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) 2024 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 $18 million in awards is expected to be available through the FY 2024 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 (NOFA). SDL Program awards may not be used to provide direct loans to consumers.

A total of 89 organizations submitted applications requesting over $33.5 million in funding, which is nearly twice the amount of expected available funding. Specifically:

• 84 organizations requested nearly $32.4 million for a combination LLR and TA awards; 
• 3 organizations requested $850,000 in LLR-Only awards; and
• 2 organizations requested $300,000 in TA-Only awards.

Per the NOFA, eligible applicants may request up to: $350,000 for LLR awards; $150,000 for TA awards; and $500,000 in total for combination LLR and TA awards.

Of the 89 applications submitted by CDFIs, 44 were from credit unions, 27 were from loan funds, and 18 were from banks or bank holding companies. Nationwide, FY 2024 SDL Program applicants are headquartered in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The FY 2024 application period closed on December 20, 2023. The CDFI Fund currently expects to announce the awards in spring 2024. For more information about the SDL Program, visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/sdlp.