development Services in an
Eligible Market(s) and/or in the Applicant's approved Target Market;
and (iv) Serve New Targeted Population or Populations. At the end of
each year of the Period of Performance, 50% or more of the Financial
Products closed by NACA Recipients must be in Native Communities. FA
awards may only be used for Direct Costs associated with an eligible
activity; no indirect expenses
[[Page 10416]]
are allowed. Up to 15% of the FA award may be used for Direct
Administrative Expenses associated with an eligible FA activity.
``Direct Administrative Expenses'' shall mean Direct Costs, as
described in 2 CFR 200.413 of the Uniform Requirements, which are
incurred by the Recipient to carry out the Financial Assistance. Direct
Costs incurred to provide Development Services or Financial Services do
not constitute Direct Administrative Expenses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Budget Period means the time interval from the start date of
a funded portion of an award to the end date of that funded portion
during which Recipients are authorized to expend the funds awarded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act
of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, \5\ with respect to any Direct Costs. For purposes of
this NOFA, the five eligible activity categories are defined below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ 2 CFR 200.216 prohibits Recipients and Subrecipients from
obligating or expending loan or grant funds to procure or obtain, by
contract or otherwise, equipment, services, or systems that use
``covered telecommunications equipment''. As used herein, ``covered
telecommunications equipment'' is telecommunications equipment
produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any
Subsidiary or Affiliate of such entities).
Table 3--Base-FA, PPC-FA, DF-FA, and HFFI-FA Eligible Activity
Categories
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eligible CDFI
FA eligible activity FA eligible activity institution
definition * types
------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. Financial Products......... FA expended as loans, All.
Equity Investments
and similar financing
activities (as
determined by the
CDFI Fund) including
the purchase of loans
originated by
Certified CDFIs and
the provision of loan
guarantees. In the
case of CDFI
Intermediaries,
Financial Products
may also include
loans to CDFIs and/or
Emerging CDFIs, and
deposits in Insured
Credit Union CDFIs,
Emerging Insured
Credit Union CDFIs,
and/or State-Insured
Credit Union CDFIs..
For HFFI-FA, however,
the purchase of loans
originated by
Certified CDFIs, loan
refinancing, or any
type of financing for
prepared food outlets
are not eligible
activities..
ii. Financial Services........ FA expended for Regulated
providing checking, Institutions
savings accounts, \6\ only.
check cashing, money Not applicable
orders, certified for HFFI-FA
checks, automated Recipients.
teller machines,
deposit taking, safe
deposit box services,
and other similar
services.
iii. Loan Loss Reserves....... FA set aside in the All.
form of cash
reserves, or through
accounting-based
accrual reserves, to
cover losses on
loans, accounts, and
notes receivable or
for related purposes
that the CDFI Fund
deems appropriate.
iv. Development Services...... FA expended for All.
activities undertaken
by a CDFI, its
Affiliate or
contractor that (i)
promote community
development and (ii)
prepare or assist
current or potential
borrowers or
investees to use the
CDFI's Financial
Products or Financial
Services. For
example, such
activities include
financial or credit
counseling;.
homeownership
counseling; business
planning; and
management
assistance..
v. Capital Reserves........... FA set aside as Regulated
reserves to support Institutions
the Applicant's only.
ability to leverage Not applicable
other capital, for for DF-FA.
such purposes as
increasing its net
assets or providing
financing, or for
related purposes as
the CDFI Fund deems
appropriate.
vi.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* All FA eligible activities must be in an Eligible Market or the
Applicant's approved Target Market. Eligible Market is defined as (i)
a geographic area meeting the requirements set forth in 12 CFR
1805.201(b)(3)(ii), or (ii) individuals that are Low-Income, African
American, Hispanic, Native American, Native Hawaiians residing in
Hawaii, Alaska Natives residing in Alaska, or Other Pacific Islanders
residing in American Samoa, Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands.
2. DF-FA Award: DF-FA award funds may only be expended for eligible
FA activities (referenced in Table 3) to directly or indirectly benefit
individuals with disabilities. The DF-FA Recipient must close Financial
Products for the primary purpose of directly or indirectly benefiting
people with disabilities, where the majority of the DF-FA supported
loans or investments benefit individuals with disabilities, in an
amount equal to or greater than 85% of the total DF-FA provided.
Eligible DF-FA financing activities may include, among other
activities, loans to develop or purchase affordable, accessible, and
safe housing; loans to provide or facilitate employment opportunities;
and loans to purchase assistive technology.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Regulated Institutions include Insured Credit Unions,
Insured Depository Institutions, State-Insured Credit Unions and
Depository Institution Holding Companies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the purposes of DF- FA, a person with a Disability is a person
who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of
such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having
such an impairment, as defined by the American Disabilities Act (ADA)
at https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm.
3. TA Grants: TA grant funds may be expended for the following
eight eligible activity categories: (i) Compensation--Personal
Services; (ii) Compensation--Fringe Benefits; (iii) Professional
Service Costs; (iv) Travel Costs; (v) Training and Education Costs;
(vi) Equipment; (vii) Supplies; and (viii) Incorporation Costs. Only
Sponsoring Entities may use TA grant funds for Incorporation Costs. The
TA Budget is the amount of the award and must be expended in the eight
eligible activity categories before the end of the Budget Period. None
of the eligible activity categories will be authorized for Indirect
Costs or an associated Indirect Cost Rate. Any expenses that are
prohibited by the Uniform Requirements are unallowable and are
generally found in Subpart E-Cost Principles. The Recipient must
comply, as applicable, with the Buy American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C.
8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform Requirements, with respect
to any Direct Costs. For purposes of this
[[Page 10417]]
NOFA, the eight eligible activity categories are defined below:
Table 4--TA Eligible Activity Categories, Subject to the Applicable
Provisions of the Uniform Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Compensation--Personal TA paid to cover all remuneration paid
Services. currently or accrued, for services of
Applicant's employees rendered during
the Period of Performance under the TA
grant in accordance with Sec. 200.430
of the Uniform Requirements.
Any work performed directly but unrelated
to the purposes of the TA grant may not
be paid as Compensation through a TA
grant. For example, the salaries for
building maintenance would not carry out
the purpose of a TA grant and would be
deemed unallowable.
(ii) Compensation--Fringe TA paid to cover allowances and services
Benefits. provided by the Applicant to its
employees as Compensation in addition to
regular salaries and wages, in
accordance with Sec. 200.431 of the
Uniform Requirements. Such expenditures
are allowable as long as they are made
under formally established and
consistently applied organizational
policies of the Applicant.
(iii) Professional Service TA used to pay for professional and
Costs. consultant services (e.g., such as
strategic and marketing plan
development), rendered by persons who
are members of a particular profession
or possess a special skill (e.g., credit
analysis, portfolio management), and who
are not officers or employees of the
Applicant, in accordance with Sec.
200.459 of the Uniform Requirements.
Payment for a consultant's services may
not exceed the current maximum of the
daily equivalent rate paid to an
Executive Schedule Level IV Federal
employee. Professional and consultant
services must build the capacity of the
CDFI. For example, professional services
that provide direct Development Services
to the customers does not build the
capacity of the CDFI to provide those
services and would not be eligible. The
Applicant must comply, as applicable,
with 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to payment of
Professional Service Costs.
(iv) Travel Costs............ TA used to pay costs of transportation,
lodging, subsistence, and related items
incurred by the Applicant's personnel
who are on travel status on business
related to the TA award, in accordance
with Sec. 200.475 of the Uniform
Requirements. Travel Costs do not
include costs incurred by the
Applicant's consultants who are on
travel status. Any payments for travel
expenses incurred by the Applicant's
personnel but unrelated to carrying out
the purpose of the TA grant would be
deemed unallowable. As such,
documentation must be maintained that
justifies the travel as necessary to the
TA grant.
(v) Training and Education TA used to pay the cost of training and
Costs. education provided by the Applicant for
employees' development in accordance
with Sec. 200.473 of the Uniform
Requirements. TA can only be used to pay
for training costs incurred by the
Applicant's employees. Training and
Education Costs may not be incurred by
the Applicant's consultants.
(vi) Equipment............... TA used to pay for tangible personal
property, having a useful life of more
than one year and a per-unit acquisition
cost of at least $5,000, in accordance
with Sec. 200.1 of the Uniform
Requirements. For example, items such as
office furnishings and information
technology systems are allowable as
Equipment costs. The Applicant must
comply, as applicable, with the Buy
American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-
8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to the
purchase of Equipment.
(vii) Supplies............... TA used to pay for tangible personal
property with a per unit acquisition
cost of less than $5,000 in accordance
with Sec. 200.1 of the Uniform
Requirements. For example, a desktop
computer costing $1,000 is allowable as
a Supply cost. The Applicant must
comply, as applicable, with the Buy
American Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-
8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to the
purchase of Supplies.
(viii) Incorporation Costs TA used to pay for incorporation fees in
(Sponsoring Entities only). connection with the establishment or
reorganization of an organization as a
CDFI, in accordance with Sec. 200.455
of the Uniform Requirements.
Incorporation Costs are allowable for
NACA Program Sponsoring Entity
Applicants only.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. HFFI-FA Award: HFFI-FA award funds may only be expended for
eligible FA activities referenced in Table 3. The HFFI-FA investments
must comply with the following guidelines:
a. Recipient must close Financial Products for Healthy Food Retail
Outlets and Healthy Food Non-Retail Outlets in its approved Target
Market in an amount equal to or greater than 100% of the total HFFI
Financial Assistance provided. Eligible financing activities to Healthy
Food Retail Outlets and Healthy Food Non-Retail Outlets require that
the majority of the loan or investment be devoted to offering a range
of Healthy Food choices, which may include, among other activities,
investments supporting an existing retail store or wholesale operation
upgrade to offer an expanded range of Healthy Food choices, or
supporting a nonprofit organization that expands the availability of
Healthy Foods in underserved areas.
b. Recipient must demonstrate that it has closed Financial Products
to Healthy Food Retail Outlets located in Food Deserts in the
Recipient's approved Target Market in an amount equal to 75% of the
total HFFI Financial Assistance provided.
Definitions:
Healthy Foods: Healthy Foods include unprepared nutrient-dense
foods and beverages as set forth in the USDA Dietary Guidelines for
Americans 2020-2025 including whole fruits and vegetables, whole
grains, fat free or low-fat dairy foods, lean meats and poultry (fresh,
refrigerated, frozen or canned). Healthy Foods should have low or no
added sugars, and be low-sodium, reduced sodium, or no-salt-added. (See
USDA Dietary Guidelines: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov).
Healthy Food Retail Outlets: Commercial sellers of Healthy Foods
including, but not limited to, grocery stores, mobile food retailers,
farmers markets, retail cooperatives, corner stores, bodegas, stores
that sell other food and non-food items along with a range of Healthy
Foods.
Healthy Food Non-Retail Outlets: Wholesalers of Healthy Foods
including, but not limited to, wholesale food outlets, wholesale
cooperatives, or other non-retail food producers that supply for sale a
range of Healthy Food options; entities that produce or distribute
Healthy Foods for eventual retail sale, and entities that provide
consumer education regarding the consumption of Healthy Foods.
[[Page 10418]]
Food Deserts: Distressed geographic areas where either a
substantial number or share of residents has low access to a
supermarket or large grocery store. For the purpose of satisfying this
requirement, a Food Desert must either: (1) Be a census tract
determined to be a Food Desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), in its USDA Food Access Research Atlas; (2) be a census tract
adjacent to a census tract determined to be a Food Desert by the USDA,
in its USDA Food Access Research Atlas; which has a median family
income less than or equal to 120% of the applicable Area Median Family
Income; or (3) be a Geographic Unit as defined in 12 CFR
1805.201(b)(3)(ii)(B), which (i) individually meets at least one of the
criteria in 12 CFR 1805.201(b)(3)(ii)(D), and (ii) has been identified
as having low access to a supermarket or grocery store through a
methodology that has been adopted for use by another governmental or
philanthropic healthy food initiative.
5. PPC-FA Award: PPC-FA award funds may only be expended for
eligible FA activities referenced in Table 3. The PPC-FA Recipient must
close Financial Products in PPC in an Eligible Market or in the
Applicant's approved Target Market in an amount equal to or greater
than 100% of the total PPC Financial Assistance provided. The specific
counties that meet the criteria for ``persistent poverty'' can be found
at: https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/CDFIPPCFeb19-2020.xls.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants: For the purposes of this NOFA, the
following tables set forth the eligibility criteria to receive an award
from the CDFI Fund, along with certain definitions of terms. There are
four categories of Applicant eligibility criteria: (1) CDFI
certification criteria (Table 5); (2) requirements that apply to all
Applicants (Table 6); (3) requirements that apply to TA Applicants
(Table 7); and (4) requirements that apply to FA Applicants (Table 8).
Table 5--CDFI Certification Criteria Definitions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certified CDFI.................... An entity that the CDFI
Fund has officially notified that
it meets all CDFI certification
requirements.
Emerging CDFI (TA Applicants)..... A non-Certified entity that
demonstrates to the CDFI Fund in
its Application that it has an
acceptable plan to meet CDFI
certification requirements by the
end of its Period of Performance,
or another date that the CDFI Fund
selects.
An Emerging CDFI that has
prior award(s) must comply with
CDFI certification PG&M(s) stated
in its prior Assistance
Agreement(s).
An Emerging CDFI selected
to receive a TA grant will be
required to become a Certified CDFI
by a date specified in the
Assistance Agreement.
Sponsoring Entity................. Sponsoring Entities include
any legal organization that
primarily serves a Native Community
with ''primary'' meaning, at least
50% of its activities are directed
toward the Native Community.
An eligible organization
that proposes to create a separate
legal organization that will become
a Certified CDFI serving Native
Communities.
Each Sponsoring Entity
selected to receive a TA grant will
be required to create a CDFI and
ensure that this newly created CDFI
becomes certified by the dates
specified in the Assistance
Agreement.
Definition of Native Other The CDFI Fund uses the following
Targeted Population as Target definitions, set forth in the
Market. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Notice, Revisions to the
Standards for the Classification of
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
(October 30, 1997), as amended and
supplemented:
American Indian, Native
American, or Alaska Native: A
person having origins in any of the
original peoples of North and South
America (including Central America)
and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community
attachment; and
Native Hawaiian (living
in Hawaii): A person having
origins in any of the original
peoples of Hawaii.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 6--Eligibility Requirements for All Applicants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicant......................... Only the entity that will
carry out the proposed award
activities may apply for an award
(other than Depository Institution
Holding Companies (DIHC) \7\--see
below and Sponsoring Entities).
Recipients may not create a new
legal entity to carry out the
proposed award activities (except
for Sponsoring Entities).
The information in the
Application should only reflect the
activities of the Applicant,
including the presentation of
financial and portfolio
information. Do not include
financial or portfolio information
from parent companies, Affiliates,
or Subsidiaries in the Application
unless it relates to the provision
of Development Services.
An Applicant that applies
on behalf of another organization
will be rejected without further
consideration, other than
Depository Institution Holding
Companies (see below).
Application type and submission Applicants must submit the
overview through Grants.gov and Required Application Documents
Awards Management Information listed in Table 10.
System (AMIS). The CDFI Fund will only
accept Applications that use the
official Application templates
provided on the Grants.gov and AMIS
websites. Applications submitted
with alternative or altered
templates will not be considered.
Applicants undergo a two-
step process that requires the
submission of Application documents
by two separate deadlines in two
different locations: (1) The SF-424
in Grants.gov and (2) all other
Required Application Documents in
AMIS.
Grants.gov and the SF-424:
[cir] Grants.gov: Applicants must
submit the Standard Form (SF) SF-
424, Application for Federal
Assistance.
[cir] All Applicants must
register in the Grants.gov
system to successfully submit an
Application. The Grants.gov
registration process can take 30
days or more to complete. The
CDFI Fund strongly encourages
Applicants to register as early
as possible.
[cir] The CDFI Fund will not
extend the SF-424 application
deadline for any Applicant that
started the Grants.gov
registration process on, before,
or after the date of the
publication of this NOFA, but
did not complete it by the
deadline except in the case of a
Federal government
administrative or technological
error that directly resulted in
a late submission of the SF-424.
[[Page 10419]]
[cir] The SF-424 must be
submitted in Grants.gov on or
before the deadline listed in
Table 1 and Table 12. Applicants
are strongly encouraged to
submit their SF-424 as early as
possible in the Grants.gov
portal.
[cir] The deadline for the
Grants.gov submission is before
the AMIS submission deadline.
[cir] The SF-424 must be
submitted under the NACA Program
Funding Opportunity Number for
the NACA Program Application.
NACA Program Applicants should
be careful to not select the
CDFI Program Funding Opportunity
Number when submitting their SF-
424 for the NACA Program. NACA
Program Applicants that submit
their SF-424 for the NACA
Program Application under the
CDFI Program Funding Opportunity
Number will be deemed ineligible
for the NACA Program
Application.
[cir] If the SF-424 is not
accepted by Grants.gov by the
deadline, the CDFI Fund will not
review any material submitted in
AMIS and the Application will be
deemed ineligible.
AMIS and all other Required
Application Documents listed in
Table 10:
[cir] AMIS is an enterprise-wide
information technology system.
Applicants will use AMIS to
submit and store organization
and Application information with
the CDFI Fund.
[cir] Applicants are only allowed
one NACA Program Application
submission in AMIS.
[cir] Each Application in AMIS
must be signed by an Authorized
Representative.
[cir] Applicants must ensure that
the Authorized Representative is
an employee or officer of the
Applicant, authorized to sign
legal documents on behalf of the
organization. Consultants
working on behalf of the
organization may not be
designated as Authorized
Representatives.
[cir] Only the Authorized
Representative or Application
Point of Contact, included in
the Application, may submit the
Application in AMIS.
[cir] All Required Application
Documents must be submitted in
AMIS on or before the deadline
specified in Tables 1 and 12.
[cir] The CDFI Fund will not
extend the deadline for any
Applicant except in the case of
a Federal government
administrative or technological
error that directly resulted in
the late submission of the
Application in AMIS.
Employer Identification Number Applicants must have a
(EIN). unique EIN assigned by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
The CDFI Fund will reject
an Application submitted with the
EIN of a parent or Affiliate
organization.
The EIN in the Applicant's
AMIS account must match the EIN in
the Applicant's System for Award
Management (SAM) account. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to reject
an Application if the EIN in the
Applicant's AMIS account does not
match the EIN in its SAM account.
Applicants must enter their
EIN into their AMIS profile on or
before the deadline specified in
Tables 1 and 12.
Dun & Bradstreet, (DUNS) number... Pursuant to OMB guidance
(68 FR 38402), an Applicant must
apply using its unique DUNS number
in Grants.gov.
The CDFI Fund will reject
an Application submitted with the
DUNS number of a parent or
Affiliate organization.
The DUNS number in the
Applicant's AMIS account must match
the DUNS number in the Applicant's
Grants.gov and SAM accounts. The
CDFI Fund will reject an
Application if the DUNS number in
the Applicant's AMIS account does
not match the DUNS number in its
Grants.gov and SAM accounts.
Applicants must enter their
DUNS number into their AMIS profile
on or before the deadline specified
in Tables 1 and 12.
System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is a web-based,
government-wide application that
collects, validates, stores, and
disseminates business information
about the federal government's
trading partners in support of the
contract awards, grants, and
electronic payment processes.
Applicants must register in
SAM as part of the Grants.gov
registration process.
Applicants must have a DUNS
number and an EIN number in order
to register in SAM.
Applicants must be
registered in SAM in order to
submit an SF-424 in Grants.gov.
The CDFI Fund reserves the
right to deem an Application
ineligible if the Applicant's SAM
account expires during the
Application evaluation period, or
is set to expire before September
30, 2021, and the Applicant does
not re-activate, or renew, as
applicable, the account within the
deadlines that the CDFI Fund
communicates to affected Applicants
during the Application evaluation
period.
AMIS Account...................... Each Applicant must
register as an organization in AMIS
and submit all Required Application
Documents listed in Table 10
through the AMIS portal.
The Application of any
organization that does not properly
register in AMIS by the deadline
set forth in Table 1--FY 2021 NACA
Program Funding Round Critical
Deadlines for Applicants--will be
rejected without further
consideration.
The Authorized
Representative and/or Application
Point of Contact must be included
as ``users'' in the Applicant's
AMIS account.
An Applicant that fails to
properly register and update its
AMIS account may miss important
communication from the CDFI Fund
and/or may not be able to
successfully submit an Application.
501 (c)(4) status................. Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 1611,
any 501(c)(4) organization that
engages in lobbying activities is
not eligible to receive a CDFI or
NACA Program award.
Compliance with Nondiscrimination An Applicant may not be
and Equal Opportunity Statutes, eligible to receive an award if
Regulations, and Executive Orders. proceedings have been instituted
against it in, by, or before any
court, governmental agency, or
administrative body, and a final
determination within the last three
years indicates the Applicant has
violated any of the following laws,
including but not limited to: Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
as amended (42 U.S.C.2000d);
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); the
Age Discrimination Act of 1975, (42
U.S.C. 6101-6107), and Executive
Order 13166, Improving Access to
Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency.
Depository Institution Holding In the case where a CDFI
Company Applicant. Depository Institution Holding
Company Applicant intends to carry
out the activities of an award
through its Subsidiary CDFI Insured
Depository Institution, the
Application must be submitted by
the CDFI Depository Institution
Holding Company and reflect the
activities and financial
performance of the Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution.
[[Page 10420]]
Authorized Representatives
of both the Depository Institution
Holding Company and the Subsidiary
CDFI Insured Depository Institution
must certify that the information
included in the Application
represents that of the Subsidiary
CDFI Insured Depository
Institution, and that the award
funds will be used to support the
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution for the eligible
activities outlined in the
Application.
Use of award...................... All awards made through
this NOFA must be used to support
the Applicant's activities in at
least one of the FA or TA Eligible
Activity Categories (see Section
II. (C)).
With the exception of
Depository Institution Holding
Company Applicants, awards may not
be used to support the activities
of, or otherwise be passed through,
transferred, or co-awarded to,
third-party entities, whether
Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or
others, unless done pursuant to a
merger or acquisition or similar
transaction, and with the CDFI
Fund's prior written consent. The
Recipient of any award made through
this NOFA must comply, as
applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303
and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any
Direct Costs.
Requested award amount............ An Applicant must state its
requested award amount in the
Application in AMIS. An Applicant
that does not include this amount
will not be allowed to submit an
Application.
Pending resolution of The CDFI Fund will consider
noncompliance. an Application submitted by an
Applicant that has pending
noncompliance issues on any of its
previously executed award
agreement(s), if the CDFI Fund has
not yet made a final compliance
determination.
Noncompliance or default status... The CDFI Fund will not
consider an Application submitted
by an Applicant that has a
previously executed award
agreement(s) if, as of the date of
the Application, (i) the CDFI Fund
has made a final determination that
such entity is noncompliant or
found in default with a previously
executed agreement, and (ii) the
CDFI Fund has provided written
notification that such entity is
ineligible to apply for or receive
any future CDFI Fund awards or
allocations. Such entities will be
ineligible to submit an Application
for such time period as specified
by the CDFI Fund in writing.
The CDFI Fund will not
consider any Applicant that has
defaulted on a loan from the CDFI
Fund within five years of the
Application deadline.
Debarment/Do Not Pay Verification. The CDFI Fund will conduct
a debarment check and will not
consider an Application submitted
by an Applicant (or Affiliate of an
Applicant) if the Applicant is
delinquent on any Federal debt.
The Do Not Pay Business
Center was developed to support
Federal agencies in their efforts
to reduce the number of improper
payments made through programs
funded by the Federal government.
The Do Not Pay Business Center
provides delinquency information to
the CDFI Fund to assist with the
debarment check.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Depository Institution Holding Company or DIHC means a Bank
Holding Company or a Savings and Loan Holding Company.
Table 7--Eligibility Requirements for TA Applicants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDFI certification status......... Certified CDFIs, Emerging CDFIs, or
Sponsoring Entities (see
definitions in Table 5).
Matching Funds.................... Matching Funds
documentation is not required for
TA awards.
Limitation on Awards.............. An Emerging CDFI serving
Native Communities may not receive
more than three TA awards as an
uncertified CDFI.
A Sponsoring Entity is only
eligible to apply for an award if
(i) it does not have an active
prior award or (ii) the
certification goal in its active
award's Assistance Agreement has
been satisfied and it proposes to
create another CDFI that will serve
one or more Native Communities.
Proposed Activities............... Applicants must propose to
directly undertake eligible
activities with TA awards. For
example, an uncertified CDFI
Applicant must propose to become
certified as part of its
Application and a Certified CDFI
Applicant must propose activities
that build its capacity to serve
its Target Market or an Eligible
Market.
With the exception of
Sponsoring Entities, Applicants may
not propose to use a TA award to
create a separate legal entity to
become a Certified CDFI or
otherwise carry out the TA award
activities.
Regulated Institution............. Each Regulated Institution
TA Applicant must have a CAMELS/
CAMEL rating (rating for banks and
credit unions, respectively) or
equivalent type of rating by its
regulator (collectively referred to
as ``CAMELS/CAMEL rating'') of at
least ``4''.
TA Applicants with CAMELS/
CAMEL ratings of ``5'' will not be
eligible for awards.
The CDFI Fund will also
evaluate material concerns
identified by the Appropriate
Federal Banking Agency in
determining the eligibility of
Regulated Institution Applicants.
Target Market..................... TA Applicants must
demonstrate that the Certified
CDFI, Emerging CDFI, or the CDFI to
be created by the Sponsoring Entity
will primarily serve one or more
Native Communities as its Target
Market.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 8--Eligibility Requirements for FA Applicants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDFI certification status......... Each FA Applicant must be a
Certified CDFI prior to the date of
the release of this NOFA.
The CDFI Fund will consider
an Application submitted by an
Applicant that has pending
noncompliance issues with its
Annual Certification Report if the
CDFI Fund has not yet made a final
compliance determination.
If a Certified CDFI loses
its certification at any point
prior to the award announcement,
the Application will no longer be
considered by the CDFI Fund.
Activities in Native Communities.. For consideration under
this NOFA, each FA Applicant must:
[[Page 10421]]
[cir] Demonstrate that at least
50% of its past activities were
in one or more Native
Communities; and
[cir] Describe how it will target
its lending/investing activities
to one or more Native
Communities.
Target Market..................... For consideration under
this NOFA, an FA Applicant's
certification Target Market must
have one or more of the following
characteristics:
[cir] For qualifying with an
Investment Area, the Applicant
must demonstrate that the
Investment Area approved for
certification is also a
geographic area of Federally-
designated reservations,
Hawaiian homelands, Alaska
Native Villages and U.S. Census
Bureau designated Tribal
Statistical Areas; and/or
[cir] For qualifying with an
Other Targeted Population (OTP),
the applicant's Target Market
approved for certification must
be an OTP of Native Americans or
American Indians, including
Alaska Natives living in Alaska
and Native Hawaiians living in
Hawaii.
Any FA Applicant whose
certification Target Market does
not meet either of the conditions
above will not be eligible for an
FA award under this NOFA.
Community Collaboration........... All FA Applicants must
demonstrate strong community
collaboration with Native
Communities.
Matching Funds documentation...... Native American CDFIs are
not required to provide Matching
Funds.
$5 Million funding cap............ The CDFI Fund is prohibited
from obligating more than $5
million in CDFI and NACA Program
awards, in the aggregate, to any
one organization and its
Subsidiaries and Affiliates during
any three-year period from the
Announcement Date.
For TA Applicants, for
purposes of this NOFA and per final
FY 2021 appropriations language,
the CDFI Fund will include CDFI and
NACA Program final awards in the
cap calculation that were provided
to an Applicant (and/or its
Subsidiaries or Affiliates) under
the FY 2019, and 2020 funding
rounds, as well as the requested FY
2021 award, excluding DF-FA and
HFFI-FA awards.
For FA Applicants, for
purposes of this NOFA and per final
FY 2021 appropriations language,
the CDFI Fund will include CDFI and
NACA Program final awards in the
cap calculation that were provided
to an Applicant (and/or its
Subsidiaries or Affiliates) under
the FY 2019 and 2020 funding
rounds, as well as the requested FY
2021 award, excluding DF-FA and
HFFI-FA awards.
FA Applicants with Community A NACA Applicant can apply
Partners. for assistance jointly with a
Community Partner. The CDFI
Applicant must complete the NACA
Program Application and address the
Community Partnership in its
business plan and other sections of
the Application as specified in the
Application materials.
The CDFI Applicant must be
a Certified CDFI as defined in
Table 5.
An Application with a
Community Partner must:
[cir] Describe how the NACA
Applicant and Community Partner
will each participate in the
partnership and how the
partnership will enhance
eligible activities serving the
Investment Area and/or Targeted
Population.
[cir] Demonstrate that the
Community Partnership activities
are consistent with the
strategic plan submitted by the
NACA Applicant.
Assistance provided upon
approval of an Application with a
Community Partner shall only be
entrusted to the NACA Applicant and
shall not be used to fund any
activity carried out directly by
the Community Partner or an
Affiliate or Subsidiary thereof.
Regulated Institution............. Each Regulated Institution
FA Applicant must have a CAMELS/
CAMEL rating (rating for banks and
credit unions, respectively) or
equivalent type of rating by its
regulator (collectively referred to
as ``CAMELS/CAMEL rating'') of at
least ``3''.
FA Applicants with CAMELS/
CAMEL ratings of ``4 or 5'' will
not be eligible for awards.
The CDFI Fund will also
evaluate material concerns
identified by the Appropriate
Federal Banking Agency in
determining the eligibility of
Regulated Institution Applicants.
PPC-FA............................ All PPC-FA Applicants must:
[cir] Submit a CDFI or NACA
Program FA Application;
[cir] Meet all NACA FA award
eligibility requirements; and
[cir] Provide a PPC-FA award
request amount in AMIS.
DF-FA............................. All DF-FA Applicants must:
[cir] Submit a CDFI or NACA
Program FA Application;
[cir] Meet all NACA FA award
eligibility requirements;
[cir] Submit the DF-FA
Application; and
[cir] Provide a DF-FA award
request amount in AMIS.
HFFI-FA........................... All HFFI-FA Applicants
must:
[cir] Submit a CDFI or NACA
Program FA Application;
[cir] Meet all NACA FA award
eligibility requirements;
[cir] Submit the HFFI-FA
Application; and
[cir] Provide a HFFI-FA award
request amount in AMIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Matching Funds Requirements: Native American CDFIs are not
required to provide Matching Funds.
Table 9--Reserved
[[Page 10422]]
IV. Application and Submission Information
A. Address to Request an Application Package: Application materials
can be found on the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov/programs-training/Programs/native-initiatives. Applicants may request a paper
version of any Application material by contacting the CDFI Fund Help
Desk at [email protected]. Paper versions of Application
materials will only be provided if an Applicant cannot access the CDFI
Fund's website.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission: All Applications
must be prepared using the English language, and calculations must be
computed in U.S. dollars. The following table lists the Required
Application Documents for the FY 2021 Funding Round. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to request and review other pertinent or public
information that has not been specifically requested in this NOFA or
the Application. Information submitted by the Applicant that the CDFI
Fund has not specifically requested will not be reviewed or considered
as part of the Application. Financial data, portfolio, and activity
information provided in the Application should only include the
Applicant's activities. Information submitted must accurately reflect
the Applicant's activities.
Table 10--Required Application Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application documents Applicant type Submission format
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active AMIS Account............. All Applicants.... AMIS.
SF-424.......................... All Applicants.... Fillable PDF in
Grants.gov.
NACA Program Application All Applicants.... AMIS.
Components:.
Funding Application
Detail.
Data, Charts, and
Narrative sections as
listed in AMIS and outlined
in Application materials.
PPC-FA Application Components:.. PPC-FA Applicants. AMIS.
Funding Application
Detail
Narratives
AMIS Charts
DF-FA Application Components:... DF-FA Applicants.. AMIS.
Funding Application
Detail.
Narratives.
AMIS Charts.
HFFI-FA Application Components:. HFFI-FA Applicants AMIS.
Funding Application
Detail.
Narratives.
AMIS charts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTACHMENTS TO THE APPLICATION: Add to ``Related Attachments'' related
list in Application
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Key Staff Resumes............... All Applicants.... PDF or Word
document in AMIS.
Organizational Chart............ All Applicants.... PDF in AMIS.
Audited financial statements for FA Applicants: PDF in AMIS.
the Applicant's Three Most Loan funds,
Recent Historic Fiscal Years. Venture Capital
Funds,\8\ and
other non-
Regulated
Institutions.
TA Applicants, if
available: loan
funds, Venture
Capital Funds,
and other non-
Regulated
Institutions.
Management Letter for the FA Applicants: PDF in AMIS.
Applicant's Most Recent Loan funds,
Historic Fiscal Year. Venture Capital
The Management Letter is Funds, and other
prepared by the Applicant's non-Regulated
auditor and is a communication Institutions.
on internal control over TA Applicants, if
financial reporting, audited financial
compliance, and other matters. statements are
The Management Letter contains available: Loan
the auditor's findings funds, Venture
regarding the Applicant's Capital Funds,
accounting policies and and other non-
procedures, internal controls, Regulated
and operating policies, Institutions.
including any material
weaknesses, significant
deficiencies, and other matters
identified during auditing. The
Management Letter may include
suggestions for improving on
identified weaknesses and
deficiencies and/or best
practice suggestions for items
that may not be considered to
be weaknesses or deficiencies.
The Management Letter may also
include items that are not
required to be disclosed in the
annual audited financial
statements. The Management
Letter is distinct from the
auditor's Opinion Letter, which
is required by Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles
(GAAP). Management Letters are
not required by GAAP, and are
sometimes provided by the
auditor as a separate letter
from the audit itself.
Statement(s) in Lieu of FA Applicants: AMIS.
Management Letter for Loan funds,
Applicant's Most Recent Venture Capital
Historic Fiscal Year issued by Funds, and other
the Board Treasurer or other non-Regulated
Board member using the template Institutions.
provided in the Application TA Applicants, if
materials (required only if audited financial
Management Letters are not statements ARE
available for audited financial available but the
statements). Management
Letters are NOT
available: Loan
funds, Venture
Capital Funds,
and other non-
Regulated
Institutions.
Unaudited financial statements TA Applicants: PDF in AMIS.
for Applicant's Three Most Loan funds,
Recent Historic Years (required Venture Capital
only if audited financial Funds, and other
statements are not available). non-Regulated
Institutions.
[[Page 10423]]
Current Year to Date--December FA and TA PDF in AMIS.
31, 2020 Unaudited financial Applicants: Loan
statements. funds, Venture
Capital Funds,
and other non-
Regulated
Institutions.
Community Partnership Agreement. FA Applicants, if PDF or Word
applicable. document in AMIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Application Submission: The CDFI Fund has a two-step process
that requires the submission of Required Application Documents (listed
in Table 10) on separate deadlines and locations. The SF-424 must be
submitted through Grants.gov and all other Required Application
Documents through the AMIS portal. The CDFI Fund will not accept
Applications via email, mail, facsimile, or other forms of
communication, except in extremely rare circumstances that have been
pre-approved in writing by the CDFI Fund. The deadline for submitting
the SF-424 is listed in Tables 1 and 12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ A Venture Capital Fund is an organization that predominantly
invests funds in businesses, typically in the form of either Equity
Investments or subordinated debt with equity features such as
revenue participation or warrants, and generally seeks to
participate in the upside returns of such businesses in an effort to
at least partially offset the risk of its investments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Applicants must register in the Grants.gov system to
successfully submit the SF-424. The Grants.gov registration process can
take 45 days or longer to complete and the CDFI Fund strongly
encourages Applicants to start the Grants.gov registration process as
early as possible (refer to the following link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html). Since the Grants.gov registration process
requires Applicants to have DUNS and EIN numbers, Applicants without
these required numbers should allow for additional time to complete the
Grants.gov registration process. Further, as described in Section IV.
(E) of this NOFA, new requirements for registration in the System for
Awards Management (SAM), which is required as part of the Grants.gov
registration process, may take more time than in recent years. The CDFI
Fund will not extend the Application deadline for any Applicant that
started the Grants.gov registration process but did not complete it by
the deadline. An Applicant that has previously registered with
Grants.gov must verify that its registration is current and active.
Applicants should contact Grants.gov directly with questions related to
the registration or submission process as the CDFI Fund does not
maintain the Grants.gov system.
Each Application must be signed by a designated Authorized
Representative in AMIS before it can be submitted. Applicants must
ensure that an Authorized Representative is an employee or officer and
is authorized to sign legal documents on behalf of the Applicant.
Consultants working on behalf of the Applicant may not be designated as
Authorized Representatives. Only a designated Authorized Representative
or Application Point of Contact, included in the Application, may
submit the Application in AMIS. If an Authorized Representative or
Application Point of Contact does not submit the Application, the
Application will be deemed ineligible.
D. Dun & Bradstreet Universal Numbering System: Pursuant to the
Uniform Requirements, each Applicant must provide as part of its
Application submission, a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System
(DUNS) number. Applicants without a DUNS number will not be able to
register and submit an Application in the Grants.gov system. Allow
sufficient time for Dun & Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/or
requests for DUNS numbers.
E. System for Award Management (SAM): Any entity applying for
Federal grants or other forms of Federal financial assistance through
Grants.gov must be registered in SAM before submitting its Application.
Registration in SAM is required as part of the Grants.gov registration
process. The SAM registration process may take one month or longer to
complete. A signed notarized letter identifying the SAM authorized
entity administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number is
required. This requirement is applicable to new entities registering in
SAM, as well as to existing entities with registrations being updated
or renewed in SAM. Applicants without DUNS and/or EIN numbers should
allow for additional time as an Applicant cannot register in SAM
without those required numbers. Applicants that have previously
completed the SAM registration process must verify that their SAM
accounts are current and active. Each Applicant must continue to
maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all
times during which it has an active Federal award or an Application
under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. The CDFI Fund will
deem ineligible any Applicant that fails to properly register or
activate its SAM account and, as a result, is unable to submit the SF-
424 in Grants.gov or Application in AMIS by the applicable Application
deadlines. These restrictions also apply to organizations that have not
yet received a DUNS or EIN number. Applicants must contact SAM directly
with questions related to registration or SAM account changes as the
CDFI Fund does not maintain this system and has no ability to make
changes or correct errors of any kind. For more information about SAM,
visit https://www.sam.gov.
Table 11_Grants.gov Registration Timeline Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated minimum
Step Agency time to complete
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obtain a DUNS number............ Dun & Bradstreet.. One (1) Week. *
Obtain an EIN Number............ Internal Revenue Two (2) Weeks. *
Service (IRS).
Register in SAM.gov............. System for Award Four (4) Weeks. *
Management
(SAM.gov).
[[Page 10424]]
Register in Grants.gov.......... Grants.gov........ One (1) Week. **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Applicants are advised that the stated durations are estimates only
and represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer.
The CDFI Fund will deem ineligible any Applicant that fails to
properly register or activate its SAM account, has not yet received a
DUNS or EIN number, and/or fails to properly register in Grants.gov.
** This estimate assumes an Applicant has a DUNS number, an EIN number,
and is already registered in SAM.gov.
F. Submission Dates and Times:
1. Submission Deadlines: The following table provides the critical
deadlines for the FY 2021 Funding Round.
Table 12--FY 2021 NACA Program Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description Deadline Time (eastern time--ET) Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last day to create an Awards March 22, 2021............ 11:59 p.m................. AMIS.
Management Information Systems
(AMIS) Account (all Applicants).
Last day to enter EIN and DUNS March 22, 2021............ 11:59 p.m................. AMIS.
numbers in AMIS (all Applicants).
Last day to submit SF-424 March 22, 2021............ 11:59 p.m................. Electronically via
(Application for Federal Grants.gov.
Assistance).
Last day to contact NACA Program April 29, 2021............ 5:00 p.m.................. Service Request via
staff. AMIS
Or CDFI Fund
Helpdesk:
202-653-0421.
Last day to contact AMIS-IT Help May 3, 2021............... 5:00 p.m.................. Service Request via
Desk (regarding AMIS technical AMIS
problems only). Or 202-653-0422 Or
[email protected]
Last day to submit NACA Program May 3, 2021............... 11:59 p.m................. AMIS.
Application for Financial
Assistance (FA) or Technical
Assistance (TA).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Confirmation of Application Submission in Grants.gov and AMIS:
Applicants are required to submit the SF-424, Application for Federal
Assistance through the Grants.gov system, under the NACA Program
Funding Opportunity Number by the applicable deadline. All other
Required Application Documents (listed in Table 10) must be submitted
through the AMIS website by the applicable deadline. Applicants must
submit the SF-424 prior to submitting the Application in AMIS. If the
SF-424 is not successfully accepted by Grants.gov by the deadline, the
CDFI Fund will not review the Application submitted in AMIS, and the
Application will be deemed ineligible.
a. Grants.gov Submission Information: Each Applicant will receive
an email from Grants.gov immediately after submitting the SF-424
confirming that the submission has entered the Grants.gov system. This
email will contain a tracking number for the submitted SF-424. Within
48 hours, the Applicant will receive a second email, which will
indicate if the submitted SF-424 was either successfully validated or
rejected with errors. However, Applicants should not rely on the email
notification from Grants.gov to confirm that their SF-424 was
validated. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the tracking
number provided in the first email to closely monitor the status of
their SF-424 by contacting the helpdesk at Grants.gov directly. The
Application material submitted in AMIS is not officially accepted by
the CDFI Fund until Grants.gov has validated the SF-424.
b. AMIS Submission Information: AMIS is a web-based portal where
Applicants will directly enter their Application information and add
the required attachments listed in Table 10. AMIS will verify that the
Applicant provided the minimum information required to submit an
Application. Applicants are responsible for the quality and accuracy of
the information and attachments included in the Application submitted
in AMIS. The CDFI Fund strongly encourages Applicants to allow for
sufficient time to review and complete all Required Application
Documents listed in Table 10, and remedy any issues prior to the
Application deadline. Each Application must be signed by an Authorized
Representative in AMIS before it can be submitted. Applicants must
ensure that the Authorized Representative is an employee or officer and
is authorized to sign legal documents on behalf of the Applicant.
Consultants working on behalf of the Applicant may not be designated as
Authorized Representatives. Only an Authorized Representative or an
Application Point of Contact may submit an Application. If an
Authorized Representative or Application Point of Contact does not
submit the Application, the Application will be deemed ineligible.
Applicants may only submit one Base-FA or TA Application under the NACA
Program. Upon submission, the Application will be locked and cannot be
resubmitted, edited, or modified in any way. The CDFI Fund will not
unlock or allow multiple Application submissions.
3. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if
the SF-424 is not submitted and accepted by Grants.gov by the SF-424
deadline. Additionally, the CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if
it is not signed by an Authorized Representative and submitted in AMIS
by the Application deadline. In either case, the CDFI Fund will not
review any material submitted, and the Application will be deemed
ineligible.
However, in cases where a Federal government administrative or
technological error directly resulted in a
[[Page 10425]]
late submission of the SF-424 or the Application, Applicants are
provided two opportunities to submit a written request for acceptance
of late submissions. The CDFI Fund will not consider the late
submission of the SF-424 or the Application that was a direct result of
a delay in a Federal Government process, unless such delay was the
result of a Federal government administrative or technological error.
a. SF-424 Late Submission: In cases where a Federal government
administrative or technological error directly resulted in the late
submission of the SF-424, the Applicant must submit a written request
for acceptance of the late SF-424 submission and include documentation
of the error no later than two business days after the SF-424 deadline.
The CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for acceptance of late SF-
424 submissions after that time period. Applicants must submit late SF-
424 submission requests to the CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service Request to
the NACA Program with a subject line of ``Late SF-424 Submission
Request.''
b. Application Late Submission: In cases where a Federal government
administrative or technological error directly resulted in a late
submission of the Application in AMIS, the Applicant must submit a
written request for acceptance of the late Application submission and
include documentation of the error no later than two business days
after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond to
requests for acceptance of late Application submissions after that time
period. Applicants must submit late Application submission requests to
the CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service Request to the NACA Program with a
subject line of ``Late Application Submission Request.''
G. Funding Restrictions: Base-FA, PPC-FA, DF-FA, HFFI-FA and TA
awards are limited by the following:
1. Base-FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use Base-FA funds only for the eligible
activities described in Section II. (C)(1) of this NOFA and its
Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, Base-FA awards may not be used to support the activities
of, or otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to,
third-party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others,
unless done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction,
and with the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.
c. Base-FA funds shall only be paid to the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay Base-FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
2. PPC-FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use PPC-FA funds only for the eligible
activities described in Section II. (C)(5) of this NOFA and its
Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, PPC-FA awards may not be used to support the activities of,
or otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-
party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless
done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction, and
with the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.
c. PPC-FA funds shall only be paid to the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay PPC-FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
3. DF-FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use DF-FA funds only for the eligible
activities described in Section II. (C)(2) of this NOFA and its
Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, DF-FA awards may not be used to support the activities of,
or otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-
party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless
done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction, and
with the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.
c. DF-FA funds shall only be paid to the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay DF-FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
2. HFFI-FA Awards:
a. A Recipient shall use HFFI-FA funds only for the eligible
activities described in Section II. (C)(4) of this NOFA and its
Assistance Agreement.
b. With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, HFFI-FA awards may not be used to support the activities
of, or otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to,
third-party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others,
unless done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction,
and with the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.
c. HFFI-FA funds shall only be paid to the Recipient.
d. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay HFFI-FA funds in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant.
e. The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
3. TA Grants:
a. A Recipient shall use TA funds only for the eligible activities
described in Section II. (C) (3) of this NOFA and its Assistance
Agreement.
b. A Sponsoring Entity Recipient must create the Emerging CDFI as a
legal entity no later than the end of the first year of the Period of
Performance. Upon creation of the Emerging CDFI, the Sponsoring Entity
must request the CDFI Fund to amend the Assistance Agreement to add the
Emerging CDFI as a co-Recipient. The Sponsoring Entity must add the
Emerging CDFI as a co-Recipient within 90 days the end of the first
year of the Period of Performance. The Sponsoring Entity must then
transfer any remaining balances and/or assets derived from the TA award
to the Emerging CDFI.
c. With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, TA awards may not be used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-party
entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction, and with
the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.
d. TA funds shall only be paid to the Recipient.
e. The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay TA funds in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant.
f. The Recipient must comply, as applicable, with the Buy American
Act of 1933, 41 U.S.C. 8301-8303 and 2 CFR 200.216 of the Uniform
Requirements, with respect to any Direct Costs.
[[Page 10426]]
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria: If the Applicant has submitted an eligible
Application, the CDFI Fund will conduct a substantive review in
accordance with the criteria and procedures described in the
Regulations, this NOFA, the Application guidance, and the Uniform
Requirements. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Applicant
by telephone, email, or mail for the purpose of clarifying or
confirming Application information. If contacted, the Applicant must
respond within the time period communicated by the CDFI Fund or risk
that its Application will be rejected. The CDFI Fund will review the
Base-FA, DF-FA, PPC-FA, HFFI-FA, and TA Applications in accordance with
the process below. All internal and external reviewers will complete
the CDFI Fund's conflict of interest process. The CDFI Fund's
Application conflict of interest policy is located on the CDFI Fund's
website.
1. Base-FA Application Scoring, Award Selection, Review, and
Selection Process: The CDFI Fund will evaluate each Application using a
five-step review process illustrated in the sections below. Applicants
that meet the minimum criteria will advance to the next step in the
review process. Applicants applying as a Community Partnership must
describe the partnership in the Application pursuant to the
requirements set forth in Table 8, and will be evaluated in accordance
with the review process described below.
a. Step 1: Eligibility Review: The CDFI Fund will evaluate each
Application to determine its eligibility status pursuant to Section III
of this NOFA.
b. Step 2: Financial Analysis and Compliance Risk Evaluation:
i. Step 2: Financial Analysis: For Regulated Institutions, the CDFI
Fund will consider financial safety and soundness information from the
Appropriate Federal or State Banking Agency. As detailed in Table 8,
each Regulated Institution FA Applicant must have a CAMELS/CAMEL rating
of at least ``3'' and/or no significant materials concerns from its
regulator. For non-regulated Applicants, the CDFI Fund will evaluate
the financial health and viability of each non-regulated Applicant
using financial information provided by the Applicant. For the
Financial Analysis, each non-regulated Applicant will receive a Total
Financial Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to five (5), with one
(1) being the highest rating. The Total Financial Composite Score is
based on the analysis of twenty-three (23) financial indicators.
Applications will be grouped based on the Total Financial Composite
Score. Applicants must receive a Total Financial Composite Score of one
(1), two (2), or three (3) to advance to Step 3. Applicants that
receive an initial Total Financial Composite Score of four (4) or five
(5) will be re-evaluated and re-scored by CDFI Fund staff. If the Total
Financial Composite Score remains four (4) or five (5) after CDFI Fund
staff review, the Applicant will not advance to Step 3.
ii. Step 2: Compliance Risk Evaluation: For the compliance
analysis, the CDFI Fund will evaluate the compliance risk of each
Applicant using information provided in the Application as well as an
Applicant's reporting history, reporting capacity, and performance risk
with respect to the CDFI Fund's PG&Ms. Each Applicant will receive a
Total Compliance Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to five (5),
with one (1) being the highest rating. Applicants that receive an
initial Total Compliance Composite Score of four (4) or five (5) will
be re-evaluated by CDFI Fund staff. If the Applicant is deemed a high
compliance risk after CDFI Fund staff review, the Applicant will not
advance to Step 3.
c. Step 3: Business Plan Review: Applicants that proceed to Step 3
will be evaluated on the soundness of their comprehensive business
plan. Two external non-CDFI Fund Reviewers will conduct the Step 3
evaluation. Reviewers will evaluate the Application sections listed in
Table 13. All Applications will be reviewed in accordance with standard
reviewer evaluation materials. Applications will be ranked based on
Total Business Plan Scores, in descending order. In order to advance to
Step 4, Applicants must receive a Total Business Plan Score that is
either (1) equal to receiving a point score equivalent to a ``Good''
out of a ranking scale in descending order of Excellent, Good, Fair,
Limited or Poor, in each section listed in Table 13, or (2) within the
top 70% of the NACA FA Applicant pool, whichever is greater. In the
case of tied Total Business Plan Scores that would prevent an Applicant
from moving to Step 4, all Applicants with the same score will progress
to Step 4. Lastly, the CDFI Fund may consider the geographic diversity
of Applicants when determining the Step 4 Applicant pool.
Table 13--Step 3: Base-FA Business Plan Review Scoring Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Score needed to
Base-FA application sections Possible score advance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Summary............ Not Scored......... N/A.
Business Strategy............ 12................. N/A.
Market and Competitive 7.................. N/A.
Analysis.
Products and Services........ 12................. N/A.
Management and Track Record.. 12................. N/A.
Growth and Projections....... 7.................. N/A.
Total Business Plan Score 50................. NACA Applicants: Top
70% of all NACA
Applicant Step 3
Scores.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
d. Step 4: Policy Objective Review: The CDFI Fund internal
reviewers will evaluate each Application to determine its ability to
meet policy objectives of the CDFI Fund. Each Applicant will be
evaluated in each of the categories listed in Table 14 below, and will
receive a Total Policy Objective Review Composite Score on a scale of
one (1) to five (5), with one (1) being the highest score. Applicants
are then grouped according to Total Policy Objective Review Scores.
The CDFI Fund also conducts a due diligence review for Applications
that includes an analysis of programmatic risk factors including, but
not limited to: history of performance in managing Federal awards
(including timeliness of reporting and compliance); ability to meet FA
Objective(s) selected by Base-FA Applicants in their Applications;
reports and findings from audits; and the Applicant's ability to
effectively implement Federal requirements, each of which could impact
the Total Policy Objective Review Score.
[[Page 10427]]
Table 14--Step 4: Base-FA Policy Review Scoring Criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section Possible scores High score Score needed to advance
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Economic Distress............. 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5............ 1 N/A.
Economic Opportunities........ 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5............ 1 N/A.
Community Collaboration....... 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5............ 1 N/A.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Policy Objective 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5............ 1 All Scores Advance.
Review Composite Score.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e. Step 5: Award Amount Determination: The CDFI Fund determines an
award amount for each Application based on the Step 4 Total Policy
Objective Review Score, the Applicant's request amount, and on certain
other factors, including but not limited to, an Applicant's deployment
track record, minimum award size, and funding availability. Award
amounts may be reduced from the requested award amount as a result of
this analysis. For NACA FA Applicants, the award cannot exceed 100% of
the Applicant's total portfolio outstanding as of the Applicant's most
recent historic fiscal year end. \9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ For the purposes of this NOFA, an Applicant's most recent
historic fiscal year end is determined as follows.
(A) Applicants with a 3/31 fiscal year end date will treat FY
2020 as their most recent historic fiscal year and FY 2021 as their
current year.
(B) Applicants with a 6/30 fiscal year end date will treat FY
2020 as their most recent historic fiscal year and FY 2021 as their
current year.
(C) Applicants with a 9/30 fiscal year end date and a completed
FY 2020 audit will treat FY 2020 as their most recent historic
fiscal year and FY 2021 as their current year.
(D) Applicants with a 9/30 fiscal year end date but without a
completed FY 2020 audit will treat FY 2019 as their most recent
historic fiscal year and FY 2020 as their current year.
(E) Applicants with a 12/31 fiscal year end date, with or
without a completed FY 2020 audit, will treat FY 2019 as their most
recent historic fiscal year and FY 2020 as their current year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Healthy Food Financing Initiative-FA (HFFI-FA) Application
Scoring, Award Selection, Review, and Selection Process: A CDFI Fund
internal reviewer will evaluate each HFFI-FA Application associated
with a Base-FA Application that progresses to Step 4 of the FA
Application review process. The reviewer will evaluate the Application
sections listed in Table 15 and assign a Total HFFI- FA Score up to 60
points. The CDFI Fund will make awards to the highest scoring
Applicants first. All Applications will be reviewed in accordance with
standard reviewer evaluation materials. Applicants that fail to receive
a Base-FA award will not be considered for a HFFI-FA award.
The CDFI Fund conducts additional levels of due diligence for
Applications that are under consideration for an HFFI-FA award. Award
amounts may be reduced from the requested award amount as a result of
this analysis. The CDFI Fund may reduce awards sizes from requested
amounts based on certain variables, including but not limited to, an
Applicant's loan disbursement activity, total portfolio outstanding, or
compliance with prior HFFI-FA awards. Lastly, the CDFI Fund may
consider the geographic diversity of Applicants when making its funding
decisions.
Table 15--Step 4 HFFI-FA Application Scoring Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possible score
Sections (points)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Target Market Profile................................... 10
Healthy Food Financial Products......................... 10
Projected HFFI-FA Activities............................ 15
HFFI Track Record....................................... 20
Management Capacity for Providing Healthy Food Financing 5
---------------
Total HFFI-FA Possible Score........................ 60
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Persistent Poverty Counties--Financial Assistance (PPC-FA)
Application Scoring, Award Selection, Review, and Selection Process: A
CDFI Fund internal reviewer will evaluate the PPC-FA request of each
associated Base-FA Application that progresses to Step 4 of the FA
Application review process. PPC-FA requests are not scored. PPC-FA
award amounts will be determined based on the total number of eligible
Applicants and funding availability, the Applicant's requested amount,
and on certain factors, including but not limited to, an Applicant's
overall portfolio size, historical track record of deployment in PPC,
pipeline of projects in PPC, minimum award size, and funding
availability. Applicants that fail to receive a Base-FA award will not
be considered for a PPC-FA award.
4. Disability Funds-Financial Assistance (DF-FA) Application
Scoring, Award Selection, Review, and Selection Process: A CDFI Fund
internal reviewer will evaluate each DF-FA Application associated with
a Base-FA Application that progresses to Step 4 of the FA Application
review process. The reviewer will evaluate the Application and assign a
Total DF- FA Score on a scale of one (1) to three (3), with one (1)
being the highest score. Applicants are then grouped according to Total
DF- FA Score. All Applications will be reviewed in accordance with
standard reviewer evaluation materials. Applicants that fail to receive
a Base-FA award will not be considered for a DF-FA award. Award amounts
will be determined on the basis of the Total DF-FA Score, the
Applicant's requested amount, and on certain factors, including but not
limited to, an Applicant's deployment track record, minimum award size,
and funding availability. Award amounts may be reduced from the
requested award amount as a result of this analysis. The
[[Page 10428]]
CDFI Fund will make awards to the highest scoring Applicants first.
Table 16--Step 3 DF-FA Application Scoring Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section Possible scores High score
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DF-FA Narrative Questions....... 1, 2, or 3............ 1
---------------------------------------
Total DF-FA Score........... 1, 2, or 3............ 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Technical Assistance (TA) Application Scoring, Award Selection,
Review, and Selection Process: The CDFI Fund will evaluate each
Application to determine its eligibility pursuant to Section III of
this NOFA. If the Application satisfies the eligibility criteria, the
CDFI Fund will evaluate the TA Application. Sponsoring Entity or
Emerging CDFI Applicants must receive a rating of Low Risk or Medium
Risk in Section I of the TA Business Plan Review to progress to Section
II of the TA Business Plan Review. Sponsoring Entity, or Emerging CDFI
Applicants that receive a rating of High Risk in Section I of the TA
Business Plan Review will not be considered for an award. Section I of
the TA Business Plan Review is not applicable for Certified CDFI
Applicants. Sponsoring Entity, Emerging CDFI, and Certified CDFI
Applicants must receive a rating of Low Risk or Medium Risk in Section
II of the TA Business Plan Review to be considered for an award.
Applicants that receive a rating of High Risk in Section II of the TA
Business Plan Review will not be considered for an award.
An Applicant that is a Certified CDFI will be evaluated on the
demonstrated need for TA funding to build the CDFI's capacity, further
the Applicant's strategic goals, and achieve impact within the
Applicant's Target Market. An Applicant that is an Emerging CDFI will
be evaluated on the Applicant's demonstrated capability and plan to
achieve CDFI certification within three years, or if a prior Recipient,
the certification PG&M stated in its prior Assistance Agreement. An
Applicant that is an Emerging CDFI will also be evaluated on its
demonstrated need for TA funding to build the CDFI's capacity and
further its strategic goals. An Applicant that is a Sponsoring Entity
will be rated on its demonstrated capability to create a separate legal
entity within one year that will achieve CDFI certification within four
years. An Applicant that is a Sponsoring Entity will also be rated on
its demonstrated need for TA funding to build the CDFI's capacity and
further its strategic goals.
The CDFI Fund will rate each part of the TA Business Plan Review as
indicated in Table 17.
Table 17--TA Business Plan Review
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business plan review component Applicant type Ratings
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section I: ...................... ................
Primary Mission........... Sponsoring Entity and ................
Emerging CDFI
Applicants.
Financing Entity.......... Sponsoring Entity and ................
Emerging CDFI
Applicants.
Target Market............. Sponsoring Entity and Low Risk, Medium
Emerging CDFI Risk, or High
Applicants. Risk.
Accountability................ Sponsoring Entity and ................
Emerging CDFI
Applicants.
Development Services.......... Sponsoring Entity and ................
Emerging CDFI
Applicants.
Section II:
Target Market Needs & Sponsoring Entity, Low Risk, Medium
Strategy. Emerging CDFI, and Risk, or High
Certified Applicants. Risk.
Organizational Capacity... Sponsoring Entity,
Emerging CDFI, and
Certified Applicants.
Management Capacity....... Sponsoring Entity,
Emerging CDFI, and
Certified Applicants.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each TA Application will be evaluated by one internal CDFI Fund
reviewer. All Applications will be reviewed in accordance with CDFI
Fund standard reviewer evaluation materials for the Business Plan
Review.
The CDFI Fund conducts additional levels of due diligence for
Applications that are under consideration for an award. This due
diligence includes an analysis of programmatic and financial risk
factors including, but not limited to, financial stability, history of
performance in managing Federal awards (including timeliness of
reporting and compliance), reports and findings from audits, and the
Applicant's ability to effectively implement Federal requirements. The
CDFI Fund will also evaluate the compliance risk of each Applicant
using information provided in the Application as well as an Applicant's
reporting history, reporting capacity, and performance risk with
respect to the CDFI Fund's PG&Ms. Each Applicant will receive a Total
Compliance Composite Score on a scale of one (1) to five (5), with one
(1) being the highest rating. Applicants that receive an initial Total
Compliance Composite Score of four (4) or five (5) will be re-evaluated
by CDFI Fund staff. If the Applicant is deemed a high compliance risk
after CDFI staff review, the Applicant will not be considered for an
award. The CDFI Fund will also evaluate the Applicant's ability to meet
certification criteria of being a legal entity and a non-government
entity. Award amounts may be reduced as a result of the due diligence
analysis in addition to consideration of the Applicant's funding
request and similar factors. Lastly, the CDFI Fund may consider the
geographic diversity of Applicants when making its funding decisions.
6. Regulated Institutions: The CDFI Fund will consider safety and
soundness information from the Appropriate Federal or State Banking
Agency. If the Applicant is a CDFI Depository Institution Holding
Company, the CDFI Fund will consider
[[Page 10429]]
information provided by the Appropriate Federal or State Banking
Agencies about both the CDFI Depository Institution Holding Company and
the Certified CDFI Subsidiary Insured Depository Institution that will
expend and carry out the award. If the Appropriate Federal or State
Banking Agency identifies safety and soundness concerns, the CDFI Fund
will assess whether such concerns cause or will cause the Applicant to
be incapable of undertaking the activities for which funding has been
requested.
7. Non-Regulated Institutions:
The CDFI Fund must ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that
Recipients which are non-regulated CDFIs are financially and
managerially sound, and maintain appropriate internal controls (12
U.S.C. 4707(f)(1)(A) and 12 CFR 1805.800(b)). Further, the CDFI Fund
must determine that an Applicant's capacity to operate as a CDFI and
its continued viability will not be dependent upon assistance from the
CDFI Fund (12 U.S.C. 4704(b)(2)(A)). If it is determined that the
Applicant is incapable of meeting these requirements, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right to deem the Applicant ineligible or terminate the
award.
B. Anticipated Award Announcement: The CDFI Fund anticipates making
NACA Program award announcement before September 30, 2021. However, the
anticipated award Announcement Date is subject to change without
notice.
C. Application Rejection: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
reject an Application if information (including administrative errors)
comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that: Adversely affects an
Applicant's eligibility for an award; Adversely affects the Recipient's
certification as a CDFI (to the extent that the award is conditional
upon CDFI certification); adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation
or scoring of an Application; or indicates fraud or mismanagement on
the Applicant's part. If the CDFI Fund determines any portion of the
Application is incorrect in a material respect, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to reject the Application. The CDFI
Fund reserves the right to change its eligibility and evaluation
criteria and procedures, if the CDFI Fund deems it appropriate. If the
changes materially affect the CDFI Fund's award decisions, the CDFI
Fund will provide information about the changes through its website.
The CDFI Fund's award decisions are final, and there is no right to
appeal decisions.
D. External Non-CDFI Fund Reviewers: All external non-CDFI Fund
reviewers are selected based on criteria that includes a professional
background in community and economic development finance, and
experience reviewing the financial statements of all CDFI institution
types. Reviewers must complete the CDFI Fund's conflict of interest
process and be approved by the CDFI Fund. The CDFI Fund's Application
reader conflict of interest policy is located on the CDFI Fund's
website.
VI. Federal Award Administration Information
A. Award Notification: Each successful Applicant will receive an
email ``notice of award'' notification from the CDFI Fund stating that
its Application has been approved for an award. Each Applicant not
selected for an award will receive an email stating that a debriefing
notice has been provided in its AMIS account.
B. Assistance Agreement: Each Applicant selected to receive an
award must enter into an Assistance Agreement with the CDFI Fund in
order to receive a payment(s). The Assistance Agreement will set forth
the award's terms and conditions, including but not be limited to the:
(i) Award amount; (ii) award type; (iii) award uses; (iv) eligible use
of funds; (v) PG&Ms; and (vi) reporting requirements. FA Assistance
Agreements have three-year Periods of Performance. TA Assistance
Agreements have two-year Periods of Performance for Certified CDFIs,
three-year Periods of Performance for Emerging CDFIs, and four-year
Periods of Performance for Sponsoring Entity Recipients. Upon creation
of the Emerging CDFI, the Sponsoring Entity must request the CDFI Fund
to amend the Assistance Agreement and add the Emerging CDFI as a party
thereto. The Emerging CDFI, as co-Recipient, will be subject to all of
the terms and conditions of the Assistance Agreement, including all
PG&Ms.
1. Certificate of Good Standing: All FA and TA Recipients that are
not Regulated Institutions will be required to provide the CDFI Fund
with a certificate of good standing from the secretary of state for the
Recipient's jurisdiction of formation prior to closing. This
certificate can often be acquired online on the secretary of state
website for the Recipient's jurisdiction of formation and must
generally be dated within 180 days prior to the date the Recipient
executes the Assistance Agreement. Due to potential backlogs in state
government offices, Applicants are advised to submit requests for
certificates of good standing no later than 60 days after they submit
their Applications.
2. Closing: Pursuant to the Assistance Agreement, there will be an
initial closing at which point the Assistance Agreement and related
documents will be properly executed and delivered, and an initial
payment of FA or TA may be made. The first payment is the estimated
amount of the award that the Recipient states in its Application that
it will use for eligible FA or TA activities in the first 12 months
after the award announcement. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to
increase the first payment amount on any award to ensure that any
subsequent payments are at least $25,000 for FA and $5,000 for TA
awards.
The CDFI Fund will minimize the time between the Recipient
incurring costs for eligible activities and award payment(s) in
accordance with the Uniform Requirements. Advanced payments for
eligible activities will occur no more than one year in advance of the
Recipient incurring costs for the eligible activities. Following the
initial closing, there may be subsequent closings involving additional
award payments. Any documentation in addition to the Assistance
Agreement that is connected with such subsequent closings and payments
shall be properly executed and timely delivered by the Recipient to the
CDFI Fund.
3. Requirements Prior to Entering into an Assistance Agreement: If,
prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement, information (including
administrative errors) comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that:
Adversely affects the Recipient's eligibility for an award; adversely
affects the Recipient's certification as a CDFI (to the extent that the
award is conditional upon CDFI certification); adversely affects the
CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Application; indicates that the Recipient
is not in compliance with any requirement listed in the Uniform
Requirements; indicates that the Recipient is not in compliance with a
term or condition of a prior CDFI Fund award; indicates the Recipient
has failed to execute and return a prior round Assistance Agreement to
the CDFI Fund within the CDFI Fund's deadlines; or indicates fraud or
mismanagement on the Recipient's part, the CDFI Fund may, in its
discretion and without advance notice to the Recipient, terminate the
award or take such other actions as it deems appropriate. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to rescind an award if the
Recipient fails to return the Assistance Agreement, signed by the
Authorized Representative of the Recipient, and/or provide the
[[Page 10430]]
CDFI Fund with any requested documentation, within the CDFI Fund's
deadlines.
In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the Assistance Agreement and the
award made under this NOFA pending the criteria described in the
following table:
Table 18--Requirements Prior to Executing an Assistance Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure to meet reporting If a Recipient received a prior
requirements. award under any CDFI Fund program and is
not in compliance with the reporting
requirements of the previously executed
agreement(s), the CDFI Fund may delay
entering into an Assistance Agreement or
disbursing an award until such reporting
requirements are met. If the Recipient
is unable to meet the requirement(s)
within the timeframe specified by the
CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund may terminate
and rescind the Assistance Agreement and
the award made under this NOFA.
The automated systems the CDFI
Fund uses only acknowledge a report's
receipt and are not a determination of
meeting reporting requirements.
Failure to maintain CDFI An FA Recipient must be a
certification. Certified CDFI.
If an FA Recipient fails to
maintain CDFI certification, the CDFI
Fund will terminate and rescind the
Assistance Agreement and the award made
under this NOFA.
If a TA Recipient is a Certified
CDFI at the time of award announcement,
it must maintain CDFI certification.
If a Certified CDFI TA Recipient
fails to maintain CDFI certification,
the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind
the Assistance Agreement and the award
made under this NOFA.
Pending resolution of The CDFI Fund will delay
noncompliance. entering into an Assistance Agreement
with a Recipient that has pending
noncompliance issues with any of its
previously executed CDFI award
agreement(s), if the CDFI Fund has not
yet made a final compliance
determination.
If the Recipient is unable to
satisfactorily resolve the compliance
issues, the CDFI Fund may terminate and
rescind the Assistance Agreement and the
award made under this NOFA.
Noncompliance or default If, at any time prior to
status. entering into an Assistance Agreement,
the CDFI Fund determines that a
Recipient is noncompliant or found in
default with any previously executed
award agreement(s), and the CDFI Fund
has provided written notification that
the Recipient is ineligible to apply for
or receive any future awards or
allocations for a time period specified
by the CDFI Fund in writing, the CDFI
Fund may delay entering into an
Assistance Agreement until the Recipient
has cured the noncompliance by taking
actions the CDFI Fund has specified
within such specified timeframe. If the
Recipient is unable to cure the
noncompliance within the specified
timeframe, the CDFI Fund may terminate
and rescind the Assistance Agreement and
the award made under this NOFA.
Compliance with Federal civil If prior to entering into an
rights requirements. Assistance Agreement under this NOFA,
the Recipient receives a final
determination, made within the last
three years, in any proceeding
instituted against the Recipient in, by,
or before any court, governmental, or
administrative body or agency, declaring
that the Recipient has violated the
following laws: Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42
U.S.C. 2000d); Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794); the Age Discrimination Act of
1975, (42 U.S.C. 6101-6107), and
Executive Order 13166, Improving Access
to Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency, the CDFI Fund will
terminate and rescind the Assistance
Agreement and the award made under this
NOFA.
Do Not Pay................... The Do Not Pay Business Center
was developed to support Federal
agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through
programs funded by the Federal
government.
The CDFI Fund reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an award if the Recipient (or
Affiliate of a Recipient) determined to
be ineligible based on data in the Do
Not Pay database.
Safety and soundness......... If it is determined the
Recipient is, or will be, incapable of
meeting its award obligations, the CDFI
Fund will deem the Recipient to be
ineligible, or require it to improve its
safety and soundness prior to entering
into an Assistance Agreement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Reporting:
1. Reporting requirements: On an annual basis during the Period of
Performance, the CDFI Fund may collect information from each Recipient
including, but not limited to, an Annual Report with the following
components (Annual Reporting Requirements):
Table 19--Annual Reporting Requirements *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Statement Audit A Non-profit Recipient (including Insured
Report (Non-profit Recipient Credit Unions and State-Insured Credit
including Insured Credit Unions) must submit a Financial
Unions and State-Insured Statement Audit (FSA) Report in AMIS,
Credit Unions). along with the Recipient's statement of
financial condition audited or reviewed
by an independent certified public
accountant, if any are prepared.
Under no circumstances should this be
construed as the CDFI Fund requiring the
Recipient to conduct or arrange for
additional audits not otherwise required
under Uniform Requirements or otherwise
prepared at the request of the Recipient
or parties other than the CDFI Fund.
Financial Statement Audit For-profit Recipients must submit an FSA
Report (For-Profit Report in AMIS, along with the
Recipient). Recipient's statement of financial
condition audited or reviewed by an
independent certified public accountant.
Financial Statement Audit If the Recipient is a Depository
Report (Depository Institution Holding Company or an
Institution Holding Company Insured Depository Institution, it must
and Insured Depository submit a FSA Report in AMIS.
Institution).
[[Page 10431]]
Financial Statement Audit A Sponsoring Entity must submit a FSA
Report (Sponsoring Entities). Report in AMIS, along with a statement
of financial condition audited or
reviewed by an independent certified
public accountant, if any are prepared.
Under no circumstances should this be
construed as the CDFI Fund requiring the
Sponsoring Entity to conduct or arrange
for additional audits not otherwise
required under Uniform Requirements or
otherwise prepared at the request of the
Sponsoring Entity or parties other than
the CDFI Fund.
Single Audit Report (Non- A non-profit Recipient must complete an
Profit Recipients, if annual Single Audit pursuant to the
applicable). Uniform Requirements (see 2 CFR Subpart
F-Audit Requirements) if it expends
$750,000 or more in Federal awards in
its fiscal year, or such other dollar
threshold established by OMB pursuant to
2 CFR 200.501. If a Single Audit is
required, it must be submitted
electronically to the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse (FAC) (see 2 CFR Subpart F-
Audit Requirements in the Uniform
Requirements) and optionally through
AMIS.
Transaction Level Report The Recipient must submit a TLR to the
(TLR). CDFI Fund through AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository
Institution Holding Company that deploys
all or a portion of its Financial
Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution, that
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution must also submit a TLR.
Furthermore, if the Depository
Institution Holding Company itself
deploys any portion of the Financial
Assistance, the Depository Institution
Holding Company must submit a TLR.
The TLR is not required for TA
Recipients.
Uses of Award Report......... The Recipient must submit the Uses of
Award Report to the CDFI Fund in AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository
Institution Holding Company that deploys
all or a portion of its Financial
Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution, that
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution must also submit a Uses of
Award Report. Furthermore, if the
Depository Institution Holding Company
itself deploys any portion of the
Financial Assistance, the Depository
Institution Holding Company must submit
a Uses of Award Report.
Performance Progress Report.. The Recipient must submit the Performance
Progress Report through AMIS.
If the Recipient is a Depository
Institution Holding Company that deploys
all or a portion of its Financial
Assistance through its Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution, that
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution must also submit a
Performance Progress Report.
Furthermore, if the Depository
Institution Holding Company itself
deploys any portion of the Financial
Assistance, the Depository Institution
Holding Company must submit a
Performance Progress Report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is information, which if
lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in
substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an
individual. Although Applicants are required to enter addresses of
individual borrowers/residents of Distressed Communities in AMIS,
Applicants should not include the following PII for the individuals
who received the Financial Products or Financial Services in AMIS or
in the supporting documentation (i.e., name of the individual, Social
Security Number, driver's license or state identification number,
passport number, Alien Registration Number, etc.). This information
should be redacted from all supporting documentation.
Each Recipient is responsible for the timely and complete
submission of the Annual Reporting Requirements. Sponsoring Entities
with co-Recipients will be informed of any changes to reporting
obligations at the time the Emerging CDFI is joined to the Assistance
Agreement. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Recipient
and additional entities or signatories to the Assistance Agreement to
request additional information and/or documentation. The CDFI Fund will
use such information to monitor each Recipient's compliance with the
requirements of the Assistance Agreement and to assess the impact of
the NACA Program. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to modify these reporting requirements, including
increasing the scope and frequency of reporting, if it determines it to
be appropriate and necessary; however, such reporting requirements will
be modified only after notice to Recipients.
2. Financial Management and Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Recipients to maintain financial management and accounting systems that
comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions
of the Federal award. These systems must be sufficient to permit the
preparation of reports required by the CDFI Fund to ensure compliance
with the terms and conditions of the NACA Program, including the
tracing of funds to a level of expenditures adequate to establish that
such funds have been used in accordance with Federal statutes,
regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.
The cost principles used by Recipients must be consistent with
Federal cost principles and support the accumulation of costs as
required by the principles, and must provide for adequate documentation
to support costs charged to the NACA Program award. In addition, the
CDFI Fund will require Recipients to: Maintain effective internal
controls; comply with applicable statutes, regulations, and the
Assistance Agreement; evaluate and monitor compliance; take appropriate
action when not in compliance; and safeguard personally identifiable
information.
VII. Agency Contacts
A. The CDFI Fund will respond to questions concerning this NOFA and
the Application between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time, starting on the date that the NOFA is published through the date
listed in Table 1 and Table 12. The CDFI Fund strongly recommends
Applicants submit questions to the CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service
Request to the NACA Program, Office of Certification, Compliance
Monitoring and Evaluation, or IT Help Desk. The CDFI Fund will post on
its website responses to reoccurring questions received about the NOFA
and Application. Other information regarding the CDFI Fund and its
programs may be obtained from the CDFI Fund's website at https://www.cdfifund.gov. Table 20 lists CDFI Fund contact information:
[[Page 10432]]
Table 20--Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone number (not
Type of question Preferred method toll free) Email addresses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NACA Program......................... Service Request via 202-653-0421, option 1. [email protected]
AMIS.
CCME................................. Service Request via 202-653-0423........... [email protected]
AMIS.
AMIS--IT Help Desk................... Service Request via 202-653-0422........... [email protected]
AMIS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Information Technology Support: For IT assistance, the preferred
method of contact is to submit a Service Request within AMIS. For the
Service Request, select ``Technical Issues'' from the Program dropdown
menu of the Service Request. People who have visual or mobility
impairments that prevent them from using the CDFI Fund's website should
call (202) 653-0422 for assistance (this is not a toll free number).
C. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The CDFI Fund will use the
contact information in AMIS to communicate with Applicants and
Recipients. It is imperative, therefore, that Applicants, Recipients,
Subsidiaries, Affiliates, and signatories maintain accurate contact
information in their accounts. This includes information such as
contact names (especially for the Authorized Representative), email
addresses, fax and phone numbers, and office locations.
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any person who is eligible to
receive benefits or services from the CDFI Fund or Recipients under any
of its programs is entitled to those benefits or services without being
subject to prohibited discrimination. The Department of the Treasury's
Office of Civil Rights and Diversity enforces various Federal statutes
and regulations that prohibit discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities of the CDFI Fund. If a person
believes that s/he has been subjected to discrimination and/or reprisal
because of membership in a protected group, s/he may file a complaint
with: Associate Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Civil Rights,
and Diversity, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20220 or (202)
622-1160 (not a toll-free number).
E. Statutory and National Policy Requirements: The CDFI Fund will
manage and administer the Federal award in a manner so as to ensure
that Federal funding is expended and associated programs are
implemented in full accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Federal Law,
statutory, and public policy requirements: Including but not limited
to, those protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare,
the environment, and prohibiting discrimination.
VIII. Other Information
A. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. chapter 35), an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and an individual is not required to respond to a
collection of information, unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. If applicable, the CDFI Fund may inform Applicants that they do
not need to provide certain Application information otherwise required.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, the CDFI Program, and NACA
Program Application has been assigned the following control number:
1559-0021 inclusive of PPC-FA, DF-FA, and HFFI-FA.
B. Application Information Sessions: The CDFI Fund may conduct
webinars or host information sessions for organizations that are
considering applying to, or are interested in learning about, the CDFI
Fund's programs. For further information, visit the CDFI Fund's website
at https://www.cdfifund.gov.
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4701, et seq.; 12 CFR parts 1805 and 1815;
2 CFR part 200.
Jodie L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2021-03354 Filed 2-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P