[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 166 (Monday, August 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50983-50993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14253]



[[Page 50983]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

    Funding Opportunity Title: Revised Notice of Funds Availability 
(NOFA) inviting applications for the FY 2007 Funding Round of the 
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program.
    Announcement Type: Initial announcement of funding opportunity.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.020.

DATES: Applications for the FY 2007 Funding Round of the CDFI Program 
must be received by 5 p.m. ET on November 14, 2006.
    Executive Summary: On December 21, 2005, the Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund (the Fund) published a NOFA in the Federal 
Register (70 FR 75860) in connection with two consecutive funding 
rounds of the CDFI Program: (i) The FY 2006 Funding Round and (ii) the 
FY 2007 Funding Round. Through this revised NOFA, the Fund announces 
revised dates for the FY 2007 Funding Round. Because the FY 2006 
Funding Round is now complete, this revised NOFA is being issued for 
the FY 2007 Funding Round only. Parties interested in the FY 2007 
Funding Round should review and refer to this revised NOFA, 
disregarding the December 21, 2005 NOFA, as the FY 2007 Funding Round 
dates in the December 21, 2005 NOFA have been changed.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    A. Through the CDFI Program, 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 
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 2007 Funding Round
    Through this NOFA, and subject to funding availability, the Fund 
expects that it may award approximately $26 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 $22 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 $26 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 $22 million to Category II/Core Applicants) in 
the FY 2007 Funding Round, provided that the funds are available and 
the Fund deems it appropriate.
2. Availability of Funds for the FY 2007 Funding Round
    Funds for the FY 2007 Funding Round have not yet been appropriated. 
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 (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

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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:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        FA applicant category                           Criteria                       What can it apply for?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category I/Small and/or Emerging CDFI  A Category I/SECA Applicant is a Certified  A Category I/SECA Applicant
 Assistance (SECA).                     CDFI or Certifiable CDFI that:              may request up to and
                                       Has total assets, as of the end of the       including $500,000 in FA
                                        Applicant's most recent fiscal year end     funds, and up to and
                                        or September 30, 2006, as follows:          including $100,000 in TA
                                                                                    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 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.
Category II/Core.....................  A Category II/Core Applicant is a           A Category II/Core Applicant
                                        Certified CDFI or a Certifiable CDFI that   may request up to and
                                        meets all other eligibility requirements    including $2 million in FA
                                        described in this NOFA.                     funds, and up to and
                                                                                    including $100,000 in TA
                                                                                    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 (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 
October 11, 2006, or such other dates as the Fund may proscribe, in 
accordance with the instructions on the Fund's Web site at http://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 October 11, 2006, or such other 
dates as the Fund may proscribe, evidencing that the Applicant meets 
the requirements to be certified as a CDFI.

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Applicants may obtain the CDFI Certification Application through the 
Fund's Web site at http://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, 2009 or 
such other date selected by the Fund. 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.
4. Contacting the Fund
    The Fund will respond to questions and provide support concerning 
CDFI certification related to this NOFA between the hours of 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m. ET, through October 4, 2006. The Fund will not respond to 
questions or provide support concerning CDFI certification, related to 
this NOFA, that are received after 5 p.m. ET on October 4, 2006, until 
after the deadline for submitting applications under this NOFA. The 
CDFI Certification Application and other information regarding CDFI 
certification may be obtained from the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov.

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. In 
general, the three-year period extends back three years from the date 
that the Fund signs a Notice of Award; for purposes of this revised 
NOFA, and for ease of administration, the Fund will count any 
assistance documented with a Notice of Award dated between July 31, 
2004 and July 31, 2007 (which is the anticipated date that the Fund 
will issue Notices of Award for the FY 2007 Funding Round).
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 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) Within the 12-month period prior to the applicable application 
deadline of this NOFA, 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 
2006. Further, an entity is not eligible to apply for an award pursuant 
to this NOFA if: (i) Within the 12-month period prior to the applicable 
application deadline, 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 Calendar Year 
2006.
6. Undisbursed Balances
    The Fund will not consider an application submitted by an Applicant 
that is a prior Fund Awardee under any

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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 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 under this NOFA.
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 November 10, 
2006 (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 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

[[Page 50987]]

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: 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: 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 5, 2006 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 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.

[[Page 50988]]

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, 2006 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 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 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 14, 2008. 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) 
electronically (via an Internet-based application) or (ii) in paper 
form. Applications sent by facsimile or other form will not be 
accepted.

B. Electronic Applications

    Electronic applications must be submitted solely by using the 
Fund's Web site and must be sent in accordance with the submission 
instructions provided in the electronic application form. Applications 
are accessible only through an active myCDFIFund account (see Section 
E, below). Applicants must have access to Internet Explorer 5.5 or 
higher or Netscape Navigator 6.0 or higher, Windows 98 or higher (or 
other system compatible with the above Explorer and Netscape software) 
and optimally at least a 56Kbps Internet connection in order to meet 
the electronic application submission requirements. The Fund's 
electronic application system will only permit the submission of 
applications in which all required questions and tables are fully 
completed; incomplete applications cannot be submitted. Please note 
that each application must include the signature of the Applicant's 
Authorized Representative and certain supporting documentation; for an 
electronic application, the Applicant must submit such documents 
separately, in paper form, to the address and by the deadlines set 
forth below. Additional information, including instructions relating to 
the submission of signature forms and supporting information, is set 
forth in further detail in the electronic application.

C. Paper Applications

    If an applicant is unable to submit an electronic application, 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 October 11, 2006. 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 electronic application that does not include an EIN 
is incomplete and cannot be transmitted to the Fund. 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. An Applicant must be 
registered as both a User and an Organization in myCDFIFund as of the 
applicable application deadline in order to be considered to have 
submitted a

[[Page 50989]]

complete application. 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
    Electronic applications must be received by the Fund via the 
Applicant's myCDFIFund account and in accordance with the instructions 
provided on the Fund's Web site, by 5 p.m. ET on November 14, 2006. In 
addition, Applicants that submit electronic applications must 
separately submit (by mail or other courier/delivery service) a 
signature page, signed by the Applicant's Authorized Representative, 
and all other required paper attachments; said documents must be 
received at the address set forth below by 5 p.m. ET on November 17, 
2006. Paper applications, including the requisitesigned signature page 
and all attachments, must be received at the address set forth below by 
5 p.m. ET on November 17, 2006.
2. Address for Paper Submissions
    A complete paper application (or, in the case of an electronic 
application, 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 
electronic application, the required signed signature page, and all 
required paper attachments must be received by the applicable time and 
date set forth above. A paper application, including the required 
signed signature page, 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 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.

[[Page 50990]]

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, 2009, 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 2006 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 2005 and FY 2006); (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 November 10, 2006. The Fund will not 
respond to reporting or compliance phone calls or e-mail inquiries that 
are received after 5 p.m. on November 10, 2006 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

[[Page 50991]]

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, 2007 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 E-mail 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 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

[[Page 50992]]

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) within the 12-month period 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 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 
2006, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay 
entering into an Assistance Agreement. Further, if (i) within the 12-
month period 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 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 2006, 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 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 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,

[[Page 50993]]

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 
November 10, 2006. 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 is 
provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied on 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. Applicants must register 
through myCDFIFund in order to submit a complete application for 
funding. 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 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

    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: August 22, 2006.
Arthur A. Garcia,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
 [FR Doc. E6-14253 Filed 8-25-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P