If your FDIC-insured bank or thrift is considering submitting an application to the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding round for the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program), you may find the following information helpful as you plan.

• The CDFI Fund anticipates opening the FY 2024 BEA Program application round in the spring of 2024. This will ensure that the CDFI Fund can review the applications and announce awards in fall of 2024.
• Only banks and thrifts can apply for the BEA Program. Bank holding companies and other financial institutions are not eligible to apply.
• BEA Applicants are not required to be Certified CDFIs to apply. However, the CDFI Certification status is a factor in the BEA Award calculation for most Qualified Activities. 
• Applicants must have required ID numbers, including Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and Employer Identification Number (EIN), and up-to-date login credentials for System for Award Management (SAM.gov), Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS). First-time applicants should set up their SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts today! See the ‘Required ID Numbers and Accounts Needed to Apply to FY 2024 BEA Program’ section below for more detail.
• Since program rules prohibit FDIC-insured banks or thrifts that are Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) from receiving a BEA Program Award and a CDFI Program Award in the same 12-month period or a pending CDFI Program application, please plan accordingly. See the “Eligibility Requirements for FY 2024 BEA Program Applicants with CDFI Fund Awards” section below for more detail.

Eligibility Requirements for FY 2024 BEA Program Applicants with CDFI Fund Awards

If your organization will be applying to the BEA Program in addition to other CDFI Fund programs, please note a BEA Program Applicant may not receive a FY 2024 BEA Program Award if the BEA Applicant:

1. Received a CDFI Program Award within the preceding 12-month period, or has a CDFI Program Application pending; 

2. Has ever received a CDFI Program Award based for the same activity during the same period  (i.e., Baseline and Assessment Period) for which the institution is seeking a FY 2024 BEA Program Award; or

3.  Qualified Activities for which the Applicant is seeking a FY 2024 BEA Program Award may not include transactions funded in whole or in part with award proceeds from another CDFI Fund program or Federal program.

Initial “Getting Ready to Apply” Steps

The below information has been previously released and updated to reflect new information regarding SAM.gov. As always, the CDFI Fund encourages you to thoroughly review the information provided on SAM.gov and Grants.gov in advance, as the CDFI Fund is not responsible for maintaining those systems and processes may change.

To successfully submit a BEA Program application, your FDIC-insured bank or thrift will need to have key information on hand and account access for several different federal government websites. You should act now to make sure that your organization is ready to apply when the application period opens for the BEA Program.

Completing the following will ensure that you have the needed ID numbers and that your organization will be able to access required forms and information in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS. Please note that while we have done our best to compile useful links to help you, the CDFI Fund is not responsible for maintaining links or the accuracy of the information on other organizations' websites.

Step 1: Obtain your UEI and EIN Numbers

All entities wishing to do business with the federal government must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Each application submission for a federal award must include a UEI. Applicants without a UEI will not be able to register in Grants.gov, nor submit a Standard Form (SF)-424 Mandatory in the Grants.gov system. Further, the UEI in your SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts must all match and must be the correct UEI for the organization submitting a BEA Program application. Learn more about how to obtain a UEI here.

Applicants must also have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to register in SAM.gov, which is a prerequisite to submit a SF-424 Mandatory via Grants.gov. Applicants that do not have an EIN must apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain the number. The EIN in your SAM.gov and AMIS accounts must match and must be the correct EIN of the applicant.

• Please allow sufficient time to obtain your organization's EIN.
• To obtain an EIN, please visit the IRS.gov webpage here.

If you are currently registered in SAM.gov, you have already been assigned a UEI by SAM.gov. It is viewable on your entity registration record in SAM.gov. If you need to update or renew your registration, you will still need to ensure your renewal or updates occur on time and as required, but this does not affect whether you have been assigned a UEI. If your registration has expired, go here for instructions on how to renew your entity registration. 

Step 2: Create or Update Your SAM.gov Account

SAM.gov is an official website of the federal government of the United States that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government's trading partners in support of contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes. You must have an active registration in SAM.gov to do business with the federal government.

Registration in SAM is required as part of the Grants.gov registration process and for all applications submitted for the BEA Program.

Applicants that have previously registered with SAM.gov must verify their accounts are current and active, as they need to be renewed annually. Even if your organization has registered with SAM.gov previously, you should not assume that your account is still active. In addition, the process to reactivate your SAM.gov account may take longer than you anticipate. If your SAM.gov account is not active, you will be unable to submit the Grants.gov portion of your application. Additionally, if your organization is selected to receive an FY 2024 BEA Program award, the funds from your award will be deposited to the bank account you have on file with SAM.gov. Therefore, it is important to have accurate bank information in the system.

SAM.gov requires the submission of a notarized Entity Administrator letter as part of the registration process.

• SAM.gov requires the public to have a Login.gov account to use SAM.gov. Here is more information about how to use Login.gov to access SAM.gov.
• Here is a useful link on how to register a new entity with SAM.gov.
• This process may take three weeks or longer for both new applicants and applicants that need to re-activate an existing SAM.gov account. *

Step 3: Create or Update Your Grants.gov Account

Applicants must have a Grants.gov account and submit the appropriate SF-424 Mandatory by the deadline listed in the applicable program Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) published in the Federal Register.

The appropriate SF-424 Mandatory must be completed and submitted electronically via Grants.gov before the application materials are due in your AMIS account. You will not be able to submit the SF-424 Mandatory to the CDFI Fund directly. If you upload the SF-424 Mandatory to your AMIS account, it will not be reviewed. An SF-424 Mandatory must be submitted separately for each program applied to on an annual basis, in accordance with each program’s NOFA.

• Please allow sufficient time to register for a Grants.gov account.
• Here is a useful link on how to register for a Grants.gov account.

Step 4: Create or Update Your AMIS Account

Make sure your AMIS Account is up to date: verify that the contacts for your organization are current and assign them the proper permissions. Only a user designated as an Authorized Representative in AMIS can sign the FY 2024 BEA Program Application.

Make sure that the person signing the application as the Authorized Representative has authority to sign legal documents on behalf of your organization. Consultants working on behalf of your organization cannot be designated as Authorized Representatives. Be sure to include e-mail addresses and phone numbers for each contact. Also, make sure that your organization’s mailing address is correct.

In addition, your organization must have an EIN/Tax ID and UEI number recorded in AMIS to submit your application when the applicable funding round is opened. These numbers should reflect those recorded in the SF-424 Mandatory.

• Please allow 1-2 business days to create or update an AMIS account. *
• Learn how to establish an AMIS account here.

New Title VI Worksheet Requirement!

In addition to the steps outlined below, BEA Program m Applicants, as well as their Subsidiaries, must be compliant with federal civil rights requirements in order to be eligible to receive federal financial assistance awards from the CDFI Fund. New for this round, the CDFI Fund is requiring BEA Program award applicants to complete a Title VI Compliance Worksheet once annually with their applications. Information on the Title VI Compliance Worksheet is available on the CDFI Fund website, here. While the Worksheet is available now for submission in the Awards Management Information System, additional details on submitting will also be provided in the BEA Program NOFA. However, those thinking of submitting an Application for this round can begin preparing for this requirement now.

Please note:

*Applicants are advised that the stated durations are estimates only and represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer.