The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released today the application data for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 round of its Small Dollar Loan Program (SDL Program).

The SDL Program is intended to expand consumer access to financial institutions by providing alternatives to high cost small dollar lending. Up to $11.1 million in awards is available through the FY 2022 application round. Through the SDL Program, the CDFI Fund provides:

• Grants for Loan Loss Reserves (LLR): The awards enable a Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to establish a loan loss reserve fund in order to cover the losses on small dollar loans associated with establishing or maintaining a small dollar loan program.

• Grants for Technical Assistance (TA): The awards support technology, staff support, and other eligible activities to enable a Certified CDFI to establish and maintain a small dollar loan program.

Awards are provided to Certified CDFIs or to certain eligible partnerships, as outlined in the relevant Notice of Funds Availability. SDL Program awards may not be used to provide direct loans to consumers.

A total of 92 organizations submitted applications requesting $32.1 million in funding, which is nearly three times the amount of funding available. Specifically:

• Six organizations requested $1.7 million in LLR awards; 

• Nine organizations requested $1.3 million in TA awards; and

• 77 organizations requested $29.1 million for a combination TA award and LLR award.

Of the 92 applications submitted by CDFIs, 31 were from loan funds, 45 were from credit unions, and 16 were from banks or bank holding companies. Nationwide, FY 2022 SDL Program applicants are headquartered in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The FY 2022 application period closed on July 15, 2022. The CDFI Fund currently expects to announce the awards in September 2022. For more information about the SDL Program, visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/sdlp.