WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 191 organizations more than $24.1 million in awards today. The fiscal year (FY) 2021 Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program) Technical Assistance Awards will allow Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and emerging CDFIs to build their capacity to provide services to low-income and underserved people and communities across America.
“CDFI Fund’s Technical Assistance Awards play a vital role in building the capacity of startup and existing CDFIs and, ultimately, increase the impact of the capital and credit they deploy in distressed and underserved communities,” said CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris. “The FY 2021 CDFI Program and NACA Program Technical Assistance recipients will continue that work in communities across the country, including 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.”
More information about the CDFI Program and NACA Program Technical Assistance Awards is below.
FY 2021 CDFI Program Technical Assistance Awards
The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and underserved communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. Technical Assistance awards provide seed capital that enables uncertified organizations to successfully secure certification as a CDFI. Award Recipients often use the funds to analyze which products and services are appropriate for their target markets, develop lending policies and procedures, and build staff lending capacity. More established CDFIs also use Technical Assistance awards to provide new products, to serve current target markets in new ways, or to enhance the efficiency of their operations.
For FY 2021, 174 organizations received more than $21.6 million in CDFI Program Technical Assistance Awards. The maximum award amount available was $125,000. A full list of the award recipients can be found below.
FY 2021 NACA Program Technical Assistance Awards
The NACA Program facilitates the creation and advancement of Native CDFIs. Organizations funded through the NACA Program serve a wide range of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities, and reflect a diversity of institutions in various stages of development, including: organizations in the early planning stages of CDFI formation; tribal entities working to certify an existing lending program; and established Native CDFIs in need of further capacity building assistance.
For FY 2021, 17 organizations received $2.5 million in NACA Program Technical Assistance Awards. The maximum award amount available was $150,000. A full list of the award recipients can be found below.
The CDFI Fund also provides Financial Assistance Awards through the CDFI Program and NACA Program to further expand and support the financing activities of CDFIs. The CDFI Fund anticipates announcing the FY 2021 Financial Assistance Awards later in calendar year 2021.
To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit www.cdfifund.gov. Additional information about the CDFI Program is available at www.cdfifund.gov/cdfi, and the NACA Program at www.cdfifund.gov/native.