53324 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 199 / Friday, October 16, 2009 / Notices 

Dated: October 14, 2009. 

Andrew Mayock, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–25038 Filed 10–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund 

Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of 

Funds Availability (NOFA) inviting 

applications for the FY 2009 funding 

round of the Financial Education and 

Counseling (FEC) Pilot Program. 

Announcement Type: Announcement 

of funding opportunity. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.010. 

DATES: Applications for financial 

assistance through the FY 2009 funding 

round of FEC Pilot Program must be 

received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), 

November 19, 2009. 

Executive Summary: This NOFA is 

issued in connection with the FY 2009 

funding round of the FEC Pilot Program. 

Through the FEC Pilot Program, the 

Community Development Financial 

Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) shall 

provide grants to Eligible Organizations 

to provide a range of Financial 

Education and Counseling Services to 

Prospective Homebuyers. The goals of 

grants that are awarded through the FEC 

Pilot Program are to identify successful 

methods of Financial Education and 

Counseling Services that result in 

Positive Behavioral Change for financial 

empowerment, and to establish program 

models for organizations to implement 

measurably effective Financial 

Education and Counseling Services to 

Prospective Homebuyers. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

A. Through the FEC Pilot Program, 

authorized pursuant to Section 1132 of 

the Housing and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–289), the CDFI 

Fund provides financial assistance 

awards to Eligible Organizations to 

provide a range of Financial Education 

and Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers. 

B. Definitions: For the purposes of 

this NOFA, the following terms shall 

have the following definitions: 

1. Act means section 1132(c) of the 

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 

2008 (Pub. L. 110–289). 

2. Affiliate means any company or 

entity that Controls, is Controlled by, or 

is under common Control with another 

company. 

3. Applicant means any Eligible 

Organization. 

4. Application means the CDFI Fund’s 

funding application form, including any 

written or verbal information in 

connection therewith and any 

attachments, appendices and/or written 

or verbal supplements thereto, 

submitted by the Awardee to the CDFI 

Fund in response to this NOFA. 

5. Assistance Agreement means the 

formal agreement between the CDFI 

Fund and an Awardee that includes the 

terms and conditions of the FEC Pilot 

Program award. 

6. Awardee means an Applicant 

selected by the CDFI Fund to receive an 

FEC Pilot Program grant. 

7. Collaborative Effort means a joint 

effort by two or more Eligible 

Organizations to carry out Financial 

Education and Counseling Services to 

Prospective Homebuyers, as described 

in the Application and as evidenced by 

a written agreement among the entities 

for the Performance Period. The 

Collaborative Effort must designate the 

entity that will serve as the primary FEC 

Pilot Program point of contact for the 

CDFI Fund, and that will serve as 

signatory to the Assistance Agreement, 

receive and allocate award 

disbursements, and report on behalf of 

the collaborative. 

8. Community Development Financial 

Institution (or CDFI) means an entity 

certified as a CDFI by the CDFI Fund 

pursuant to the CDFI Program 

regulations set forth at 12 CFR 1805.201. 

9. Control means: (i) Ownership, 

control, or power to vote 25 percent or 

more of the outstanding shares of any 

class of voting securities of any 

company, directly or indirectly or acting 

through one or more other persons; (ii) 

control in any manner over the election 

of a majority of the directors, trustees, 

or general partners (or individuals 

exercising similar functions) of any 

company; or (iii) the power to exercise, 

directly or indirectly, a controlling 

influence over the management, credit 

or investment decisions, or policies of 

any company. 

10. Credit Union means any credit 

union that is: (i) Regulated by, and/or 

the member accounts of which are 

insured by, a State agency or 

instrumentality; or (ii) a cooperative 

association organized in accordance 

with provisions of the Federal Credit 

Union Act, chapter 14 of title 12 of the 

United States Code (12 U.S.C. 1751). 

11. Eligible Organization means an 

entity that: (i) Is certified by the 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) as Housing 

Counseling Agencies, in accordance 

with section 106(e)(1) of the Housing 

and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 

U.S.C. 1701x(e)) or is certified by the 

Office of Financial Education (OFE) of 

the Department of the Treasury, in 

accordance with section 1132(c)(2) of 

the Act; and (ii) meets the minimum 

threshold requirements, as specified in 

Section III(b)(2) of this NOFA, necessary 

to demonstrate that it has the experience 

and ability to provide Financial 

Education and Counseling Services to 

Prospective Homebuyers that result in 

documented Positive Behavioral 

Changes. 

12. Financial Education and 

Counseling Pilot Program (or FEC Pilot 

Program) means the program created 

pursuant to the Act, as implemented 

through this NOFA. 

13. Financial Education and 

Counseling Services means activities 

that increase the financial knowledge 

and decision-making capabilities of 

Prospective Homebuyers. Such 

education and counseling services shall 

prepare or assist Prospective 

Homebuyers to develop monthly 

budgets, build personal savings, finance 

or plan for major purchases, reduce 

personal debt, improve financial 

stability, and set and reach financial 

goals. Such services may include: 

Helping Prospective Homebuyers to 

improve their credit scores by 

understanding the relationship between 

credit histories and credit scores; and 

educating Prospective Homebuyers 

about the options available to build 

savings for short- and long-term goals. 

14. HUD Housing Counseling Agency 

means an entity that is currently 

certified and maintains its certified 

status in accordance with section 

106(e)(1) of the Housing and Urban 

Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 

1701x(e)) through the Performance 

Period. 

15. Intermediary Organization means 

an Eligible Organization whose strategy 

for delivering Financial Education and 

Counseling services to Prospective 

Homebuyers is to provide support, 

through financial or technical 

assistance, to other organizations that 

will, in turn, provide Financial 

Education and Counseling services 

directly to Prospective Homebuyers. 

16. Local government means a city, 

town, township, county, parish, village, 

or other general purpose political 

subdivision of a State or Federal 

Territory, or a general purpose political 

subdivision thereof that is established 

pursuant to legislation and designated 

by the chief executive to act on behalf 

of the jurisdiction. 

17. Low-income means a family or 

individual income that does not exceed 

50 percent of the median income of the 

area in which they reside, as determined 

by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 


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Development, with adjustments for 

smaller and larger families pursuant to 

section 102(a)(20) of the Housing and 

Community Development Act, the 

pertinent provisions of which are 

codified at 42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(20). 

18. Low-wealth means a Net Worth 

below the national median as defined by 

the Federal Reserve Board’s most 

recently published Survey of Consumer 

Finances. For more information 

concerning the Survey of Consumer 

Finances, please refer to http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/oss/oss2/ 

scfindex.html. 

19. Moderate-income means a family 

or individual income that exceeds 50 

percent, but does not exceed 80 percent, 

of the median income of the area in 

which they reside, as determined by the 

Secretary of Housing and Urban 

Development, with adjustments for 

smaller and larger families pursuant to 

section 102(a)(20) of the Housing and 

Community Development Act, the 

pertinent provisions of which are 

codified at 42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(20). 

20. Net Worth means assets less 

liabilities. 

21. Performance Period means the 

period beginning with the effective date 

of the Assistance Agreement and 

includes an Awardee’s three full 

consecutive fiscal years after such 

effective date, during which the 

Awardee must meet performance goals 

set forth in the Assistance Agreement, or 

such other period as may be established 

by the CDFI Fund. 

22. Positive Behavioral Changes 

means changes in activities, especially 

measurable changes, reflecting 

increased financial knowledge (what 

consumers know) and management 

skills (what consumers do). Such 

changes include, but are not limited to, 

increasing savings, engaging in short- or 

long-term financial planning, tracking 

expenses and income, and better 

managing credit. 

23. Prospective Homebuyer means an 

individual of at least 18 years of age 

who, at the time of initial receipt of 

Financial Education and Counseling 

Services funded in whole or in part 

through an award under the FEC Pilot 

Program: (i) Is Low-Income, ModerateIncome, and/or Low-Wealth; and (ii) 

does not currently own, hold title to, or 

pay a mortgage on a residence. 

24. State government means any State 

of the United States, the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico or any Federal territory, or any 

agency or instrumentality thereof that is 

established pursuant to legislation and 

designated by the chief executive officer 

to act on behalf of the jurisdiction. 

25. Subsidiary means any company 

which is owned or Controlled directly 

or indirectly by another company. 

26. Tribal government means a unit of 

local government that is established to 

act on behalf of Native American, 

Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian 

people, or is a political subdivision that 

is designated by the chief executive of 

the jurisdiction to act on behalf of the 

rights associated with residents of a 

federally recognized Indian Reservation 

or of Hawaiian Home Lands as defined 

by the Hawaiian Homes Commission 

Act (42 Stat. 108) or members of 

corporations designated under the 

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

U.S.C. 1601). 

II. Award Information 

A. Funding Availability: Through this 

NOFA, the CDFI Fund expects that it 

will award not more than five grants in 

the aggregate amount of $2 million in 

FY 2009 appropriated funds. The CDFI 

Fund expects that each FEC Pilot 

Program grant will be made in the 

amount of $400,000; and accordingly, 

each Applicant is required to apply for 

a grant in the amount of $400,000. 

However, the CDFI Fund reserves the 

right to provide any grant in an amount 

other than $400,000 or in an amount 

other than that which the Applicant 

requests. 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. 

B. Detailed Application content 

requirements are found in the FEC Pilot 

Program Application and related 

guidance materials. 

C. The primary purposes of the FEC 

Pilot Program are: (i) To identify 

successful methods of Financial 

Education and Counseling Services that 

result in Positive Behavioral Changes for 

financial empowerment of Prospective 

Homebuyers; and (ii) to establish 

program models for organizations to 

implement measurably effective 

Financial Education and Counseling 

Services to Prospective Homebuyers. 

D. To achieve such purposes, the 

CDFI Fund will award FEC Pilot 

Program grants to Eligible Organizations 

that provide Financial Education and 

Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers with the goals of: (i) 

Increasing the financial knowledge and 

decision-making capabilities of 

Prospective Homebuyers; (ii) assisting 

Prospective Homebuyers to develop 

monthly budgets, build personal 

savings, finance or plan for major 

purchases, reduce personal debt, 

improve financial stability, and set and 

reach financial goals; (iii) helping 

Prospective Homebuyers to improve 

their credit scores by understanding the 

relationship between credit histories 

and credit scores; and (iv) educating 

Prospective Homebuyers about the 

options available to build savings for 

short- and long-term goals. 

E. Awardees will be selected based 

upon factors which include, but are not 

limited to, their experience and ability 

to provide Financial Education and 

Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers which result in 

documented Positive Behavioral 

Changes (see Section V. B.—C., below, 

for Criteria and Review and Selection 

Process). 

F. Uses of Funds: In general, eligible 

uses of FEC Pilot Program awards 

include all allowable expenses as 

defined by Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Circular A–122, ‘‘Cost 

Principles For Non-Profit 

Organizations,’’ and OMB Circular A– 

87, ‘‘Cost Principles for State, Local, and 

Indian Tribal Governments,’’ related to 

the administration, operation, and 

implementation of a Financial 

Education and Counseling Services 

program. For example, eligible uses may 

include, but are not limited to, the 

following: 

1. Personnel (Salary): An Awardee 

may use FEC Pilot Program grant funds 

to cover the salary paid currently or 

accrued for services rendered by 

permanent or temporary staff in carrying 

out a distinct project or for a set period 

during the Performance Period. The 

CDFI Fund will only cover salary for 

duties that are related to the purpose of 

the award. Compensation paid for 

employees engaged in activities funded 

with a FEC Pilot Program grant must be 

consistent with that paid for similar 

work for other Awardee employees. 

2. Personnel (Fringe Benefits): An 

Awardee may use FEC Pilot Program 

grant funds to cover the fringe benefits 

paid currently or accrued for services 

rendered by permanent or temporary 

staff in carrying out a distinct project or 

for a set period during the Performance 

Period. Fringe benefits are for personnel 

listed in Personnel (Salary) and only for 

the percentage of time devoted to the 

FEC Pilot Program-related activities 

during the Performance Period. Fringe 

benefits on overtime hours are limited 

to FICA, Workman’s Compensation, and 

Unemployment Compensation. Fringe 

benefits provided to employees engaged 

in activities funded with a FEC Pilot 

Program grant must be consistent with 

that paid for similar work for other 

Awardee employees. 

3. Professional Service Costs 

(Consulting and Contracts): An Awardee 

may use FEC Pilot Program grant funds 

to acquire external expertise that will 


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53326 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 199 / Friday, October 16, 2009 / Notices 

directly further the purposes and 

activities of its Financial Education and 

Counseling Services. 

4. Materials and Supplies: An 

Awardee may use FEC Grant Program 

grant funds to purchase supplies and/or 

to produce materials that will directly 

further the purposes and activities of its 

Financial Education and Counseling 

Services. Generally, supplies include 

any materials that are expended or 

consumed over time. 

5. Equipment and Other Capital 

Expenditures: An Awardee may use FEC 

Pilot Program grant funds to acquire 

new equipment or to enhance existing 

equipment that will directly further the 

purposes and activities of its Financial 

Education and Counseling Services. 

6. Other Program Expenses: An 

Awardee may use FEC Pilot Program 

grant funds to cover other direct 

expenses allowable under OMB Circular 

A–122 and OMB Circular A–87, 

including direct payments made to the 

recipients of the Awardee’s Financial 

Education and Counseling Services (e.g., 

contributions to a matched savings 

account; compensation for participating 

in follow-on surveys; reimbursement for 

expenses associated with attending 

training sessions; etc.). For all other 

costs outlined in OMB Circular A–122 

and OMB Circular A–87, the Awardee 

must demonstrate to the satisfaction of 

the CDFI Fund that the activity will be 

directly linked to its Financial 

Education and Counseling Services. 

Awardees are expected to use a portion 

of FEC Pilot Program grant funds to 

finance costs related to evaluating the 

impact of the Financial Education and 

Counseling Services on the financial 

knowledge, and change of skills and 

behavior, of Prospective Homebuyers. 

Such uses may include development 

and implementation of assessment tools, 

including both short-term and 

longitudinal assessments, and other 

research on effectiveness of particular 

program activities. 

7. Indirect Costs: An Awardee may 

use no more than fifteen percent (15%) 

of FEC Pilot Program grant funds to 

cover indirect expenses allowable under 

OMB Circular A–122 and OMB Circular 

A–87. 

G. FEC Pilot Program grant funds 

must be used to support the Awardee’s 

activities: grant funds cannot be used to 

support the activities of, or otherwise be 

‘‘passed through’’ to third-party entities, 

including Affiliates or Subsidiaries, 

without the prior written permission of 

the CDFI Fund. Notwithstanding this 

general prohibition against passing 

through funds to other entities, 

Intermediary Organizations shall be 

permitted to apply for FEC Pilot 

Program grant funds in furtherance of 

their strategy to support other providers 

of Financial Education and Counseling 

Services to Prospective Homebuyers, 

provided that such funds are not used 

to provide financial or technical 

assistance to any other organization (or 

its Affiliates) that receives a FEC Pilot 

Program grant through the FY 2009 

funding round. 

H. Assistance Agreement: Each 

Awardee under this NOFA must sign an 

Assistance Agreement in order to 

receive a disbursement of award 

proceeds from the CDFI Fund. The 

Assistance Agreement contains the 

terms and conditions of the award. For 

further information, see Section VI.A. of 

this NOFA. 

III. Eligibility Information 

A. Eligible Applicants: An Applicant 

must be an Eligible Organization in 

order to be eligible to receive an FEC 

Pilot Program award. In addition, as 

described further below, in order to be 

deemed eligible for an FEC Pilot 

Program award, an Eligible Organization 

must demonstrate that it meets certain 

minimum threshold requirements with 

respect to its experience and ability to 

provide Financial Education and 

Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers that result in documented 

Positive Behavioral Changes. 

1. Eligibility Specifications: 

(a) HUD Housing Counseling 

Agencies: To be eligible for an award 

through this NOFA, a HUD Housing 

Counseling Agency must be certified as 

such in accordance with section 

106(e)(1) of the Housing and Urban 

Development Act of 1968 (912 U.S.C. 

1701x(e)), as of November 19, 2009 and 

must maintain its status as a HUD 

Housing Counseling Agency through the 

Performance Period. 

(b) State, Local, and Tribal 

governments: State, Local, and Tribal 

governments must provide applicable 

documentation in the form specified in 

the Application. 

(c) CDFIs: To be eligible for an award 

through this NOFA, a CDFI must be 

certified as a CDFI by the CDFI Fund as 

of November 19, 2009 and must 

maintain its CDFI certification 

throughout the Performance Period. 

(d) Credit Unions: To be eligible for an 

award through this NOFA, a Credit 

Union must have received its Credit 

Union charter by or before November 

19, 2009 and must maintain its status as 

a Credit Union throughout the 

Performance Period. 

2. Experience and Ability: In order to 

be deemed an Eligible Organization by 

the Office of Financial Education (OFE), 

an organization must demonstrate that, 

at the time of Application submission, 

it has the requisite experience and 

ability to provide Financial Education 

and Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers that result in documented 

Positive Behavioral Changes. As 

specified further in the Application, an 

entity must demonstrate that: (i) It has 

been providing Financial Education and 

Counseling Services for a period of at 

least three years immediately prior to 

the Application deadline; (ii) it has at 

least two full-time equivalent positions 

dedicated to the development and/or 

delivery of Financial Education and 

Counseling Services (this may include 

the time of more than two staff persons, 

board members, or outside contractors 

totaling 75.0 hours or more per week); 

(iii) it has provided Financial Education 

and Counseling Services (either directly 

or, in the case of an Intermediary 

Organization, indirectly) to at least 100 

Potential Homebuyers in calendar year 

2008 or to an average of at least 150 

Potential Homebuyers per year over the 

three calendar years prior to the 

Application deadline, and tracked 

Positive Behavioral Change outcomes 

with respect to such services; and (iv) at 

the time of Application, it has budget 

resources of at least $50,000 dedicated 

to the provision of Financial Education 

and Counseling Services. Entities that 

cannot satisfy each of these four 

requirements do not meet the minimum 

requisite experience and ability to 

administer an FEC Pilot Program award, 

and will not be eligible for FEC Pilot 

Program awards. 

3. Eligibility Reviews: Eligibility 

reviews will be completed at the time of 

Application submission, based on the 

Application. 

4. Applications Submitted as Part of 

a Collaborative Effort: In such 

circumstances, the Collaborative Effort 

must identify in the Application the 

lead organization that will serve as the 

primary administrator of the FEC Pilot 

Program award. This lead organization 

must be able to assert that it can satisfy 

each of the four threshold criteria 

identified in Section III.A.2., above. 

5. Entities That Submit Applications 

Together with Affiliates or Subsidiaries; 

Applications From Common 

Enterprises: If an Applicant and its 

Affiliates or Subsidiaries wish to submit 

Applications, they must do so 

collectively, in one Application; an 

Applicant and its Affiliates or 

Subsidiaries may not submit separate 

Applications. If Affiliated or Subsidiary 

entities submit multiple Applications, 

the CDFI Fund reserves the right either 

to reject all such Applications received 

or to select a single Application as the 

only Application considered for a grant. 


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For purposes of this NOFA, in 

addition to assessing whether 

Applicants are Affiliates or Subsidiaries, 

the CDFI Fund will consider whether 

Applicants constitute a common 

enterprise. For the purposes of this 

NOFA, a common enterprise may exist: 

(i) Where the activities described in 

Applications submitted by separate 

entities are, or will be, operated and/or 

managed such that, in fact or effect, they 

may be viewed as a single entity; (ii) 

where the Applications submitted by 

separate entities contain significant 

narrative, textual or other similarities; or 

(iii) where the strategies and/or 

activities described in Applications 

submitted by separate entities are so 

closely related, in fact or effect, they 

may be viewed as substantially identical 

Applications. In such cases, the CDFI 

Fund reserves the right: to reject all 

Applications received from all such 

entities; to select a single Application as 

the only one that will be considered for 

an award; and/or, in the event that an 

Application is selected to receive an 

award, to deem certain activities 

ineligible. 

B. Limitations on Awards: Awardees 

are required to account for the use of all 

FEC Pilot Program award dollars. FEC 

Pilot Program award funds cannot be 

used to cover expenses of any same 

activities for which the Awardee has 

received, or will receive, awards from 

other sources of federal financial 

assistance; notwithstanding this 

limitation, FEC Pilot Program award 

funds can be used to increase the 

population served by the Awardee, and/ 

or to increase the scope of the 

Awardee’s Financial Education and 

Counseling Services. Intermediary 

Organizations that receive FEC Pilot 

Program awards may not use those 

dollars to provide assistance to other 

FEC Pilot Program awardees (or their 

Affiliates) that receive awards through 

this funding round. 

C. Matching Funds: There are no 

matching fund requirements for the FEC 

Pilot Program. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. MyCDFIFund Accounts: All 

Applicants must register User and 

Organization accounts in myCDFIFund, 

the CDFI Fund’s Internet-based 

interface. An Applicant 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 CDFI Fund’s primary means of 

communication with Applicants and 

Awardees, organizations must make 

sure that they update the contact 

information in their myCDFIFund 

accounts before the Application 

deadline. For more information on 

myCDFIFund, please see the 

‘‘Frequently Asked Questions’’ link 

posted at https://www.cdfifund.gov/ 

myCDFI/Help/Help.asp. 

B. Applications Submitted via 

myCDFIFund: Applicants must submit 

Applications under this NOFA 

electronically, through myCDFIFund, 

the CDFI Fund’s Internet-based 

interface. No paper submittals or 

attachments will be accepted. 

Applications sent by mail, facsimile or 

other form will generally not be 

accepted, except in circumstances 

approved in advance by the CDFI Fund, 

in its sole discretion. The CDFI Fund 

will post to its Web site at http:// 

www.cdfifund.gov instructions for 

accessing and submitting Applications 

as soon as they become available. 

C. Application Content Requirements: 

Detailed Application content 

requirements are found in the 

Application and guidance materials. 

Each Applicant must provide, as part of 

its Application, a Dun and Bradstreet 

Data Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) number pursuant to OMB 

guidance (68 FR 38402). In addition, 

each Application must include a valid 

and current Employer Identification 

Number (EIN). Applicants should allow 

sufficient time for the IRS and/or Dun 

and Bradstreet to respond to inquiries 

and/or requests for identification 

numbers. An Application that does not 

include an EIN is incomplete and 

cannot be transmitted to the CDFI Fund. 

The preceding sentences do not limit 

the CDFI Fund’s ability to contact an 

Applicant for the purpose of obtaining 

clarifying or confirming application 

information such as a DUNS number or 

EIN information. Once an Application is 

submitted, the Applicant will not be 

allowed to change any element of the 

Application. 

D. Application Deadlines: The FEC 

Pilot Program Application must be 

submitted to the CDFI Fund, in 

accordance with the instructions 

provided in the Application guidance 

materials, by no later than 5 p.m. ET on 

November 19, 2009. Applicants and 

potential Applicants with technical or 

programmatic questions must contact 

the CDFI Fund by 5 p.m. ET on 

November 17, 2009 in order to receive 

a response to their inquiries. The CDFI 

Fund will not respond to Applicants 

and potential Applicants that submit 

questions after this date until after the 

Application deadline. 

E. 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. Pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, the Application has been 

assigned the following control number: 

[1559–0034]. 

F. Late Delivery: The CDFI Fund will 

neither accept a late Application nor 

any portion of an Application that is 

late; an Application that is late, or for 

which any portion is late, will be 

rejected. The CDFI Fund will not grant 

exceptions or waivers. Any Application 

that is deemed ineligible will not be 

returned to the Applicant. 

G. Intergovernmental Review: Not 

applicable. 

H. Funding Restrictions: For 

allowable uses of FEC Pilot Program 

award proceeds, please see Section II.F. 

above. 

V. Application Review Information 

A. Format: Applications must be 

single-spaced and use a 12-point font 

with 1-inch margins. Each section in the 

Application that is reviewed has 

recommended page limitations. 

Applicants are encouraged to read each 

section carefully and to remain within 

the page limitations for each section. 

There is also an absolute page limitation 

of 25 pages for the entire Application. 

The CDFI Fund will not consider 

responses beyond the 25 page 

limitation. Also, the CDFI Fund will 

read only information requested in the 

Application and will not read 

attachments that have not been 

specifically requested in this NOFA or 

the Application. 

B. Criteria: Applicants will be 

evaluated across several key areas: 

1. Implementation Plan: The 

Applicant must provide a detailed, 

successful strategy for developing and 

delivering innovative Financial 

Education and Counseling Services to 

Prospective Homebuyers. The Applicant 

is required to identify and describe, 

among other things: (i) Its particular 

target market; (ii) the types of Financial 

Education and Counseling Services that 

the Applicant will provide to its target 

market, including any proposed 

innovations that will enhance the 

likelihood of success within the 

Performance Period; (iii) the need and 

demand for such services among the 

target market; and (iv) the delivery 

strategy for providing such services to 

the target market, including how it 

collaborates with other entities, and any 

proposed innovations that will enhance 

the likelihood of success within the 

Performance Period. 


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2. Proposed Impacts: The Applicant 

must be able to demonstrate that the 

effective delivery of its proposed 

Financial and Education Counseling 

Services will result in documented 

Positive Behavioral Changes among 

Prospective Homebuyers. To this end, 

the Applicant must identify and 

describe, among other things: (i) Its 

benchmarks for measuring Positive 

Behavioral Changes; (ii) its strategy for 

tracking and documenting Positive 

Behavioral Changes over time; and (iii) 

the extent to which it believes its model, 

if successful, can be readily replicated 

by other providers of Financial 

Education and Counseling Services. 

3. Organizational Capacity: The 

Applicant must demonstrate the ability 

and capacity to undertake its proposed 

delivery of the Financial Education and 

Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers, to measure and report on 

outcomes, and to manage its FEC Pilot 

Program award dollars. To this end, the 

Applicant will be required to identify 

and describe, among other things: (i) Its 

key personnel and staffing resources 

(current and proposed); (ii) its track 

record of providing Financial Education 

and Counseling Services and tracking 

program outcomes; (iii) its current 

financial condition, including results of 

recent audits; and (iv) its experience 

administering other federal government 

grant awards, if applicable. 

4. Budget/Sources and Use of Funds: 

The Applicant must demonstrate that it 

has a strategy to effectively and 

efficiently make use of the FEC Pilot 

Program award dollars. To this end, the 

Applicant will be required to complete 

a table outlining its proposed sources 

and uses of funds, and to provide a 

narrative explanation of how its award 

dollars will be used to: (i) Further the 

development and delivery of its 

Financial Education and Counseling 

Services; (ii) track customer 

performance; (iii) evaluate program 

effectiveness; and/or (iv) facilitate 

program replication. 

C. Review and Selection Process: 

1. Eligibility and Completeness 

Review: The CDFI Fund will review 

each Application for completeness. The 

OFE will review each Application to 

determine whether the Applicant meets 

the eligibility requirements set forth in 

this NOFA. An incomplete Application 

does not meet eligibility requirements 

and will be rejected. Any Application 

that does not meet eligibility 

requirements will not be returned to the 

Applicant. 

2. Substantive Review: If an 

Application is determined to be 

complete and the Applicant is 

determined to be an Eligible 

Organization, the CDFI Fund will 

conduct the substantive review of the 

Application in accordance with the 

criteria and procedures described in this 

NOFA, the Application, and any 

Application guidance. As part of the 

review process, the CDFI Fund may 

contact the Applicant by telephone, 

email, mail, or through an on-site visit 

for the sole purpose of obtaining 

clarifying or confirming Application 

information. The CDFI Fund reserves 

the right to collect such additional 

information from Applicants as it deems 

appropriate including, for example, 

copies of financial education curricula 

and organizational information. After 

submitting its Application, the 

Applicant will not be permitted to 

revise or modify its Application in any 

way nor attempt to negotiate the terms 

of an award. If contacted for clarifying 

or confirming information, the 

Applicant must respond within the time 

parameters set by the CDFI Fund. 

3. Application Review; Selection: 

Awards will be made based on 

Applicants’ experience and ability to 

provide Financial Education and 

Counseling Services to Prospective 

Homebuyers that result in documented 

Positive Behavioral Changes, in 

accordance with the criteria set forth 

above in Section V.B. 

(a) Application Review: Applications 

will be sorted into peer groupings based 

on factors such as the delivery strategy 

used to provide Financial Education 

and Counseling Services and the target 

market (geographic or otherwise) that is 

identified. To the extent possible, based 

primarily on the number of 

Applications received, Applications 

will be reviewed by multiple reviewers. 

Reviewers will be assigned a set number 

of Applications within each peer 

grouping. With respect to each 

Application reviewed, the reviewer will 

give equal weight to all elements of the 

Application proposal (i.e., each plan 

will be reviewed holistically—no one 

element will be scored higher or lower 

than any other element). Once the 

reviewer has completed all of his/her 

review assignments, he/she will provide 

a ranking of each Application relative to 

the other Applications that were 

reviewed. 

(b) Application Selection: Once all 

Applications have been reviewed, those 

Applications that were ranked the 

highest by the reviewers will be 

reviewed by a selection committee. Each 

member of the selection committee will 

review and rate each of these 

Applications, and based upon their 

ratings, will select up to five 

organizations that will be provided with 

awards. As part of this process, the 

selection committee will take into 

consideration the diversity of the 

Awardee pool, to ensure to the extent 

practicable that a broad cross-section of 

geographic areas served, target markets 

and delivery strategies are represented. 

(c) Evaluating Prior Award 

Performance: In the case of an 

Applicant that has received awards from 

any federal programs, the CDFI Fund 

reserves the right to contact officials 

from the appropriate federal agency or 

agencies to determine whether the 

Awardee is in compliance with current 

or prior award agreements, and to take 

such information into consideration 

before making an award under the FEC 

Pilot Program. 

4. Award Notification: Each Applicant 

will be informed of the CDFI Fund’s 

award decision either through a 

notification from the CDFI Fund if 

selected for an award or written 

declination if not selected for an award. 

The CDFI Fund will notify Awardees by 

e-mail using the addresses maintained 

in the Awardee’s myCDFIFund account. 

5. The CDFI Fund reserves the right 

to reject an application if information 

(including administrative errors) comes 

to the attention of the CDFI Fund that 

either adversely affects an Applicant’s 

eligibility for an award, or adversely 

affects the CDFI Fund’s evaluation or 

scoring of an Application, or indicates 

fraud or mismanagement on the part of 

an Applicant. 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 Web 

site. There is no right to appeal the CDFI 

Fund’s award decisions. The CDFI 

Fund’s award decisions are final. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

A. 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 receive disbursement 

of award proceeds. The Assistance 

Agreement will set forth certain 

required terms and conditions of the 

award, which will include but not be 

limited to: (i) The amount of the award; 

(ii) the type of award; (iii) the approved 

uses of the award; (iv) the approved 

target market to which the funded 

activity must be directed; (v) 

performance goals and measures; and 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 199 / Friday, October 16, 2009 / Notices 53329 

(vi) reporting requirements for all 

Awardees. Assistance Agreements 

under this NOFA generally will have 

three-year performance periods. 

B. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, 

in its sole discretion, to terminate the 

Assistance Agreement and rescind an 

award if the Awardee fails to return the 

Assistance Agreement, signed by the 

authorized representative of the 

Awardee, and/or provide the CDFI Fund 

with any other requested 

documentation, within the deadlines set 

by the CDFI Fund. Each Awardee must 

provide the CDFI Fund with a certificate 

of good standing (or equivalent 

documentation) from its State (or 

jurisdiction) of incorporation. 

C. Reporting: 

1. Reporting requirements: The CDFI 

Fund will collect information, on at 

least an annual basis, from each 

Awardee which may include, but shall 

not be limited to: (i) Use of FEC Pilot 

Program award dollars; (ii) aggregated 

characteristics of individuals that 

received Financial Education and 

Counseling Services funded by FEC 

Pilot Program award dollars; and (iii) 

the extent to which the Awardee 

satisfied its performance goals and 

measures, to include measures of the 

effectiveness of the Awardee’s strategy 

and ability to create Positive Behavioral 

Change among Prospective Homebuyers. 

Each Awardee is responsible for the 

timely and complete submission of such 

reports, 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 reports or other documentation 

that the CDFI Fund may require, the 

Awardee is responsible for ensuring that 

the information is submitted timely and 

complete. The CDFI Fund reserves the 

right to contact such additional entities 

or signatories to the Assistance 

Agreement and require that additional 

information and documentation be 

provided. The CDFI 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 FEC Pilot 

Program. 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 Awardees. 

2. Accounting: The CDFI Fund will 

require each Awardee that receives an 

award through this NOFA to account for 

and track the use of the grant award. 

This means that for every dollar of an 

award received from the CDFI Fund, the 

Awardee will be required to inform the 

CDFI Fund of its uses. This will require 

Awardees to separately account for the 

proceeds and use of the award, subject 

to the applicable OMB Circulars. The 

CDFI Fund will provide guidance to 

Awardees outlining the format and 

content of the information to be 

provided on an annual basis, outlining 

and describing how the funds were 

used. Each Awardee that receives an 

award must provide the CDFI Fund with 

the required complete and accurate 

Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) form 

for its bank account prior to award 

closing and disbursement. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

A. The CDFI Fund will respond to 

questions and provide support 

concerning this NOFA and the 

Application between the hours of 9 a.m. 

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

publication of this NOFA through two 

days prior to the Application deadline. 

The CDFI Fund will not respond to 

questions or provide support concerning 

the Applications that are received after 

5 p.m. ET on said dates, until after the 

Application deadline. Applications and 

other information regarding the CDFI 

Fund and its programs may be obtained 

from the CDFI Fund’s Web site at http:// 

www.cdfifund.gov. The CDFI Fund will 

post responses on its Web site to 

questions of general applicability 

regarding the FEC Pilot Program. 

B. The CDFI Fund’s contact 

information is as follows: 

TABLE 4—CONTACT INFORMATION

Fax number for all offices: 202–622–7754 

Type of question Telephone number (not toll free) E-mail addresses 

FEC Pilot Program ........................................................................................................................ 202–622–6355 cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov 

Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation ....................................................................................... 202–622–6330 cme@cdfi.treas.gov 

Information Technology Support .................................................................................................. 202–622–2455 IThelp@cdfi.treas.gov 

C. Communication with the CDFI 

Fund: The CDFI Fund will use the 

myCDFIFund Internet interface to 

communicate with Applicants and 

Awardees, using the contact information 

maintained in their respective 

myCDFIFund accounts. Therefore, the 

Applicant and any Subsidiaries, 

signatories, and Affiliates must maintain 

accurate contact information (including 

contact person and authorized 

representative, e-mail addresses, fax 

numbers, phone numbers, and office 

addresses) in its myCDFIFund 

account(s). For more information about 

myCDFIFund (which includes 

information about the CDFI Fund’s 

Community Investment Impact System), 

please see the Help documents posted at 

http://www.cdfifund.gov/ciis/ 

accessingciis.pdf. 

VIII. Information Sessions and 

Outreach 

The CDFI Fund may conduct 

webinars or host information sessions 

for organizations interested in applying 

to, or learning about, the CDFI Fund’s 

programs. For further information, 

please visit the CDFI Fund’s Web site at 

http://www.cdfifund.gov. 

Authority: Pub. L. 110–289. 

Dated: October 9, 2009. 

Jose Villar, 

Chief Operating Officer, Community 

Development Financial Institutions Fund. 

[FR Doc. E9–24861 Filed 10–15–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–70–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Performance Review Board Members 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Under the provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 4314(c)(4) agencies are required 

to publish a notice in the Federal 

Register of the appointment of 

Performance Review Board (PRB) 

members. This notice updates the VA 

Performance Review Board of the 

Department of Veterans Affairs that was 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 9, 2008 (Vol. 73, No. 197). 

DATES: Effective Date: October 16, 2009. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES