| FY 2020 Funding Round of BEA Program is Now Open | | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/AllItems.aspx | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/DispForm.aspx?ID=376 | FY 2020 Funding Round of BEA Program is Now Open | <p>Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding round for the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program). Application materials are now available on the <a href="/programs-training/Programs/bank_enterprise_award/Pages/default.aspx">BEA Program page of the CDFI Fund's website</a> in anticipation of the publication of the FY 2020 Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register on April 3, 2020. The FY 2020 BEA Program NOFA states that up to $25 million is available in awards to eligible Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured depository institutions.</p><p>Through the BEA Program, the CDFI Fund provides monetary awards to FDIC-insured banks and thrifts that successfully demonstrate an increase in their investments in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or in their own lending, investing, or service activities in the most economically distressed communities. Distressed communities are defined as those where at least 30% of residents earn an income that is less than the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is at least 1.5 times the national unemployment rate.</p><p><strong>BEA Program Overview </strong></p><p>The BEA Program provides formula-based grants to successful applicants for increasing Qualified Activities from one period, known as the Baseline Period, to a later period, known as the Assessment Period. There are three categories of Qualified Activities:</p><ul><li>CDFI Related Activities: Equity Investments, Grants, Equity-Like Loans, Loans, Deposits, and/or Technical Assistance provided to Certified CDFIs. </li><li>Distressed Community Financing Activities: Direct lending or investment in the form of Affordable Housing Loans, Affordable Housing Development Loans and Project Investments, Commercial Real Estate Loans and related Project Investments, Education Loans, Home Improvement Loans, Small Business Loans and Project Investments, or Small Dollar Consumer Loans provided to residents or businesses located in distressed communities. </li><li>Service Activities: Financial products and services, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, check cashing, financial counseling, Individual Development Accounts, or youth savings accounts provided to residents of distressed communities; as well as opening new branches or ATM machines in distressed communities. </li></ul><p>Full definitions of the Qualified Activities may be found in the <a href="/Documents/BEA%20Interim%20Rule%20PRA%20FR%202016-18694.pdf">BEA Program Regulations</a> which are posted on the CDFI Fund's website.</p><p><strong>What's New This Round</strong></p><p>There is only one substantive change to the FY 2020 BEA Program from the prior funding year:</p><p>The CDFI Fund's appropriation legislation—the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (Public Law Number 116-93)—requires that at least 10% of BEA Program Awards be used for projects that serve populations living in Persistent Poverty Counties<sup>1</sup><sup></sup> (PPCs). Please note that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 expanded the definition of PPCs to include territories and possessions of the United States (US) based on the Island Areas Decennial Censuses or equivalent data of the Bureau of the Census. BEA Program applicants should note that only Qualified Activity transactions that occur in areas determined by the CDFI Fund to be BEA qualified Distressed Communities will count towards a BEA Award PPC Commitment. The CDFI Fund has updated the <a href="/Documents/BEA%20ACS_2015_V12-3.17.2020.xlsb">BEA Program Eligibility Data spreadsheet</a> to reflect the BEA Qualified Distressed Community Determination for census tracts located in the US territories and possessions, and the overall PPC designation of these areas. </p><p><strong>Deadlines </strong></p><p>Please reference the FY 2020 BEA Program NOFA and BEA Program Application Instructions for detailed information regarding all relevant deadlines for the FY 2020 BEA Program funding round. As a highlight:</p><ul><li>Part I of the FY 2020 BEA Program Application must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 4, 2020. </li><li>Part II of the FY 2020 BEA Program Application:</li><ul><li>Applicants are required to enter, edit, or delete all transactions and addresses in the CDFI Fund's Award Management Information System (AMIS) by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 1, 2020.</li><li>Applicants must sign and submit their electronic BEA Program Application in AMIS by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 3, 2020. </li></ul></ul><p><strong>Application Materials </strong></p><p>In addition to being available through Grants.gov, the FY 2020 <a href="/Documents/FY%202020%20BEA%20Program%20Application%20-%20Notice%20of%20Funding%20Availability.pdf">BEA Program NOFA</a> and <a href="/Documents/FY%202020%20BEA%20Program%20Application%20-%20Application%20Instructions.pdf">BEA Program Application Instructions</a>, as well as other important guidance materials are available on the CDFI Fund's website at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/bea">www.cdfifund.gov/bea</a> under "Step 1: Apply." The electronic FY 2020 BEA Program Application is currently available in <a href="https://amis.cdfifund.gov/s/AMISHome">AMIS</a>.</p><p><strong>Required Application Systems</strong></p><p>All applicants must be registered and have active accounts in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund's AMIS to apply to the FY 2020 BEA Program funding round. Organizations should either create these accounts if they do not exist or confirm that their existing accounts are up-to-date as soon as possible in order to avoid potential application submission problems. The CDFI Fund provided an initial overview of the steps to register in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS in a <a href="/impact/Pages/BlogDetail.aspx?BlogID=77">blog post</a> released on February 7, 2020. Additional information can be located in the FY 2020 BEA Program NOFA.<br></p><p>The <a href="/Pages/mapping-system.aspx">CDFI Fund Information Mapping System</a> has also been updated to include the BEA Qualified Distressed Community Determination for census tracts located in US territories and possessions, and the overall PPC designation of these areas. Applicants should use CIMS to geocode all of their transactions.</p><p><strong>Learn About Applying to the BEA Program </strong></p><p>The CDFI Fund is conducting two live webinars to provide applicants with an overview of the FY 2020 BEA Program application and a forum to ask questions. Advance registration is not required to participate in the webinars. Please access the webinars, using the links provided below, at least five minutes prior to the beginning of the webinar.</p><p>Viewing these webinars requires the use of WebEx. To download the WebEx Event manager, please see the instructions on the <a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/src/plugins_mm.php?lang=/en">WebEx Downloads webpage</a>.</p><table cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="ms-rteTable-default"><tbody><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;"><strong> </strong></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;"><strong>Date and Time</strong></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;"><strong>Conference Line</strong></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;"><strong>Access Link</strong></td></tr><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Webinar 1</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">April 8, 2020<br> 2:30-3:30 PM ET</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p>Call: <br>1-888-847-6590</p><p>Passcode: <br>4828442</p></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings">Access Webinar</a></span><br></p><p>Conference number:<br> PWXW1152756<br> Passcode:<br> 4828442</p></td></tr><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Webinar 2</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">April 10, 2020<br> 2:30-3:30 PM ET</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p>Call: <br>1-888-847-6590</p><p>Passcode: <br>4828442</p></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings">Access Webinar</a><br></span><br> Conference number:<br> PWXW1152770<br> Passcode:<br> 4828442</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br>The CDFI Fund has also provided a pre-recorded demonstration of the electronic BEA Program Application and an AMIS Training Manual for FY 2020 BEA Program Applicants on its website at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/bea">www.cdfifund.gov/bea</a> under "Step 1: Apply."</p><p><strong>Questions </strong></p><p>For more information on the BEA Program, please visit the BEA Program webpage of the CDFI Fund's website: <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/bea">www.cdfifund.gov/bea</a>. For questions regarding the BEA Program, please contact the CDFI Fund Help Desk at (202) 653-0421 or via email at <a href="mailto:cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov">cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov</a>. The CDFI Fund will not answer questions about the FY 2020 round of the BEA Program after 5:00 p.m. ET on June 1, 2020. </p><p><br></p><p><sup>1 </sup>Persistent Poverty Counties are defined as any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, and the most recent series of 5-year data available from the American Community Survey from the Census Bureau.<br></p> | 2020-04-02T04:00:00Z | Updates | 376 | | |
| Reminder: Use the 2011-2015 ACS Data to Validate Target Markets and Investment Areas in your ACR | | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/AllItems.aspx | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/DispForm.aspx?ID=375 | Reminder: Use the 2011-2015 ACS Data to Validate Target Markets and Investment Areas in your ACR | <p>The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) reminds Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that have Annual Certification and Data Collection Reports (ACRs) coming
<a href="/programs-training/certification/cdfi/Pages/reporting-step.aspx#step2" target="_blank">due</a> to ensure they are utilizing the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) data to identify and verify their Target Markets.</p><p>
<strong>Why must CDFIs use 2011-2015 ACS data?</strong></p><p>On October 1, 2018, the CDFI Fund
<a href="/news-events/news/Pages/news-detail.aspx?NewsID=325&Category=Updates" target="_blank">announced</a> it had updated Investment Areas using the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011-2015 ACS data. However, new CDFI Certification applicants and those CDFIs reaffirming their Target Markets for the ACR were provided a one-year transition period to use either the 2006-2010 or 2011-2015 ACS data to identify or reaffirm their Investment Areas and Target Markets. This transition period expired October 1, 2019, CDFIs must now ensure they are using 2011-2015 ACS data to identify their Investment Areas and Target Markets.</p><p>
<strong>My organization is a Certified CDFI. What should we do?</strong></p><p>CDFIs should analyze their financing activity using the
<a href="/Pages/mapping-system.aspx" target="_blank">CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS)</a> and verify that a minimum of 60% of their financing activities are in eligible Target Market(s). In particular, CDFIs that have identified Investment Areas should analyze their activity to ensure it meets this threshold based on the 2011-2015 ACS data. As part of the mandatory ACR submission process, CDFIs will also need to indicate they have utilized the updated ACS data set to verify that their Target Market activity meets the 60% threshold. </p><p>
<strong>My CDFI's Target Market activity now falls under 60%. What should I do?</strong></p><p>If after analyzing your CDFI's Target Market activity using the 2011-2015 ACS data it falls under the 60% threshold, review the Target Market(s) you have identified. Often, a CDFI may have selected Investment Areas that have now "graduated" from being distressed and are no longer eligible. If this is the case for your CDFI, a Target Market Modification form will need to be submitted to the CDFI Fund in the Awards Management Information System (AMIS). The Target Market Modification form will allow your CDFI to adjust its Target Markets by selecting eligible Investment Areas that will allow it to meet the 60% Target Market requirement. Information on submission of a Target Market Modification is available on the CDFI Fund website on the
<a href="/programs-training/certification/cdfi/Pages/apply-step.aspx#step1" target="_blank">CDFI Certification page</a>. </p><p>
<strong>Will the revised ACS data set require all CDFIs to submit Target Market modifications?</strong></p><p>No, the revised ACS data set will not require all CDFIs to submit Target Market modifications. </p><p>Certified CDFIs that have selected Investment Areas as their Target Market(s), specifically individual census tracts, are particularly susceptible to failing under the Target Market threshold under the 2011-2015 ACS data. More than 300 Certified CDFIs have Investment Areas using individually-selected Census tracts. The CDFI Fund encourages those CDFIs that have this type of Investment Area to closely review their Target Market data in CIMS. Submit a Target Market modification only if you are required to do so.</p><p>
<strong>My organization recently received a Financial Assistance (FA) Award. How does this data update impact my Award?</strong></p><p>FA Recipients should review the terms of their Assistance Agreements. While Recipients may be able to satisfy the terms of their Assistance Agreements through activity in either a Target Market or Eligible Market, for purposes of CDFI Certification only qualified activity in an eligible Target Market of record counts towards the 60% threshold requirement. For reporting purposes, Recipients should apply the 2011-2015 ACS data to all existing awards, as well as any future awards.</p><p>The CDFI Fund has provided an
<a href="/Documents/CDFI%20Investment%20Areas%20potential%20FAQs%20FINAL%20100118.pdf" target="_blank">FAQ document</a> that contains information on the updated 2011-2015 ACS data for Investment Areas and Target Markets, as well as an
<a href="/Documents/CDFI%20Investment%20Areas%20ACS%202011-2015.xlsb" target="_blank">Excel file</a> containing a list of eligible CDFI Investment Area Census tracts based on the 2011-2015 ACS. The documents may be found on the CDFI Fund's website at
<a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/research" target="_blank">www.cdfifund.gov/research</a> under Program Eligibility Guidance. <br></p><p>If you have questions about annual compliance and certification reports, please contact your organization's Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation (CCME) Portfolio Manager directly or send a Service Request via your organization's AMIS account. You may also contact the CDFI Fund's Help Desk at
<a href="mailto:ccme@cdfi.treas.gov">ccme@cdfi.treas.gov</a> or (202) 653-0421. For more information about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit
<a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/" target="_blank">www.cdfifund.gov</a>.<br></p><br> | 2020-03-19T04:00:00Z | Updates | 375 | | |
| CDFI Fund Opens Application Period for FY 2020 CDFI Bond Guarantee Program | | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/AllItems.aspx | https://www.cdfifund.gov/Lists/CDFI News/DispForm.aspx?ID=374 | CDFI Fund Opens Application Period for FY 2020 CDFI Bond Guarantee Program | <p>Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year (FY) 2020 application period for the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. A total of up to $500 million in guarantee authority is available to Eligible Community Development Financial Institutions (Eligible CDFIs) in FY 2020.</p><p>Through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, selected certified CDFIs or their designees issue bonds that are guaranteed by the Secretary of the Treasury and use the bond proceeds to extend credit to CDFIs for community development financing and long-term community investments. Authorized uses of the loans financed through the bond proceeds include a variety of financial activities, such as supporting commercial facilities that promote revitalization, community stability, and job creation/retention; housing that is principally affordable to low-income people; businesses that provide jobs for low-income people or are owned by low-income people; and community or economic development in low-income and underserved rural areas.</p><p>Bond Issues are a minimum of $100 million each. Multiple Eligible CDFIs may join a single $100 million Bond Issue provided that each Eligible CDFI participates at a minimum of $10 million.</p><p>
<strong>What's New This Round</strong></p><p>The types of community revitalization activities that may be supported through the program were expanded, and the program's collateral requirements have changed. </p><ul><li><p>Loans funding new construction are now eligible Secondary Loans when collateralized by a Principal Loss Collateral Provision under terms and conditions approved by the CDFI Fund. Previously, the Bond Loan Proceeds could only be used to support the renovation or expansion of existing structures. This change will allow participating Eligible CDFIs to support a much broader scope of construction activities in distressed and underserved areas.
</p></li><li><p>Charter school loans that have a U.S. Department of Education credit enhancement are now eligible to be pledged as Secondary Loans to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. </p></li><li><p>The total collateralization for each Bond Loan must now range between 111% and 120%. The collateralization requirements for the CDFI to Financing Entity asset class utilizing pooled tertiary loans, or Bond Loans utilizing the Alternative Financial Structure remain unchanged.<br></p></li></ul><p>More detailed information about these changes can be found in the <a href="/Documents/20200311_Federal%20Register%20Notice%20FY%202020%20CDFI%20BGP%20NOGA_RMO%20comments%20CDFI%20Response%20CLEAN%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">FY 2020 Notice of Guarantee Availability (NOGA)</a>.<br></p><p>
<strong>Application Materials</strong></p><p>In anticipation of the publication of the NOGA in the Federal Register tomorrow, application materials are available on the CDFI Fund's website at
<a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/bond">www.cdfifund.gov/bond</a> under the 'How To Apply' section by clicking
<a href="/programs-training/Programs/cdfi-bond/Pages/apply-step.aspx#step2">Step 2: Apply</a>. Application materials must be submitted through the CDFI Fund's Award Management Information System (AMIS).</p><p>Please note that descriptions of certain requirements for application documentation were modified to reflect the new requirements for FY 2020.</p><p>
<strong>Deadlines</strong></p><p>Please reference the NOGA and application instructions for detailed information regarding the following application deadlines.</p><ul><li>CDFI Certification Applications must be submitted through AMIS by 11:59 p.m. EST on April 6, 2020.<br>
<br></li><li>Qualified Issuer Applications must be submitted through AMIS by 11:59 p.m. EST on May 11, 2020.<br>
<br></li><li>Guarantee Applications must be submitted through AMIS by 11:59 p.m. EST on May 18, 2020.<br>
<br></li><li>The last day the CDFI Fund will accept questions regarding the FY 2020 application period for the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program is May 4, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. EST. All questions must be submitted electronically to the program office at bgp@cdfi.treas.gov. </li></ul><p>Qualified Issuer Applications and Guarantee Applications received in FY 2019 that were neither withdrawn nor declined in FY 2019 will be considered under the FY 2020 authority.</p><p>
<strong>Learn About Applying to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program</strong></p><p>Due to recent developments related to the spread of COVID-19, the CDFI Fund will not conduct an in-person, two-day application workshop. To ensure potential Qualified Issuer and Guarantee applicants have the information needed to consider whether to apply this round, the CDFI Fund will provide two different virtual learning opportunities.</p><p>First, the CDFI Fund will conduct two consecutive, two-hour webinars that will highlight the most important information from the presentation used during the customary workshop. Each webinar will last two hours, the last 30 minutes of which will be reserved for Q&A. The CDFI Fund will post the presentation in advance of the webinar, and no registration is needed.</p><p>Second, the CDFI Fund will also hold two conference calls to answer any questions that may arise after the webinars. There will be one conference call for potential Qualified Issuer applicants and another for potential Guarantee applicants. The details for both are below. </p><p>
<strong>Webinars Details</strong></p><table cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="ms-rteTable-default"><tbody><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;"> </td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;">Date and Time</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;">Conference Line</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default" style="width:25%;">Access Link</td></tr><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Webinar 101</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">March 26, 2020<br> 1:00-3:00 PM ET</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p>Call:
<br>1-888-324-0239</p><p>Passcode:
<br>4349543</p></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p>
<a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings">Access Webinar</a></p><p>Conference number:<br> PWXW1005091<br> Passcode:<br> 4349543</p></td></tr><tr><td class="ms-rteTable-default">Webinar 102</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">March 26, 2020<br> 1:00-3:00 PM ET</td><td class="ms-rteTable-default"><p>Call:
<br>1-888-324-0239</p><p>Passcode:
<br>4349543</p></td><td class="ms-rteTable-default">
<a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings">Access Webinar</a><br> Conference number:<br> PWXW1005099<br> Passcode:<br> 4349543</td></tr></tbody></table><p>
<br>Viewing these webinars requires the use of WebEx. To download the WebEx Event Manager, see the instructions on the Verizon's
<a href="https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/join/src/plugins_mm.php?lang=/en">WebEx Downloads page</a>.</p><p>
<strong>Conference Calls Details</strong></p><ul><li>Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 1:00-2:30 pm ET – Qualified Issuer Applicants<br>
<br></li><li>Friday, April 3, 2020 at 1:00-2:30 pm ET – Guarantee Applicants<br>
<br></li></ul><p>The dial-in number and passcodes are the same for both calls. The dial-in number is 1-888-324-0239 and the pass code is 4349543. No prior registration is necessary. </p><p>
<strong>Reasonable Accommodations</strong></p><p>Requests for reasonable accommodations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for either the webinars or conference calls should be directed to Jay Santiago at 202-653-0300 no later than 48 hours before the conference calls begin.</p><p>
<strong>Questions</strong></p><p>Inquiries regarding legal documents related to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program should be directed to the CDFI Fund's Office of Legal Counsel via email at
<a href="mailto:legal@cdfi.treas.gov">legal@cdfi.treas.gov</a>. </p><p>For more information about the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, please visit
<a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/bond">www.cdfifund.gov/bond</a>, or email the CDFI Fund's Help Desk at
<a href="mailto:bgp@cdfi.treas.gov">bgp@cdfi.treas.gov</a>.
<br></p> | 2020-03-18T04:00:00Z | Updates | 374 | | |
