Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 70307

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund 

Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of 

Funds Availability (NOFA) inviting 

applications for the FY 2005 funding 

round of the Technical Assistance 

Component of the Community 

Development Financial Institutions 

Program. 

Announcement Type: Initial 

announcement of funding opportunity. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CDFA) Number: 21.020.

DATES: Applications for the FY 2005 

funding round must be received by 5 

p.m. ET on January 25, 2005. All 

applications submitted must meet all 

eligibility and other requirements and 

deadlines, as applicable, set forth in this 

NOFA. Applications received after 5 

p.m. ET on the applicable deadline will 

be rejected and returned to the sender. 

Executive Summary: This NOFA is 

issued in connection with the FY 2005 

funding round of the Technical 

Assistance (TA) Component of the 

Community Development Financial 

Institutions (CDFI) Program. Through 

the TA Component, the Community 

Development Financial Institutions 

Fund (the Fund) provides TA grants to 

CDFIs and entities proposing to become 

CDFIs in order to build their capacity to 

better address the community 

development and capital access needs of 

their particular target markets. Eligible 

uses of TA grant funds are set forth in 

section I.B of this NOFA. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description; 

Award Information 

A. Award Information 

Through this NOFA, the Fund intends 

to provide TA grants to build Awardee 

capacity to serve Target Market(s). 

Subject to funding availability, the Fund 

expects that it may award 

approximately $2 million in 

appropriated funds through this NOFA. 

The Fund reserves the right to award in 

excess of $2 million in appropriated 

funds under this NOFA, provided that 

the funds are available and the Fund 

deems it appropriate. Through this 

NOFA, the Fund anticipates making 

awards up to $50,000 each. The Fund, 

in its sole discretion, reserves the right 

to award amounts in excess of or less 

than the anticipated maximum award 

amount if the Fund deems it 

appropriate. Further, the Fund reserves 

the right to fund, in whole or in part, 

any, all, or none of the applications 

submitted in response to this NOFA. 

The Fund reserves the right to reallocate funds from the amount that is 

anticipated to be available under this 

NOFA to other Fund programs, 

particularly if the Fund determines that 

the number of awards made under this 

NOFA is fewer than projected. 

B. Types of Awards 

TA awards are in the form of grants. 

An Applicant may submit an 

application for a TA grant only under 

this NOFA. Entities seeking financial 

assistance (FA) awards or a combination 

of FA awards and TA grants should 

apply for funds through the FA 

Component or the Native American 

CDFI Assistance (NACA) Component of 

the CDFI Program. 

The Fund reserves the right, in its sole 

discretion, to provide a TA grant for 

uses and amounts other than that which 

is requested by an Applicant. 

Applicants for TA grants under this 

NOFA shall describe the type(s) of TA 

requested, when the TA will be 

acquired, the provider(s) of the TA, the 

cost of the TA, and a narrative 

description of how the TA will enhance 

their ability to serve their Target 

Market(s). 

Eligible types of TA grant uses 

include, but are not limited to, the 

following: (1) Acquiring consulting 

services; (2) paying staff salary for the 

limited purposes of completing tasks 

and/or fulfilling functions that are 

otherwise eligible TA grant uses under 

this NOFA; (3) acquiring/enhancing 

technology including, but not limited to, 

upgrading the organization’s capacity to 

collect, electronically track, and report 

community development impact data; 

and (4) acquiring training for staff or 

management. 

The Fund will generally not consider 

requests for TA grants under this NOFA 

for expenses that, in the determination 

of the Fund, are deemed to be ongoing 

operating expenses rather than 

nonrecurring expenses. The Fund will 

consider requests for use of TA to pay 

for staff salary only when the applicant 

demonstrates, to the Fund’s satisfaction, 

that: 

(i) The staff salary relates directly to 

building the applicant’s capacity to 

serve its target market, including its 

ability to collect, electronically track 

and report community development 

impact data; 

(ii) The proposed staff time to be paid 

for by the TA grant will be used for a 

non-recurring activity that will build the 

applicant’s capacity to achieve its 

objectives as set forth in its application; 

(iii) The proposed capacity-building 

activity would otherwise be contracted 

to a consultant or not be undertaken; 

and 

(iv) The staff person assigned to the 

proposed task has the competence to 

successfully complete the activity. The 

Fund may consider funding requests for 

other staff salary uses, deemed 

appropriate by the Fund in its sole 

discretion, particularly for applicants 

that have been in operation 24 months 

or less as of the date of application.

Further guidance on the limited uses 

of TA grants for staff salary 

expenditures is available on the Fund’s 

Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. 

C. Notice of Award; Assistance 

Agreement 

Each Awardee under this NOFA must 

sign a Notice of Award (for further 

information, see Section V.A, below) 

and an Assistance Agreement (see 

Section V.B, below) prior to 

disbursement by the Fund of award 

proceeds. The Notice of Award and the 

Assistance Agreement contain the terms 

and conditions of the award. 

D. CDFI Program Regulations/Interim 

Rule 

The regulations governing the CDFI 

Program can be found at 12 CFR part 

1805 (the Interim Rule) and provide 

guidance on evaluation criteria and 

other requirements of the CDFI Program. 

The Fund encourages Applicants to 

review the Interim Rule. Detailed 

application content requirements are 

found in the application related to this 

NOFA. Each capitalized term in this 

NOFA is more fully defined in the 

Interim Rule or the application. 

II. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants 

The Interim Rule specifies the 

eligibility requirements that each 

Applicant must meet in order to be 

eligible to apply for assistance under 

this NOFA. The following sets forth 

additional detail and dates that relate to 

the submission of applications under 

this NOFA: 

1. CDFI Certification: For purposes of 

this NOFA, eligible Applicants include: 

(a) Any certified CDFI whose 

certification has not expired and/or that 

has not been notified by the Fund that 

its certification has been terminated 

must submit a ‘‘Certification of Material 

Change Form’’ to the Fund not later 

than January 14, 2005, in accordance 

with the instructions on the Fund’s Web 

site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Failure 

to timely submit said form may result in 

the funding application being deemed 

fatally incomplete and rejected without 

further review. Please note that the 

Fund provided a number of CDFIs with 

certifications expiring in 2003 through 

70308 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 

2005 with written notification that their 

certifications have been extended. The 

Fund will consider the extended 

certification date (the later date) to 

determine whether those CDFIs meet 

this eligibility requirement; or 

(b) Any Applicant from which the 

Fund receives a complete CDFI 

certification application no later than 

January 14, 2005, evidencing that the 

Applicant can be certified as a CDFI. 

Applicants may obtain CDFI 

certification applications through the 

Fund’s Web site at http://

www.cdfifund.gov. Applications for 

certification must be submitted as 

instructed in the application form; or 

(c) An entity that demonstrates to the 

satisfaction of the Fund that it has a 

reasonable plan to become a certified 

CDFI by January 31, 2007. Such 

Applicants must complete the related 

information in the application and must 

be certified by said date. 

2. Prior Awardees: Applicants must be 

aware that success in a prior round of 

any of the Fund’s programs is not 

indicative of success under this NOFA. 

Prior awardees are eligible to apply 

under this NOFA, except as follows: 

(a) Non-certified Applicants. Any 

entity that has received a Notice of 

Award from the Fund for a prior 

funding round of the CDFI Program or 

the Native Initiatives Funding Programs, 

but that has not submitted a CDFI 

certification application nor been 

certified as a CDFI, is not eligible to 

receive funding under this NOFA (see 

Section II.A.2, above). 

(b) $5 Million Funding Cap. The Fund 

is generally prohibited from obligating 

more than $5 million in assistance, in 

the aggregate, to any one organization 

and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates 

during any three-year period. For the 

purposes of this NOFA, the period 

extends back three years from the date 

that the Fund signs a Notice of Award 

issued to an Awardee under this NOFA. 

(c) Failure to Meet Reporting 

Requirements. The Fund will not 

consider an application submitted by an 

Applicant if that Applicant, or an entity 

that Controls the Applicant, is 

Controlled by the Applicant, or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program and is not 

current on the reporting requirements 

set forth in any previously executed 

assistance, allocation or award 

agreement(s) with the Fund, as of the 

application deadline of this NOFA. 

Please note that the Fund only 

acknowledges the receipt of reports that 

are complete. As such, incomplete 

reports or reports that are deficient of 

required elements will not be 

recognized as having been received. 

(d) Pending Resolution of 

Noncompliance. If (i) an Applicant is a 

prior Awardee or allocatee under any 

Fund program and has submitted 

complete and timely reports to the Fund 

that demonstrate noncompliance with a 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, and (ii) the Fund has yet to 

make a final determination as to 

whether the entity is in default of its 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, then the Fund will consider 

the Applicant’s application under this 

NOFA pending final resolution, in the 

sole determination of the Fund, of the 

instance of noncompliance. Further, if 

(i) another entity that Controls the 

Applicant, is Controlled by the 

Applicant, or shares common 

management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund) 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

and such entity has submitted complete 

and timely reports to the Fund that 

demonstrate noncompliance with a 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, and (ii) the Fund has yet to 

make a final determination as to 

whether the entity is in default of its 

previous assistance award or allocation 

agreement, then the Fund will consider 

the Applicant’s application under this 

NOFA pending final resolution, in the 

sole determination of the Fund, of the 

instance of noncompliance.

(e) Default Status. The Fund will not 

consider an application submitted by an 

Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee 

or allocatee under any Fund program if, 

as of the application deadline of this 

NOFA, the Fund has made a final 

determination that such Applicant is in 

default of a previously executed 

assistance, award or allocation 

agreement(s) and the Fund has provided 

written notification of such 

determination to such Applicant. 

Further, an entity is not eligible to apply 

for an award pursuant to this NOFA if, 

as of the application deadline, (i) the 

Fund has made a final determination 

that another entity that Controls the 

Applicant, is Controlled by the 

Applicant, or shares common 

management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund) 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program and that has 

been determined by the Fund to be in 

default of a previously executed 

assistance award or allocation 

agreement(s), and (ii) the Fund has 

provided written notification of such 

determination to the defaulting entity. 

(f) Termination in Default. The Fund 

will not consider an application 

submitted by an Applicant that is a 

prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under 

any Fund program if, within the 12-

month period prior to the application 

deadline of this NOFA, the Fund has 

made a final determination that such 

Applicant’s prior award or allocation 

terminated in default of the assistance, 

award or allocation agreement and the 

Fund has provided written notification 

of such determination to such 

Applicant. Further, an entity is not 

eligible to apply for an award pursuant 

to this NOFA if, within the 12-month 

period prior to the application deadline 

of this NOFA, (i) the Fund has made a 

final determination that another entity 

that Controls the Applicant, is 

Controlled by the Applicant, or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program whose award 

or allocation terminated in default of the 

assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, and (ii) the Fund has 

provided written notification of such 

determination to the defaulting entity. 

(g) Undisbursed Balances. The Fund 

will not consider an application 

submitted by an Applicant that is a 

prior Fund Awardee under any Fund 

program if the Applicant has a balance 

of undisbursed funds (defined below) 

under said prior award(s), as of the 

application deadline of this NOFA. 

Further, an entity is not eligible to apply 

for an award pursuant to this NOFA if 

another entity that Controls the 

Applicant, is Controlled by the 

Applicant or shares common 

management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee under any 

Fund program, and has a balance of 

undisbursed funds under said prior 

award(s), as of the application deadline 

of this NOFA. In the case where another 

entity Controls the Applicant, is 

Controlled by the Applicant or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee under any 

Fund program, and has a balance of 

undisbursed funds under said prior 

award(s), as of the application deadline 

of this NOFA, the Fund will include the 

combined awards of the Applicant and 

such Affiliates when calculating the 

amount of undisbursed funds. For the 

purposes of this section, ‘‘undisbursed 

funds’’ is defined as (i) in the case of 

prior Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) 

Program award(s), any balance of award 

funds equal to or greater than five (5) 

percent of the total prior BEA Program 

award(s) for which a BEA award 

agreement has been fully executed that 

remains undisbursed more than three 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 70309

(3) years after the end of the calendar 

year in which the Fund signed an award 

agreement with the BEA awardee, and 

(ii) in the case of prior CDFI Program or 

other Fund program award(s), any 

balance of award funds equal to or 

greater than five (5) percent of the total 

prior award(s) for which an Assistance 

Agreement has been fully executed that 

remains undisbursed more than two (2) 

years after the end of the calendar year 

in which the Fund signed an Assistance 

Agreement with the Awardee. 

‘‘Undisbursed funds’’ does not include 

(i) tax credit allocation authority 

allocated through the New Markets Tax 

Credit Program; (ii) any award funds for 

which the Fund received a full and 

complete disbursement request from the 

Awardee as of the application deadline 

of this NOFA; (iii) any award funds for 

an award that has been terminated, 

expired, rescinded or deobligated by the 

Fund; and (iv) any award funds for an 

award that does not have a fully 

executed assistance or award agreement. 

The Fund strongly encourages 

Applicants requesting disbursements 

from prior awards to provide the Fund 

with a complete disbursement request at 

least 20 business days prior to the 

application deadline of this NOFA. 

(h) Contact the Fund. Accordingly, 

Applicants that are prior Awardees are 

advised to: (i) Comply with 

requirements specified in assistance, 

award and/or allocation agreement(s), 

and (ii) contact the Fund to ensure that 

all necessary actions are underway for 

the disbursement of any outstanding 

balance of said prior award(s). All 

outstanding reports, compliance or 

disbursement questions should be 

directed to the Grants Management and 

Compliance Manager by e-mail at 

gmc@cdfi.treas.gov; by telephone at 

(202) 622–8226; by facsimile at (202) 

622–6453; or by mail to CDFI Fund, 601 

13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, 

Washington, DC 20005. The Fund will 

respond to Applicants’ reporting, 

compliance or disbursement questions 

between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

ET, starting the date of the publication 

of this NOFA through January 21, 2005 

(2 business days before the application 

deadline). The Fund will not respond to 

Applicants’ reporting, compliance or 

disbursement phone calls or e-mail 

inquiries that are received after 5 p.m. 

on January 21, 2005, until after the 

funding application deadline of January 

25, 2005.

(i) Entities that submit applications 

together with Affiliates; applications 

from common enterprises: As part of the 

award application review process, the 

Fund considers whether Applicants are 

Affiliates, as such term is defined in the 

Interim Rule. If an Applicant and its 

Affiliates wish to submit award 

applications, they must do so 

collectively, in one application; an 

Applicant and its Affiliates may not 

submit separate award applications. If 

Affiliated entities submit multiple 

applications, the Fund reserves the right 

either to reject all such applications 

received or to select a single application 

as the only one that will be considered 

for an award. For purposes of this 

NOFA, in addition to assessing whether 

Applicants meet the definition of the 

term ‘‘Affiliate’’ found in the Interim 

Rule, the Fund will consider: (i) 

whether the activities described in 

applications submitted by separate 

entities are, or will be, operated or 

managed as a common enterprise that, 

in fact or effect, could be viewed as a 

single entity; and (ii) whether the 

business strategies and/or activities 

described in applications submitted by 

separate entities are so closely related 

that, in fact or effect, they could be 

viewed as substantially identical 

applications. In such cases, the Fund 

reserves the right either to reject all 

applications received from all such 

entities or to select a single application 

as the only one that will be considered 

for an award. 

3. Limitation on Awards: An 

Applicant may apply for and receive TA 

awards from the Fund through the TA 

Component, the NACA Component and/

or the FA Component of the CDFI 

Program, but only to the extent that the 

approved uses of TA under such 

Components are different. In addition, a 

TA Component Applicant, its 

Subsidiaries or Affiliates may apply for: 

(i) A FA award through the FA 

Component and the NACA Component 

of the CDFI Program; (ii) a tax credit 

allocation through the New Markets Tax 

Credit (NMTC) Program, but only to the 

extent that the activities approved for a 

FA Component award are different from 

those activities for which the Applicant 

received a NMTC Program allocation; 

and (iii) an award through the Bank 

Enterprise Award (BEA) Program 

(subject to certain limitations; refer to 

the Interim Rule at 12 CFR 1805.102). 

4. Other Targeted Populations: Other 

Targeted Populations are defined as 

identifiable groups of individuals in the 

Applicant’s service area for which there 

exists a strong basis in evidence that 

they lack access to loans, Equity 

Investments and/or Financial Services. 

The Fund has determined that there is 

strong basis in evidence that the 

following groups of individuals lack 

access to loans, Equity Investments and/

or Financial Services on a national 

level: Blacks or African Americans, 

Native Americans or American Indians, 

and Hispanics or Latinos. In addition, 

for purposes of this NOFA, the Fund has 

determined that there is a strong basis 

in evidence that Alaska Natives residing 

in Alaska, Native Hawaiians residing in 

Hawaii, and Other Pacific Islanders 

residing in other Pacific Islands, lack 

adequate access to loans, Equity 

Investments or Financial Services. An 

Applicant designating any of the abovecited Other Targeted Populations is not 

required to provide additional narrative 

explaining the Other Targeted 

Population’s lack of adequate access to 

loans, Equity Investments or Financial 

Services. Additionally, the Fund 

recognizes that there may be other such 

groups for which there is strong basis in 

evidence that they lack access to loans, 

Equity Investments and/or Financial 

Services. Such groups may be 

identified, and evidence of such lack of 

access may be provided, in the Market 

Need section of the application 

associated with this NOFA, and the 

application for CDFI certification (if not 

identified in the Target Market of a 

currently certified CDFI). 

For purposes of this NOFA, the Fund 

will use the following definitions, set 

forth in the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Notice, Revisions to the 

Standards for the Classification of 

Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity 

(October 30, 1997), as amended and 

supplemented: 

(a) American Indian, Native American 

or Alaska Native: A person having 

origins in any of the original peoples of 

North and South America (including 

Central America) and who maintains 

tribal affiliation or community 

attachment; 

(b) Black or African American: A 

person having origins in any of the 

black racial groups of Africa (terms such 

as ‘‘Haitian’’ or ‘‘Negro’’ can be used in 

addition to ‘‘Black or African 

American’’); 

(c) Hispanic or Latino: A person of 

Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or 

Central American or other Spanish 

culture or origin, regardless of race (the 

term ‘‘Spanish origin’’ can be used in 

addition to ‘‘Hispanic or Latino’’); 

(d) Native Hawaiian: A person having 

origins in any of the original peoples of 

Hawaii; and 

(e) Other Pacific Islander: A person 

having origins in any of the original 

peoples of Guam, Samoa or other Pacific 

Islands.

For further detail, please visit the 

Fund’s Web site at http://

www.cdfifund.gov, under 

Certification\Supplemental Information.

70310 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 

III. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Form of Application Submission 

Applicants must submit applications 

under this NOFA in paper form. 

Applications sent by facsimile will not 

be accepted. Detailed application 

content requirements are found in the 

application related to this NOFA which 

may be found at the Fund’s Web site, 

http://www.cdfifund.gov. The Fund will 

send paper application materials to 

Applicants that are unable to download 

them from the Web site. To have 

application materials sent to you, 

contact the Fund by telephone at (202) 

622–6355; by email at 

cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov; or by facsimile 

at (202) 622–7754. These are not toll 

free numbers. 

B. Application Content Requirements 

Detailed application content 

requirements are found in the FY 2005 

application and guidance. Please note 

that, pursuant to OMB guidance (68 

Federal Register 38402), each Applicant 

must provide, as part of its application 

submission, a Dun and Bradstreet Data 

Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 

number. In addition, each application 

must include a valid and current 

Employer Identification Number (EIN), 

with a letter or other documentation 

from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

confirming the Applicant’s EIN. 

Incomplete applications will be rejected 

and returned to the sender. 

C. MyCDFIFund Accounts 

All Applicants must register User and 

Organization accounts in myCDFIFund, 

the Fund’s Internet-based interface. 

Applicants must be registered as both a 

User and an Organization in 

myCDFIFund as of the application 

deadline in order to be considered to 

have submitted a complete application. 

As myCDFIFund is the Fund’s primary 

means of communication with 

Applicants and Awardees, organizations 

must make sure that they update the 

contact information in their 

myCDFIFund accounts. For more 

information on myCDFIFund, please see 

the Help documents posted at http://

www.cdfifund.gov/myCDFI/Help/

Help.asp. 

D. Application Submission Dates and 

Times; Addresses 

Applicants must submit all materials 

described in and required by the 

application by the applicable deadline. 

Applicants will not be afforded an 

opportunity to provide any missing 

materials or documentation after the 

deadline. 

A complete application must be 

received at the address set forth below 

by 5 p.m. ET on January 25, 2005, and 

must include an original signature page 

(which includes a DUNS number), a 

letter or other documentation from the 

Internal Revenue Service confirming the 

Applicant’s EIN, and all other required 

attachments. Applications must be 

submitted in the format and with the 

number of copies specified in the 

application instructions. Applications 

must be sent to: CDFI Fund Grants 

Management and Compliance Manager, 

TA Component, Bureau of Public Debt, 

200 Third Street, Room 10, Parkersburg, 

WV 26101. The telephone number to be 

used in conjunction with overnight 

delivery or mailings to this address is 

(304) 480–5450. Applications received 

in the Fund’s offices will be rejected 

and returned to the sender. 

E. Late Delivery 

The Fund will not grant exceptions or 

waivers for late delivery of documents 

including, but not limited to, late 

delivery that is caused by third parties 

such as the United States Postal Service, 

couriers or overnight delivery services. 

IV. Intergovernmental Review 

Not applicable. 

V. Funding Restrictions 

For allowable uses of TA award 

proceeds, please see section I.B. of this 

NOFA. 

VI. Application Review Information 

A. Criteria 

The Fund will evaluate each 

application using numeric scores with 

respect to the following four sections: 

1. Market Need and CDFI Strategy:

including a review of the Applicant’s 

understanding of the extent of economic 

distress within the designated 

Investment Area(s) or the extent of need 

among the designated Targeted 

Population(s) (including economic 

distress caused by severe natural 

disasters in an Investment Area(s) that 

has been declared to be a Major Disaster 

area by the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (see http://

www.fema.gov) or an equivalent state or 

local agency), the extent of need for the 

CDFI, the appropriateness of the 

proposed products, services and 

delivery strategy to meet the needs in 

the market; 

2. Management: including a review of 

the Applicant’s current and proposed 

management team, governing board, and 

key staff, its policies and procedures for 

financial management, and its track 

record in underwriting and portfolio 

management and ability to achieve the 

objectives set forth in its application 

and track its community development 

impacts; and to successfully use and 

track the use of the requested TA award 

and maintain compliance with its 

Assistance Agreement(s). If an 

Applicant has received one or more 

prior awards through the CDFI Program, 

the Fund will consider the extent to 

which the Applicant has submitted 

required reports in a timely manner and 

otherwise complied with the Fund’s 

requirements (as described in section 

VI.B, Review and Selection Process, 

below); 

3. Financial Health and Resources:

including a review of the Applicant’s 

financial strength, its liquidity, and the 

likelihood of obtaining resources to 

sustain operations, and a clear 

indication that the Applicant will not be 

fiscally dependent on the Fund; and 

4. Community Development 

Performance and Effective Use of TA:

including the projected level of activity 

within the Target Market; the extent to 

which the proposed activities are 

expected to promote community 

development objectives and are likely to 

create measurable community 

development impact; the extent to 

which the Applicant needs the TA 

award to achieve the objectives set forth 

in its application; and the likelihood 

that the TA award will enhance the 

Applicant’s ability to effectively serve 

its Target Market and achieve 

measurable community development 

impact. 

B. Review and Selection Process 

All applications will be reviewed for 

eligibility and completeness. To be 

complete, the application must contain, 

at a minimum, all information described 

as required in the application form. An 

incomplete application will be rejected 

as incomplete and returned to the 

sender. The application of an Applicant 

that does not meet the eligibility 

requirements will be rejected. 

If determined to be eligible and 

complete, the Fund will conduct the 

substantive review of each application 

in accordance with the criteria and 

procedures described in the Interim 

Rule, this NOFA, and the application 

and guidance. 

Each application will be reviewed and 

scored by a reader. Applications will be 

scored on a 100-point scale, with a 

maximum of 25 points allotted to each 

of the criteria sections described above. 

Applicants must score at least 12 points 

in each criteria section to be considered 

for funding. The Fund will rank the 

applications that meet the 12-point per 

criteria section requirement from 

highest to lowest total score and will 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 70311

make award decisions in the order of 

the ranking until all funds available 

through this NOFA have been 

committed.

As part of the review process, the 

Fund may contact the Applicant by 

telephone or e-mail or through an onsite visit for the purpose of obtaining 

clarifying or confirming application 

information. The Applicant may be 

required to submit additional 

information to assist the Fund in its 

evaluation process. Such requests must 

be responded to within the time 

parameters set by the Fund. 

In the case of an Applicant that has 

previously received funding from the 

Fund through any Fund program, the 

Fund will consider and may deduct 

points for: (i) The Applicant’s 

noncompliance with any active award 

or award that terminated in the fiscal 

year that ended in calendar year 2004, 

in meeting its performance goals, 

financial soundness covenants (if 

applicable), reporting deadlines and 

other requirements set forth in the 

assistance or award agreement(s) with 

the Fund during the Applicant’s two 

complete fiscal years prior to the 

application deadline of this NOFA 

(generally FY 2003 and 2004); and (ii) 

the Applicant’s failure to make timely 

loan payments to the Fund during the 

Applicant’s two complete fiscal years 

prior to the application deadline of this 

NOFA (if applicable). Additionally, the 

Fund may take into account 

performance on any prior Assistance 

Agreement as part of the overall 

assessment of the Applicant’s ability to 

carry out its Comprehensive Business 

Plan. All outstanding reports or 

compliance questions should be 

directed to the Grants Management and 

Compliance Manager by e-mail at 

gmc@cdfi.treas.gov; by telephone at 

(202) 622–8226; by facsimile at (202) 

622–6453; or by mail to CDFI Fund, 601 

13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, 

Washington, DC 20005. The Fund will 

respond to reporting or compliance 

questions between the hours of 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. ET, starting the date of the 

publication of this NOFA through 

January 21, 2005. The Fund will not 

respond to reporting or compliance 

phone calls or e-mail inquiries that are 

received after 5 p.m. on January 21, 

2005 until after the funding application 

deadline of January 25, 2005. 

The Fund will make a final funding 

determination based on the Applicant’s 

file, reviewer scores and 

recommendations, and the amount of 

funds available. In the case of Insured 

CDFIs, the Fund will take into 

consideration the views of the 

Appropriate Federal Banking Agencies; 

in the case of State-Insured Credit 

Unions, the Fund may consult with the 

appropriate State banking agencies (or 

comparable entity). 

Each Applicant will be informed of 

the Fund’s award decision either 

through a Notice of Award if selected 

for an award (see Notice of Award 

section, below) or written declination if 

not selected for an award. The Fund 

will notify Awardees by email using the 

addresses maintained in the Awardee’s 

myCDFIFund account (postal mailings 

will be used only in rare cases). 

The Fund reserves the right to change 

its eligibility and evaluation criteria and 

procedures, if the Fund deems it 

appropriate; if said changes materially 

affect the Fund’s award decisions, the 

Fund will provide information 

regarding the changes through the 

Fund’s website. 

There is no right to appeal the Fund’s 

award decisions. The Fund’s award 

decisions are final. 

VII. Award Administration Information 

A. Notice of Award 

The Fund will signify its selection of 

an Applicant as an Awardee by 

delivering a signed Notice of Award to 

the Applicant. The Notice of Award will 

contain the general terms and 

conditions underlying the Fund’s 

provision of assistance including, but 

not limited to, the requirement that the 

Awardee and the Fund enter into an 

Assistance Agreement. The Applicant 

must execute the Notice of Award and 

return it to the Fund. By executing a 

Notice of Award, the Awardee agrees 

that, if prior to entering into an 

Assistance Agreement with the Fund, 

information (including administrative 

error) comes to the attention of the Fund 

that either adversely affects the 

Awardee’s eligibility for an award, or 

adversely affects the Fund’s evaluation 

of the Awardee’s application, or 

indicates fraud or mismanagement on 

the part of the Awardee, the Fund may, 

in its discretion and without advance 

notice to the Awardee, terminate the 

Notice of Award or take such other 

actions as it deems appropriate. 

Moreover, by executing a Notice of 

Award, the Awardee agrees that, if prior 

to entering into an Assistance 

Agreement with the Fund, the Fund 

determines that the Awardee is in 

default of any Assistance Agreement 

previously entered into with the Fund, 

the Fund may, in its discretion and 

without advance notice to the Awardee, 

either terminate the Notice of Award or 

take such other actions as it deems 

appropriate. The Fund reserves the 

right, in its sole discretion, to rescind its 

award if the Awardee fails to return the 

Notice of Award, signed by the 

authorized representative of the 

Awardee, along with any other 

requested documentation, within the 

deadline set by the Fund. 

1. Failure to meet reporting 

requirements: If an Applicant or an 

entity that Controls the Applicant, is 

Controlled by the Applicant or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund) 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program and is not 

current on the reporting requirements 

set forth in the previously executed 

assistance, award or allocation 

agreement(s), as of the date of the Notice 

of Award, the Fund reserves the right, 

in its sole discretion, to delay entering 

into an Assistance Agreement and/or to 

delay making a disbursement of award 

proceeds, until said prior Awardee or 

allocatee is current on the reporting 

requirements in the previously executed 

assistance, award or allocation 

agreement(s). Please note that the Fund 

only acknowledges the receipt of reports 

that are complete. As such, incomplete 

reports or reports that are deficient of 

required elements will not be 

recognized as having been received. If 

said prior Awardee or allocatee is 

unable to meet this requirement within 

the timeframe set by the Fund, the Fund 

reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 

to terminate and rescind the Notice of 

Award and the award made under this 

NOFA. 

2. Pending resolution of 

noncompliance: If (i) an Applicant is a 

prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under 

any Fund program and has submitted 

complete and timely reports to the Fund 

that demonstrate noncompliance with a 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, and (ii) the Fund has yet to 

make a final determination regarding 

whether or not the entity is in default 

of its previous assistance, award or 

allocation agreement, then the Fund 

reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 

to delay entering into an Assistance 

Agreement and/or to delay making a 

disbursement of award proceeds, 

pending full resolution, in the sole 

determination of the Fund, of the 

noncompliance. Further, if (i) another 

entity that Controls the Applicant, is 

Controlled by the Applicant or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program and such 

entity has submitted complete and 

timely reports to the Fund that 

demonstrate noncompliance with a 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, and (ii) the Fund has yet to 

70312 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 

make a final determination as to 

whether the entity is in default of its 

previous assistance, award or allocation 

agreement, then the Fund reserves the 

right, in its sole discretion, to delay 

entering into an Assistance Agreement 

and/or to delay making a disbursement 

of award proceeds pending full 

resolution, in the sole determination of 

the Fund, of the noncompliance. If said 

prior Awardee or allocatee is unable to 

meet this requirement, the Fund 

reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 

to terminate and rescind the Notice of 

Award and the award made under this 

NOFA.

3. Default status: If, at any time prior 

to entering into an Assistance 

Agreement under this NOFA, the Fund 

(i) has made a final determination that 

an Applicant that is a prior Fund 

Awardee or allocatee under any Fund 

program is in default of a previously 

executed assistance, award or allocation 

agreement(s), and (ii) has provided 

written notification of such 

determination to the Applicant, then the 

Fund reserves the right, in its sole 

discretion, to delay entering into an 

Assistance Agreement and/or to delay 

making a disbursement of award 

proceeds until said prior Awardee or 

allocatee has submitted a complete and 

timely report demonstrating full 

compliance with said agreement within 

a timeframe set by the Fund. Further, if, 

at any time prior to entering into an 

Assistance Agreement under this NOFA, 

the Fund (i) has made a final 

determination that another entity which 

Controls the Applicant or shares 

common management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund) 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program, and is in 

default of a previously executed 

assistance, award or allocation 

agreement(s) and (ii) has provided 

written notification of such 

determination to the defaulting entity, 

then the Fund reserves the right, in its 

sole discretion, to delay entering into an 

Assistance Agreement and/or to delay 

making a disbursement of award 

proceeds until said prior Awardee or 

allocatee has submitted a complete and 

timely report demonstrating full 

compliance with said agreement within 

a timeframe set by the Fund. If said 

prior Awardee or allocatee is unable to 

meet this requirement, the Fund 

reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 

to terminate and rescind the Notice of 

Award and the award made under this 

NOFA. 

4. Termination in default: If, within 

the 12-month period prior to entering 

into an Assistance Agreement under this 

NOFA, the Fund (i) has made a final 

determination that an Applicant with a 

prior award or allocation has been 

terminated in default of such prior 

agreement and (ii) has provided written 

notification of such determination to 

such organization, the Fund reserves the 

right, in its sole discretion, to delay 

entering into an Assistance Agreement 

and/or delay making a disbursement of 

award proceeds under this NOFA. 

Further, if, within the 12-month period 

prior to entering into an Assistance 

Agreement under this NOFA, the Fund 

(i) has made a final determination that 

another entity which Controls the 

Applicant, is Controlled by the 

Applicant or shares common 

management officials with the 

Applicant (as determined by the Fund), 

is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 

under any Fund program, whose award 

or allocation terminated in default of 

such prior agreement(s), and (ii) has 

provided written notification of such 

determination to the defaulting entity, 

the Fund reserves the right, in its sole 

discretion, to delay entering into an 

Assistance Agreement and/or to delay 

making a disbursement of award 

proceeds. 

B. Assistance Agreement 

Each Applicant that is selected to 

receive an award under this NOFA must 

enter into an Assistance Agreement with 

the Fund prior to disbursement of award 

proceeds. The Assistance Agreement 

will set forth certain required terms and 

conditions of the award, which will 

include, but not be limited to: (i) The 

amount of the award; (ii) the approved 

uses of the award; (iii) performance 

goals and measures; and (iv) reporting 

requirements for all Awardees. 

Assistance Agreements under this 

NOFA will generally have two-year 

performance periods. 

The Fund reserves the right, in its sole 

discretion, to rescind its award if the 

Awardee fails to return the Assistance 

Agreement, signed by the authorized 

representative of the Awardee, and/or 

provide the Fund with any other 

requested documentation, within the 

deadlines set by the Fund.

In addition to entering into an 

Assistance Agreement, each Awardee 

that receives an award must provide the 

Fund with a good standing certificate 

(or equivalent documentation) from its 

state (or jurisdiction) of incorporation. 

C. Reporting 

1. Reporting requirements: The Fund 

will collect information, on at least an 

annual basis, from each Awardee 

including, but not limited to, an Annual 

Report that comprises the following 

components: (i) Financial Report; (ii) 

Institution-Level Report; (iii) 

Transaction-Level Report (in the 

discretion of the Fund); (iv) Financial 

Status Report; (v) Explanation of 

Noncompliance (as applicable); and (vi) 

such other information as the Fund may 

require. Each Awardee is responsible for 

the timely and complete submission of 

the Annual Report, even if all or a 

portion of the documents actually is 

completed by another entity or signatory 

to the Assistance Agreement. If such 

other entities or signatories are required 

to provide Institution-Level Reports, 

Transaction-Level Reports, Financial 

Reports, or other documentation that the 

Fund may require, the Awardee is 

responsible for ensuring that the 

information is submitted timely and 

complete. The Fund reserves the right to 

contact such additional signatories to 

the Assistance Agreement and require 

that additional information and 

documentation be provided. The Fund 

will use such information to monitor 

each Awardee’s compliance with the 

requirements set forth in the Assistance 

Agreement and to assess the impact of 

the CDFI Program. The Institution-Level 

Report and Transaction-Level Report 

must be submitted through the Fund’s 

web-based data collection system, the 

Community Investment Impact System 

(CIIS). The Financial Report may be 

submitted through CIIS, or by fax or 

mail to the Fund. All other components 

of the Annual Report may be submitted 

to the Fund in paper form or other form 

to be determined by the Fund. The Fund 

reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 

to modify these reporting requirements 

if it determines it to be appropriate and 

necessary; however, such reporting 

requirements will be modified only after 

notice to Awardees. 

2. Accounting: The Fund will require 

each Awardee that receives TA awards 

through this NOFA to account for and 

track the use of said TA awards. This 

means that for every dollar of TA 

awards received from the Fund, the 

Awardee will be required to inform the 

Fund of its uses. This will require 

Awardees to establish separate 

administrative and accounting controls, 

subject to the applicable OMB Circulars. 

The Fund will provide guidance to 

Awardees outlining the format and 

content of the information to be 

provided on an annual basis, outlining 

and describing how the funds were 

used. 

VIII. Agency Contacts 

The Fund will respond to questions 

and provide support concerning this 

NOFA and the funding application 

between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

ET, starting the date of the publication 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2004 / Notices 70313

of this NOFA through January 21, 2005. 

The Fund will not respond to questions 

or provide support concerning the 

application that are received after 5 p.m. 

ET on January 21, 2005, until after the 

funding application deadline of January 

25, 2005. Applications and other 

information regarding the Fund and its 

programs may be obtained from the 

Fund’s Web site at http://

www.cdfifund.gov. The Fund will post 

on its Web site responses to questions 

of general applicability regarding the 

CDFI Program. 

A. Information Technology Support 

Technical support can be obtained by 

calling (202) 622–2455 or by e-mail at 

ithelpdesk@cdfi.treas.gov. People who 

have visual or mobility impairments 

that prevent them from creating an 

Investment Area map using the Fund’s 

Web site should call (202) 622–2455 for 

assistance. These are not toll free 

numbers. 

B. Programmatic Support 

If you have any questions about the 

programmatic requirements of this 

NOFA, contact the Fund’s Program 

Operations Manager by e-mail at 

cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov, by telephone at 

(202) 622–6355, by facsimile at (202) 

622–7754, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 

13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, 

Washington, DC 20005. These are not 

toll-free numbers. 

C. Administrative Support 

If you have any questions regarding 

the administrative requirements of this 

NOFA, including questions regarding 

submission requirements, contact the 

Fund’s Grants Management and 

Compliance Manager by e-mail at 

gmc@cdfi.treas.gov, by telephone at 

(202) 622–8226, by facsimile at (202) 

622–6453, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 

13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, 

Washington, DC 20005. These are not 

toll free numbers. 

D. Legal Counsel Support 

If you have any questions or matters 

that you believe require response by the 

Fund’s Office of Legal Counsel, please 

refer to the document titled ‘‘How to 

Request a Legal Review,’’ found on the 

Fund’s Web site at http://

www.cdfifund.gov. 

E. Communication with the CDFI Fund 

The Fund will use its myCDFIFund 

Internet interface to communicate with 

Applicants and Awardees under this 

NOFA. Applicants must register through 

myCDFIFund in order to submit a 

complete application for funding. 

Awardees must use myCDFIFund to 

submit required reports. The Fund will 

notify Awardees by email using the 

addresses maintained in each Awardee’s 

myCDFIFund account. Therefore, the 

Awardee and any Subsidiaries, 

signatories, and Affiliates must maintain 

accurate contact information (including 

contact person and authorized 

representative, email addresses, fax 

numbers, phone numbers, and office 

addresses) in their myCDFIFund 

account(s). For more information about 

myCDFIFund, please see the Help 

documents posted at https://

www.cdfifund.gov/myCDFI/Help/

Help.asp. 

IX. Information Sessions and Outreach 

In connection with the Fiscal Year 

2005 funding round, the Fund may 

conduct Information Sessions to 

disseminate information to 

organizations contemplating applying 

to, and other organizations interested in 

learning about, the Fund’s programs. 

For further information on the Fund’s 

Information Sessions, dates and 

locations, or to register to attend an 

Information Session, please visit the 

Fund’s Web site at http://

www.cdfifund.gov or call the Fund at 

(202) 622–9046.

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 

4706, 4707, 4717; 12 CFR part 1805.

Dated: November 29, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Director, Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund.

[FR Doc. 04–26597 Filed 12–2–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–70–P