[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73866-73877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23750]



[[Page 73865]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part III





Department of the Treasury





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Community Development Financial Institutions Fund



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



12 CFR Part 1805



Notices of Funding Opportunities; Notices



Community Development Financial Institutions Program; Interim Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 238 / Tuesday, December 13, 2005 / 
Notices  

[[Page 73866]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund


Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) Inviting Applications for the 
FY 2006 Funding Round and the FY 2007 Funding Round of the Community 
Development Financial Institutions Program

    Announcement Type: Initial announcement of funding opportunity.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.020.
    Dates: Applications for the FY 2006 Funding Round must be received 
by 5 p.m. ET on January 23, 2006. Applications for the FY 2007 Funding 
Round must be received by 5 p.m. ET on January 9, 2007.
    Executive Summary: Subject to funding availability, this NOFA is 
issued in connection with two consecutive funding rounds of the 
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program: (i) the FY 
2006 Funding Round and (ii) the FY 2007 Funding Round.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    A. Through the CDFI Program, the Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund (the Fund) provides: (i) Financial Assistance (FA) 
awards to CDFIs that have Comprehensive Business Plans for creating 
demonstrable community development impact through the deployment of 
credit, capital, and financial services within their respective Target 
Markets or the expansion into new Investment Areas, Low-Income Targeted 
Populations, or Other Targeted Populations, and (ii) Technical 
Assistance (TA) grants to CDFIs and entities proposing to become CDFIs 
in order to build their capacity to better address the community 
development and capital access needs of their particular Target 
Markets, to expand into new Investment Areas, Low-Income Targeted 
Populations, or Other Targeted Populations, and/or to become certified 
CDFIs.
    B. The regulations governing the CDFI Program are found at 12 CFR 
Part 1805 (the Interim Rule) and provide guidance on evaluation 
criteria and other requirements of the CDFI Program. The Fund is 
publishing the revised Interim Rule in this issue of the Federal 
Register. The Interim Rule published in this issue of the Federal 
Register contains revisions concerning how certain Applicants may use 
retained earnings as matching funds for a FA award. The Fund encourages 
Applicants to review the Interim Rule. Detailed application content 
requirements are found in the applicable funding application and 
related guidance materials. Each capitalized term in this NOFA is more 
fully defined in the Interim Rule, the application or the guidance 
materials.
    C. The Fund reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, 
all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this NOFA. 
The Fund reserves the right to re-allocate funds from the amount that 
is anticipated to be available under this NOFA to other Fund programs, 
particularly if the Fund determines that the number of awards made 
under this NOFA is fewer than projected.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

    1. FY 2006 Funding Round: Through the FY 2006 Funding Round, and 
subject to funding availability, the Fund expects that it may award 
approximately $25 million in appropriated funds, of which (i) 
approximately $2 million in appropriated funds may be awarded to 
Category I/SECA (defined in Section III.A.1, below) Applicants in the 
form of FA awards that may be coupled with TA grants; (ii) 
approximately $21 million in appropriated funds may be awarded to 
Category II/Core (defined in Section III.A.1, below) Applicants in the 
form of FA awards that may be coupled with TA grants; and (iii) 
approximately $2 million in appropriated funds may be awarded to 
Applicants in the form of TA grants only. The Fund reserves the right 
to award in excess of $25 million in appropriated funds to Applicants 
(and/or more or less than $2 million to Category I/SECA Applicants, 
and/or more or less than $21 million to Category II/Core Applicants) in 
the FY 2006 Funding Round, provided that the funds are available and 
the Fund deems it appropriate.
    2. FY 2007 Funding Round: Through the FY 2007 Funding Round, and 
subject to funding availability, the Fund expects that it may award 
approximately $25 million in appropriated funds, of which (i) 
approximately $2 million in appropriated funds may be awarded to 
Category I/SECA Applicants in the form of FA awards that may be coupled 
with TA grants; (ii) approximately $21 million in appropriated funds 
may be awarded to Category II/Core Applicants in the form of FA awards 
that may be coupled with TA grants; and (iii) approximately $2 million 
in appropriated funds may be awarded to Applicants in the form of TA 
grants only. The Fund reserves the right to award in excess of $25 
million in appropriated funds to Applicants (and/or more or less than 
$2 million to Category I/SECA Applicants, and/or more or less than $21 
million to Category II/Core Applicants) in the FY 2007 Funding Round, 
provided that the funds are available and the Fund deems it 
appropriate.
    3. Availability of Funds for the FY 2007 Funding Round: Because 
funds for the FY 2007 Funding Round have not yet been appropriated, 
interested parties should be aware that electing to defer the 
submission of an application until the FY 2007 Funding Round, rather 
than for the FY 2006 Funding Round, entails some risk. If funds are not 
appropriated for the FY 2007 Funding Round, there will not be a FY 2007 
Funding Round. Further, it is possible that if funds are appropriated 
for the FY 2007 Funding Round, the amount of such funds may be less 
than the amounts set forth above.

B. Types of Awards

    An Applicant may submit an application either for: (i) a FA award 
only; (ii) a FA award and a TA grant; or (iii) a TA grant.
    1. FA Awards: The Fund may provide FA awards in the form of equity 
investments (including, in the case of certain Insured Credit Unions, 
secondary capital accounts), grants, loans, deposits, credit union 
shares, or any combination thereof. The Fund reserves the right, in its 
sole discretion, to provide a FA award in a form and amount other than 
that which is requested by an Applicant; however, the award amount will 
not exceed the Applicant's award request as stated in its application. 
The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide a FA 
award on the condition that the Applicant agrees to use a TA grant for 
specified capacity building purposes, even if the Applicant has not 
requested a TA grant.
    2. TA Grants: (a) The Fund may provide TA awards in the form of 
grants. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide 
a TA grant for uses and amounts other than that which are requested by 
an Applicant; however, the award amount will not exceed the Applicant's 
award request as stated in its application.
    (b) TA grants may be used to address a variety of needs including, 
but not limited to, development of strategic planning documents (such 
as business, strategic or capitalization plans), market analyses or 
product feasibility analyses, operational policies and procedures, 
curricula for Development Services

[[Page 73867]]

(such as entrepreneurial training, home buyer education, financial 
education or training, borrower credit repair training), improvement of 
underwriting and portfolio management, development of outreach and 
training strategies to enhance product delivery, operating support to 
expand into a new Target Market, and tools that allow the Applicant to 
assess the impact of its activities in its community. Each Applicant 
for a TA grant through this NOFA is required to provide information in 
the application regarding the expected cost, timing and provider of the 
TA, and a narrative description of how the TA grant will enhance its 
capacity to provide greater community development impact and/or to 
become certified as a CDFI, if applicable.
    (c) Eligible TA grant uses include, but are not limited to: (i) 
Acquiring consulting services; (ii) acquiring/enhancing technology 
items, including computer hardware, software and Internet connectivity; 
(iii) acquiring training for staff, management and/or board members; 
and (iv) paying recurring expenses, including staff salary and other 
key operating expenses, that will enhance the capacity of the Applicant 
to serve its Target Market and/or to become certified as a CDFI.

C. Notice of Award; Assistance Agreement

    Each Awardee under this NOFA must sign a Notice of Award and an 
Assistance Agreement in order to receive a disbursement of award 
proceeds by the Fund. The Notice of Award and the Assistance Agreement 
contain the terms and conditions of the award. For further information, 
see Sections VI.A and VI.B of this NOFA.

III. Eligibility Information

    A. Eligible Applicants: The Interim Rule specifies the eligibility 
requirements that each Applicant must meet in order to be eligible to 
apply for assistance under this NOFA. The following sets forth 
additional detail and dates that relate to the submission of 
applications under this NOFA:
    1. FA Applicant Categories: All Applicants for FA awards through 
this NOFA must meet the criteria for one of the following two 
categories of CDFIs:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      What can it apply
    FA applicant category           Criteria                for?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2006 Funding Round:
    Category I/Small and/or   A Category I/SECA     A Category I/SECA
     Emerging CDFI             Applicant is a        Applicant may
     Assistance (SECA).        Certified CDFI or a   request up to and
                               Certifiable CDFI      including $500,000
                               that:                 in FA funds, and up
                              Has total assets as    to and including
                               of December 31,       $100,000 in TA
                               2005 as follows:.     funds.
                               Insured
                               Depository
                               Institutions and
                               Depository
                               Institution Holding
                               Companies: up to
                               $250 million.
                               Insured
                               Credit Unions: up
                               to $10 million.
                               Venture
                               capital funds: up
                               to $10 million.
                               Other
                               CDFIs: up to $5
                               million or Began
                               operations on or
                               after January 1,
                               2002 and Prior to
                               the FY 2006 Funding
                               Round application
                               deadline, has not
                               been selected to
                               receive in excess
                               of $500,000 in FA
                               award(s) in the
                               aggregate from the
                               CDFI Program or
                               Native Initiatives
                               Funding Programs.
FY 2007 Funding Rounds:
    Category I/Small and/or   A Category I/SECA     A Category I/SECA
     Emerging CDFI             Applicant is a        Applicant may
     Assistance (SECA).        Certified CDFI or     request up to and
                               Certifiable CDFI      including $500,000
                               that:                 in FA funds, and up
                              Has total assets as    to and including
                               of December 31,       $100,000 in TA
                               2006 as follows:.     funds.
                               Insured
                               Depository
                               Institutions and
                               Depository
                               Institution Holding
                               Companies: up to
                               $250 million.
                               Insured
                               Credit Unions: up
                               to $10 million.
                               Venture
                               capital funds: up
                               to $10 million.
                               Other
                               CDFIs: up to $5
                               million or.
                              Began operations on
                               or after January 1,
                               2003 and.
                              Prior to the FY 2007
                               Funding Round
                               application
                               deadline, has not
                               been selected to
                               receive in excess
                               of $500,000 in FA
                               award(s) in the
                               aggregate from the
                               CDFI Program or
                               Native Initiatives
                               Funding Programs.
FY 2006 and FY 2007 Funding
 Rounds:
    Category II/Core........  A Category II/Core    A Category II/Core
                               Applicant is a        Applicant may
                               Certified CDFI or a   request up to and
                               Certifiable CDFI      including $2
                               that meets all        million in FA
                               other eligibility     funds, and up to
                               requirements          and including
                               described in this     $100,000 in TA
                               NOFA                  funds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Please note: Any Applicant, regardless of total assets, years in 
operation, or prior Fund awards, that requests FA funding in excess 
of $500,000 is classified as a Category II/Core Applicant.


    For the purposes of this NOFA, the term ``began operations'' is 
defined as the month and year in which the Applicant first incurred 
operating expenses of any type. Also, for purposes of this NOFA, the 
term ``Native Initiatives Funding Programs'' refers to the following 
programs administered by the Fund: The Native American CDFI Technical 
Assistance (NACTA) Component of the CDFI Program, the Native American 
CDFI Development

[[Page 73868]]

(NACD) Program, the Native American Technical Assistance (NATA) 
Component of the CDFI Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance 
(NACA) Program.
    The Fund will evaluate, rank and make awards to Category I/SECA 
Applicants separately from Category II/Core Applicants. The Fund, in 
its sole discretion, reserves the right to award amounts in excess of 
or less than the anticipated maximum award amounts permitted in this 
NOFA, if the Fund deems it appropriate.
    2. TA Applicants:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      What can it apply
        TA applicants               Criteria                for?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All TA Applicants...........  A TA Applicant must   The Fund anticipates
                               be a Certified        making TA grants up
                               CDFI, a Certifiable   to $100,000 each.
                               CDFI, or an
                               Emerging CDFI
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Fund, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to award 
amounts less than the anticipated maximum award amounts permitted in 
this NOFA, if the Fund deems it appropriate.
    3. CDFI Certification Requirements: For purposes of this NOFA, 
eligible FA Applicants include Certified CDFIs and Certifiable CDFIs; 
eligible TA Applicants include Certified CDFIs, Certifiable CDFIs and 
Emerging CDFIs, defined as follows:
    (a) Certified CDFIs: A certified CDFI whose certification has not 
expired and that has not been notified by the Fund that its 
certification has been terminated. Each such Applicant must submit a 
``Certification of Material Event Form'' to the Fund not later than 
January 13, 2006 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) or not later than 
December 4, 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round), or such other dates 
as the Fund may proscribe, in accordance with the instructions on the 
Fund's Web site at www.cdfifund.gov. Please note: the Fund provided a 
number of CDFIs with certifications expiring in 2003 through 2005 
written notification that their certifications had been extended. The 
Fund will consider the extended certification date (the later date) to 
determine whether those CDFIs meet this eligibility requirement.
    (b) Certifiable CDFIs: For purposes of this NOFA, a Certifiable 
CDFI is an entity from which the Fund receives a complete CDFI 
Certification Application no later than January 13, 2006 (for the FY 
2006 Funding Round) or December 4, 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding 
Round), or such other dates as the Fund may proscribe, evidencing that 
the Applicant meets the requirements to be certified as a CDFI. 
Applicants may obtain the CDFI Certification Application through the 
Fund's Web site at www.cdfifund.gov. Applications for certification 
must be submitted as instructed in the application form. FA Applicants 
that are Certifiable CDFIs please note: while your organization may be 
conditionally selected for funding (as evidenced through the Notice of 
Award), the Fund will not enter into an Assistance Agreement or 
disburse award funds unless and until the Fund has certified your 
organization as a CDFI. If the Fund is unable to certify your 
organization as a CDFI based on the CDFI certification application that 
your organization submits to the Fund, the Notice of Award may be 
terminated and the award commitment may be cancelled, in the sole 
discretion of the Fund.
    (c) Emerging CDFIs: For purposes of this NOFA, an Emerging CDFI is 
an entity that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Fund that it has 
a reasonable plan to be certified as a CDFI by December 31, 2008 or 
such other date selected by the Fund (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) or 
December 31, 2009 or such other date selected by the Fund (for the FY 
2007 Funding Round). Emerging CDFIs may only apply for TA grants; they 
are not eligible to apply for FA awards. Each Emerging CDFI that is 
selected to receive a TA grant will be required, pursuant to its 
Assistance Agreement with the Fund, to become certified as a CDFI by a 
date certain.
    D. Prior Awardees: Applicants must be aware that success in a prior 
round of any of the Fund's programs is not indicative of success under 
this NOFA. Prior awardees are eligible to apply under this NOFA, except 
as follows:
    1. $5 Million Funding Cap. The Fund is generally prohibited from 
obligating more than $5 million in assistance, in the aggregate, to any 
one organization and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates during any three-
year period. For the purposes of this NOFA, the period extends back 
three years from the date that the Fund signs a Notice of Award issued 
to an Awardee under this NOFA.
    2. Failure to meet reporting requirements: The Fund will not 
consider an application submitted by an Applicant if the Applicant, or 
an entity that Controls the Applicant, is Controlled by the Applicant 
or shares common management officials with the Applicant (as determined 
by the Fund) is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund 
program and is not current on the reporting requirements set forth in a 
previously executed assistance, allocation or award agreement(s), as of 
the applicable application deadline of this NOFA. Please note that the 
Fund only acknowledges the receipt of reports that are complete. As 
such, incomplete reports or reports that are deficient of required 
elements will not be recognized as having been received.
    3. Pending resolution of noncompliance: If an Applicant is a prior 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and if: (i) It has 
submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate 
noncompliance with a previous assistance, allocation or award 
agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final determination as 
to whether the entity is in default of its previous assistance, 
allocation or award agreement, the Fund will consider the Applicant's 
application under this NOFA pending full resolution, in the sole 
determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance. Further, if another 
entity that Controls the Applicant, is Controlled by the Applicant or 
shares common management officials with the Applicant (as determined by 
the Fund), is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee and if such entity: (i) 
Has submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate 
noncompliance with a previous assistance, allocation or award 
agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final determination as 
to whether the entity is in default of its previous assistance, 
allocation, or award agreement, the Fund will consider the Applicant's 
application under this NOFA pending full resolution, in the sole 
determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance.
    4. Default status: The Fund will not consider an application 
submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program if, as of the applicable application deadline of 
this NOFA, the Fund has made a final determination that such Applicant 
is in default of a previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s). Further, an entity is not eligible to apply for an award 
pursuant to this NOFA if, as of the applicable application deadline of 
this NOFA, the Fund has made a final determination that another entity 
that Controls the Applicant, is Controlled by the

[[Page 73869]]

Applicant or shares common management officials with the Applicant (as 
determined by the Fund) is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any 
Fund program and has been determined by the Fund to be in default of a 
previously executed assistance, allocation or award agreement(s).
    5. Termination in default: The Fund will not consider an 
application submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee or 
allocatee under any Fund program if: (i) The Fund has made a final 
determination that such Applicant's prior award or allocation 
terminated in default of a previously executed assistance, allocation 
or award agreement(s); and (ii) the final reporting period end date for 
the applicable terminated assistance, allocation or award agreement(s) 
falls in Calendar Year 2005 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and 
Calendar Year 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round). Further, an entity 
is not eligible to apply for an award pursuant to this NOFA if: (i) The 
Fund has made a final determination that another entity that Controls 
the Applicant, is Controlled by the Applicant or shares common 
management officials with the Applicant (as determined by the Fund), is 
a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program whose award or 
allocation terminated in default of a previously executed assistance, 
allocation or award agreement(s); and (ii) the final reporting period 
end date for the applicable terminated assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s) falls in the Calendar Year 2005 (for the FY 2006 Funding 
Round) and Calendar Year 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round).
    6. Undisbursed balances: The Fund will not consider an application 
submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee under any Fund 
program if the Applicant has a balance of undisbursed funds (defined 
below) under said prior award(s), as of the applicable application 
deadline of this NOFA. Further, an entity is not eligible to apply for 
an award pursuant to this NOFA if another entity that Controls the 
Applicant, is Controlled by the Applicant or shares common management 
officials with the Applicant (as determined by the Fund), is a prior 
Fund Awardee under any Fund program, and has a balance of undisbursed 
funds under said prior award(s), as of the applicable application 
deadline of this NOFA. In a case where another entity that Controls the 
Applicant, is Controlled by the Applicant or shares common management 
officials with the Applicant (as determined by the Fund), is a prior 
Fund Awardee under any Fund program, and has a balance of undisbursed 
funds under said prior award(s), as of the applicable application 
deadline of this NOFA, the Fund will include the combined awards of the 
Applicant and such Affiliated entities when calculating the amount of 
undisbursed funds. For purposes of this section, ``undisbursed funds'' 
is defined as: (i) In the case of a prior Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) 
Program award(s), any balance of award funds equal to or greater than 
five (5) percent of the total prior BEA Program award(s) that remains 
undisbursed more than three (3) years after the end of the calendar 
year in which the Fund signed an award agreement with the Awardee; and 
(ii) in the case of a prior CDFI Program or other Fund program 
award(s), any balance of award funds equal to or greater than five (5) 
percent of the total prior award(s) that remains undisbursed more than 
two (2) years after the end of the calendar year in which the Fund 
signed an assistance agreement with the Awardee. ``Undisbursed funds'' 
does not include: (i) Tax credit allocation authority made available 
through the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Program; (ii) any award funds 
for which the Fund received a full and complete disbursement request 
from the Awardee by the applicable application deadline of this NOFA; 
(iii) any award funds for an award that has been terminated, expired, 
rescinded or deobligated by the Fund; or (iv) any award funds for an 
award that does not have a fully executed assistance or award 
agreement. The Fund strongly encourages Applicants requesting 
disbursements of ``undisbursed funds'' from prior awards to provide the 
Fund with a complete disbursement request at least 10 business days 
prior to the applicable application deadline of this NOFA.
    7. Exception for Applicants impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and/or 
Rita: Please note that the provisions of paragraphs 2 (Failure to meet 
reporting requirements) and 6 (Undisbursed balances) of this section do 
not apply to any Applicant that has an office located in, or that 
provides a significant volume of services or financing to residents of 
or businesses located in, a county that is within a ``major disaster 
area'' as declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as 
a result of Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita. Said requirements are 
waived for those Applicants for the FY 2006 Funding Round and the FY 
2007 Funding Round.
    8. Contact the Fund. Accordingly, Applicants that are prior 
Awardees are advised to: (i) comply with requirements specified in 
assistance, allocation and/or award agreement(s), and (ii) contact the 
Fund to ensure that all necessary actions are underway for the 
disbursement or deobligation of any outstanding balance of said prior 
award(s). All outstanding reports, disbursement or compliance questions 
should be directed to the Grants Manager by e-mail at 
[email protected]; by telephone at (202) 622-8226; by 
facsimile at (202) 622-6453; or by mail to CDFI Fund, 601 13th Street, 
NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. The Fund will respond to 
Applicants' reporting, disbursement or compliance questions between the 
hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, starting the date of the publication of 
this NOFA through January 19, 2006 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and 
January 5, 2007 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round) (two business days 
before the respective application deadlines). The Fund will not respond 
to Applicants' reporting, disbursement or compliance phone calls or e-
mail inquiries that are received after 5 p.m. on said dates, until 
after the respective funding application deadlines.
    9. Limitation on Awards: An Applicant may receive only one award 
through either the CDFI Program or the Native American CDFI Assistance 
(NACA) Program in the same funding year. An Applicant may apply under 
both the CDFI Program and the NACA Program, but will not be selected 
for funding under both. A CDFI Program Applicant, its Subsidiaries or 
Affiliates also may apply for and receive: (i) A tax credit allocation 
through the NMTC Program, but only to the extent that the activities 
approved for CDFI Program awards are different from those activities 
for which the Applicant receives a NMTC Program allocation; and (ii) an 
award through the BEA Program (subject to certain limitations; refer to 
the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1805.102).
    10. Other Targeted Populations as Target Markets: Other Targeted 
Populations are defined as identifiable groups of individuals in the 
Applicant's service area for which there exists a strong basis in 
evidence that they lack access to loans, Equity Investments and/or 
Financial Services. The Fund has determined that there is strong basis 
in evidence that the following groups of individuals lack access to 
loans, Equity Investments and/or Financial Services on a national 
level: Blacks or African Americans, Native Americans or American 
Indians, and Hispanics or Latinos. In addition, for purposes of this 
NOFA, the Fund has determined that there is a strong basis in evidence 
that

[[Page 73870]]

Alaska Natives residing in Alaska, Native Hawaiians residing in Hawaii, 
and Other Pacific Islanders residing in other Pacific Islands, lack 
adequate access to loans, Equity Investments or Financial Services. An 
Applicant designating any of the above-cited Other Targeted Populations 
is not required to provide additional narrative explaining the Other 
Targeted Population's lack of adequate access to loans, Equity 
Investments or Financial Services.
    For purposes of this NOFA, the Fund will use the following 
definitions, set forth in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Notice, Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal 
Data on Race and Ethnicity (October 30, 1997), as amended and 
supplemented:
    (a) American Indian, Native American or Alaska Native: a person 
having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South 
America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal 
affiliation or community attachment;
    (b) Black or African American: a person having origins in any of 
the black racial groups of Africa (terms such as ``Haitian'' or 
``Negro'' can be used in addition to ``Black or African American'');
    (c) Hispanic or Latino: a person of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto 
Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish culture or origin, 
regardless of race (the term ``Spanish origin'' can be used in addition 
to ``Hispanic or Latino''); and
    (d) Native Hawaiian: a person having origins in any of the original 
peoples of Hawaii; and
    (e) Other Pacific Islander: a person having origins in any of the 
original peoples of Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islands.
    E. Matching Funds: 1. Matching Funds Requirements in General: 
Applicants responding to this NOFA must obtain non-Federal matching 
funds from sources other than the Federal government on the basis of 
not less than one dollar for each dollar of FA funds provided by the 
Fund (matching funds are not required for TA grants). Matching funds 
must be at least comparable in form and value to the FA award provided 
by the Fund (for example, if an Applicant is requesting a FA grant from 
the Fund, the Applicant must have evidence that it has obtained 
matching funds through grant(s) from non-Federal sources that are at 
least equal to the amount requested from the Fund). Funds used by an 
Applicant as matching funds for a prior FA award under the CDFI Program 
or under another Federal grant or award program cannot be used to 
satisfy the matching funds requirement of this NOFA. If an Applicant 
seeks to use as matching funds monies received from an organization 
that was a prior Awardee under the CDFI Program, the Fund will deem 
such funds to be Federal funds, unless the funding entity establishes 
to the reasonable satisfaction of the Fund that such funds do not 
consist, in whole or in part, of CDFI Program funds or other Federal 
funds. For the purposes of this NOFA, BEA Program awards are not deemed 
to be Federal funds and are eligible as matching funds. The Fund 
encourages Applicants to review the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1805.500 et 
seq. and matching funds guidance materials on the Fund's Web site for 
further information.
    2. Matching Funds Requirements Per Applicant Category: Due to 
funding constraints and the desire to quickly deploy Fund dollars, the 
Fund will not consider for a FA award any Applicant that has no 
matching funds in-hand or firmly committed as of the application 
deadline under this NOFA. Specifically, FA Applicants must meet the 
following matching funds requirements:
    (a) Category I/SECA Applicants: (i) FY 2006 Funding Round: A 
Category I/SECA Applicant must demonstrate that it has eligible 
matching funds equal to no less than 25 percent of the amount of the FA 
award requested in-hand or firmly committed, on or after January 1, 
2004 and on or before the application deadline. The Fund reserves the 
right to rescind all or a portion of a FA award and re-allocate the 
rescinded award amount to other qualified Applicant(s), if an Applicant 
fails to obtain in-hand 100 percent of the required matching funds by 
March 15, 2007 (with required documentation of such receipt received by 
the Fund not later than March 30, 2007), or to grant an extension of 
such matching funds deadline for specific Applicants selected to 
receive FA, if the Fund deems it appropriate. For any Applicant that 
has less than 100 percent of matching funds in-hand or firmly committed 
as of the application deadline, the Fund will evaluate the Applicant's 
ability to raise the remaining matching funds by March 15, 2007.
    (ii) FY 2007 Funding Round: A Category I/SECA Applicant must 
demonstrate that it has eligible matching funds equal to no less than 
25 percent of the amount of the FA award requested in-hand or firmly 
committed, on or after January 1, 2005 and on or before the application 
deadline. The Fund reserves the right to rescind all or a portion of a 
FA award and re-allocate the rescinded award amount to other qualified 
Applicant(s), if an Applicant fails to obtain in-hand 100 percent of 
the required matching funds by March 14, 2008 (with required 
documentation of such receipt received by the Fund not later than March 
31, 2008), or to grant an extension of such matching funds deadline for 
specific Applicants selected to receive FA, if the Fund deems it 
appropriate. For any Applicant that demonstrates that it has less than 
100 percent of matching funds in-hand or firmly committed as of the 
application deadline, the Fund will evaluate the Applicant's ability to 
raise the remaining matching funds by March 14, 2008.
    (b) Category II/Core Applicants: (i) FY 2006 Funding Round: A 
Category II/Core Applicant must demonstrate that it has eligible 
matching funds equal to no less than 100 percent of the amount of the 
FA award requested in-hand or firmly committed, on or after January 1, 
2004 and on or before the application deadline. The Fund reserves the 
right to rescind all or a portion of a FA award and re-allocate the 
rescinded award amount to other qualified Applicant(s), if an Applicant 
fails to obtain in-hand 100 percent of the required matching funds by 
March 15, 2007 (with required documentation of such receipt received by 
the Fund not later than March 30, 2007), or to grant an extension of 
such matching funds deadline for specific Applicants selected to 
receive FA, if the Fund deems it appropriate.
    (ii) FY 2007 Funding Round: A Category II/Core Applicant must 
demonstrate that it has eligible matching funds equal to no less than 
100 percent of the amount of the FA award requested in-hand or firmly 
committed, on or after January 1, 2005 and on or before the application 
deadline. The Fund reserves the right to rescind all or a portion of a 
FA award and re-allocate the rescinded award amount to other qualified 
Applicant(s), if an Applicant fails to obtain in-hand 100 percent of 
the required matching funds by March 14, 2008 (with required 
documentation of such receipt received by the Fund not later than March 
31, 2008), or to grant an extension of such matching funds deadline for 
specific Applicants selected to receive FA, if the Fund deems it 
appropriate.
    3. Matching Funds Terms Defined; Required Documentation. (a) 
``Matching funds in-hand'' means that the Applicant has actually 
received the matching funds. If the matching funds are ``in-hand,'' the 
Applicant must provide the Fund with acceptable written documentation 
of the source, form and amount of the Matching Funds (i.e., grant, 
loan, and equity investment). For a loan, the Applicant must provide

[[Page 73871]]

the Fund with a copy of the loan agreement and promissory note. For a 
grant, the Applicant must provide the Fund with a copy of the grant 
letter or agreement. For an equity investment, the Applicant must 
provide the Fund with a copy of the stock certificate and any related 
shareholder agreement. Further, if the matching funds are ``in-hand,'' 
the Applicant must provide the Fund with acceptable documentation that 
evidences its receipt of the matching funds proceeds, such as a copy of 
a check or a wire transfer statement.
    (b) ``Firmly committed matching funds'' means that the Applicant 
has entered into or received a legally binding commitment from the 
matching funds source that the matching funds will be disbursed to the 
Applicant. If the matching funds are ``firmly committed,'' the 
Applicant must provide the Fund with acceptable written documentation 
to evidence the source, form, and amount of the firm commitment (and, 
in the case of a loan, the terms thereof), as well as the anticipated 
date of disbursement of the committed funds.
    (c) The Fund may contact the matching funds source to discuss the 
matching funds and the documentation provided by the Awardee. If the 
Fund determines that any portion of the Applicant's matching funds is 
ineligible under this NOFA, the Fund, in its sole discretion, may 
permit the Applicant to offer alternative matching funds as substitute 
for the ineligible matching funds; provided, however, that (i) the 
Applicant must provide acceptable alternative matching funds 
documentation within 2 business days of the Fund's request and (ii) the 
alternative matching funds documentation cannot increase the total 
amount of Financial Assistance requested by the Applicant.
    4. Special Rule for Insured Credit Unions. Please note that the 
Interim Rule allows an Insured Credit Union to use retained earnings to 
serve as matching funds for a FA grant in an amount equal to: (i) The 
increase in retained earnings that have occurred over the Applicant's 
most recent fiscal year; (ii) the annual average of such increases that 
have occurred over the Applicant's three most recent fiscal years; or 
(iii) the entire retained earnings that have been accumulated since the 
inception of the Applicant or such other financial measure as may be 
specified by the Fund. For purposes of this NOFA, if option (iii) is 
used, the Applicant must increase its member and/ or non-member shares 
or total loans outstanding by an amount that is equal to the amount of 
retained earnings that is committed as matching funds. This amount must 
be raised by the end of the Awardee's second performance period, as set 
forth in its Assistance Agreement, and will be based on amounts 
reported in the Applicant's Audited or Reviewed Financial Statements or 
NCUA Form 5300 Call Report.
    5. Severe Constraints Exception to Matching Funds Requirement; 
Applicability to Applicants Located in FEMA-Designated Major Disaster 
Areas Created by Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita: In the case of any 
Applicant that has an office that is located in, or that provides a 
significant volume of services or financing to residents of or 
businesses located in, any county that is within a ``major disaster 
area'' as declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as 
a result of Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita, and that has severe 
constraints on available sources of matching funds, such Applicant may 
be eligible for a ``severe constraints waiver'' (see section 1805.203 
of the Interim Rule) if (i) it can demonstrate to the satisfaction of 
the Fund that an Investment Area(s) or Targeted Population(s) would not 
be adequately served without such a waiver and (ii) it projects to use 
the assistance to address issues resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and/
or Rita (such as a significant volume of loan defaults) or to provide 
financial products, financial services, or Development Services to 
residents of or businesses located in any county that is within a 
``major disaster area'' as declared by FEMA as a result of Hurricanes 
Katrina and/or Rita. If eligible for such a waiver, the Applicant may 
comply with the matching funds requirements of this NOFA as follows: 
(i) The matching funds requirement for such Applicant would be reduced 
to 50 percent (meaning, the Applicant must match 50 percent of the 
Fund's FA award rather than 100 percent), or (ii) such an Applicant may 
provide matching funds in alternative (meaning, non-monetary) forms if 
the Applicant has total assets of less than $100,000 at the time of the 
application deadline, serves non-metropolitan or rural areas, and is 
not requesting more than $25,000 in financial assistance from the Fund. 
In the case of item (i) of this paragraph, the Applicant must 
demonstrate that it has eligible matching funds equal to no less than 
25 percent of the amount of the FA award requested in-hand or firmly 
committed, on or after January 1, 2005 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) 
or January 1, 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round) and on or before the 
application deadline. The Fund reserves the right to rescind all or a 
portion of a FA award and re-allocate the rescinded award amount to 
other qualified Applicant(s), if an Applicant fails to obtain in-hand 
50 percent of the required matching funds by March 15, 2007 (for the FY 
2006 Funding Round) and March 14, 2008 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round) 
(with required documentation of such receipt received by the Fund not 
later than March 31, 2007 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and March 30, 
2008 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round)), or to grant an extension of such 
matching funds deadline for specific Applicants selected to receive FA, 
if the Fund deems it appropriate. For any such Applicant that 
demonstrates that it has less than 50 percent of matching funds in-hand 
or firmly committed as of the application deadline, the Fund will 
evaluate the Applicant's ability to raise the remaining matching funds 
by March 15, 2007 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and March 14, 2008 
(for the FY 2007 Funding Round). In the case of item (ii) of this 
paragraph, the CDFI Program funding application contains further 
instructions on the type of documentation that the Applicant must 
provide as evidence that such match was received and its valuation. The 
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disallow any such 
match for which adequate documentation or valuation is not provided.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    A. Form of Application Submission: Applicants may submit 
applications under this NOFA either (i) through Grants.gov or (ii) in 
paper form. Applications sent by facsimile or other form will not be 
accepted.
    B. Grants.gov: For the FY 2006 Funding Round, in compliance with 
Public Law 106-107 and Section 5(a) of the Federal Financial Assistance 
Management Improvement Act, the Fund is required to accept applications 
submitted through the Grants.gov electronic system. The Fund will post 
to its Web site at www.cdfifund.gov instructions for accessing and 
submitting an application through Grants.gov. The application 
instructions will be posted as soon as they are available and once the 
application materials are accessible through Grants.gov. The 
anticipated release date for the application instructions is January 6, 
2006. Applicants are encouraged to start the registration process now 
at www.Grants.gov as the process may take several weeks to fully 
complete. See the following link for

[[Page 73872]]

information on getting started on Grants.gov: http://grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.pdf.
    C. Paper Applications: If an applicant is unable to submit an 
application through Grants.gov, it must submit to the Fund a request 
for a paper application using the CDFI Program Paper Application 
Submission Form, and the request must be received by 5 p.m. ET on 
January 6, 2006 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) or December 8, 2006 
(for the FY 2007 Funding Round). The CDFI Program Paper Application 
Submission Form may be obtained from the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov or the form may be requested by e-mail to [email protected] or by facsimile to (202) 622-7754. The completed 
CDFI Program Paper Application Submission Form should be directed to 
the attention of the Fund's Chief Information Officer and must be sent 
by facsimile to (202) 622-7754. These are not toll free numbers. Paper 
applications must be submitted in the format and with the number of 
copies specified in the application instructions.
    D. Application Content Requirements: Detailed application content 
requirements are found in the application and guidance. Please note 
that, pursuant to OMB guidance (68 FR 38402), each Applicant must 
provide, as part of its application submission, a Dun and Bradstreet 
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. In addition, each 
application must include a valid and current Employer Identification 
Number (EIN), with a letter or other documentation from the Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) confirming the Applicant's EIN. An application 
submitted through Grants.gov that does not include an EIN is incomplete 
and will be deemed ineligible. A paper application that does not 
include a valid EIN is incomplete and will be rejected and returned to 
the sender. Applicants should allow sufficient time for the IRS and/or 
Dun and Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/or requests for 
identification numbers. Once an application is submitted, the Applicant 
will not be allowed to change any element of the application. The 
preceding sentence does not limit the Fund's ability to contact an 
Applicant for the purpose of obtaining clarifying or confirming 
application information (such as a DUNS number or EIN information).
    E. MyCDFIFund Accounts: All Applicants must register User and 
Organization accounts in myCDFIFund, the Fund's Internet-based 
interface. As myCDFIFund is the Fund's primary means of communication 
with Applicants and Awardees, organizations must make sure that they 
update the contact information in their myCDFIFund accounts. For more 
information on myCDFIFund, please see the ``Frequently Asked 
Questions'' link posted at https://www.cdfifund.gov/myCDFI/Help/Help.asp.
    F. Application Deadlines; Address for Paper Submissions; Late 
Delivery: Applicants must submit all materials described in and 
required by the application by the applicable deadline.
    1. Application Deadlines: (a) FY 2006 Funding Round: Applications 
submitted via Grants.gov must be received in accordance with the 
instructions provided by the Fund, by 5 p.m. ET on January 23, 2006. In 
addition, Applicants that submit applications via Grants.gov and are 
unable to upload electronically any required paper attachments, must 
separately submit (by mail or other courier/delivery service) any 
required paper attachments at the address set forth below by 5 p.m. ET 
on January 26, 2006. Paper applications and all attachments must be 
received at the address set forth below by 5 p.m. ET on January 23, 
2006.
    (b) FY 2007 Funding Round: Applications submitted via Grants.gov 
must be received in accordance with the instructions provided by the 
Fund, by 5 p.m. ET on January 9, 2007. In addition, Applicants that 
submit applications via Grants.gov and are unable to upload 
electronically any required paper attachments, must separately submit 
(by mail or other courier/delivery service) any required paper 
attachments; said documents must be received at the address set forth 
below by 5 p.m. ET on January 12, 2007. Paper applications must be 
received at the address set forth below by 5 p.m. ET on January 9, 
2007.
    2. Address for Paper Submissions: A complete paper application (or, 
in the case of an application submitted via Grants.gov, the required 
paper submissions) must be received at the following address, within 
the applicable deadline: CDFI Fund Grants Manager, CDFI Program, Bureau 
of Public Debt, 200 Third Street, Parkersburg, WV 26101. The telephone 
number to be used in conjunction with overnight delivery or mailings to 
this address is (304) 480-6088 (this is not a toll free number). Any 
documents received in any other office, including the Fund's 
Washington, DC office, will be rejected and returned to the sender.
    3. Late Delivery: The Fund will neither accept a late application 
nor any portion of an application that is late; an application that is 
late, or for which any portion is late, will be rejected and returned 
to the sender. An application submitted via Grants.gov and all required 
paper attachments must be received by the applicable time and date set 
forth above. A paper application and all required paper attachments 
must be received by the applicable time and date set forth above. The 
Fund will not grant exceptions or waivers for late delivery of 
documents including, but not limited to, late delivery that is caused 
by third parties such as the United States Postal Service, couriers or 
overnight delivery services.
    D. Intergovernmental Review: Not applicable.
    E. Funding Restrictions: For allowable uses of FA proceeds, please 
see the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1805.301.

V. Application Review Information

    A. Criteria: The Fund will evaluate each application using numeric 
scores with respect to the following five sections:
    1. Market Analysis (TA-only Applicants: 25 points; Category I/SECA: 
25 points; Category II/Core: 20 points:) The Fund will evaluate: (i) 
The extent and nature of the economic distress within the designated 
Target Market including the Applicant's understanding of its current 
and prospective customers; and (ii) the extent of demand for the 
Applicant's Financial Products, Development Services, and Financial 
Services within the designated Target Market. The Fund will give 
special consideration to any Applicant that has an office that is 
located in, or that provides a significant volume of services or 
financing to residents of or businesses located in, (i) any county that 
is within the area declared to be a ``major disaster'' by FEMA as a 
result of Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita; and/or (ii) any state that 
has been declared a ``reception state'' by FEMA. The form and content 
of such special consideration will be further clarified in the CDFI 
Program application.
    2. Business Strategy (TA-only Applicants: 25 points; Category I/
SECA: 25 points; Category II/Core: 20 points): The Fund will evaluate 
the Applicant's business strategy for addressing market demand and 
creating community development impact through: (i) Its Financial 
Products, Development Services, and/or Financial Services; (ii) its 
marketing, outreach, and delivery strategy; and (iii) the extent, 
quality and nature of coordination with other similar providers of 
Financial Products and Financial Services, government agencies, and 
other key community development entities within the Target Market. The 
Fund will take into consideration whether the Applicant is

[[Page 73873]]

proposing to expand into a new Target Market.
    3. Community Development Performance and Effective Use (TA-only 
Applicants: 20 points; Category I/SECA: 20 points; Category II/Core: 20 
points): The Fund will evaluate (i) the Applicant's vision for its 
Target Market, specific outcomes or impacts for measuring progress 
towards achieving this vision, and the extent to which this award will 
allow it to achieve them; (ii) the Applicant's track record in 
providing Financial Products, Financial Services, and Development 
Services to the Target Market; (iii) the extent to which proposed 
activities will benefit the Target Market; (iv) the likelihood of 
achieving the impact projections, including the extent to which the 
activities proposed in the Comprehensive Business Plan will expand 
economic opportunities or promote community development within the 
designated Target Market by promoting homeownership, affordable housing 
development, job creation or retention, the provision of affordable 
financial services, and other community development objectives; and (v) 
the extent to which the Applicant will maximize the effective use of 
the Fund's resources. If an Applicant has a prior track record of 
serving Investment Areas(s) or Targeted Population(s), it must 
demonstrate that (i) it has a record of success in serving said 
Investment Area(s) or Targeted Population(s) and (ii) it will expand 
its operations into a new Investment Area or to serve a new Targeted 
Population, offer more products or services, or increase the volume of 
its current business.
    4. Management (TA-only Applicants: 20 points; Category I/SECA: 20 
points; Category II/Core: 20 points): The Fund will evaluate the 
Applicant's organizational capacity to achieve the objectives set forth 
in its Comprehensive Business Plan as well as its ability to use its 
award successfully and maintain compliance with its Assistance 
Agreement through an evaluation of: (i) The capacity, skills, size and 
experience of the Applicant's current and proposed Governing Board, 
management team, and key staff; and (ii) the Applicant's management 
controls and risk mitigation strategies including policies and 
procedures for portfolio underwriting and review, financial management, 
risk management, management information systems.
    5. Financial Health and Viability (TA-only Applicants: 10 points; 
Category I/SECA: 10 points; Category II/Core: 20 points): The Fund will 
evaluate the Applicant's: (i) Audited or otherwise prepared Financial 
Statements; (ii) safety and soundness, including an analysis of the 
Applicant's financial services industry ratios (capital, liquidity, 
deployment and self-sufficiency) and ability to sustain positive net 
revenue; (iii) projected financial health, including its ability to 
raise operating support from sources other than the Fund and its 
capitalization strategy; and (iv) portfolio performance including loan 
delinquency, loan losses, and loan loss reserves. If an Applicant does 
not have 100 percent of the required matching funds in-hand (versus 
committed), the Applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 
Fund that it will raise the outstanding balance of matching funds 
within the time table set forth above.
    6. Technical Assistance Proposal: Any Applicant applying for a TA 
grant, either alone or in conjunction with a request for a FA award, 
must complete a Technical Assistance Proposal (TAP) as part of its 
application. The TAP consists of a summary of the organizational 
improvements needed to achieve the objectives of the application, a 
budget, and a description of the requested goods and/or services 
comprising the TA award request. The budget and accompanying narrative 
will be evaluated for the eligibility and appropriateness of the 
proposed uses of the TA award (described above). In addition, if the 
Applicant identifies a capacity-building need related to any of the 
evaluation criteria above (for example, if the Applicant requires a 
market need analysis or a community development impact tracking/
reporting system), the Fund will assess its plan to use the TA grant to 
address said needs. An Applicant that is not a Certified CDFI and that 
requests TA to address certification requirements, must explain how the 
requested TA grant will assist the Applicant in meeting the 
certification requirement. The Fund will assess the reasonableness of 
the plan to become certified by December 31, 2008 (for the FY 2006 
Funding Round) or December 31, 2009 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round), 
taking into account the requested TA. For example, if the Applicant 
does not currently make loans and therefore does not meet the Financing 
Entity requirement, it might describe how the TA funds will be used to 
hire a consultant to develop underwriting policies and procedures to 
support the Applicant's ability to start its lending activity. An 
Applicant that requests a TA grant for recurring activities must 
clearly describe the benefit that would accrue to its capacity or to 
its Target Market(s) (such as plans for expansion of staff, market, or 
products) as a result of the TA award. If the Applicant is a prior Fund 
Awardee, it must describe how it has used the prior assistance and 
explain the need for additional Fund dollars over and above such prior 
assistance. Such an Applicant also must describe the additional 
benefits that would accrue to its capacity or to the Target Market(s) 
if the Applicant receives another award from the Fund, such as plans 
for expansion of staff, market, or products. The Fund will not provide 
funding for the same activities funded in prior awards.
    B. Review and Selection Process: 1. Eligibility and Completeness 
Review: The Fund will review each application to determine whether it 
is complete and the Applicant meets the eligibility requirements set 
forth above. An incomplete application will be rejected as incomplete 
and returned to the sender. If an Applicant does not meet eligibility 
requirements, its application will be rejected and returned to the 
sender.
    2. Substantive Review: If an application is determined to be 
complete and the Applicant is determined to be eligible, the Fund will 
conduct the substantive review of the application in accordance with 
the criteria and procedures described in the Interim Rule, this NOFA 
and the application and guidance. Each FA application will be reviewed 
and scored by multiple readers. Each TA application will be read and 
scored by one reader. Readers may include Fund staff and other experts 
in community development finance. As part of the review process, the 
Fund may contact the Applicant by telephone or through an on-site visit 
for the purpose of obtaining clarifying or confirming application 
information. The Applicant may be required to submit additional 
information to assist the Fund in its evaluation process. Such requests 
must be responded to within the time parameters set by the Fund.
    3. Application Scoring; Ranking: (a) Application Scoring: The Fund 
will evaluate each application on a 100-point scale, comprising the 
five criteria categories described above, and assign numeric scores. An 
Applicant must receive a minimum score in each evaluation criteria in 
order to be considered for an award. In the case of an Applicant that 
has previously received funding from the Fund through any Fund program, 
the Fund will consider and will deduct points for: (i) The Applicant's 
noncompliance with any active award or award that terminated in 
calendar year 2005 (for FY

[[Page 73874]]

2006 Funding Round Applicants) and calendar year 2006 (for FY 2007 
Funding Round Applicants), in meeting its performance goals, financial 
soundness covenants (if applicable), reporting deadlines and other 
requirements set forth in the assistance or award agreement(s) with the 
Fund during the Applicant's two complete fiscal years prior to the 
application deadline of this NOFA (generally FY 2004 and FY 2005 for FY 
2006 Funding Round Applicants and FY 2005 and FY 2006 for FY 2007 
Funding Round Applicants); (ii) the Applicant's failure to make timely 
loan payments to the Fund during the Applicant's two complete fiscal 
years prior to the application deadline of this NOFA (if applicable); 
(iii) performance on any prior Assistance Agreement as part of the 
overall assessment of the Applicant's ability to carry out its 
Comprehensive Business Plan; and (iv) funds deobligated from a FY 2003, 
FY 2004 or FY 2005 FA award (if the Applicant is applying for a FA 
award under this NOFA) if (A) the amount of deobligated funds is at 
least $200,000 and (B) the deobligation occurred subsequent to the 
expiration of the period of award funds availability (generally, any 
funds deobligated after the September 30th following the year in which 
the award was made). Any award deobligations that result in a point 
deduction under an application submitted pursuant to either funding 
round of this NOFA will not be counted against any future application 
for FA through the CDFI Program. All questions regarding outstanding 
reports or compliance should be directed to the Grants Manager by e-
mail at [email protected]; by telephone at (202) 622-
8226; by facsimile at (202) 622-7754; or by mail to CDFI Fund, 601 13th 
Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. These are not toll 
free numbers. The Fund will respond to reporting or compliance 
questions between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, starting the date 
of the publication of this NOFA through January 19, 2006 (for the FY 
2006 Funding Round) and January 5, 2007 (for the FY 2007 Funding 
Round). The Fund will not respond to reporting or compliance phone 
calls or e-mail inquiries that are received after 5 p.m. on January 19, 
2006 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and January 5, 2007 (for the FY 
2007 Funding Round) until after the applicable funding application 
deadline.
    (b) Ranking: The Fund then will rank the applications by their 
scores, from highest to lowest, as follows:
    (i) TA-only Applicants and Category I/SECA Applicants will be 
ranked from highest to lowest, based on each Applicant's scores for all 
five criteria categories added together.
    (ii) Category II/Core Applicants must receive scores in both the 
Management category and the Financial Health and Viability category 
that each equal at least 50 percent of the available points in each of 
those sections. For Category II/Core Applicants that exceed this 
threshold, the Fund will use the combined scores of the Market 
Analysis, Product Design and Implementation Strategy, and Community 
Development Performance categories to rank such Applicants, highest to 
lowest.
    4. Award Selection: The Fund will make its final award selections 
based on the rank order of Applicants by their scores and the amount of 
funds available. Subject to the availability of funding, the Fund will 
award funding in the order of the ranking. TA-only Applicants, Category 
I/ SECA and Category II/Core Applicants will be ranked separately. In 
addition, the Fund may consider the institutional and geographic 
diversity of Applicants when making its funding decisions.
    5. Insured CDFIs: In the case of Insured Depository Institutions 
and Insured Credit Unions, the Fund will take into consideration the 
views of the Appropriate Federal Banking Agencies; in the case of 
State-Insured Credit Unions, the Fund may consult with the appropriate 
State banking agencies (or comparable entity). The Fund will not 
approve a FA award or a TA grant to any Insured Credit Union (other 
than a State-Insured Credit Union) or Insured Depository Institution 
Applicant that has a CAMEL rating that is higher than a ``3'' or for 
which its Appropriate Federal Banking Agency indicates it has safety 
and soundness concerns, unless the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency 
asserts, in writing, that: (i) An upgrade to a CAMEL 3 rating or better 
(or other improvement in status) is imminent and such upgrade is 
expected to occur not later than September 30, 2006 (for the FY 2006 
Funding Round) or September 30, 2007 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round) or 
within such other time frame deemed acceptable by the Fund, or (ii) the 
safety and soundness condition of the Applicant is adequate to 
undertake the activities for which the Applicant has requested a FA 
award and the obligations of an Assistance Agreement related to such a 
FA award.
    6. Award Notification: Each Applicant will be informed of the 
Fund's award decision either through a Notice of Award if selected for 
an award (see Notice of Award section, below) or written declination if 
not selected for an award. Each Applicant that is not selected for an 
award based on reasons other than completeness or eligibility issues 
will be provided a written debriefing on the strengths and weaknesses 
of its application. This feedback will be provided in a format and 
within a timeframe to be determined by the Fund, based on available 
resources. The Fund will notify Awardees by email using the addresses 
maintained in the Awardee's myCDFIFund account (postal mailings will be 
used only in rare cases).
    7. The Fund reserves the right to reject an application if 
information (including administrative errors) comes to the attention of 
the Fund that either adversely affects an applicant's eligibility for 
an award, or adversely affects the Fund's evaluation or scoring of an 
application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of an 
Applicant. If the Fund determines that any portion of the application 
is incorrect in any material respect, the Fund reserves the right, in 
its sole discretion, to reject the application. The Fund reserves the 
right to change its eligibility and evaluation criteria and procedures, 
if the Fund deems it appropriate; if said changes materially affect the 
Fund's award decisions, the Fund will provide information regarding the 
changes through the Fund's Web site. There is no right to appeal the 
Fund's award decisions. The Fund's award decisions are final.

VI. Award Administration Information

    A. Notice of Award: The Fund will signify its conditional selection 
of an Applicant as an Awardee by delivering a signed Notice of Award to 
the Applicant. The Notice of Award will contain the general terms and 
conditions underlying the Fund's provision of assistance including, but 
not limited to, the requirement that the Awardee and the Fund enter 
into an Assistance Agreement. The Applicant must execute the Notice of 
Award and return it to the Fund. By executing a Notice of Award, the 
Awardee agrees, among other things, that, if prior to entering into an 
Assistance Agreement with the Fund, information (including 
administrative error) comes to the attention of the Fund that either 
adversely affects the Awardee's eligibility for an award, or adversely 
affects the Fund's evaluation of the Awardee's application, or 
indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of the Awardee, the Fund 
may, in its discretion and without advance notice to the Awardee, 
terminate the Notice of Award or take such other actions as it

[[Page 73875]]

deems appropriate. Moreover, by executing a Notice of Award, the 
Awardee agrees that, if prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement 
with the Fund, the Fund determines that the Awardee is in default of 
any Assistance Agreement previously entered into with the Fund, the 
Fund may, in its discretion and without advance notice to the Awardee, 
either terminate the Notice of Award or take such other actions as it 
deems appropriate. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 
to rescind its award if the Awardee fails to return the Notice of 
Award, signed by the authorized representative of the Awardee, along 
with any other requested documentation, within the deadline set by the 
Fund.
    1. Failure to meet reporting requirements: If an Awardee, or an 
entity that Controls the Awardee, is Controlled by the Awardee or 
shares common management officials with the Awardee (as determined by 
the Fund) is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program 
and is not current on the reporting requirements set forth in the 
previously executed assistance, allocation or award agreement(s), as of 
the date of the Notice of Award, the Fund reserves the right, in its 
sole discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance Agreement until 
said prior Awardee or allocatee is current on the reporting 
requirements in the previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s). Please note that the Fund only acknowledges the receipt 
of reports that are complete. As such, incomplete reports or reports 
that are deficient of required elements will not be recognized as 
having been received. If said prior Awardee or allocatee is unable to 
meet this requirement within the timeframe set by the Fund, the Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind 
the Notice of Award and the award made under this NOFA.
    2. Pending resolution of noncompliance: If an Applicant is a prior 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and if: (i) It has 
submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate 
noncompliance with a previous assistance, award or allocation 
agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final determination as 
to whether the entity is in default of its previous assistance, award 
or allocation agreement, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance Agreement, pending 
full resolution, in the sole determination of the Fund, of the 
noncompliance. Further, if another entity that Controls the Applicant, 
is Controlled by the Applicant or shares common management officials 
with the Applicant (as determined by the Fund), is a prior Fund Awardee 
or allocatee and if such entity: (i) Has submitted complete and timely 
reports to the Fund that demonstrate noncompliance with a previous 
assistance, award or allocation agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to 
make a final determination as to whether the entity is in default of 
its previous assistance, award or allocation agreement, the Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an 
Assistance Agreement, pending full resolution, in the sole 
determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance. If the prior Awardee 
or allocatee in question is unable to satisfactorily resolve the issues 
of noncompliance, in the sole determination of the Fund, the Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind 
the Notice of Award and the award made under this NOFA.
    3. Default status: If, at any time prior to entering into an 
Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, the Fund has made a final 
determination that an Awardee that is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program is in default of a previously executed 
assistance, allocation or award agreement(s), the Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance 
Agreement, until said prior Awardee or allocatee has submitted a 
complete and timely report demonstrating full compliance with said 
agreement within a timeframe set by the Fund. Further, if at any time 
prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, the 
Fund has made a final determination that another entity that Controls 
the Awardee, is Controlled by the applicant or shares common management 
officials with the Awardee (as determined by the Fund), is a prior Fund 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and is in default of a 
previously executed assistance, allocation or award agreement(s), the 
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into 
an Assistance Agreement, until said prior Awardee or allocatee has 
submitted a complete and timely report demonstrating full compliance 
with said agreement within a timeframe set by the Fund. If said prior 
Awardee or allocatee is unable to meet this requirement, the Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind 
the Notice of Award and the award made under this NOFA.
    4. Termination in default: If (i) the Fund has made a final 
determination that an Awardee that is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program whose award or allocation was terminated in 
default of such prior agreement; and (ii) the final reporting period 
end date for the applicable terminated agreement falls in Calendar Year 
2005 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) or Calendar Year 2006 (for the FY 
2007 Funding Round), the Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance Agreement. Further, if 
(i) the Fund has made a final determination that another entity that 
Controls the Awardee, is Controlled by the Awardee or shares common 
management officials with the Awardee (as determined by the Fund), is a 
prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program whose award or 
allocation was terminated in default of such prior agreement; and (ii) 
the final reporting period end date for the applicable terminated 
agreement falls in Calendar Year 2005 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) 
or Calendar Year 2006 (for the FY 2007 Funding Round), the Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an 
Assistance Agreement.
    5. Deobligated awards: An Awardee that receives a FA award pursuant 
to this NOFA for which an amount over $200,000 is deobligated by the 
Fund subsequent to the expiration of the period of award funds 
availability (generally, any funds deobligated after the September 30th 
following the year in which the award was made) but within the 12 
months prior to the applicable application deadline, may not apply for 
a new award through another NOFA for one CDFI or NACA Program funding 
round after the date of said deobligation.
    B. Assistance Agreement: Each Applicant that is selected to receive 
an award under this NOFA must enter into an Assistance Agreement with 
the Fund in order to receive disbursement of award proceeds. The 
Assistance Agreement will set forth certain required terms and 
conditions of the award, which will include, but not be limited to: (i) 
The amount of the award; (ii) the type of award; (iii) the approved 
uses of the award; (iv) the approved Target Market to which the funded 
activity must be targeted; (v) performance goals and measures; and (vi) 
reporting requirements for all Awardees. FA and FA/TA Assistance 
Agreements under this NOFA generally will have three-year performance 
periods; TA-only Assistance Agreements generally will have two-year 
performance periods.
    The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate 
the Notice of Award and rescind an award if the

[[Page 73876]]

Awardee fails to return the Assistance Agreement, signed by the 
authorized representative of the Awardee, and/or provide the Fund with 
any other requested documentation, within the deadlines set by the 
Fund.
    In addition to entering into an Assistance Agreement, each Awardee 
that receives an award either (i) in the form of a loan, equity 
investment, credit union shares/deposits, or secondary capital, in any 
amount, or (ii) a FA grant in an amount greater than $500,000, must 
furnish to the Fund an opinion from its legal counsel, the content of 
which will be specified in the Assistance Agreement, to include, among 
other matters, an opinion that the Awardee: (A) is duly formed and in 
good standing in the jurisdiction in which it was formed and/or 
operates; (B) has the authority to enter into the Assistance Agreement 
and undertake the activities that are specified therein; and (C) has no 
pending or threatened litigation that would materially affect its 
ability to enter into and carry out the activities specified in the 
Assistance Agreement. Each other Awardee must provide the Fund with a 
good standing certificate (or equivalent documentation) from its state 
(or jurisdiction) of incorporation.
    C. Reporting: 1. Reporting requirements: The Fund will collect 
information, on at least an annual basis, from each Awardee including, 
but not limited to, an Annual Report that comprises the following 
components: (i) Financial Report; (ii) Institution Level Report; (iii) 
Transaction Level Report (for Awardees receiving FA); (iv) Financial 
Status Report (for Awardees receiving TA); (v) Uses of Financial 
Assistance and Matching Funds Report (for Awardees receiving Financial 
Assistance); (vi) Explanation of Noncompliance (as applicable); and 
(vii) such other information as the Fund may require. Each Awardee is 
responsible for the timely and complete submission of the Annual 
Report, even if all or a portion of the documents actually is completed 
by another entity or signatory to the Assistance Agreement. If such 
other entities or signatories are required to provide Institution Level 
Reports, Transaction Level Reports, Financial Reports, or other 
documentation that the Fund may require, the Awardee is responsible for 
ensuring that the information is submitted timely and complete. The 
Fund reserves the right to contact such additional signatories to the 
Assistance Agreement and require that additional information and 
documentation be provided. The Fund will use such information to 
monitor each Awardee's compliance with the requirements set forth in 
the Assistance Agreement and to assess the impact of the CDFI Program. 
The Institution Level Report and the Transaction Level Report must be 
submitted through the Fund's web-based data collection system, the 
Community Investment Impact System (CIIS). The Financial Report may be 
submitted through CIIS, or by fax or mail to the Fund. All other 
components of the Annual Report may be submitted to the Fund in paper 
form or other form to be determined by the Fund. The Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to modify these reporting requirements 
if it determines it to be appropriate and necessary; however, such 
reporting requirements will be modified only after notice to Awardees.
    2. Accounting: The Fund will require each Awardee that receives FA 
and TA awards through this NOFA to account for and track the use of 
said FA and TA awards. This means that for every dollar of FA and TA 
awards received from the Fund, the Awardee will be required to inform 
the Fund of its uses. This will require Awardees to establish separate 
administrative and accounting controls, subject to the applicable OMB 
Circulars. The Fund will provide guidance to Awardees outlining the 
format and content of the information to be provided on an annual 
basis, outlining and describing how the funds were used. Each Awardee 
that receives an award must provide the Fund with the required complete 
and accurate Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) form for its bank account 
prior to award closing and disbursement.

VII. Agency Contacts

    The Fund will respond to questions and provide support concerning 
this NOFA and the funding application between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m. ET, starting the date of the publication of this NOFA through 
January 19, 2006 (for the FY 2006 Funding Round) and January 5, 2007 
(for the FY 2007 Funding Round). The Fund will not respond to questions 
or provide support concerning the application that are received after 5 
p.m. ET on said dates, until after the respective funding application 
deadline. Applications and other information regarding the Fund and its 
programs may be obtained from the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. The Fund will post on its Web site responses to 
questions of general applicability regarding the CDFI Program.
    A. Information Technology Support: Technical support can be 
obtained by calling (202) 622-2455 or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. People who have visual or mobility 
impairments that prevent them from creating an Investment Area map 
using the Fund's Web site should call (202) 622-2455 for assistance. 
These are not toll free numbers.
    B. Programmatic Support: If you have any questions about the 
programmatic requirements of this NOFA, contact the Fund's Program 
office by e-mail at [email protected], by telephone at (202) 622-
6355, by facsimile at (202) 622-7754, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 13th 
Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. These are not toll-
free numbers.
    C. Grants Management Support: If you have any questions regarding 
the administrative requirements of this NOFA, including questions 
regarding submission requirements, contact the Fund's Grants Manager by 
e-mail at [email protected], by telephone at (202) 622-
8226, by facsimile at (202) 622-6453, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 13th 
Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. These are not toll 
free numbers.
    D. Compliance and Monitoring Support: If you have any questions 
regarding the compliance requirements of this NOFA, including questions 
regarding performance on prior awards, contact the Fund's Compliance 
Manager by e-mail at [email protected], by telephone at (202) 622-
8226, by facsimile at (202) 622-6453, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 13th 
Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. These are not toll 
free numbers.
    E. Legal Counsel Support: If you have any questions or matters that 
you believe require response by the Fund's Office of Legal Counsel, 
please refer to the document titled ``How to Request a Legal Review,'' 
found on the Fund's web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Further, if 
you wish to review the Assistance Agreement form document from a prior 
funding round, you may find it posted on the Fund's Web site (please 
note that there may be revisions to the Assistance Agreement that will 
be used for Awardees under this NOFA and thus the sample document on 
the Fund's Web site should not be relied upon for purposes of this 
NOFA).
    F. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The Fund will use its 
myCDFIFund Internet interface to communicate with Applicants and 
Awardees under this NOFA. Awardees must use myCDFIFund to submit 
required reports. The Fund will notify Awardees by e-mail using the 
addresses maintained in each Awardee's myCDFIFund account. Therefore, 
the Awardee and any Subsidiaries, signatories, and Affiliates must 
maintain accurate contact information (including

[[Page 73877]]

contact person and authorized representative, e-mail addresses, fax 
numbers, phone numbers, and office addresses) in their myCDFIFund 
account(s). For more information about myCDFIFund, please see the Help 
documents posted at https://www.cdfifund.gov/myCDFI/Help/Help.asp.

VIII. Information Sessions and Outreach

    In connection with the Fiscal Year 2006 and FY 2007 Funding Round, 
the Fund may conduct Information Sessions to disseminate information to 
organizations contemplating applying to, and other organizations 
interested in learning about, the Fund's programs. For further 
information on the Fund's Information Sessions, dates and locations, or 
to register to attend an Information Session, please visit the Fund's 
Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov or call the Fund at (202) 622-9046.

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 4706, 4707, 4717; 12 
CFR part 1805.

    Dated: December 1, 2005.
Arthur A. Garcia,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 05-23750 Filed 12-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P