CDFI Fund Update on CDFI Certification Application Process

CDFI Fund will pause acceptance of new CDFI Certification Applications and Target Market Modifications for six months to prepare for launch of the revised CDFI Certification Application and reporting requirements

In May 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) requested public comment on the application and reporting requirements for Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

In the coming weeks, the revised CDFI Certification Application, ACR, and updated methods for collecting transactional level data from Certified CDFIs will be released for a second round of public comment by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This will be the last opportunity for public input on the revised CDFI Certification Application and reporting requirements before they are implemented on April 3, 2023. The CDFI Fund will communicate when the revised materials are available for review and comment.  

To complete preparations needed to deploy the new CDFI Certification Application and reporting tools, the CDFI Fund will pause acceptance of new CDFI Certification Applications and requests for Target Market modifications for a period of six months beginning on Oct. 1, 2022. The CDFI Fund will resume accepting new CDFI Certification Application submissions and requests for Target Market modifications on April 3, 2023. The new CDFI Certification Application will be in effect at this time for those organizations applying for CDFI Certification. Existing CDFIs will have a one-year grace period to comply with the new CDFI Certification criteria.

During the blackout period, CDFIs will be required to be in a state of good standing with respect to their Certification status. To facilitate this process, the CDFI Fund will review all currently pending CDFI Certification Applications and Target Market modification requests (as well as all new applications and Target Market modification requests) submitted before Oct. 1, 2022, by April 3, 2023.

Organizations either in the process of applying for CDFI Certification or that intend to do so in the near future will have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 30, 2022, to submit CDFI Certification Applications or Target Market Modification Applications through the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS).

Any CDFI Certification Applications or Target Market Modification Applications received on or after Oct. 1, 2022, will not be considered. All organizations wishing to apply for CDFI Certification, or to modify their Target Markets, after Oct. 1, 2022, must apply after the blackout period ends on April 3, 2023, using the new CDFI Certification Application.  

This pause does not affect the submission of reports required by the Office of Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation. Organizations must remain in compliance with all outstanding CDFI Fund awards (including CDFI/NACA Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance, Bank Enterprise Award Program, Small Dollar Loan Program, Capital Magnet Fund, and Rapid Response Program awards), New Markets Tax Credit Allocations, or CDFI Bond Guarantee Program reporting requirements.

For the full article and more information, please visit the Dept. of Treasury Fund website.