CDFI Intermediaries directing activity to Native CDFIs and seeking the Native American CDFI Designation should use the Designated Target Market Type data point in the TLR to tag transactions as “OTP – Native American,” “OTP – Native Alaskan,” or “OTP – Native Hawaiian,” as applicable, rather than “OTP – Certified CDFI(s).”

The CDFI Fund considers both bundled and individually purchased loans as eligible Financial Product activity for reporting in the TLR.

When loans are purchased in a bundle from a Certified CDFI, and the purchasing organization includes an OTP – Certified CDFI(s) market component in its Target Market and designates the transaction as having a “Designated Target Market Type” of “OTP-Certified CDFIs”, the entire bundle will be reported as a single Financial Product transaction in the TLR.

When an Applicant proposes an OTP – Certified CDFI Target Market component, the Applicant must provide the name of the board member’s employer. The entity’s status as a Certified CDFI can be verified using the list of Certified CDFIs available on the CDFI Fund’s website.

When an Applicant proposes an Investment Area, LITP, or OTP – PWD Target Market component, in order to show that a board member is a staff member of an organization that primarily serves the relevant market, the Applicant must provide the following:

Yes. A board member’s employment may be used as a CDFI Certification source of Accountability for certain Target Market components, including:

• Investment Area
• Low-Income Target Population (LITP)
• Other Targeted Population – Persons with Disabilities (OTP – PWD)
• Other Targeted Population – Certified CDFI(s) (OTP – Certified CDFI)

When creating a CIMS map for a Non-Metro Customized Investment Area made up of counties and parishes, it is important to also select all census tracts within each county or parish. This ensures the Target Market Calculator can properly assess financing activity thresholds (see other questions in the Target Market section for more information on the thresholds).

No. A geography must meet specific criteria to qualify as an Investment Area.

An Investment Area is a U.S. geography that meets at least one of the following economic distress criteria:

• All loan purchases closed during the relevant review timeframe in connection with the Target Market requirements must be presented as eligible Financial Products activity.
• Loans purchased from Certified CDFI(s), whether purchased individually or in a bundle, may be counted toward meeting the CDFI Certification Target Market benchmark requirements when an “OTP – Certified CDFI(s)” Target Market component is an allowable part of the overall CDFI Certification Target Market or, if applicable, a component of the collective review Target Market for relevant entities.

All loan purchase transactions closed during the relevant review period must be reported in an organization’s Transaction Level Report in connection with the Target Market requirements as eligible Financial Product activity for CDFI Certification purposes. The CDFI Fund considers all loan purchases to be eligible Financial Product activity. 

The CDFI Fund recognizes loan purchases from both Certified CDFIs, and non-Certified entities may count toward meeting the Target Market benchmark requirements, provided certain conditions are met:

A Customized Investment Area can include both Metro and non-Metro census tracts. However, Non-Metro Customized Investment Areas, Counties, and Parishes must be comprised of geographic units that are all designated as non-metro.

Customized Investment Areas include a contiguous mix of both qualified and non-qualified geographic units of a single type.