[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11924-11941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03152]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund


Notice of Funds Availability

    Funding Opportunities: Capital Magnet Fund; 2024 Funding Round.
    Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) 
inviting Applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Funding Round of 
the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF).
    Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
    Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2024-CMF.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.011.
    Dates:

[[Page 11925]]



               Table 1-FY 2024 Capital Magnet Fund Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Description                      Deadline               Time (Eastern Time--ET)     Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last day to create an Awards      March 14, 2024..............  11:59 p.m. ET...............  Electronically via
 Management Information System                                                                 Awards Management
 (AMIS) Account (if Applicant                                                                  Information
 does not have one).                                                                           System (AMIS).
Last day to enter or update the   March 14, 2024..............  11:59 p.m. ET...............  Electronically via
 Employer Identification Number                                                                AMIS.
 (EIN) and Unique Entity
 Identifier (UEI) numbers in
 AMIS (all Applicants).
Last day to submit Title VI       March 14, 2024..............  11:59p.m. ET................  Electronically via
 Compliance Worksheet in AMIS                                                                  AMIS.
 (all Applicants) *.
Last day to submit SF-424         March 14, 2024..............  11:59 p.m. ET...............  Electronically via
 Mandatory Form (Application for                                                               Grants.gov.
 Federal Assistance).
For Applicants using a            March 14, 2024..............  11:59 p.m. ET...............  Submit Service
 Consortium Approach only:                                                                     Request via AMIS
 Applicants are asked to submit                                                                using ``Capital
 a Service Request in AMIS                                                                     Magnet Fund'' for
 notifying the CMF Program of                                                                  the program.
 the organization's intent to
 apply as a Consortium Member
 using the Consortium Approach.
Last day to contact Capital       April 12, 2024..............  5:00 p.m. ET................  Submit Service
 Magnet Fund Staff.                                                                            Request via AMIS
                                                                                               using ``Capital
                                                                                               Magnet Fund'' for
                                                                                               the program; call
                                                                                               CDFI Fund
                                                                                               Helpdesk: 202-653-
                                                                                               0421; or email
                                                                                               [email protected].
Last day to contact CDFI Fund     April 12, 2024..............  5:00 p.m. ET................  Submit Service
 with questions about Compliance.                                                              Request via AMIS
                                                                                               using
                                                                                               ``Compliance and
                                                                                               Reporting'' for
                                                                                               the program; call
                                                                                               CCME Helpdesk:
                                                                                               202-653-0423; or
                                                                                               email
                                                                                               [email protected].
Last day to contact CDFI Fund     April 12, 2024..............  5:00 p.m. ET................  Submit Service
 with questions about CDFI                                                                     Request via AMIS
 Certification.                                                                                using
                                                                                               ``Certification''
                                                                                               for the program;
                                                                                               call CCME
                                                                                               Helpdesk: 202-653-
                                                                                               0423; or email
                                                                                               [email protected].
Last day to contact AMIS-IT Help  April 16, 2024..............  5:00 p.m. ET................  Submit Service
 Desk (regarding AMIS technical                                                                Request via AMIS
 problems only).                                                                               using ``Technical
                                                                                               Issues'' for the
                                                                                               program; call
                                                                                               AMIS Helpdesk:
                                                                                               202-630-0422; or
                                                                                               email
                                                                                               [email protected].
Last day to submit CMF            April 16, 2024..............  11:59 p.m. ET...............  Electronically via
 Application and Required                                                                      AMIS.
 Attachments.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, the Title VI Compliance Worksheet requirement also
  applies to the Applicant's Subsidiary Depository Institution.

    Executive Summary: The Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) is administered by 
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). 
Through the CMF, the CDFI Fund provides financial assistance grants to 
certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and to 
qualified Nonprofit Organizations that have the development or 
management of affordable housing as one of their principal purposes. 
All Awards provided through this Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) 
are subject to funding availability.

I. Program Description

    A. Authorizing Statute and Regulation: The CMF was established 
through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), which 
added section 1339 to the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety 
and Soundness Act of 1992. For a complete understanding of the program, 
the CDFI Fund encourages Applicants to review the CMF Interim Rule (12 
CFR part 1807) as amended February 8, 2016 (the CMF Interim Rule); this 
NOFA; the CDFI Fund's environmental quality regulation (12 CFR part 
1815); the CMF funding application (referred to hereafter as the 
``Application,'' meaning the application submitted in response to this 
NOFA); and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, 
and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000), which is 
the Department of the Treasury's codification of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) government-wide framework for grants 
management at 2 CFR part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements or 
UAR). Each capitalized term used in this NOFA, but not defined herein, 
shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the CMF Interim 
Rule, the Application, or the Uniform Administrative Requirements. 
Details regarding Application content requirements are found in the 
Application and related materials at www.cdfifund.gov/cmf.
    B. History: The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community 
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to promote 
economic revitalization and community development through investment in 
and assistance to CDFIs. The CMF Program made its first Awards in FY 
2010, with subsequent funding rounds annually from FY 2016 through FY 
2021, and in FY 2023. To date, more than $1.39 billion has been awarded 
under the CMF Program.
    C. Programmatic Changes from the Prior Round NOFA:
    1. Introduction of Title VI Worksheet: The CDFI Fund is requiring 
all Applicants, as well as their prospective subrecipients that are not 
direct beneficiaries of Federal financial assistance (i.e., Depository 
Institutions Holding Company and their Subsidiary Depository 
Institutions) to complete a Title VI Compliance Worksheet once each 
calendar year to demonstrate how they are complying with Title VI of 
the Civil Rights Act (Pub. L. 88-352).
    2. Attestation in lieu of Management Letters: If no Management 
Letter was issued for either of the Applicant's two most recent 
historic fiscal years, the Applicant will complete an attestation in 
the Application in lieu of attaching a separate statement.
    D. Definitions:
    1. Areas of Economic Distress: Areas of Economic Distress are 
census tracts: (a) where at least 20% of households that are Very Low-
Income (50% of AMI or below) spend more than half of their income on 
housing; or (b) that are Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Census 
Tracts; or (c) where greater than 20% of households have incomes below 
the poverty rate and the rental vacancy rate is at least 10%; or (d) 
where greater than 20% of the households have incomes below the poverty 
rate and the homeownership vacancy rate is at least 10%; or (e) are 
Underserved Rural Areas as defined in the CMF Interim Rule. The CDFI 
Fund will publish a dataset on its website indicating which census 
tracts are designated as Areas of Economic Distress for the FY 2024 CMF 
Funding Round.

[[Page 11926]]

    2. Consortium: A Consortium is comprised of a group of at least 
two, and no more than five, eligible, and unaffiliated CDFIs or 
nonprofit affordable housing developers/managers, applying for a CMF 
Award under this NOFA. The purpose of the Consortium must be to finance 
and support Affordable Housing Activities and Economic Development 
Activities, if applicable.
    3. Consortium Approach: The Consortium Approach is the manner in 
which members of a Consortium apply for a CMF Award under this NOFA, 
wherein member Applications are evaluated both individually and as a 
Consortium.
    4. Entity Approach: The Entity Approach is the manner in which the 
Applicant will be using the CMF Award. There are two types of Entity 
Approaches: (a) financing entities and (b) affordable housing 
developers/managers. Each Applicant will be required to specify which 
type of Entity Approach it will be using prior to starting the 
Application.
    A financing entity is an entity whose predominant business activity 
is the provision of arm's length transactions and services to 
independent, unrelated parties, each acting in its own best interest. 
Such transactions support and promote affordable housing and/or 
community development through the provision of financial products that 
serve low-income communities, individuals, or families in underserved 
markets or communities.
    An affordable housing developer/manager is a Nonprofit Organization 
whose primary mission is the construction, development, redevelopment, 
preservation, or management of affordable housing. The affordable 
housing developer/manager may own the housing that it develops; may own 
it in part, such as a limited partnership; may sell the Homeownership 
or rental housing it develops once completed; or may sell but continue 
to manage the housing in case of rental housing.
    5. High Opportunity Areas (HOA):
    (A) Standard HOA Criteria: Shall mean the definition of High 
Opportunity Area (HOA) found in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's 
Duty to Serve Rule (12 CFR 1282.1), effective as of the date of the 
publication of this NOFA. This term is defined as: (a) An area 
designated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as 
a ``Difficult Development Area'' during any year covered by an 
Enterprise's Underserved Markets Plan (Plan) or in the year prior to a 
Plan's effective date, whose poverty rate falls below 10% (for 
Metropolitan areas) or below 15% (for Non-Metropolitan areas); or (b) 
an area designated by a State or local Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) 
as a high opportunity area whose poverty rate falls below 10% (for 
Metropolitan areas) or 15% (for Non-Metropolitan areas). The CDFI Fund 
will publish a dataset on its website indicating which census tracts 
are designated as High Opportunity Areas for the FY 2024 CMF Funding 
Round.
    (B) Expanded CMF HOA Criteria: The CMF Program will accept an 
expanded definition of High Opportunity Area for areas that do not meet 
the Federal Housing Finance Agency definition, but instead meet a set 
of Expanded CMF HOA Criteria demonstrating the designated area(s) 
provide access to a combination of at least three of the following four 
criteria: (1) high-quality youth (K-12) education opportunities; (2) 
employment opportunities; (3) transportation opportunities; and/or (4) 
financial service opportunities. For a Project to qualify as being in a 
High Opportunity Area under the Expanded CMF HOA Criteria definition, 
the location of the Project must meet at least three of the four 
Expanded CMF HOA Criteria and cannot be located in a Food Desert as 
identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert) as of the publication date of this 
NOFA in the Federal Register.
    I. CMF HOA Criteria Definitions: To meet the Expanded CMF HOA 
definition, the location must meet at least three of the following four 
CMF HOA Criteria:
    (1) Access to High-Quality Youth (K-12) Education: To meet the 
high-quality youth (K-12) education criterion, the CMF-financed/
supported rental unit(s) must be: (i) located in an area served by a 
school that, in any of the three years prior to the date of this NOFA, 
has been either recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a 
National Blue Ribbon School, or has received the highest rating 
available from its State's education agency; and (ii) available to 
Families living in CMF-financed/supported rental units.
    (2) Access to Employment: To meet the access to employment 
criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be located 
within a one-mile radius of one of the 25 largest employers in the 
applicable county. The largest employers in the county are measured by 
number of employees at the location(s) in the applicable county.
    (3) Access to Transportation: To meet the access to transportation 
criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be within \1/
4\ mile of a multi-modal transit station (includes at least two forms 
of public transit such as metro, light rail, bus, ferry, or trolley) if 
located in a Metropolitan Area. The CMF-financed/supported rental 
unit(s) must be within two miles of ``Fixed-route Public 
Transportation'' if located in a rural (``Non-Metropolitan'') area. 
``Fixed-route Public Transportation'' means year-round, regularly 
scheduled public transportation that operates at least 5 days per week 
and provides regular service throughout the day.
    (4) Access to Financial Services: To meet the access to financial 
services criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be 
in a census tract with a bank or credit union branch presence that is 
staffed to provide walk-in banking or credit union financial services 
(i.e., not simply a standalone, unstaffed, automated teller machine 
(ATM)).
    E. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 
Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000): The Uniform 
Administrative Requirements codify financial, administrative, 
procurement, and program management standards that Federal award-making 
agencies must follow. Per the Uniform Administrative Requirements, when 
evaluating award Applications, awarding agencies must evaluate each 
Applicant's merits, eligibility, and any risks to the program posed by 
each Applicant. These requirements are designed to ensure that 
Applicants for Federal assistance receive a fair and consistent review 
prior to an award decision. This review will assess items such as the 
Applicant's financial stability, quality of management systems, history 
of performance, and single audit findings. In addition, the Uniform 
Administrative Requirements include guidance on audit requirements and 
other award compliance requirements for award Recipients.
    F. Priorities: The purpose of the CMF is to attract private capital 
for and increase investment in the Development, Preservation, 
Rehabilitation, or Purchase of Affordable Housing for primarily 
Extremely Low-Income, Very Low-Income, and Low-Income Families, as well 
as Economic Development Activities, which, In Conjunction With 
Affordable Housing Activities, implement a Concerted Strategy to 
stabilize or revitalize a Low-Income Area or Underserved Rural Area. To 
pursue these objectives, the CDFI Fund has established the following 
priorities for the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round: (i) Applications where at 
least 20% of all rental Affordable Housing units that

[[Page 11927]]

will be financed and/or supported with FY 2024 CMF Awards are reserved 
for Very Low-Income Families, and/or at least 20% of all Homeownership 
Affordable Housing units are reserved for Low-Income Families; (ii) 
Applications where rental Affordable Housing units located in either 
Areas of Economic Distress (AED) and/or High Opportunity Areas (HOA) 
are reserved for Eligible-Income Families; (iii) Applications where 
Homeownership Affordable Housing units are for (a) Families with 
incomes above 80% and no greater than 120% of AMI located in an AED, 
(b) Low-Income Families (up to 80% of the AMI), or (c) a combination of 
(a) and (b); and (iv) Applications proposing to use the CMF Award to 
leverage private capital to finance and/or support Affordable Housing 
Activities and Economic Development Activities. Additionally, the CDFI 
Fund seeks to fund Applications serving geographically diverse Areas of 
Economic Distress, including Metropolitan Areas and Underserved Rural 
Areas. In particular, the priority for geographic diversity includes 
funding highly qualified Applications that serve States and Territories 
not included in the Service Areas of Recipients in the past two CMF 
rounds FY 2021 and FY 2023: American Samoa, the Northern Mariana 
Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming. G. Funding limitations: 
The CDFI Fund reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, 
all, or none of the Applications submitted in response to this NOFA.

II. Federal Award Information

    A. Funding Availability: The CDFI Fund plans to award approximately 
$246.5 million in grants for the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round under this 
NOFA. Eligible organizations of all sizes are encouraged to apply, 
including new and previous Applicants, past CMF Recipients, and 
Applicants focused on Homeownership, rental housing, or both. HERA 
prohibits the CDFI Fund from obligating more than 15% of the aggregate 
available in CMF Awards to any Applicant, its Subsidiaries, and its 
Affiliates in the same funding round. In past rounds, the CDFI Fund has 
provided Awards smaller than the statutory cap. For example, in the 
last three funding rounds, Awards ranged from $750,000 to $12,000,000, 
with an average Award of $5.2 million. Given the administrative and 
compliance responsibilities for Recipients, the CDFI Fund will not 
accept Applications that request less than $500,000 and will not 
provide Awards below $500,000 to any CMF Award Recipients.
    The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to 
provide a CMF Award in an amount other than that which the Applicant 
requests. However, the Award amount will not exceed the Applicant's 
Award request as stated in its Application. An Applicant may receive 
only one Award through the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round. Affiliates of 
Applicants are not allowed to apply separately.
    B. Types of Awards: The CDFI Fund will provide CMF Awards in the 
form of grants. CMF Awards must be used to support the eligible 
activities as set forth in 12 CFR 1807.301.
    A CMF Award Recipient may not distribute the CMF Award to any 
Affiliate, Subsidiary, or third-party entity in any manner that would 
create a Subrecipient relationship (as defined in the Uniform 
Administrative Requirements) without the CDFI Fund's prior written 
consent. The Recipient of a CMF Award must retain all obligations 
related to the Award. This restriction does not prevent a Recipient 
from loaning or investing directly in an Affiliate (separate legal 
entity) or in a specific Project being undertaken by an Affiliate. With 
the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, CMF 
Awards may not be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-
party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, pursuant 
to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction, and with the CDFI 
Fund's prior written consent.
    C. Limitations on using CMF Awards in conjunction with other CDFI 
Fund Awards/allocations:
    1. A CMF Award Recipient may not use its CMF Award for any Project 
that also receives funding from other CDFI Fund program awards or 
allocations the Recipient (or any of its Affiliates) has received, 
except when the CMF Award dollars are used to finance/support a 
different ``phase'' of development in the same Project than that 
financed by other CDFI Fund awards or allocations. The separate phases 
of development financing are: (i) Predevelopment; (ii) acquisition; 
(iii) site work (preconstruction); (iv) construction/rehabilitation; 
(v) permanent financing; or (vi) bridge financing between two or more 
phases. This restriction does not apply to the Recipient's prior CMF 
Awards. The Recipient may combine its multiple CMF Awards to provide 
financing on any Project, including financing the same phase of any 
Project.
    However, the Recipient may not deem the same costs as Eligible 
Project Costs under multiple CMF Awards and must prorate the unit 
production performance across its multiple CMF Awards. Recipients using 
a Consortium Approach (see Section III.E.1) with separate CMF Awards 
from the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round must use their Awards to finance the 
same Projects. For these Projects, Eligible Project Costs, unit 
production, and Leveraged Costs are prorated.
    If providing Homeownership assistance, a CMF Award may be used in 
conjunction with awards/allocations from other CDFI Fund programs only 
if the Project can be divided into such phases (e.g., construction of 
for-sale housing) and the CMF Award is used in a different phase from 
the other CDFI Fund program awards/allocations. However, in the case of 
Homeownership purchase assistance, a CMF Award cannot be used for a 
Homeownership property that is permanently financed (or supported) by 
mortgages funded by both the Recipient's (or any of its Affiliates') 
CMF Award, and an award/Allocation from another CDFI Fund program, or 
that of another CMF Recipient.
    2. As further set forth in the Assistance Agreement, CMF Recipients 
shall not count or report as Leveraged Costs pursuant to this NOFA any 
costs financed and/or supported by a Recipient's awards/allocations 
from other CDFI Fund programs or awards/allocations from other CMF 
Recipients, including awards from prior CMF rounds. While a Recipient 
may combine its CMF Award pursuant to this NOFA with other CMF Awards 
to finance/support the same Project, each CMF Award must separately 
meet the program requirements as outlined in the applicable Assistance 
Agreement and the CMF Interim Rule (12 CFR part 1807).
    In all cases, the CMF Award remains subject to the following 
restriction imposed by the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program: award funds 
received under any CDFI Fund program cannot be used by any participant 
of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, including Qualified Issuers, 
Eligible CDFIs, and Secondary Borrowers, to pay principal, interest, 
fees, administrative costs, or issuance costs (including Bond Issuance 
Fees) related to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, or to fund the Risk 
Share Pool for a Bond Issue (all capitalized terms used in this 
sentence, other than ``CMF Award,'' shall have the meanings ascribed to 
them in the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program regulations and applicable 
guidance).
    D. Anticipated Start Date and Period of Performance: The CDFI Fund 
anticipates the period of performance for the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round 
to

[[Page 11928]]

begin in 2024. The period of performance, which includes the five-year 
investment period, for each CMF Award begins on the date the CDFI Fund 
announces the Recipients of the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round Awards and 
continues until the end of the ten-year period of affordability for all 
Projects financed and/or supported with the CMF Award, as set forth at 
12 CFR 1807.401(d) and 12 CFR 1807.402, and as further set forth in the 
Assistance Agreement, during which time the Recipient must meet certain 
Performance Goals.
    E. Eligible Activities: A CMF Award must support or finance 
activities that attract private capital for and increase investment in: 
(i) the Development, Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Purchase of 
Affordable Housing for primarily Low-, Very Low-, and Extremely Low-
Income Families; and (ii) Economic Development Activities. CMF Awards 
may only be used as follows: (i) to provide Loan Loss Reserves; (ii) to 
capitalize a Revolving Loan Fund; (iii) to capitalize an Affordable 
Housing Fund; (iv) to capitalize a fund to support Economic Development 
Activities; (v) for Risk-Sharing Loans; or (vi) to provide Loan 
Guarantees. No more than 30% of a CMF Award may be used for Economic 
Development Activities. The CDFI Fund allows all Recipients to use up 
to 5% of their CMF Award for Direct Administrative Expenses. The amount 
available for Direct Administrative Expenses may only be used for 
direct costs (as defined by the Uniform Administrative Requirements) 
incurred by the Recipient and related to the financing and/or support 
of a Project. The CDFI Fund considers the tracking of impacts and 
outcomes associated with Projects financed and/or supported by a CMF 
Award to fall under Direct Administrative Expenses. Any portion of the 
amount available for Direct Administrative Expenses may be used for 
direct costs related to the effective tracking and evaluation of 
program or evidence-based outcomes for Projects.
    The CDFI Fund recognizes that some CMF Recipients, due to their 
business model, may need to work with a third-party originator to 
originate the CMF loans for mortgage financing. The CMF regulations in 
12 CFR 1807.104 defines ``Purchase'' as ``to provide direct financing 
to a Family for purposes of Homeownership.'' The CDFI Fund hereby 
clarifies that under the definition of ``Purchase,'' a CMF Recipient 
may use its CMF Award to purchase CMF eligible loans from a third-party 
originator within 12 months of origination. The CDFI Fund deems the CMF 
Recipient's purchase of the CMF eligible loans as ``direct'' financing 
under the definition of ``Purchase.'' The CMF Recipient must work with 
the third-party originator to identify income eligible borrowers and 
ensure the loans and associated Affordable Housing meet all of the 
requirements of 12 CFR part 1807.

III. Eligibility Information

    A. Eligible Applicants: In order to be eligible to apply for a CMF 
Award, an Applicant must either be a Certified CDFI or a Nonprofit 
Organization, as defined in 12 CFR 1807.104. Table 2 indicates the 
criteria that each category of Applicant must meet in order to be 
eligible for a CMF Award pursuant to this NOFA. Note: A Certified CDFI 
that is also a Nonprofit Organization only needs to meet the Certified 
CDFI eligibility criteria described in Table 2, below, to be eligible 
for a CMF Award. Applicants may be members applying under a Consortium 
Approach comprised of eligible Applicants, but each Consortium member 
must separately apply and be individually eligible to receive a CMF 
Award.

               Table 2--Applicant Eligibility Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Category                     Eligibility requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certified CDFI...............   An Applicant must be duly
                                organized as a legal entity (within the
                                United States or its territories).
                                Has been in existence as a
                                legally formed entity for at least three
                                (3) years prior to the AMIS Application
                                deadline under this NOFA;
                                Has been determined by the CDFI
                                Fund to meet the CDFI certification
                                requirements set forth in 12 CFR
                                1805.201 and as verified in the CDFI's
                                AMIS account as of the publication date
                                of this NOFA in the Federal Register;
                                and
                                Has not been notified in writing
                                by the CDFI Fund that its certification
                                has been terminated since the
                                publication date of this NOFA.
                                If a Certified CDFI loses its
                                certification at any point prior to the
                                Award announcement, the Application will
                                be deemed ineligible and no longer be
                                considered by the CDFI Fund. Post-Award,
                                if a CMF Recipient loses its CDFI
                                Certification, its compliance status
                                with respect to the Assistance Agreement
                                will be reviewed by the Office of
                                Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation
                                (OCME) in accordance with the terms of
                                the Assistance Agreement.
                                In cases where the CDFI Fund has
                                provided a Certified CDFI with written
                                notification that it no longer meets one
                                or more certification standards and it
                                has been given an opportunity to cure,
                                the CDFI Fund will continue to deem this
                                Applicant to be a Certified CDFI until
                                it has received a final determination
                                letter that its certification has been
                                terminated. A Certified CDFI is
                                considered eligible for an Award until a
                                final certification determination has
                                been made, and a final determination
                                letter has been provided to the
                                Applicant by the CDFI Fund.
                                Has audited financial statements
                                encompassing its two most recent
                                historic fiscal years prior to the
                                publication date of this NOFA.\1\ A
                                Regulated Institution that files call
                                reports to its regulator is exempt from
                                this requirement and must attach call
                                reports for its two most recent historic
                                fiscal years in lieu of audited
                                financial statements.
Nonprofit Organization.......   An Applicant must be duly
                                organized as a legal entity (within the
                                United States or its territories).
                                Has been in existence as a
                                legally formed entity for at least three
                                (3) years prior to the AMIS Application
                                deadline under this NOFA;
                                Meets the definition of
                                Nonprofit Organization set forth in 12
                                CFR 1807.104;
                                Demonstrates, through articles
                                of incorporation, by-laws, or other
                                board-approved documents, that the
                                development or management of affordable
                                housing are among its principal
                                purposes;
                                Demonstrates by providing an
                                attestation in the Application that at
                                least 33.3% of its total assets are
                                dedicated to the development or
                                management of affordable housing; and
                                Has audited financial statements
                                encompassing its two most recent
                                historic fiscal years prior to the
                                publication date of this NOFA.\1\ A
                                Regulated Institution that files call
                                reports to its regulator is exempt from
                                this requirement and must attach call
                                reports for its two most recent historic
                                fiscal years in lieu of audited
                                financial statements.
Debarment/Do Not Pay            The CDFI Fund will conduct a
 Verification.                  debarment check and will not consider an
                                Application submitted by an Applicant if
                                the Applicant (or Affiliate of an
                                Applicant identified in AMIS) is
                                delinquent on any Federal debt.
                                The Do Not Pay Business Center
                                was developed to support Federal
                                agencies in their efforts to reduce the
                                number of improper payments made through
                                programs funded by the Federal
                                Government. The Do Not Pay Business
                                Center provides delinquency information
                                to the CDFI Fund to assist with the
                                debarment check.
System for Award Management     Each Applicant must have its own
 (SAM).                         active SAM registration in order to
                                submit the required Application
                                materials through Grants.gov.

[[Page 11929]]

 
                                SAM is a web-based, government-
                                wide application that collects,
                                validates, stores, and disseminates
                                business information about the Federal
                                Government's trading partners in support
                                of the contract awards, grants, and
                                electronic payment processes. See
                                SAM.gov for more information.
                                Applicants that have an active
                                SAM registration have been assigned a
                                UEI. Applicants must also have an EIN
                                number in order to register in SAM.gov.
                                Applicants must complete
                                registration in SAM.gov in order to be
                                able to complete the Grants.gov
                                registration and submit an SF-424.
                                The CDFI Fund reserves the right
                                to deem an Application ineligible if the
                                Applicant's SAM account expires during
                                the Application evaluation period, or is
                                set to expire before December 31, 2024,
                                and the Applicant does not re-activate
                                or renew (as applicable) the account
                                within the deadlines that the CDFI Fund
                                communicates to affected Applicants
                                during the Application evaluation
                                period.
Application type and            Each Applicant must submit the
 submission method through      required Application documents listed in
 Grants.gov and Awards          Table 4.
 Management Information         The CDFI Fund will only accept
 System (AMIS).                 Applications that use the official
                                Application templates provided on the
                                Grants.gov and AMIS websites.
                                Applications submitted with alternative
                                or altered templates will not be
                                considered.
                                Applicants undergo a two-step
                                process that requires the submission of
                                Application documents by two separate
                                deadlines in two different locations:
                                (1) the SF-424 in Grants.gov and (2) all
                                other Required Application Documents in
                                AMIS.
                                Grants.gov and the SF-424
                                Mandatory form:
                                  [cir] Applicants must submit the
                                   Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-
                                   approved Standard Form (SF) 424
                                   Mandatory (Application for Federal
                                   Assistance) form in Grants.gov.
                                  [cir] All Applicants must register in
                                   the Grants.gov system to successfully
                                   submit an Application. The Grants.gov
                                   registration process can take 30 days
                                   or more to complete. The CDFI Fund
                                   strongly encourages Applicants to
                                   register as early as possible to meet
                                   the deadlines in Table 1 and Table 6.
                                  [cir] The SF-424 must be submitted in
                                   Grants.gov before the other
                                   Application materials are submitted
                                   in AMIS. Applicants are strongly
                                   encouraged to submit their SF-424 as
                                   early as possible via the Grants.gov
                                   portal.
                                  [cir] Because the SF-424 is part of
                                   the Application, if the SF-424 is not
                                   accepted by Grants.gov by the
                                   applicable deadline, the Applicant
                                   will not be able to submit the AMIS
                                   Application.
                                  [cir] The SF-424 must be submitted
                                   under the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round
                                   CMF Funding Opportunity Number.
                                  [cir] The CDFI Fund will not extend
                                   the SF-424 application deadline for
                                   any Applicant that started the
                                   Grants.gov registration process on,
                                   before, or after the date of the
                                   publication of this NOFA, but did not
                                   complete it by the deadline, except
                                   in the case of a Federal Government
                                   administrative or technological error
                                   that directly resulted in precluding
                                   an Applicant from submitting the SF-
                                   424 by the required deadline.
                                AMIS:
                                  [cir] Applicants must submit all other
                                   required Application materials in
                                   AMIS.
                                  [cir] AMIS is the CDFI Fund's
                                   enterprise-wide information
                                   technology system that will be used
                                   to submit and store organization and
                                   Application information with the CDFI
                                   Fund.
                                  [cir] Applicants are only allowed one
                                   Capital Magnet Fund Application
                                   submission per funding round in AMIS.
                                  [cir] Members of a Consortium must
                                   submit every component of the
                                   Application separately and
                                   independently from other members of
                                   the Consortium.
                                  [cir] Each Application in AMIS must be
                                   signed by an Authorized
                                   Representative. The Authorized
                                   Representative is an employee or
                                   officer of the Applicant, authorized
                                   to sign legal documents on behalf of
                                   the organization. Consultants working
                                   on behalf of the organization may not
                                   be designated as Authorized
                                   Representatives.
                                  [cir] Only an Authorized
                                   Representative or Application Point
                                   of Contact included in the
                                   Application may submit the
                                   Application in AMIS.
                                  [cir] All Required Application
                                   Documents must be submitted in AMIS
                                   on or before the deadline specified
                                   in Table 1.
                                  [cir] The CDFI Fund will not extend
                                   the deadline for any Applicant except
                                   in the case of a Federal Government
                                   administrative or technological error
                                   that directly resulted in precluding
                                   an Applicant from submitting the
                                   Application in AMIS by the required
                                   deadline.
Employer Identification         Each Applicant must have a
 Number (EIN).                  unique EIN assigned by the Internal
                                Revenue Service (IRS).
                                The CDFI Fund will reject an
                                Application submitted with the EIN of a
                                parent or Affiliate of the Applicant.
                                The EIN in the Applicant's AMIS
                                account must match the EIN on the SF-424
                                submitted through Grants.gov and the EIN
                                in the Applicant's System for Award
                                Management (SAM) account. The CDFI Fund
                                reserves the right to reject an
                                Application if the EIN in the
                                Applicant's AMIS account does not match
                                the EIN on the SF-424 and/or its SAM
                                account.
                                The EIN of the Applicant must be
                                entered into the AMIS organization
                                profile by the applicable deadline in
                                Table 1.
Unique Entity Identifier        The CDFI Fund will reject an
 (UEI).                         Application submitted with the UEI
                                number of a parent or Affiliate
                                organization of an Applicant.
                                The UEI number in the
                                Applicant's AMIS account must match the
                                UEI number in the Applicant's Grants.gov
                                and SAM accounts.
                                The CDFI Fund will reject an
                                Application if the UEI number in the
                                Applicant's AMIS account does not match
                                the UEI number in its Grants.gov and SAM
                                accounts.
                                Applicants must enter their UEI
                                number into their AMIS profile on or
                                before the deadline specified in Table
                                1.
AMIS Account.................   Each Applicant, including each
                                Consortium Member, must register as an
                                organization in AMIS and submit all
                                required Application materials through
                                the AMIS portal.
                                If the Applicant does not fully
                                register its organization in AMIS by the
                                deadline set forth in Table 1, its
                                Application will be rejected without
                                further consideration.
                                The Authorized Representative
                                and Application Point of Contact must be
                                included as ``users'' in the Applicant's
                                AMIS account.
                                An Applicant that fails to
                                properly register and update its AMIS
                                account may miss important
                                communications from the CDFI Fund or not
                                be able to successfully submit an
                                Application.
                                In cases where a Federal
                                Government administrative or
                                technological error directly resulted in
                                precluding an Applicant from creating an
                                AMIS account by the required deadline,
                                the Applicant must submit a written
                                request for approval to create its AMIS
                                account after the deadline, and include
                                documentation of the error, no later
                                than two business days after the AMIS
                                account creation deadline specified in
                                Tables 1 and 6. The CDFI Fund will not
                                respond to requests for creating an AMIS
                                account after that time. Applicants must
                                submit such request via an AMIS Service
                                Request to the CMF Program with a
                                subject line of ``AMIS Account Creation
                                Deadline Extension Request.''
501(c)(4) status.............   Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 1611, any
                                501(c)(4) organization that engages in
                                lobbying activities is not eligible to
                                apply for or receive a CMF Award.
Compliance with                 An Applicant * may not be
 Nondiscrimination and Equal    eligible to receive a CMF Award if
 Opportunity Statutes,          proceedings were instituted against it
 Regulations, and Executive     in, by, or before any court,
 Orders.                        governmental agency, or administrative
                                body, and a final determination was made
                                within the time period beginning three
                                years prior to the publication of this
                                NOFA through the execution of the
                                Assistance Agreement, declaring that the
                                Applicant violated any Federal civil
                                rights laws or regulations, including,
                                but not limited to: Title VI of the
                                Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42
                                U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); Fair Housing Act
                                (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); Equal Credit
                                Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et
                                seq.); section 504 of the Rehabilitation
                                Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and the Age
                                Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.
                                6101-6107); and Title IX of the
                                Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
                                1681 et seq.).

[[Page 11930]]

 
                                Applicants * will be required to
                                submit the Title VI Compliance Worksheet
                                (Worksheet) once each calendar year to
                                assist the CDFI Fund in determining
                                whether Applicants are compliant with
                                the Treasury regulations implementing
                                Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
                                (Title VI), set forth in 31 CFR part 22,
                                Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Race,
                                Color, or National Origin in Programs or
                                Activities Receiving Federal Financial
                                Assistance from the Department of the
                                Treasury.
                                In addition, an Applicant * must
                                be compliant with Federal civil rights
                                requirements in order to be deemed
                                eligible to receive an award from the
                                CDFI Fund. The CDFI Fund will consider
                                an Application submitted by an Applicant
                                that may have pending Title VI
                                noncompliance issues; however, until the
                                CDFI Fund makes a final determination
                                that the Applicant is Title VI
                                compliant, it will not enter into an
                                Assistance Agreement.
                                The Title VI Compliance
                                Worksheet and program award terms and
                                conditions do not impose
                                antidiscrimination requirements on
                                Tribal governments beyond what would
                                otherwise apply under Federal law.
Depository Institution          If a Depository Institution
 Holding Company Applicant.     Holding Company and its Certified CDFI
                                Subsidiary Insured Depository
                                Institution both apply for a CMF Program
                                grant, only the Depository Institution
                                Holding Company will receive an Award,
                                not both. In such instances, the
                                Subsidiary Insured Depository
                                Institution will be deemed ineligible.
                                The Authorized Representative of
                                the Depository Institution Holding
                                Company Applicant must certify that the
                                information included in the Application
                                represents that of the Subsidiary CDFI
                                Insured Depository Institution, and that
                                the Award will be used to support the
                                Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
                                Institution for the eligible activities
                                outlined in the Application.
Regulated Institutions \2\...   To be eligible for an Award,
                                each Regulated Institution Applicant
                                must have a CAMELS/CAMEL composite
                                rating (rating for banks and credit
                                unions, respectively), by its Federal
                                regulator of at least ``3'' or State
                                regulator equivalent.
                                Organizations with CAMELS/CAMEL
                                composite ratings of ``4'' or ``5'' will
                                not be eligible for Awards.
                                Organizations with a Prompt
                                Corrective Action directive from its
                                regulator will not be eligible for
                                Awards.
                                In the case of a Depository
                                Institution Holding Company Applicant
                                that intends to carry out the Award
                                through a Subsidiary Insured Depository
                                Institution, the CAMELS/CAMEL rating
                                eligibility requirements noted above
                                apply to both the Depository Institution
                                Holding Company Applicant, as well as
                                the Subsidiary Insured Depository
                                Institution.
                                The CDFI Fund will also evaluate
                                material concerns identified by the
                                Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or
                                Appropriate State Agency in determining
                                eligibility of Regulated Institution
                                Applicants.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, the Title VI
  Compliance Worksheet requirement also applies to the Applicant's
  Subsidiary Depository Institution.

    Any Applicant that does not meet the criteria in Table 2 is 
ineligible to apply for a CMF Award under this NOFA. Further, Section 
III.B describes additional considerations applicable to prior 
Recipients and/or allocatees under any CDFI Fund program.
    B. Prior Award Recipients: Eligibility determinations in prior 
funding rounds have no bearing on and do not guarantee eligibility in 
this round. Prior CMF Award Recipients and prior award recipients of 
other CDFI Fund programs will be eligible to apply under this NOFA if 
they meet the eligibility criteria in Table 2, except as noted in Table 
3.

 Table 3--Eligibility Requirements for Applicants Which Are Prior Award/
                          Allocation Recipients
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Criteria                           Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pending resolution of default   If an Applicant (or Affiliate of
 or noncompliance.              an Applicant identified in AMIS) that is
                                a prior recipient or allocatee under any
                                CDFI Fund program: (i) has demonstrated
                                it has been in default or noncompliance
                                with a previous assistance agreement,
                                award agreement, allocation agreement,
                                bond loan agreement, or agreement to
                                guarantee and (ii) the CDFI Fund has yet
                                to make a final determination as to
                                whether the entity is in noncompliance
                                with or default of its previous
                                agreement, the CDFI Fund will consider
                                the Applicant's Application under this
                                NOFA pending full resolution, in the
                                sole determination of the CDFI Fund, of
                                the default or noncompliance.
Default or Noncompliance        The CDFI Fund will not consider
 status.                        an Application submitted by an Applicant
                                that is a prior CDFI Fund Recipient or
                                allocatee under any CDFI Fund program
                                if, as of the AMIS Application deadline
                                of this NOFA, the Applicant (or
                                Affiliate of an Applicant identified in
                                AMIS) is noncompliant or found in
                                default with a previously executed award
                                agreement(s), assistance agreement(s),
                                allocation agreement(s), bond loan
                                agreement(s) or agreement(s) to
                                guarantee and the CDFI Fund has provided
                                written notification that the Applicant
                                is ineligible to apply for or receive
                                any future awards or allocations for a
                                time period specified by the CDFI Fund
                                in writing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    C. Contacting the CDFI Fund: Applicants that are prior Recipients 
and/or allocatees under any CDFI Fund program are advised to comply 
with requirements specified in an Assistance Agreement, allocation 
agreement, bond loan agreement, or agreement to guarantee, and to 
ensure their Affiliates are in compliance with any agreements. All 
outstanding reporting and compliance questions should be directed to 
the Office of Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation help desk by AMIS 
Service Requests (select ``Capital Magnet Fund'' for ``Program''). For 
general questions, organizations with an AMIS account are strongly 
encouraged to submit a Service Request in AMIS using ``Capital Magnet 
Fund'' for the Service Request program. Members of the public that do 
not have AMIS accounts can contact Capital Magnet Fund staff via email 
at [email protected]. The CDFI Fund will not respond to Applicants' 
reporting, compliance, or disbursement related telephone calls or email 
inquiries that are received after 5:00 p.m. ET on April 12, 2024, until 
after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond to technical 
issues related to AMIS Accounts through 5:00 p.m. ET on April 16, 2024, 
via AMIS Service Requests, or at [email protected], or by telephone 
at (202) 653-0422.
    D. Cost sharing or matching funds requirements: Not applicable.
    E. Other Eligibility Criteria:
    1. Consortium Approach: To be eligible under a Consortium Approach, 
individual members of a Consortium must submit individual Applications 
and meet the eligibility criteria defined in Table 2 on a stand-alone 
basis. If awarded, each Recipient will receive a separate Award, and be 
required to meet the terms of its individual Assistance Agreement. The 
CDFI Fund will require Recipients using the Consortium Approach to 
enter into a CMF Recipient Consortium Member Agreement, which will 
specify the binding commitments of each member.
    All Consortium members must invest their individual Awards in the 
same Projects as the other Consortium members. A Consortium is not 
required

[[Page 11931]]

to be a legally formed entity; however, each Consortium member is asked 
to submit a Service Request in AMIS notifying the CDFI Fund of the 
organization's intent to apply under this NOFA as a Consortium member 
by the required deadline specified in Table 1, and if awarded a CMF 
Award, must enter into a Recipient Consortium Member Agreement.
    If one or more members indicate an intent to apply under the 
Consortium Approach but fail to meet the eligibility criteria in Table 
2, or are otherwise not eligible for an Award, the CDFI Fund reserves 
the right to review the other Applications on a stand-alone basis and 
not as a Consortium.
    2. Affiliates: As part of the Application review process, the CDFI 
Fund considers whether Applicants are Affiliates, as defined in 12 CFR 
1805.104. If an Applicant and its Affiliate(s) wish to submit an 
Application, they must do so through one of the Affiliated entities, in 
one Application; an Applicant and its Affiliates may not submit 
separate Applications. If Affiliates submit multiple or separate 
Applications, the CDFI Fund may, at its discretion, reject all such 
Applications received or select only one of the submitted Applications 
to be deemed eligible, assuming that Application meets all other 
eligibility criteria in Section III of this NOFA.
    3. Minimum Leverage Multiplier: An Applicant will not be eligible 
to receive a CMF Award if the Applicant fails to demonstrate in the 
Application that its CMF Award would result in Eligible Project Costs 
(Leveraged Costs plus those costs funded by the CMF Award) that equal 
at least 10 times the amount of the CMF Award. Note that no costs 
attributable to Direct Administrative Expenses may be considered 
Eligible Project Costs.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    A. Address to Request Application Package: Application materials 
can be found on Grants.gov and the CDFI Fund's website at 
www.cdfifund.gov/cmf. If an Applicant is unable to access Grants.gov or 
the CDFI Fund's website, an Applicant may request a paper version of 
any Application material by contacting the CDFI Fund Help Desk by email 
at [email protected].
    B. Content and Form of Application Submission: The CDFI Fund will 
post to its website, at www.cdfifund.gov/cmf, instructions for 
accessing and submitting an Application. Detailed Application content 
requirements are found in the Application and related guidance 
documents. All Applications must be prepared in English and 
calculations must be made in U.S. dollars. Table 4 lists the required 
funding Application documents. Applicants must submit all required 
documents for the Application to be deemed complete. Please be aware 
that an Applicant that fails to submit audited financial statements for 
its two most recent historic fiscal years will be deemed as not having 
a complete Application and will be considered ineligible. A Regulated 
Institution that submits call reports for its two most recent historic 
fiscal years is exempted from this requirement. The CDFI Fund reserves 
the right to request and review other pertinent or public information 
that has not been specifically requested in this NOFA or the 
Application. Information submitted by the Applicant that the CDFI Fund 
has not specifically requested will not be reviewed or considered as 
part of the Application. Information submitted must accurately reflect 
the Applicant's activities and/or its Subsidiary Insured Depository 
Institution, in the case where the Applicant is an Insured Depository 
Institution Holding Company intending to carry out the activities of 
the Award through its Subsidiary Insured Depository Institution.

                                     Table 4--Funding Application Documents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Application document                Submission format                        Required?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard Form (SF) 424 Mandatory Form.  Fillable PDF in Grants.gov.  Required for all Applicants.
CMF Application.......................  AMIS.......................  Required for all Applicants.
Attachments to the Application:
    Title VI Compliance Worksheet *...  Fillable form in AMIS......  Required for all Applicants.
    Audited financial statements for    PDF in AMIS................  Required for all Applicants.
     the two most recent historic
     fiscal years. Regulated
     Institutions may submit call
     reports in lieu of audited
     financial statements.
    Any Management Letters, if          PDF in AMIS................  Required for all Applicants.
     applicable, related to the
     audited financial statements for
     the two most recent historic
     fiscal years. The Management
     Letter is prepared by the
     Applicant's auditor and provides
     communication on internal control
     over financial reporting,
     compliance, and other matters.\3\
     If no Management Letter was
     issued for either of the
     Applicant's two most recent
     historic fiscal years, the
     Applicant will complete an
     attestation in the Application in
     lieu of attaching a separate
     statement.
    State Charter, Articles of          PDF in AMIS................  Required only for Applicants that are not
     Incorporation, authorizing                                       Certified CDFIs.
     statute, or other establishing
     documents designating that the
     Applicant is a nonprofit or not-
     for-profit entity under the laws
     of the organization's State of
     formation.
    A certification demonstrating tax   PDF in AMIS................  Required only for Applicants that are not
     exempt status from the IRS. Only                                 Certified CDFIs.
     Applicants that are governmental
     instrumentalities and are unable
     to provide such determination
     from the IRS and meet all other
     eligibility requirements, must
     submit a legal opinion from
     counsel, in form and substance
     acceptable to the CDFI Fund,
     opining that the Applicant is
     exempt from Federal income tax.
    Articles of incorporation, by-      PDF in AMIS................  Required only for Applicants that are not
     laws, authorizing statute, or                                    Certified CDFIs.
     other documents demonstrating
     that the Applicant has a
     principal purpose of managing or
     developing affordable housing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, the Title VI Compliance Worksheet requirement also
  applies to the Applicant's Subsidiary Depository Institution.

    C. Application Submission: The CDFI Fund has a sequential, two-step 
process that requires the submission of Application documents in 
separate systems with two separate deadlines. The SF-424 must be 
submitted through Grants.gov and all other Application documents 
through the AMIS portal. The CDFI Fund will not accept Applications via 
email, mail, facsimile, or other forms of communication, except in 
extremely rare circumstances that have been pre-approved by the CDFI 
Fund. The separate Application deadlines for the SF-424 and all other 
Application materials are listed in Tables 1 and 6. Only the Authorized 
Representative for the Organization or Application Point of Contact 
designated in AMIS may submit the Application through AMIS. Applicants 
are strongly encouraged to submit the SF-424 as early as possible 
through Grants.gov in order to provide sufficient time to

[[Page 11932]]

resolve any potential submission issues. Applicants should contact 
Grants.gov directly with questions related to the registration or 
submission process, as the CDFI Fund does not administer the Grants.gov 
system.
    The CDFI Fund strongly encourages Applicants to start the 
Grants.gov registration process as soon as possible, as it may take 
several weeks to complete (refer to the following link: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html). An Applicant that has 
previously registered with Grants.gov must verify that its registration 
is current and active. If an Applicant has not previously registered 
with Grants.gov, it must first successfully register in SAM.gov, as 
described in Section IV.D below.
    D. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): The UEI, generated in the System 
for Award Management (SAM.gov), has become the official identifier for 
doing business with the Federal Government. This allows the Federal 
Government to streamline the entity identification and validation 
process, making it easier and less burdensome for entities to do 
business with the Federal Government. If an entity is registered in 
SAM.gov today, its UEI has already been assigned and is viewable in 
SAM.gov, including inactive registrations. New registrants will be 
assigned a UEI as part of their SAM registration.
    E. System for Award Management (SAM): Any entity applying for 
Federal grants or other forms of Federal financial assistance through 
Grants.gov must be registered in SAM before submitting its Application 
materials through that platform. When accessing SAM.gov, users will be 
asked to create a Login.gov user account (if they do not already have 
one). Going forward, users will use their Login.gov username and 
password every time when logging into SAM.gov. The SAM registration 
process can take four weeks or longer to complete so Applicants are 
strongly encouraged to begin the registration process upon publication 
of this NOFA in order to avoid potential Application submission issues. 
An original, signed notarized letter identifying the authorized entity 
administrator for the entity associated with the UEI number is required 
by SAM and must be mailed to the Federal Service Desk. This requirement 
is applicable to new entities registering in SAM or on existing 
registrations where there is no existing entity administrator. Existing 
entities with registered entity administrators do not need to submit an 
annual notarized letter. Applicants that have previously completed the 
SAM registration process must verify that their SAM accounts are 
current and active. Applicants are required to maintain a current and 
active SAM account at all times during which it has an active Federal 
award or an application under consideration for an award by a Federal 
awarding agency.
    The CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that fails to 
properly register or activate its SAM account and, as a result, is 
unable to submit the SF-424 in Grants.gov or the Application by the 
applicable Application deadline. Applicants must contact SAM directly 
with questions related to registration or SAM account changes, as the 
CDFI Fund does not maintain this system. For more information about 
SAM, please visit https://www.sam.gov or call 866-606-8220.

                                Table 5_Grants.gov Registration Timeline Summary
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Step                                  Agency                 Estimated minimum time to complete
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obtain an EIN Number..................  Internal Revenue Service (IRS).....  Two Weeks.*
Register in SAM.gov...................  System for Award Management (SAM).   Four Weeks.*
                                         This step will include obtaining a
                                         UEI.
Register in Grants.gov................  Grants.gov.........................  One Week.**
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Applicants are advised that the stated duration are estimates only and represent minimum timeframes. Actual
  timeframes may take longer. The CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that fails to properly register or
  activate its SAM account, has not yet received a UEI number, and/or fails to properly register in Grants.gov.
** This estimate assumes an Applicant has a UEI number, an EIN number, and is already registered in SAM.gov.

    F. Submission Dates and Times:
    1. Submission Deadlines: Table 6 lists the deadlines for submission 
of the documents related to this CMF Funding Round:

                           Table 6--FY 2024 CMF Funding Round Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Document                    Deadline          Time--Eastern Time (ET)         Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SF-424 Mandatory form..........  March 14, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via
                                                                                     Grants.gov.
Create AMIS Account (if the      March 14, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via AMIS.
 Applicant does not already
 have one).
Enter or update the EIN and UEI  March 14, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via AMIS.
 numbers in AMIS.
Title VI Compliance Worksheet *  March 14, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via AMIS.
For Consortium Approach          March 14, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via AMIS.
 Applicants only: Applicants
 are asked to submit a Service
 Request in AMIS notifying the
 CMF Program of the
 organization's intent to apply
 as a Consortium Member using
 the Consortium Approach.
CMF Application and Required     April 16, 2024.......  11:59 p.m. ET.............  Electronically via AMIS.
 Attachments.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For Depository Institution Holding Company Applicants, the Title VI Compliance Worksheet requirement also
  applies to the Applicant's Subsidiary Depository Institution.

    2. Confirmation of Application Submission in Grants.gov and AMIS: 
Applicants are required to submit the SF-424 Mandatory Form through the 
Grants.gov system under the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round Capital Magnet 
Fund Funding Opportunity Number (listed at the beginning of this NOFA). 
All other required Application materials must be submitted through the 
AMIS website. Application materials submitted through each system are 
due by the applicable deadline listed in Tables 1 and 6. Applicants 
must submit the SF-424 by an earlier deadline than that of the other 
required Application materials in AMIS. If a valid SF-424 is not 
submitted through Grants.gov by the

[[Page 11933]]

corresponding deadline, the Applicant will not be able to submit the 
additional Application materials in AMIS, and the Application will be 
deemed ineligible. Thus, Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit 
the SF-424 as early as possible in the Grants.gov portal, given that 
potential submission issues may impact the ability to submit a complete 
Application. Applicants must also ensure that their AMIS account 
contains the correct EIN and UEI numbers by the deadline listed in 
Table 1 of this NOFA.
    (a) Grants.gov Submission Information: Each Applicant will receive 
an initial email from Grants.gov immediately after submitting the SF-
424, confirming that the submission has entered the Grants.gov system. 
This email will contain a tracking number for the submitted SF-424. 
Within 48 hours, the Applicant will receive a second email which will 
indicate if the submitted SF-424 was either successfully validated or 
rejected with errors. However, Applicants should not rely on the email 
notification from Grants.gov to confirm that their SF-424 was 
validated. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the tracking 
number provided in the first email to closely monitor the status of 
their SF-424 by checking Grants.gov directly. The Application materials 
submitted in AMIS are not accepted by the CDFI Fund until Grants.gov 
has validated the SF-424. In the Grants.gov Workspace function, please 
note that the Application package has not been submitted if you have 
not received a tracking number.
    (b) AMIS Submission Information: AMIS is a web-based portal where 
Applicants will directly enter their Application information and add 
required attachments listed in Table 4. Each Applicant must register as 
an organization in AMIS in order to submit the required Application 
materials through this portal. AMIS will verify that the Applicant 
provided the minimum information required to submit an Application. 
Applicants are responsible for the quality and accuracy of the 
information in the Application and in the attachments included in the 
Application submitted in AMIS. The CDFI Fund strongly encourages the 
Applicant to allow sufficient time to confirm the Application content, 
review the material submitted, and remedy any issues prior to the 
Application deadline. Applicants can only submit one Application in 
AMIS. Upon submission, the Application will be locked and cannot be 
resubmitted, edited, or modified in any way. The CDFI Fund will not 
unlock or allow multiple AMIS Application submissions.
    Prior to submission, each Application in AMIS must be signed by an 
Authorized Representative. An Authorized Representative is an employee 
or officer that has the authority to legally bind and make 
representations on behalf of the Applicant; consultants working on 
behalf of the Applicant cannot be designated as Authorized 
Representatives. The Applicant may include consultants as Application 
point(s) of contact, who will be included on any communication 
regarding the Application and will be able to submit the Application 
but cannot digitally sign the Application. The Authorized 
Representative and/or Application point(s) of contact must be included 
as ``Contacts'' in the Applicant's AMIS account. The Authorized 
Representative must also be a ``user'' in AMIS. An Applicant that fails 
to properly register and update its AMIS account may miss important 
communications from the CDFI Fund or fail to submit an Application 
successfully. Once the Application is signed by an Authorized 
Representative, only an Authorized Representative for the organization 
or an Application point of contact can submit the Application in AMIS. 
After submitting its Application, the Applicant will not be permitted 
to revise or modify its Application in any way.
    (c) CMF Consortium Member Service Request: Applicants intending to 
apply using a Consortium Approach are asked to submit a Service Request 
in AMIS by March 14, 2024, to notify the CDFI Fund of their intent to 
apply as part of a Consortium. As part of the Service Request, 
potential Consortium members are asked to provide the names of the 
Consortium member organizations, the UEIs of Consortium members, and 
the amount of funding to be requested by each member. In the event all 
Consortium members do not submit an Application or a member is 
otherwise ineligible for an Award, the CDFI Fund reserves the right to 
review the Applications of the other members on a stand-alone basis and 
not as a Consortium.
    3. Multiple Application Submissions: Each Applicant is only 
permitted to submit one complete Application in AMIS. However, the CDFI 
Fund does not administer Grants.gov, which does allow for multiple 
submissions of the SF-424. If an Applicant submits multiple SF-424 
Applications in Grants.gov, the CDFI Fund will only review the SF-424 
Application submitted in Grants.gov that is attached to the AMIS 
Application. Applicants using a Consortium Approach must each 
separately submit an SF-424.
    4. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if 
a valid SF-424 is not submitted by Grants.gov by the SF-424 deadline. 
Additionally, the CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if it is not 
signed by an Authorized Representative and submitted in AMIS by the 
Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will not accept an Application from 
an Applicant that failed to create an AMIS account or enter its EIN/UEI 
numbers by the deadlines specified in Table 1 and Table 6, or failed to 
submit the required Title VI Compliance Worksheet by the required 
deadline. In such cases, the CDFI Fund will not review any material 
submitted and the Application will be deemed ineligible, except in the 
case of a Federal Government administrative or technological error that 
directly resulted in precluding an Applicant from submitting by the 
deadline. This exception includes any errors associated with 
Grants.gov, SAM.gov, AMIS, or any other applicable government system.
    (a) Creation of AMIS Account: In cases where a Federal Government 
administrative or technological error directly precluded an Applicant 
from creating an AMIS account by the required deadline, the Applicant 
must submit a written request for approval to create its AMIS account 
after the deadline, and include documentation of the error, no later 
than two business days after the AMIS account creation deadline. The 
CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for creating an AMIS account 
after that time. Applicants must submit such request via an AMIS 
Service Request with a subject line of ``CMF--AMIS Account Creation 
Deadline Extension Request.''
    (b) Title VI Compliance Worksheet Late Submission: In cases where a 
Federal Government administrative or technological error directly 
precluded an Applicant from submitting the Title VI Compliance 
Worksheet by the required deadline, the Applicant must submit a written 
request for approval to submit the Title VI Compliance Worksheet after 
the deadline, and include documentation of the error, no later than two 
business days after the Title VI Compliance Worksheet submission 
deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for submitting a 
Title VI Compliance Worksheet after that time. Applicants must submit 
such request via an AMIS Service Request with a subject line of ``CMF--
Title VI Compliance Worksheet Deadline Extension Request.''

[[Page 11934]]

    (c) SF-424 Late Submission: In cases where a Federal Government 
administrative or technological error directly resulted in precluding 
an Applicant from submitting the SF-424 by the deadline, the Applicant 
must submit a Service Request in AMIS for acceptance of the late SF-424 
submission and include documentation of the error no later than two 
business days after the SF-424 deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond 
to requests for acceptance of late SF-424 submissions after that time 
period. Applicants must submit late SF-424 submission requests to the 
CDFI Fund via an AMIS Service Request to the CMF Program with a subject 
line of ``CMF Late SF-424 Submission Request.''
    (d) Application Late Submission: In cases where a Federal 
Government administrative or technological error directly resulted in 
precluding an Applicant from submitting the Application by the 
deadline, the Applicant must submit a Service Request in AMIS for 
acceptance of the late Application submission and include documentation 
of the error no later than two business days after the Application 
deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for acceptance of 
late Application submissions after that time period. Applicants must 
submit late Application submission requests to the CDFI Fund via an 
AMIS Service Request to the CMF Program with a subject line of ``CMF 
Late Application Submission Request.''
    5. Intergovernmental Review: Not Applicable.
    6. Funding Restrictions: CMF Awards are limited by the following:
    (a) A Recipient shall use CMF Award funds only for the eligible 
activities set forth in 12 CFR 1807.301 and as described in Section 
II.C and Section II.E of this NOFA and its Assistance Agreement.
    (b) A Recipient may not disburse CMF Award funds to an Affiliate, 
Subsidiary, or any other entity in any manner that would create a 
Subrecipient relationship (as defined in the Uniform Administrative 
Requirements) without the CDFI Fund's prior written approval.
    (c) CMF Award dollars shall only be paid to the Recipient.
    (d) The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay CMF Awards in 
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those 
requested by an Applicant. However, the CDFI Fund will not grant an 
Award in excess of the amount requested by the Applicant.
    (e) With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company 
Applicants, CMF Awards may not be passed through, transferred, or co-
awarded to, third-party entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or 
others, unless done pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar 
transaction, and with the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.

V. Application Review Information

    A. Criteria: All complete and eligible Applications will be 
reviewed in accordance with the criteria and procedures described in 
the CMF Interim Rule, this NOFA, the Application guidance, and the 
Uniform Administrative Requirements. As part of the review process, the 
CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Applicant by telephone, 
email, mail, or through an on-site visit for the sole purpose of 
clarifying or confirming Application information at any point during 
the review process. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to collect such 
additional information from Applicants as it deems appropriate. If 
contacted, the Applicant must respond within the time period 
communicated by the CDFI Fund or its Application may be rejected. For 
the sake of clarity, specific Application evaluation criteria are 
described in the context of the overall Application review and 
selection process described in Section V.B. below.
    B. Review and Selection Process: The CDFI Fund will evaluate each 
complete and eligible Application using the multi-phase review process 
described in this Section. For the first part of the review process, 
the External Review, the Applications will be grouped into two 
categories depending on their Entity Approach: (1) financing entities 
and (2) affordable housing developers/managers. All Applicants will be 
able to select the Entity Approach under which they are applying. 
However, all eligibility requirements described in Table 2, as either a 
Certified CDFI or Nonprofit Organization, must be met. In most cases, 
CDFIs will select the financing Entity Approach; however, a CDFI that 
is applying with a strategy to act as an affordable housing developer/
manager, and has a track record as an affordable housing developer/
manager, may select the affordable housing developer/manager approach. 
Separately, those Applicants applying using a Consortium Approach will 
also indicate that they are applying using the Consortium Approach. The 
Applications of the two Entity Approach classifications, and those 
using a Consortium Approach, will be evaluated based on the criteria 
listed in this section. Where appropriate, the CDFI Fund will use 
different criteria in order to evaluate the financial health, capacity, 
portfolio performance, and projected activities of the Applicant based 
on these distinct approaches. These differences are noted in the 
following sections and the Application Instructions.
    1. External Review and Quantitative Assessment: All eligible 
Applications will be evaluated through a Quantitative Assessment and 
External Review. The Quantitative Assessment evaluates the 
Application's quantitative factors and is performed automatically in 
AMIS. In the External Review, Applications will be separately scored by 
two or more external non-Federal reviewers who are selected based on 
criteria that include a professional background in affordable housing 
or in community and economic development finance with affordable 
housing experience. These reviewers must complete the CDFI Fund's 
conflict of interest process and be approved by the CDFI Fund. 
Reviewers will be assigned a set number of Applications to review, 
consisting of either Applicants with a financing Entity Approach, or 
Applicants with an affordable housing developer/manager approach. The 
reviewer will provide a score for each of the Applications assessed in 
accordance with the scoring criteria outlined in Section V.B.2 of this 
NOFA and the Application materials.
    The external reviewer's evaluation, in combination with the 
quantitative assessment factors, will result in the Application being 
awarded up to 100 points for each review scorecard. The majority of the 
score will be based on the external reviewer's evaluation. These points 
will be distributed across three sections: Business and Leveraging 
Strategy (40 possible points), Community Impact (35 possible points), 
and Organizational Capacity (25 possible points). As each Application 
is evaluated by two external reviewers, the maximum score each 
Application can receive is 200 points (100 points x 2 Reviewers).
    (a) Business and Leveraging Strategy (40 points): In the Business 
and Leveraging Strategy section, an Applicant will address: (i) the 
needs of communities and persons in the areas it proposes to serve with 
a CMF Award and the extent to which the proposed strategy addresses 
these needs; (ii) the affordable housing, economic development, and 
financing gaps addressed by its business strategy; (iii) the projected 
CMF activities and relevant track record; (iv) the role CMF will play 
in its project financing strategy; (v) its strategy for leveraging 
private capital with a CMF Award; and (vi) its strategy for leveraging 
its CMF Award at the Enterprise-level, through

[[Page 11935]]

reinvestments, and/or at the Project-level (as applicable).
    An Applicant will generally score more favorably in the criteria 
evaluated by the External Review and by the quantitative assessment 
factors to the extent that it: (i) clearly aligns its proposed CMF 
Award activities with the affordable housing needs and financing gaps 
it identifies; (ii) demonstrates that its CMF Award activities will 
result in more favorable financing rates and terms for Projects; (iii) 
demonstrates that its projected activities are achievable based on the 
Applicant's strategy and track record; (iv) describes a process for 
selecting projects that have a clear need for CMF financing; (v) has a 
credible pipeline of projects or can demonstrate clear demand for its 
proposed financial products from borrowers; (vi) has a clear strategy 
for and track record of leveraging private capital resulting in a 
higher multiplier of private leverage; (vii) has a clear strategy for 
attracting capital and demonstrates a track record of leveraging funds 
at the Enterprise-level, through reinvestments, and/or at the Project-
level (as applicable); and (viii) whether the Application is proposing 
to serve American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, or Wyoming.
    (b) Community Impact (35 points): In the Community Impact Section, 
the Applicant will address: (i) the extent to which the Applicant's 
strategy is likely to result in the selected Affordable Housing and/or 
Economic Development Activities impacts and its plan to track relevant 
outcome metrics; (ii) for rental housing, (a) its strategy for and 
track record of financing and/or supporting rental housing units 
located in Areas of Economic Distress or High Opportunity Areas; and 
(b) its strategy for and track record of financing rental housing units 
targeted to Very Low-Income (VLI) Families (50% of AMI or below); (iii) 
for Homeownership housing, its strategy for and track record of 
financing Homeownership units targeted to Low-Income (LI) Families (80% 
of AMI or below) or units located in Areas of Economic Distress 
targeted to Families with incomes above 80% and no greater than 120% of 
AMI; (iv) if applicable, its strategy for and track record of financing 
and/or supporting Economic Development Activities and how the projected 
activities will align with a Concerted Strategy and will benefit the 
residents of nearby Affordable Housing; and (v) commitment to and track 
record of serving Rural Areas.
    An Applicant will generally score more favorably in the criteria 
evaluated by the external reviewer and by the quantitative assessment 
factors to the extent that it: (i) demonstrates a clear strategy for 
achieving the selected Affordable Housing and/or Economic Development 
Activities impacts identified in the Application and it presents a 
clear and effective plan to track metrics related to relevant outcomes; 
(ii) if rental housing is proposed, demonstrates a compelling strategy 
for and track record of financing and/or supporting rental housing 
units located in Areas of Economic Distress and/or High Opportunity 
Areas, with the maximum score available to Applicants that propose to 
locate 85% of units in these areas; (iii) if rental housing is 
proposed, demonstrates a compelling strategy for and track record of 
financing and/or supporting rental housing units targeted to Very Low-
Income (VLI) Families (50% of AMI or below), with the maximum score 
available to Applications that propose to target at least 45% of units 
to Very Low-Income Families; (iv) if Homeownership is proposed, 
demonstrates a compelling strategy for and track record of financing 
and/or supporting Homeownership units either targeted to Low-Income 
Families (80% of AMI or below) or Homeownership units targeted to 
Eligible-Income Families (120% of AMI or below) located in Areas of 
Economic Distress, with the maximum score available to Applicants that 
propose to locate 100% of units in these categories; (v) if proposing 
Economic Development Activities, demonstrates how its proposed Economic 
Development Activities fit within a Concerted Strategy and will benefit 
the residents of the nearby Affordable Housing; and (vi) makes a 
commitment to invest at least 10% of the CMF Award in Rural Areas and 
presents a corresponding track record of serving Rural Areas.
    (c) Organizational Capacity (25 points): In the Organizational 
Capacity section, the Applicant will discuss: (i) its management team 
and key staff; (ii) the roles and responsibilities of those staff in 
managing the proposed CMF Award; (iii) its past experience managing 
Federal awards; (iv) its financial health; and (v) lending or property 
portfolio (as applicable).
    Applicant(s) will generally score more favorably in the criteria 
evaluated by the external reviewer and by the quantitative assessment 
factors to the extent that it demonstrates: (i) strong qualifications 
of its key personnel with respect to their skills and experience in 
identifying investments, underwriting or developing similar projects 
(as applicable), and managing a portfolio of similar activities and 
ensuring compliance with program requirements; (ii) a strong ability to 
successfully manage Federal awards based on experience managing prior 
Federal awards or administering State or local government awards, 
foundation grants, or other programs with complex compliance 
requirements; (iii) strong financial health, including but not limited 
to strong capitalization, sound operating performance, and strong 
liquidity; (iv) favorable audit results (e.g., opinion other than 
unqualified/unmodified) with no negative findings, including lack of a 
``going concern paragraph'', lack of repeat findings of reportable 
conditions, lack of material weaknesses in internal controls, lack of 
delinquencies on obligations to investors or lenders, and not having 
filed for bankruptcy or defaulted on financial obligations; and (v) 
solid portfolio performance (property portfolio or loan/investment 
portfolio, as applicable). CMF Program encourages first-time 
Applicants. Prior CMF Recipients will not receive a scoring advantage 
solely for having received a prior CMF Award.
    (d) Scoring anomaly: If, in the case of a particular Application, 
the reviewers' total External Review scores vary significantly from 
each other, the CDFI Fund may, in its sole discretion, obtain the 
evaluation and numeric scoring of an additional reviewer to determine 
whether the anomalous score should be replaced with the score of the 
additional reviewer.
    2. Internal Review: At the conclusion of the External Review phase, 
the CMF Program Manager will determine the overall number of 
Applications that will be initially forwarded for Internal Review. Each 
group of Applications (financing Entity Approach and affordable housing 
developer/manager approach) will be ranked separately based on their 
External Review score. The CMF Program Manager may initially forward an 
amount up to the highest scoring 50% of Applications from the External 
Review to the Internal Review, as long as the forwarded Applications 
reflect, within no more than 5% variance, the proportion of financing 
Entity Approach Applications to affordable housing developer/manager 
approach Applications in the overall Application Pool. Such 
Applications will be forwarded for Internal Review in descending order 
of External Review score. The forwarded Applications will be drawn from 
the financing Entity Approach and affordable housing developer/manager 
approach groups in proportion to each group's representation in the 
overall Application pool. This approach will ensure that the percentage 
of Applicants

[[Page 11936]]

with a financing Entity Approach and affordable housing developer/
manager approach initially forwarded to Internal Review reflects the 
proportion of these entity strategies within the overall Application 
pool, with no more than 5% variance.
    Subsequent to this step to ensure proportionality among Entity 
Approaches, additional Applications may be advanced to the Internal 
Review stage in order to further CMF statutory objectives, such as 
geographic diversity.
    These forwarded Applications will constitute the highly qualified 
pool. During the Internal Review, CDFI Fund staff will prioritize the 
Applications in the highly qualified pool for an Award based on the 
following criteria: (i) final External Review score; (ii) alignment 
with CMF statutory and policy priorities; (iii) the overall quality of 
the Applicant's strategy; and (iv) the Applicant's organizational 
capacity and financial health. The CDFI Fund will not attempt to ensure 
any specific balance of Applicants with a financing Entity Approach and 
Applicants with an affordable housing developer/manager approach in the 
final Award pool.
    In assessing the Applicant's organizational capacity, CDFI Fund 
staff will consider the following factors including, but not limited 
to, the Applicant's overall organizational and financial capacity, 
including: (i) its financial strength and ability, and its resources to 
adapt to changing market conditions and risks; (ii) its organizational 
strength as demonstrated by good management practices, risk management, 
and internal controls; (iii) key personnel with relevant experience and 
capacity; and (iv) relevant experience and capacity demonstrating 
ability to meet Federal award management standards (including 
performance with prior CDFI Fund awards). The CDFI Fund will also 
review OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility 
qualification and financial integrity information, as part of the 
assessment of organizational capacity. In the case of an Applicant that 
has received awards from other Federal programs, the CDFI Fund reserves 
the right to contact officials from the appropriate Federal agency or 
agencies to determine whether the Recipient is in compliance with 
current or prior award agreements, as well as to review the results of 
any Federal Single Audit, and to take such information into 
consideration before making a CMF Award.
    In assessing the Application's alignment with CMF statutory and 
policy priorities, CDFI Fund staff will consider the following factors 
including, but not limited to: (i) the likelihood of the Applicant to 
reach a minimum overall leverage multiplier of 10 times the Award 
amount or more; (ii) the amount of private capital it will leverage 
relative to the CMF Award; (iii) if rental housing is proposed, the 
Applicant's approach, track record, and ability to successfully 
finance/support at least 45% or more of its rental housing to serve 
Very Low-Income Families; (iv) if rental housing is proposed, the 
Applicant's approach, track record, and ability to successfully 
finance/support at least 85% or more of its rental housing in Areas of 
Economic Distress (AED) and/or High Opportunity Areas (HOA) as a 
percentage of its CMF rental portfolio; (v) if Homeownership is 
proposed, the Applicant's approach, track record, and ability to 
successfully finance/support 100% of its Homeownership units for (a) 
Families with incomes in excess of 80% but not greater than 120% of 
Area Median Income (AMI) located in an Area of Economic Distress (AED); 
or (b) Low-Income Families (80% AMI or below); or (c) a combination of 
(a) and (b); and (vi) the number of Affordable Housing units expected 
to be generated as a result of the Award.
    In assessing the quality of the Applicant's strategy, the CDFI Fund 
staff will consider the following factors, including, but not limited 
to: (i) the effectiveness and cohesiveness of the Applicant's strategy; 
(ii) how well the proposed financing activities will help close the 
financing gaps in their market, including more favorable rates and 
terms than are currently available in its Service Area; (iii) the 
Applicant's ability to execute its strategy and support its 
projections; (iv) how adaptable the Applicant's strategy is to changing 
market conditions; (v) the alignment between the proposed activities 
and strategy and the selected impacts and outcomes; and (vi) for 
Applicants proposing Economic Development Activities (EDA), the extent 
the activities are part of a Concerted Strategy, whether activities 
will benefit Affordable Housing residents, and the track record and 
capacity of the Applicant to carry out EDA.
    In addition to the criteria outlined above, the Applicant's ability 
to deploy the CMF Award in a timely manner will be a key determinant in 
funding recommendation. Deployment considerations may include the 
Applicant's track record of activities compared with projections, the 
Applicant's progress in committing and/or deploying past CMF Awards, 
and whether the Applicant received other recent CDFI Fund program 
award(s) for a similar business strategy as the proposed use of the CMF 
Award. The CDFI Fund may also consider the number of geographies served 
when determining funding recommendations.
    3. Scoring of Applicants Using a Consortium Approach: Applicants 
using a Consortium Approach will be evaluated and scored in the 
following manner: (a) Applicants will be evaluated as a Consortium and 
receive the same score on: (i) strategy; (ii) the needs and financing 
gaps addressed; (iii) track record; (iv) pipeline; (v) impact and 
metrics; (vi) geographic targets (Areas of Economic Distress and/or 
High Opportunity Areas); (vii) income targeting; (viii) key personnel; 
(ix) adaptability and community partnerships; (x) alignment with 
priorities; (xi) Project selection process; (xii) serving underserved 
areas; (xiii) resources to adapt to changing market conditions and 
risks; and (xiv) deployment capacity.
    (b) Applicants will be evaluated on a prorated basis and receive an 
individual score on: (i) Eligible Project Costs; (ii) unit production; 
and (iii) Leveraged Costs.
    (c) Applicants will be evaluated individually and receive an 
individual score on: (i) previous Federal award management; (ii) 
financial health; (iii) audit findings; (iv) portfolio performance; (v) 
the likelihood of reaching the minimum leverage multiplier; (vi) 
organizational strength; (vii) management practices; (viii) the ability 
to execute the strategy and projected activities; and (ix) commitment 
to serving Rural Areas. In the event that an Applicant(s) applying 
using a Consortium Approach does not sufficiently score to reach the 
highly qualified pool, the CDFI Fund will evaluate the remaining 
members of the Consortium using the Consortium Approach, provided there 
are at least two members remaining in the highly qualified pool. If 
there is only one member of the Consortium remaining in the highly 
qualified pool, the Applicant will be evaluated on an individual basis.
    4. Selection: Once Applications have been internally evaluated and 
preliminary Award determinations have been made, the Applications will 
be forwarded to the selecting official(s) for a final Award 
determination. After preliminary Award determinations are made, the 
selecting official(s) will review the list of potential Recipients to 
determine whether the Recipient pool meets the following statutory 
objectives:
    (a) The potential Recipients' proposed Service Areas collectively 
represent

[[Page 11937]]

broad geographic coverage throughout the United States; and
    (b) The potential Recipients' proposed activities equitably 
represent both Metropolitan Areas and Rural Areas. For the purposes of 
the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round, the term Rural Areas is defined per 12 
CFR 1282.1 (Enterprise Duty To Serve Final Rule) as (i) A census tract 
outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area as designated by the Office 
of Management and Budget; or (ii) A census tract in a Metropolitan 
Statistical Area as designated by the Office of Management and Budget 
that is outside of the Metropolitan Statistical Area's Urbanized Areas, 
as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural-
Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Code #1, and outside of tracts with a 
housing density of over 64 housing units per square mile for USDA's 
RUCA Code #2.
    As Rural Areas data for the Enterprise Duty to Serve Rule is not 
available for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands; all census tracts in these territories will be 
deemed as Rural census tracts for Awards issued under this NOFA. The 
CDFI Fund will publish a dataset indicating which census tracts are 
designated as Rural Areas for the FY 2024 CMF Funding Round on its 
website.
    In the event the preliminary Recipient pool does not reflect the 
geographic coverage or representation of Metropolitan and Rural Areas 
present in the overall Applicant pool, the CDFI Fund reserves the right 
to modify CMF Award amounts and/or the CMF Recipient pool if deemed 
necessary to achieve either of these statutory objectives. For the 
purposes of conducting this analysis, the CDFI Fund will classify 
Applications as addressing Rural Areas if they propose to use 20% or 
more of their Award in Rural Areas, and as addressing Metropolitan 
Areas if they propose to use less than 20% of their Award in Rural 
Areas.
    In order to evaluate the geographic coverage of the potential CMF 
Recipient pool, Applicants will be asked to designate one of the 
following two Service Area types in their Applications: Statewide or 
Multi-State. These Service Area types are further defined in the 
Application. Applicants planning to serve communities below the State 
level (cities, municipalities, counties, or regions) and within one 
State should designate their Service Area as Statewide. Similarly, an 
Applicant that is planning to serve communities below the State level, 
but in more than one State, should designate their Service Area as 
Multi-State. The smallest Service Area an Applicant can request is one 
State or U.S. Territory; the largest Service Area an Applicant can 
propose is a 15-state Multi-State Service Area. Applicants should 
indicate in the narrative portions of their Application if they plan to 
concentrate their CMF activities in a subset (e.g., a county or a 
Metropolitan Area) of their broader Service Area. If necessary to 
achieve proportional activity in Rural Areas and/or broader geographic 
coverage, the CDFI Fund may award Applications not in the preliminary 
Recipient pool, including Applications outside of the highly qualified 
pool, in the order of their Internal Review scoring ranking. During the 
selection process, the CDFI Fund also reserves the right to modify or 
place restrictions on the Service Area requested in any Application in 
order to further these statutory objectives. In the case of Applicants 
using a Consortium Approach, the Service Area designated by each 
Consortium member in its Application will be combined with the Service 
Area of the other members as part of the review process. This ensures 
all members are serving the same areas and that all members are able to 
invest in all CMF financed/supported projects of the Consortium. In 
cases where the selecting official's award determination varies 
significantly from the initial CMF Award amount recommended by the CDFI 
Fund staff review, the CMF Award recommendation will be forwarded to a 
reviewing official for final determination. The CDFI Fund, in its sole 
discretion, reserves the right to reject an Application and/or adjust 
CMF Award amounts as appropriate, based on information obtained during 
the review process.
    5. Insured Depository Institution Applicants: In the case of 
Applicants that are Insured Depository Institutions or Insured Credit 
Unions, the CDFI Fund will consider safety and soundness information 
from the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or Appropriate State 
Agency, as applicable. If the Applicant is a CDFI Depository 
Institution Holding Company, the CDFI Fund will consider information 
provided by the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency and Appropriate 
State Agency about both the CDFI Depository Institution Holding Company 
and the CDFI Insured Depository Institution that will expend and carry 
out the Award. If the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or Appropriate 
State Agency identifies safety and soundness concerns, the CDFI Fund 
will assess whether the concerns warrant that the Applicant is 
incapable of undertaking the activities for which funding has been 
requested.
    6. Right of Rejection: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to reject 
an Application if information (including administrative errors) comes 
to the attention of the CDFI Fund that adversely affects an Applicant's 
eligibility for an Award, adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation 
or scoring of an Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on 
the Applicant's part, including mismanagement of another Federal award. 
If the CDFI Fund determines that any portion of the Application is 
incorrect in any material respect, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in 
its sole discretion, to reject the Application. The CDFI Fund reserves 
the right to change its eligibility and evaluation criteria and 
procedures, if the CDFI Fund deems it appropriate. If said changes 
materially affect the CDFI Fund's Award decisions, the CDFI Fund will 
provide information regarding the changes through the CDFI Fund's 
website. In instances where an Applicant submits an Application which 
references the track record or projections of an Affiliate, the CDFI 
Fund reserves the right to review that Affiliate's principal business 
purpose to determine if it is consistent with the mission of the CMF 
Applicant, and reject the Application if it is found to be inconsistent 
with the mission of the CMF Applicant, as determined by the CDFI Fund, 
in its sole discretion. There is no right to appeal the CDFI Fund's 
Award decisions. The CDFI Fund's Award decisions are final.
    7. Anticipated Award Announcement: The CDFI Fund anticipates making 
CMF Award announcements in calendar year 2024.

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

    A. Award Notification: Each successful Applicant will receive 
notification from the CDFI Fund stating that its Application has been 
approved for an Award. Each Applicant not selected for an Award will 
receive notification and be provided a debriefing document in its AMIS 
account.
    B. Administrative and Policy Requirements Prior to Entering into an 
Assistance Agreement: The CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without 
advance notice to the Recipient, terminate the Award or take other 
actions as it deems appropriate if, prior to entering into an 
Assistance Agreement, information (including an administrative error) 
comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that adversely affects the 
following: the Recipient's eligibility

[[Page 11938]]

for an Award; the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the Application; the 
Recipient's compliance with any requirement listed in the Uniform 
Requirements; or indications of fraud or mismanagement on the 
Recipient's part, including mismanagement of another Federal award.
    If the Recipient's CDFI certification status changes prior to 
entering into an Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to re-evaluate the CMF Award, or modify 
the Assistance Agreement based on the Recipient's non-CDFI status.
    By receiving notification of a CMF Award, the Recipient agrees 
that, if the CDFI Fund becomes aware of any information (including an 
administrative error) prior to the Effective Date of the Assistance 
Agreement that either adversely affects the Recipient's eligibility for 
an CMF Award, adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the 
Recipient's Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the 
part of the Recipient, the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without 
advance notice to the Recipient, rescind the notice of award or take 
other actions as it deems appropriate.
    The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to 
rescind an Award if the Recipient fails to return the Assistance 
Agreement, signed by an Authorized Representative of the Recipient, 
and/or provide the CDFI Fund with any other requested documentation, 
within the CDFI Fund's deadlines.
    In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to terminate and rescind the Assistance Agreement and the 
Award made under this NOFA for any criteria described in Table 7:

    Table 7--Requirements Prior To Executing an Assistance Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Requirement                            Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure to meet reporting       If an Applicant received a prior
 requirements.                  award or allocation under any CDFI Fund
                                program and is not current on the
                                reporting requirements set forth in the
                                previously executed assistance, award,
                                allocation, bond loan agreement(s), or
                                agreement to guarantee, as of the date
                                of the notice of award, the CDFI Fund
                                reserves the right, in its sole
                                discretion, to delay entering into an
                                Assistance Agreement and/or to delay
                                making a Payment of CMF Award, until
                                said prior Recipient or allocatee is
                                current on the reporting requirements in
                                the previously executed assistance,
                                award, allocation, bond loan
                                agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee.
                                If such a prior Recipient or
                                allocatee is unable to meet this
                                requirement within the timeframe set by
                                the CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves
                                the right, in its sole discretion, to
                                terminate and rescind the notice of
                                award and the CMF Award made under this
                                NOFA.
                                Please note that automated
                                systems employed by the CDFI Fund for
                                receipt of reports submitted
                                electronically typically acknowledge
                                only a report's receipt; such
                                acknowledgment does not warrant that the
                                report received was complete, nor that
                                it met reporting requirements. If said
                                prior Recipient or allocatee is unable
                                to meet this requirement within the
                                timeframe set by the CDFI Fund, the CDFI
                                Fund reserves the right, in its sole
                                discretion, to terminate and rescind the
                                notice of award and the CMF Award made
                                under this NOFA.
Failure to maintain CDFI        A Recipient must be a Certified
 Certification (if              CDFI or an eligible Nonprofit
 applicable) or eligible        Organization, as each is defined in the
 Nonprofit Organization         CMF Interim Rule and this NOFA, prior to
 status (if applicable).        entering into an Assistance Agreement.
                                If the Applicant is unable to
                                meet this requirement, in the sole
                                determination of the CDFI Fund, the CDFI
                                Fund reserves the right, in its sole
                                discretion, to delay entering into an
                                Assistance Agreement, to delay making a
                                Payment of CMF Award, and/or to
                                terminate and rescind the notice of
                                award and the CMF Award made under this
                                NOFA.
Pending resolution of default   The CDFI Fund will delay
 or noncompliance.              entering into an Assistance Agreement
                                with a Recipient that has pending
                                default or noncompliance issues with any
                                of its previously executed CDFI Fund
                                award(s), allocation(s), bond loan
                                agreement(s), or agreement(s) to
                                guarantee.
                                If said prior Recipient or
                                allocatee is unable satisfactorily
                                resolve the compliance issues, the CDFI
                                Fund reserves the right, in its sole
                                discretion, to terminate and rescind the
                                notice of award and the CMF Award made
                                under this NOFA.
Default or Noncompliance        If, at any time prior to
 status.                        entering into an Assistance Agreement,
                                the CDFI Fund determines that an
                                Applicant (or an Affiliate of the
                                Applicant identified in AMIS) that is a
                                prior CDFI Fund Recipient or allocatee
                                under any CDFI Fund program is
                                noncompliant or found in default with
                                any previously executed award
                                agreement(s), assistance agreement(s),
                                allocation agreement(s), bond loan
                                agreement(s), or agreement(s) to
                                guarantee) and the CDFI Fund has
                                provided written notification that the
                                Applicant is ineligible to apply for or
                                receive any future awards or allocations
                                for a time period specified by the CDFI
                                Fund in writing, the CDFI Fund may, in
                                its sole discretion, delay entering into
                                an Assistance Agreement with Applicant
                                until the Recipient has cured the
                                default or noncompliance by taking
                                actions the CDFI Fund has specified in
                                writing within such specified timeframe.
                                If the Recipient is unable to cure the
                                default or noncompliance within the
                                specified timeframe, the CDFI Fund may
                                modify or rescind all or a portion of
                                the CMF Award made under this NOFA.
Compliance with Federal civil  If, within the period starting three
 rights requirements.           years prior to this NOFA and through the
                                date of the Assistance Agreement, the
                                Recipient received a final
                                determination, in any proceeding
                                instituted against the Recipient in, by,
                                or before any court, governmental, or
                                administrative body or agency, declaring
                                that the Recipient violated any Federal
                                civil rights laws or regulations,
                                including, but not limited to: Title VI
                                of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
                                amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); the
                                Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et
                                seq.); the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
                                (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.); section 504 of
                                the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
                                U.S.C. 794); the Age Discrimination Act
                                of 1975, (42 U.S.C. 6101-6107), and
                                Title IX of the Education Amendments of
                                1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), the CDFI
                                Fund may terminate and rescind the
                                Assistance Agreement and the Award made
                                under this NOFA. The CDFI Fund will
                                delay entering into an Assistance
                                Agreement with a Recipient that has
                                pending Title VI noncompliance issues,
                                if the CDFI Fund has not yet made a
                                final compliance determination.
                                If the Recipient is unable to
                                satisfactorily resolve the Title VI
                                noncompliance issues, the CDFI Fund may
                                terminate and rescind the Assistance
                                Agreement and the award made under this
                                NOFA.
                                The Title VI Compliance
                                Worksheet and program award terms and
                                conditions do not impose
                                antidiscrimination requirements on
                                Tribal governments beyond what would
                                otherwise apply under Federal law.
Debarment/Do Not Pay.........   The Do Not Pay Business Center
                                was developed to support Federal
                                agencies in their efforts to reduce the
                                number of improper payments made through
                                programs funded by the Federal
                                Government. The Do Not Pay Business
                                Center provides delinquency information
                                to the CDFI Fund to assist with the
                                debarment check.
                                The CDFI Fund reserves the
                                right, in its sole discretion, to
                                rescind an Award if the Recipient (or
                                Affiliate of Recipient identified in
                                AMIS) is identified as being delinquent
                                on any Federal debt in the Do Not Pay
                                database.
Safety and soundness.........   If it is determined that the
                                Recipient is or will be incapable of
                                meeting its CMF Award obligations, the
                                CDFI Fund will deem the Recipient to be
                                ineligible or require it to improve
                                safety and soundness conditions prior to
                                entering into an Assistance Agreement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 11939]]

    C. Assistance Agreement: Each Applicant that is selected to receive 
an Award under this NOFA must enter into an Assistance Agreement with 
the CDFI Fund in order to become a Recipient and receive Payment. Each 
CMF Award under this NOFA generally will have a period of performance 
that begins with the announcement date of the Award and continues until 
the end of the period of affordability, as set forth at 12 CFR 
1807.401(d) and 12 CFR 1807.402, and as further set forth in the 
Assistance Agreement.
    1. The Assistance Agreement will set forth certain required terms 
and conditions of the CMF Award, which will include, but not be limited 
to:
    (a) The amount of the Award;
    (b) The approved uses of the Award;
    (c) The approved Service Area in which the Award may be used. 
Applicants selected for a CMF Award will be allowed to use up to 15% of 
the Award amount outside of their approved Service Area at their 
discretion. Moreover, they will be able to reinvest Program Income from 
the CMF Award anywhere in the United States, including the U.S. 
territories.
    (d) Performance goals and measures;
    (e) Reinvestment requirements for Program Income; and
    (f) Reporting requirements for all Recipients.
    2. Prior to executing the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund may, 
in its discretion, allow Recipients to request changes to the Service 
Area of the Award and certain performance goals and measures. The CDFI 
Fund, in its sole determination, may approve or reject these requested 
changes or propose other modifications, including a reduction in the 
Award amount. The CDFI Fund will only approve performance goals and 
measures or Service Area changes if it determines that such requested 
changes do not undermine the competitive process upon which the CMF 
Award determination was made. The CDFI Fund may also, in its 
discretion, provide Recipients the opportunity to add States to their 
Service Area in order to serve States not already covered in the Award 
pool and to further HERA's goal that the CMF serve geographically 
diverse areas of every State. The CDFI Fund may also, in its 
discretion, provide Recipients the opportunity to add States to its 
approved Service Area in order to serve geographies for which: (i) the 
President issued a ``major disaster declaration,'' and (ii) the major 
disaster declaration makes such geographies eligible for both 
``individual and public assistance.'' The major disaster declaration 
must be made after the publication date of this NOFA and prior to the 
execution of the Recipient's Assistance Agreement. In these cases, the 
CDFI Fund may allow a Recipient to exceed the maximum 15 state Service 
Area, if applicable. Any modifications agreed upon prior to the 
execution of the Assistance Agreement will become a condition of the 
Award. Recipients may utilize up to 15% of their Award to undertake 
Activities outside of their Service Area at their discretion.
    3. The Assistance Agreement shall provide that, prior to any 
determination by the CDFI Fund that a Recipient has failed to comply 
substantially with the Act, the CMF Interim Rule, or the environmental 
quality regulations, the CDFI Fund shall provide the Recipient with 
reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard. If the Recipient fails 
to comply substantially with the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund 
may:
    (a) Require changes in the performance goals set forth in the 
Assistance Agreement;
    (b) Reduce or terminate the CMF Award; or
    (c) Require repayment of any CMF Award that has been distributed to 
the Recipient.
    4. The Assistance Agreement shall also provide that, if the CDFI 
Fund determines noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the 
Assistance Agreement on the part of the Recipient, the CDFI Fund may:
    (a) Bar the Recipient from reapplying for any assistance from the 
CDFI Fund; or
    (b) Take such other actions as the CDFI Fund deems appropriate or 
as set forth in the Assistance Agreement.
    5. In addition to entering into an Assistance Agreement, each 
Applicant, that is not a Regulated Institution, selected to receive a 
CMF Award must furnish to the CDFI Fund a certificate of good standing 
from the jurisdiction in which it was formed. The CDFI Fund may, in its 
sole discretion or in lieu of a certificate of good standing, also 
require the Applicant to furnish an opinion from its legal counsel, the 
content of which may be further specified in the Assistance Agreement, 
and which, among other matters, opines that:
    (a) The Recipient is duly formed and in good standing in the 
jurisdiction in which it was formed and the jurisdiction(s) in which it 
transacts business;
    (b) The Recipient has the authority to enter into the Assistance 
Agreement and undertake the activities that are specified therein;
    (c) The Recipient 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;
    (d) The Recipient is not in default of its articles of 
incorporation or formation, bylaws or operating agreements, other 
organizational or establishing documents, or any agreements with the 
Federal Government;
    (e) The CMF affordability restrictions that are required to be 
imposed by deed restrictions, covenants running with the land, or other 
CDFI Fund approved mechanisms are recordable and enforceable under the 
laws of the State and locality where the Recipient will undertake its 
CMF activities;
    (f) If applicable, the Recipient is exempt from Federal income 
taxation pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
    (g) If applicable, the Recipient is designated as a nonprofit or 
not for profit entity under the laws of the organization's State of 
formation.
    As a condition of closing on the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI 
Fund will require a CMF Recipient Consortium Member Agreement to 
specify the binding commitments of each member awarded under a 
Consortium Approach.
    6. Closing and Payment of the Award: Pursuant to the Assistance 
Agreement, there will be an initial closing at which point the 
Assistance Agreement and related documents will be properly executed 
and delivered, and a Payment of the CMF Award is made. Recipients of 
CMF Awards will have the option to choose Payment of the Award in a 
Lump Sum Payment \4\ or, in two Payments, an Initial Payment \5\ and 
Subsequent Payment,\6\ each no more than one year apart, as set forth 
in the Assistance Agreement. If the Applicant elects to receive the 
Award in two Payments, they must specify an Initial Payment amount in 
the Application. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to adjust the Initial 
Payment amount based on the total Award amount so that no payment is 
less than $500,000. For example, if awarded $950,000 and the Initial 
Payment amount requested in the Application was $500,000, per the rule 
above, the CDFI Fund would disburse a single $950,000 Lump Sum Payment 
to the Recipient, pursuant to the Assistance Agreement.
    The Payment option election will affect the required date of 
Commitment of the Award but will not affect or change any other 
performance goal(s) or requirement(s) set forth in the Assistance 
Agreement, including the

[[Page 11940]]

requirement that all Projects must achieve Project Completion within 
five years of the Effective Date of the Assistance Agreement. The Lump 
Sum Payment or Initial Payment must be committed for use two years 
after the Effective Date of the Assistance Agreement. The Subsequent 
Payment must be committed three years after the Effective Date of the 
Assistance Agreement.
    Following the initial closing of the Assistance Agreement, for 
those Recipients who opted for and qualify for two Payments, there will 
be a subsequent closing involving the additional Award payment. In 
addition to the Assistance Agreement, any documentation that is related 
to the subsequent closing and payment shall be properly executed and 
delivered in a timely manner by the Recipient to the CDFI Fund.
    D. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35), an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information, and an individual is not required to respond to a 
collection of information, unless it displays a valid OMB control 
number. If applicable, the CDFI Fund may inform Applicants that they do 
not need to provide certain Application information otherwise required. 
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Capital Magnet Fund 
Application has been assigned the following control number: 1559-0036.
    E. Reporting: The CDFI Fund will require each Recipient that 
receives a CMF Award through this NOFA to account for and report to the 
CDFI Fund on the use of the CMF Award. This will require Recipients to 
establish administrative controls, subject to the UAR and other 
applicable OMB guidance. The CDFI Fund will collect information from 
each such Recipient on its use of the CMF Award annually, following 
Payment, and more often if deemed appropriate by the CDFI Fund in its 
sole discretion. The CDFI Fund will provide guidance to Recipients 
outlining the format and content of the information required to be 
provided to describe how the Award funds were used.
    The CDFI Fund may collect information from each Recipient 
including, but not limited to, an annual report with the components 
listed in Table 8:

                    Table 8--Reporting Requirements *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Criteria                           Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single Audit (if applicable).  A non-profit Recipient must complete an
                                annual Single Audit pursuant to the
                                Uniform Requirements (2 CFR 200.501) if
                                it expends $750,000 or more in Federal
                                awards in its fiscal year, or such other
                                dollar threshold established by OMB
                                pursuant to 2 CFR 200.501. If a Single
                                Audit is required, it must be submitted
                                electronically to the Federal Audit
                                Clearinghouse (FAC) (see 2 CFR Subpart F-
                                Audit Requirements in the Uniform
                                Requirements) and optionally through
                                AMIS.
Financial Statement Audit....  For-profit and nonprofit Recipients must
                                submit a Financial Statement Audit (FSA)
                                report in AMIS, along with the
                                Recipient's statement of financial
                                condition audited or reviewed by an
                                independent certified public accountant.
Federal Financial Report/OMB   Recipient must submit the SF-425 Federal
 Standard Form 425 (SF-425).    Financial Report to disclose how much of
                                the Program Award funds were expended
                                during the Federal Government's fiscal
                                year of October 1 through September 30.
Performance Report...........  The Recipient must submit a performance
                                report not less than annually, which is
                                a progress report on the Recipient's use
                                of the CMF Award towards meeting its
                                performance goals, Affordable Housing
                                outcomes, and the Recipient's overall
                                performance. The CMF Performance Report
                                covers the Announcement Date through the
                                Investment Period for the CMF Award and
                                the ten-year Affordability Period for
                                each Project. The Investment Period
                                shall mean the period beginning with the
                                Effective Date of the Assistance
                                Agreement and ending no earlier than the
                                five-year anniversary of the Effective
                                Date, or as otherwise established in the
                                Assistance Agreement. The Affordability
                                Period shall mean, for each Project, the
                                period beginning on the date when the
                                Project is placed into service and
                                consisting of the full ten consecutive
                                years thereafter, or as otherwise
                                established in the Assistance Agreement.
                               If the Recipient fails to meet a
                                performance goal or reporting
                                requirements, it must submit an
                                explanation of noncompliance via AMIS.
Environmental Review.........  The Recipient shall submit the
                                Environmental Review Notification Report
                                each time the Recipient identifies a new
                                proposed CMF Project for which (i) a
                                categorical exclusion does not apply and/
                                or (ii) the Recipient determines that
                                the proposed Project does involve
                                actions that normally require an
                                Environmental Impact Statement, as
                                described in 12 CFR part 1815. The
                                Environmental Review Notification Report
                                must be submitted to the CDFI Fund no
                                later than one hundred eighty (180) days
                                prior to the date that the funds are
                                Committed to a Project.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is information, which if
  lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in
  substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an
  individual. Although Applicants are required to enter addresses of
  homes and other properties in AMIS, Applicants should not include the
  following PII for the individuals who received the financial products
  or services in AMIS or in the supporting documentation (i.e., name of
  the individual, Social Security Number, driver's license or State
  identification number, passport number, Alien Registration Number,
  etc.). This information should be redacted from all supporting
  documentation (if applicable).

    Each Recipient is responsible for the timely and complete 
submission of the annual reporting documents. The CDFI Fund will use 
such information to monitor each Recipient's compliance with the 
requirements set forth in the Assistance Agreement and to assess the 
impact of the CMF Award. The CDFI 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 Recipients.
    F. Financial Management and Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require 
Recipients to maintain financial management and accounting systems that 
comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions 
of the CMF Award. These systems must be sufficient to permit the 
preparation of reports required by general and program specific terms 
and conditions, including the tracing of funds to a level of 
expenditures adequate to establish that such funds have been used in 
accordance with the Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and 
conditions of the CMF Award.
    The cost principles used by Recipients must be consistent with 
Federal cost principles, must support the accumulation of costs as 
required by the principles, and must provide for adequate documentation 
to support costs charged to the CMF Award. In addition, the CDFI Fund 
will require Recipients to: maintain effective internal controls; 
comply with applicable statutes and regulations, the Assistance 
Agreement, and related guidance; evaluate and monitor compliance; take 
action when not in compliance; and safeguard Personally Identifiable 
Information (PII).

VII. Agency Contacts

    A. Availability: The CDFI Fund will respond to questions and 
provide support concerning this NOFA and the Application between the 
hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, starting on the date of the 
publication of this NOFA until the close of business on the second 
business day preceding the Application

[[Page 11941]]

deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond to questions or provide 
support concerning the Application that are received after 5:00 p.m. ET 
on said date, until after the Application deadline. CDFI Fund IT 
support will be available until 5:00 p.m. ET on date of the Application 
deadline. Application Instructions and other information regarding the 
CDFI Fund and its programs may be obtained from the CDFI Fund's website 
at http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf. The CDFI Fund will post on its website 
responses to questions of general applicability regarding the CMF.
    B. The CDFI Fund's Contact Information is Listed in Table 9:

                                          Table 9--Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Telephone number
           Type of question                  Preferred method        (not toll free)        Email addresses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CMF Program and Application Questions.  Submit a Service Request         202-653-0421  [email protected].
                                         in AMIS.
CDFI Certification....................  Submit a Service Request         202-653-0423  [email protected].
                                         in AMIS.
Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation..  Submit a Service Request         202-653-0423  [email protected].
                                         in AMIS.
Information Technology Support........  Submit a Service Request         202-653-0422  [email protected].
                                         in AMIS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The preferred method of contact is to submit a Service Request 
within AMIS. For a CMF Application question, select ``Capital Magnet 
Fund'' for the program. For a CDFI Certification question, select 
``Certification.'' For a Compliance question, select ``Compliance & 
Reporting.'' For Information Technology, select ``Technical Issues.'' 
Failure to select the appropriate program for the Service Request could 
result in delays in responding to your question.
    C. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The CDFI Fund will use AMIS to 
communicate with Applicants and Recipients, using the contact 
information maintained in their respective AMIS accounts. Therefore, 
the Recipient and any Subsidiaries, signatories, and Affiliates must 
maintain accurate contact information (including contact persons and 
Authorized Representatives, email addresses, fax numbers, phone 
numbers, and office addresses) in its AMIS account(s). For more 
information about AMIS please see the Help documents posted at https://amis.cdfifund.gov/Training.
    D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any person who is eligible to 
receive benefits or services from the CDFI Fund or Recipients under any 
of its programs or activities is entitled to those benefits or services 
without being subject to prohibited discrimination. The Department of 
the Treasury's Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity 
enforces various Federal statutes and regulations that prohibit 
discrimination in financially assisted and conducted programs and 
activities of the CDFI Fund. If a person believes that they have been 
subjected to discrimination and/or reprisal because of race, color, 
religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, familial status, 
disability and/or reprisal, that person may file a complaint with: 
Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity, 1500 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20220 or (202) 622-1160 (not a 
toll-free number).
    E. Statutory and National Policy Requirements: The CDFI Fund will 
manage and administer the Federal award in a manner so as to ensure 
that Federal funding is expended and associated programs are 
implemented in full accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Federal Law, 
and public policy requirements, including, but not limited to: those 
protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare, and the 
environment; and those prohibiting discrimination.
    Authority: Public Law 110-289. 12 U.S.C. 4701, 12 CFR part 1805, 12 
CFR part 1807, 12 CFR part 1815, 12 U.S.C. 4502.

Marcia Sigal,
Acting Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

FY 2024 CMF Program NOFA Footnotes

    \1\ (A) Applicants with a 6/30 fiscal year end date, or 9/30 
fiscal year end date, and a completed FY 2023 audit will treat FY 
2023 as their most recent historic fiscal year. (B) Applicants with 
a 6/30 fiscal year end date, or a 9/30 fiscal year end date, but 
without a completed FY 2023 audit will treat FY 2022 as their most 
recent historic fiscal year. (C) Applicants with a 3/31 fiscal year 
end date will treat FY 2023 as their most recent historic fiscal 
year. (D) Applicants with a 12/31 fiscal year end date will treat FY 
2022 as their most recent historic fiscal year.
    \2\ Regulated Institutions include Insured Credit Unions, 
Insured Depository Institutions, State-Insured Credit Unions, and 
Depository Institution Holding Companies.
    \3\ The Management Letter may include suggestions for improving 
identified weaknesses and deficiencies and/or best practice 
suggestions for items that may not be considered to be weaknesses or 
deficiencies. The Management Letter may also include items that are 
not required to be disclosed in the annual audited financial 
statements. The Management Letter is distinct from the auditor's 
Opinion Letter, which is required by Generally Accepted Accounting 
Principles (GAAP). Management Letters are not required by GAAP and 
are sometimes provided by the auditor as a separate letter from the 
audit itself.
    \4\``Lump Sum Payment'' shall mean one single payment which 
comprises the entire CMF Award.
    \5\ ``Initial Payment'' shall mean the first Payment from the 
CDFI Fund to the Recipient at Closing.
    \6\ ``Subsequent Payment'' shall mean a second Payment 
representing the balance of the CMF Award in the case where a 
Recipient exercises its option to receive the CMF Award in two 
Payments.

[FR Doc. 2024-03152 Filed 2-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-05-P