Application Notes:

Prior to application submission, new applicants must create an account for the funding agency's online AMIS system by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 14, 2024.

Title VI compliance worksheets must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 14, 2024. If an organization applies to multiple of the funding agency's programs during the calendar year, they only need to submit one worksheet annually. Refer to the TitleVIGuide file in the Guide folder for additional information.

Title VI compliance worksheets must be submitted online at amis.cdfifund.gov.

SF 424 Mandatory forms must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 14, 2024.

SF 424 Mandatory forms must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

For applicants using a consortium approach, service requests must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 14, 2024.

Service requests must be submitted online at amis.cdfifund.gov.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 16, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online at amis.cdfifund.gov.

Applications must include:

• Organization and applicant information
• Proposed uses of award
• Track record and projections
• Information regarding leveraging the award
• Adaptability
• Potential outcomes and impacts
• Geographic and income targeting
• Community engagement and strategy alignment
• Rural areas
• Organization capacity
• Appendices
• 501(c)(4) questionnaire (if applicable)

The following are required in order to submit an application:

• Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
• SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Optional webinars will be held for this program as follows:

December 6, 2023
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Housing Developers/Managers Entity Approach:
February 27, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Financing Entity Approach:
February 28, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Consortium Approach:
March 6, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Question-and-Answer (Q&A) Session: All Applicants:
April 3, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Registration: www.zoomgov.com

Recordings of previously held webinars for this program are available online at www.cdfifund.gov.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following quantitative assessment factors:

• Business and leveraging strategy (40 points)
• Community impact (35 points)
• Organizational capacity (25 points)

Applications that advance from the external review will be evaluated according to the following internal review criteria:

• Final external review score
• Alignment with program statutory and policy priorities
• Overall quality of the applicant’s strategy
• Applicant’s organizational capacity and financial health

As part of the application evaluation process, the funding agency may contact the applicant by telephone, email, or mail, or through an on-site visit, to clarify or confirm application information.

Refer to the NOFA file and Guide folder for additional application information.

Match Notes:

Applicants must demonstrate that if they were to receive an award through this program, it would result in eligible project costs that equal at least ten times the amount of the award. Eligible project costs are the sum of leveraged costs and those costs funded by awards. No costs attributable to direct administrative expenses may be considered eligible project costs.

Sources of capital leveraged by the award may include:

• Loans from banks
• Investments from foundations
• Equity through Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)
• Funds contributed by the applicant or by state or local governments

The following may not be counted or reported as leveraged costs:

• Costs financed/supported by other awards/allocations provided through the funding agency's programs, including previous awards provided through this program
• The repayment of funds awarded through this program during the investment period from the borrower to the award recipient
• Rental income

Funding Notes:

Approximately $246.5 million is expected to be available to support awards of at least $500,000 through this program.

No more than 15 percent of the total funding available will be issued to any applicant, its subsidiaries, and its affiliates in the same funding round.

Award announcements are anticipated to be made in calendar year 2024.

The project period will begin on the date that the funding agency announces award recipients, and will end following the end of the ten-year period of affordability.

Economic development activities are limited to 30 percent of the total award amount.

Direct administrative expenses are limited to 5 percent of the total award amount.

Funds may not be used for projects that also receive funding from other awards or allocations the applicant or any of its affiliates has received from the funding agency, with the exception of awards provided through this program; however, funds may be used to finance/support a different phase of development than what is funded by other program awards/allocations. For applicants that have received multiple awards through this program, these awards are not subject to this phasing restriction and may be combined in the same project phase.

Funds may not be used for:

• Distribution to any affiliate, subsidiary, or third-party entity in any manner that would create a subrecipient relationship, unless given prior written approval by the funding agency
• Homeownership properties that are permanently financed or supported by both funds awarded through this program and awards/allocations from the funding agency's other programs
• Paying principal, interest, fees, administrative costs, or insurance costs related to the funding agency's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Bond Guarantee Program or funding the risk share pool for a bond issue by participants of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, including qualified issuers, eligible CDFIs, and secondary borrowers

For FY 2023, a total of $321.2 million was distributed via 52 awards ranging from $1.5 million to $12 million through this program. For FY 2021, a total of $336.4 million was distributed via 59 awards ranging from $950,000 to $12 million. Refer to the Award file for details.

February 15, 2024
Full solicitation information for this program has been released and attached as the NOFA file. All sections have been updated accordingly.

December 14, 2023
Slides from a webinar presentation held for this program have been released and attached as the WebinarPresentation file. The Eligibility section has been updated accordingly. In addition, a recording of the webinar for this program has been released, and a link to the presentation is available in the Application section.