The Interagency Community Investment Committee

ICIC 2023 Action Plan
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary .................................................................................................. 1

SECTION 1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 4

SECTION 2. Seeking Community Input: Themes from Request for Information 

Submissions.............................................................................................................. 6

SECTION 3. Agency Actions: New Federal Collaborations.......................................... 12

SECTION 4. Looking Forward .................................................................................... 16

Appendix A: Request for Information Questions ....................................................... 17

Appendix B: Request for Information Submissions .................................................. 18
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 1

ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In early 2022, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce (Commerce), Department 

of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of 

Transportation (DOT), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) recognized the tremendous 

opportunity presented by American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 

(BIL), Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS)—and eventually 

the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—to not only deliver capital and resources to underserved 

communities, but to also strengthen underlying capital delivery systems in the process. The suite of 

federal investments presents people, communities, businesses, and partners with unprecedented 

opportunities to build assets and sustainable, long-term economic growth. However, many partners 

and stakeholders also face challenges navigating complex systems, regulations, and policy rules. 

Absent intentional action, historically marginalized communities could miss consequential economic 

investment opportunities once again.

The Interagency Community Investment Committee (ICIC)1 organized in July 2022 to facilitate the flow 

of strategic resources into underserved communities2

 across the country by better aligning federal 

community investment programs and attracting aligned private-sector investments. Our efforts are 

consistent with Executive Order (EO) 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved

Communities Through the Federal Government and EO 14901 on Further Advancing Racial Equity and

Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government, which remind us that when 

people and places are denied opportunities to prosper, the entire nation is held back. The ICIC’s efforts 

are also reflective of the policy actions outlined in the Domestic Policy Council’s May 2023 memorandum, 

“Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Advancing Equitable Community and Economic 

Development in American Cities and Urban Communities,” issued to guide implementation of EO 14901’s 

directive to strengthen equitable development.

The ICIC members implement dozens of investment programs that support various aspects of 

civic infrastructure3

 and promote economic prosperity. Specifically, the ICIC is responsible for 

complementary efforts that can strengthen community financial institutions, scale small business 

growth and entrepreneurship, improve financial health and inclusion, and build community facilities 

and infrastructure. By further aligning implementation tactics, we can collectively increase and 

1 The ICIC members include the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce (Commerce), Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD), Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Small Business 

Administration (SBA).

2 Underserved communities refer to those populations as well as geographic communities that have been systematically denied the 

opportunity to participate fully in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as defined in Executive Orders 13985, 14020, and 14091.

3 Civic infrastructure refers to the assets, services, and amenities that support a community’s social, economic, and civic well-being, 

including but not limited to: health centers, libraries, community and recreation centers, arts and cultural venues, retail space for small 

businesses, job training centers, business incubators, community marketplaces, parks, trails, urban agriculture and community gardens, 

main streets, and public squares.
2 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

improve our reach and effectiveness. In its first year, the ICIC is focused on federal community 

investment programs that:

1. support community financial institutions; 

2. provide technical assistance and capacity building for emerging community development 

organizations, small businesses, consumers, and community stakeholders; and 

3. crowd-in additional private-sector investment or leverage.

A central tenant of the ICIC is to keep community voices at the forefront of this work4. Shortly after its 

creation, the ICIC canvassed the American public for their perspectives on how to improve the delivery 

and impact of federal community investment programs. The ICIC received over 75 formal comments 

from individuals, organizations, and coalitions reflecting the voices of community stakeholders across 

the country. The ICIC studied this feedback and identified several consistent key themes (Section 2):

1. Simplify and streamline program requirements to reduce barriers to participation across different 

federal community investment programs.

2. Allow greater flexibility to layer federal funds from multiple programs for high impact community 

development projects.

3. Make it easier to serve the hardest to reach market segments.

4. Embed equity5-centered design in new federal programs and encourage the adoption of equity 

measurement practices across federal community investment programs.

5. Better leverage federal data and reporting requirements to support secondary market 

development for community development finance.

6. Increase private and philanthropic sector support for federal efforts.

7. Leverage the convening power of the Federal Government to create a “Community of Practice” 

and support peer-to-peer learning, disseminate best practices, and support technical assistance 

to community organizations.

8. Consider expanding the reach of the ICIC to include other relevant federal agencies.

Informed by this feedback from community stakeholders, the ICIC identified a set of initial actions to 

better align federal community investment programs with the needs of underserved communities. This 

initial set of activities is intended as an important first step to realizing the potential that ICIC agency 

coordination can unlock for community investment (Section 3):

1. Strengthen our understanding of federal community investment flows.

2. Support community finance market development through access to secondary markets.

4 Inclusive community engagement is a continuous process that seeks the representation of underserved populations in meaningful public 

engagement and is responsive to their feedback and needs.

5 Equity is the consistent and systematic treatment of all individuals in a fair, just, and impartial manner, including individuals who belong 

to communities that often have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American, Asian American, 

Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander persons and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; women and girls; lesbian, gay, 

bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; persons who live 

in U.S. territories; persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality; and individuals who belong to multiple such 

communities, as defined in Executive order 14091.
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 3

3. Ensure ‘no wrong doors’ for small businesses trying to access capital.

4. Leverage the convening power of the Federal Government to connect rural communities to capital

5. Identify opportunities to improve the alignment of federal investments to maximize community 

impact.

These actions demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to increasing efficiencies 

and reducing redundancies across federal community investment programs. The ICIC will continue to 

encourage better coordination and collaboration across public-sector programs, non- and for-profit 

organizations, and community partners to support equitable community development that helps 

federal and private resources reach all Americans, including the many communities that have been 

underserved, discriminated against, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. While 

there is more work to do, this Action Plan represents an important step forward in building a more 

equitable economy. 

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo meeting with minority business owners in Cleveland, Ohio.
4 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION

On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive

Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. 

For far too long many communities across our nation have 

faced challenges accessing the capital necessary to build 

affordable homes, thriving small business ecosystems, 

accessible transportation infrastructure, and generational 

wealth and economic opportunities for residents.

In response to President Biden’s call to action, the ICIC was 

announced by Vice President Harris in July 2022 to realize the 

Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to building an 

economy that unlocks the economic potential of the many 

communities that have been underserved,discriminated 

against, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and 

inequality, resulting in a stronger economy for everyone. This commitment was reinforced by Executive 

Order 14901 on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the 

Federal Government and the Domestic Policy Council’s May 2023 memorandum, “Guidance for Federal 

Departments and Agencies on Advancing Equitable Community and Economic Development in American 

Cities and Urban Communities,” issued pursuant to that order.

The ICIC members include USDA, Commerce, HUD, DOT, Treasury, and SBA. These agencies implement 

multiple community investment programs with the aim of investing in communities, businesses, 

neighborhoods, and households that are underserved with respect to access to affordable capital and 

financial services, and as a result experience economic disparities that limit their financial security and 

economic mobility.

In recent years, trillions of dollars in public sector investment were authorized through programs 

under the ARP, the BIL, the CHIPS, and the IRA.

These once-in-a-generation investments present an opportunity to transform delivery of federal services 

to support catalytic economic growth in historically underinvested communities and address racial 

and geographic economic disparities. For growth to be sustainable however, it must be done with the 

explicit design and intent of helping historically disinvested communities attract scalable private and 

philanthropic investment to fully participate in our economy. The Biden-Harris Administration is working 

to ensure that these resources are invested more equitably than in the past to achieve this goal.

Collectively, ICIC member agencies administer dozens of federal community investment programs that 

tackle different aspects of civic infrastructure, including programs aimed at strengthening community 

financial institutions, scaling small business growth and entrepreneurship, improving financial 

health and inclusion, supporting stable, quality, affordable housing, and expanding community 

infrastructure. In its first year, the ICIC has initially focused on improving federal community 

investment programs that support community financial institutions; providing technical assistance 

and capacity-building for community development organizations, small businesses, and consumers; 

“It is therefore the policy of my 

Administration that the Federal 

Government should pursue a 

comprehensive approach to 

advancing equity for all, including 

people of color and others who 

have been historically underserved, 

marginalized, and adversely affected 

by persistent poverty and inequality. 

Affirmatively advancing equity, 

civil rights, racial justice, and equal 

opportunity is the responsibility of the 

whole of our Government.”

Executive Order 13985
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 5

and attracting additional private sector investment or leverage. Within this scope, the ICIC has pursued 

three objectives since its inception: (1) aligning federal resources, (2) attracting private capital, and (3) 

engaging with community stakeholders. 

In October 2022, the ICIC was joined by Vice President Harris, private sector participants, and 

community stakeholders at the Freedman’s Bank Forum to launch new public- and private-sector 

efforts to advance racial equity. In the following weeks, the ICIC canvassed the American public for 

their perspectives on how to improve collaboration around federal community investment programs.

In January 2023, the ICIC convened private sector representatives to explore a series of new 

commitments that could attract more private capital to underserved communities. In February 2023, 

the ICIC developed concrete opportunities to improve several federal community investment programs 

that promote equitable development and are directly aligned to community needs.

And now, in May 2023, the ICIC releases this 2023 Action Plan, which summarizes insights learned 

from community stakeholders and puts those insights into action by laying out corresponding ways 

to enhance the delivery of federal community investment programs and deepen federal government 

collaboration with the private sector.

SBA Administrator Guzman with staff of Joe’s Bakery and Coffee Shop in Austin, Texas.
6 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

SECTION 2. SEEKING COMMUNITY INPUT: THEMES FROM REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 

SUBMISSIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

In October 2022, the ICIC published the Request for Information around Federal Community 

Investment Programs (RFI) asking for stakeholder feedback on how to improve collaboration and 

alignment of federal community investment programs. The RFI closed on December 19, 2022, and 

over 75 formal comments were submitted by individuals, businesses, community development 

stakeholders, educational organizations, tribal entities, and trade associations. (See Appendix A for the 

key questions posed in the RFI and Appendix B for a list of organizations that responded to the RFI.) 

Several overarching topics emerged across RFI responses and discussions. This section will 

summarize comments on how federal coordination can increase program impact and decrease 

burden on participants as well as encourage greater participation in federal community investment 

programs. A driving focus of these efforts is to ensure equity-centered design and implementation in 

community investment programs and to help community finance scale to attract capital flows to more 

communities across America.

1. Simplify and streamline program 

requirements to reduce barriers 

to participation across different 

federal community investment 

programs.

A common theme across responses 

was the need to standardize 

and streamline definitions and 

requirements across federal 

agency programs, such as standard 

definitions for “small business,” 

“rural,” and “low income.” 

Respondents noted the complexity 

of understanding and following 

multiple federal program rules and 

requirements. The complexities can 

serve as a barrier to entry for smaller, 

newer, or less-well-resourced entities, 

which can also correlate with being 

a minority- focused entity. In addition, compliance and reporting requirements add operational 

costs to participation, which can limit the number of federal programs that community financial 

institutions are able to implement, thereby also limiting the communities served by these programs.

Aligning application, reporting, and compliance requirements to the extent allowable under federal 

statutes could increase the diversity of participants engaging in community investment programs 

as well as the diversity of communities being served. It would also reduce the operational burden of 

ongoing participation and compliance.

HUD Promotes Integrated Community Development 

through the Choice Neighborhoods Program

The Choice Neighborhoods program leverages significant 

public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies 

that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public 

or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach 

to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, 

and stakeholders come together to create and implement a 

plan that revitalizes severely distressed public and/or assisted 

housing and catalyzes critical neighborhood improvements

This program has successfully facilitated a wide variety of 

interagency community investments, with neighborhood 

leaders and their partners utilizing Treasury’s Low Income 

Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) or New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) 

funding, USDA funds, and SBA and DOT funds, among others 

to support broad-based community development.
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 7

2. Allow greater flexibility to layer federal funds from multiple programs for high impact 

community development projects. 

For high impact community investment projects such as affordable housing development, 

community facilities, and transportation infrastructure, it is often necessary for projects to combine 

or “layer” sources of funding from more than one federal program to meet financing needs. 

Respondents noted both the need to increase awareness of where there are opportunities to layer 

existing federal funds as well as new opportunities that could be identified through the ICIC’s work.

A recommended guiding principle for facilitating this layering was to align the timing and procedural 

steps to the largest source of federal funds where statute and regulation allow (e.g., if funding comes 

from three different federal programs, the timing for when a closing happens or documentation 

must be submitted for the largest federal program used by dollar amount apply to all three sources). 

Respondents also recommended publishing success stories on layering of federal funds to educate 

lenders and investors.

3. Make it easier to serve the hardest to 

reach market segments. 

A common theme from respondents 

related to increasing access to capital for 

low income and minority communities 

by expanding access to smaller sized 

loan products (e.g., small mortgage, 

small business, and/or consumer 

loans). Often the greatest need for these 

underserved markets are smaller sized 

loans across loan categories, which can 

cost a financial institution as much to 

underwrite as a larger size loan making 

the unit economics of small dollar 

lending unattractive for lenders. Federal 

credit programs are intended to close this 

gap by providing credit enhancement, 

risk reduction, or other incentives to 

lenders, however, the underwriting, 

reporting, documentation, and operational requirements associated with these programs can create 

barriers to lender participation.

Therefore, federal agencies implementing these programs should consider allowing financial 

institutions to use their own standard internal risk assessments that align with similarly sized loans 

for small dollar lending to increase institutions’ willingness to make these types of loans in these 

communities while safeguarding consumer protections. Respondents also advocated for the SBA 

to fill this gap as a direct lender to borrowers not currently being served by the private market and 

consider increasing the size of the loan guarantee of such loans to decrease their risk.

Another theme that came up in this category of facilitating greater flexibility was to allow federal 

dollars to be used as first loss capital to increase lending capacity and leverage. Agencies could 

explore ways to coordinate across programs to provide additional guarantees, first-loss capital, and 

other structures to support private sector investment in underserved communities. 

SBA Expands Community Advantage Pilot Program to 

Deploy More Capital

In March 2022, the SBA jointly announced with VP Harris a 

range of policy changes to Community Advantage, the SBA’s 

loan guarantee program for mission lenders including CDFIs 

and Community Development Corporations. 

This included lifting the moratorium on Community 

Advantage lenders to expand the number of SBA lenders 

participating in this mission lender program and therefore 

expand the number of SBA-backed loans in the country. It 

also included policy changes to expand access to capital by 

better aligning underwriting requirements with community 

realities such as eliminating the criminal background 

history question requirements and increasing the maximum 

unsecured amount from $25,000 to $50,000. and allowing 

for automatic approval of credit underwriting alternatives.
8 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

4. Embed equity-centered design 

in new federal programs and 

encourage the adoption of equity 

measurement practices across 

federal community investment 

programs.

Respondents stressed the need for 

programming, lending products, and 

leadership to be culturally relevant 

to their respective communities.

Examples given include collecting data 

on the demographics of the boards 

and executive leadership of lending 

institutions, including race, age, and 

gender, as well as transaction-level 

lending data disaggregated by similar 

demographic information to ensure 

accountability to equity goals.

Treasury’s SSBCI Interim Final Rule 

can serve as an example for what kind 

of disaggregated lending data can 

and should be collected. Another example of using data to ensure accountability to equity goals 

is Treasury’s Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP). In the ECIP program, the dividend or 

interest rate that participating institutions pay Treasury under the terms of their investments will be 

reduced if they achieve specified benchmarks for increasing their qualified lending to minority, rural, 

and urban low-income and underserved communities, low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers, 

and other similar lending. Treasury will provide additional credit toward this rate reduction when ECIP 

participants engage in “deep impact lending,” which includes loans to low-income borrowers and 

underserved small businesses, for deeply affordable housing, and in persistent-poverty communities. 

This approach is designed to help level the playing field for borrowers that face the greatest barriers 

to accessing capital and will provide greater transparency into the impact of the program.

Finally, another theme across responses was the need to improve the cultural competency of federal 

employees involved in federal program design and implementation. Recommendations included 

mandatory training and increasing opportunities for peer learning among federal agencies and with 

local partners participating in these federal programs.

Treasury Announces Small Business Demographic Data 

Effort to Improve Equity

Treasury announced a historic demographic information 

collection effort to measure equity outcomes for small 

businesses supported by the State Small Business Credit 

Initiative (SSBCI) program. The information collected 

by Treasury will support the program’s commitment 

to expanding access to capital for underserved small 

businesses. Jurisdictions participating in SSBCI will report 

demographic information collected from small businesses 

that receive capital through the program, including 

data on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender 

identity. The data is essential to measuring the impact of 

SSBCI capital and aligns with Treasury’s commitment to 

promote economic growth by investing in the communities 

and businesses that are most in need of resources. The 

information collected will aid jurisdictions looking to 

attract additional investment by demonstrating strong 

performance in investment in underserved businesses.
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 9

5. Better leverage federal data and 

reporting requirements to support 

secondary market development for 

community development finance.

The need to create a secondary market 

for community finance to pool and 

securitize assets to create liquidity 

for originators and investors, thereby 

enabling community finance to reach 

scale, was another cross-cutting theme. 

Investors in a pool of assets want to be 

able to understand the underlying loans 

within a pool of assets and to evaluate 

their performance. Currently, there are 

limited standard definitions or products 

within the community finance sector, which stifles the development of a secondary market. While 

many community finance entities will still provide specialized loan products to specific borrowers 

or communities not suitable for securitization, there is substantial opportunity to provide standard 

loan definitions and products to securitize for a secondary market sale and ultimately increase the 

number of loans made towards community investment. 

Suggested ways to generate the data necessary to achieve this included creating Federal definitions 

for transaction-level loan terms, using SSBCI’s transaction-level data reporting requirements as a 

model, and creating data-sharing agreements across federal credit programs and data aggregators.

6. Increase private and philanthropic sector support for federal efforts.

Respondents recognized the role for public-private partnerships in furthering community investment 

and supporting underserved entrepreneurs and communities. There is a role for private capital to 

“match” federal contributions in programming and a need for supporting activities not covered by 

federal funds. However, information on potential philanthropic partners is diffuse and hard to find. 

One suggestion was to create a national database connecting those seeking capital to philanthropic 

and private sector partners. Additionally, philanthropic partners should work with relevant federal 

agencies to share best practices throughout the industry on leveraging private funds and donations 

for fundraising and technical assistance.

Another identified need was for broad and consistent marketing to raise awareness of technical 

assistance and lending programs in underserved communities. CDFIs and other community lenders 

often need more resources to find the small businesses that need them most. There is a need for 

all relevant stakeholders, including state governments in addition to the Federal Government, 

to actively publicize and market these programs. One RFI respondent provided a state example 

on the benefit of consistent CDFI marketing describing how California state agencies promoted 

the California Rebuilding Fund program which helped generate leads for CDFIs. Often marketing 

activities are not federal programs targeted to lending, creating an opportunity for private or 

philanthropic partners to fill this critical gap.

USDA Supports Rural Homeownership through Multiple 

Programs

USDA’s Section 502 Loan Program and Mutual SelfHelpHousing Program successfully demonstrate the benefits 

of subsidy layering. The 502 Loan Program provides a direct 

loan or guarantee for homeownership while the Mutual SelfHelp Housing Program provides grant funding to eligible 

organizations that support 502 homeowners in building their 

homes. These USDA programs were applauded in the RFI 

responses with one respondent saying, “When direct loans 

are combined with the Mutual Self-Help Housing program, 

there is an even more significant benefit to the family.”
10 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

7. Leverage the convening power of 

the Federal Government to create 

a “Community of Practice” and 

support peer-to-peer learning, 

disseminate best practices, and 

support technical assistance to 

community organizations.

A recurring theme was the role 

federal agencies can play in 

sharing information to help 

various community organizations 

become aware of opportunities 

for federal funding and 

understand and comply with 

program requirements. One 

recommendation included federal 

agencies publishing lists of private, 

philanthropic, or nonprofit partners 

with experience working with 

community organizations.

Other suggestions included prioritizing consistent outreach efforts to those actors closer to the ground 

of this work, such as community resource centers, regional coalitions, state and local governments, 

Small Business Development Centers, and federal field offices. This kind of information-sharing and 

outreach was also called out as crucial to better serve low-income communities and communities 

of color, which often lack the networks and the resources to individually develop the connections to 

consistently learn about and prepare for federal opportunities.

DOT Helps Communities Access Funds and Make 

Infrastructure Improvements

DOT’s Thriving Communities Network was lauded by RFI 

respondents as a model for delivering technical assistance, 

including to underserved communities. The Thriving Communities 

Network is designed to help Cabinet agencies coordinate strategy, 

collaborate across initiatives, and target deployment of a full range 

of federal place-based technical assistance and capacity-building 

resources to urban, rural, and Tribal communities experiencing 

a history of economic distress and systemic disinvestment. This 

effort includes resources to help disadvantaged communities with 

grant and financial management, pre-development assistance, 

community engagement, planning, and project delivery support. 

As part of the Thriving Communities Network, in February HUD 

opened an online portal for local governments to apply for 

Technical Assistance to ensure housing needs are considered as 

part of larger local infrastructure investments plans with a focus on 

disadvantaged communities.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg meeting with 

community members of the historic Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 11

There were also calls to increase transparency around federal loan and grant awards, including 

publishing the metrics or rationales for selecting award recipients to better educate future 

applicants on application strengths and weaknesses. 

Finally, there was a recurring call for greater technical assistance and capacity-building to help 

community organizations in underserved communities understand and comply with program 

requirements, including by allocating project budget to be used for the capacity-building of entities 

involved in the project. 

8. Consider expanding the reach of the ICIC to include other relevant federal agencies.

Finally, another cross-cutting theme in response to the RFI was the request to add other agencies 

to the ICIC. The agency most frequently cited was the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as it 

leads implementation of the Green House Gas Reduction Fund (Sec. 60103 of the Inflation

Reduction Act), which is a $27 billion fund with $8 billion set aside for investment in low-income and 

disadvantaged communities. There were also calls to add the Department of Energy to ensure that 

new federal investments to support the climate transition reach disadvantaged communities and 

are aligned with other federal community development programs. 

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in Jackson, Kentucky with community members and advocates leading 

a discussion on climate change, resiliency, and economic justice.
12 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

SECTION 3. AGENCY ACTIONS: NEW FEDERAL COLLABORATIONS

Drawing on the input of community stakeholders, the ICIC identified opportunities for federal 

partnerships to support access to capital and align federal investments. These new federal 

collaborations are small steps that will yield large windfalls for making federal community investment 

programs more accessible to underserved communities.

1. Strengthen our understanding of federal community investment flows

Treasury’s Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) will work with Commerce’s 

Regional Economic Research Initiative (Regional Initiative) to lead a pilot to gather and utilize 

data from multiple ICIC agencies to analyze how federal community and economic development 

investments flow into and interact in specific urban neighborhoods and rural counties. Treasury’s 

OCED and Commerce’s Regional Initiative will engage with ICIC agency partners as well as local 

communities to gain insight into how federal community and economic development investments 

are being utilized, their impacts, and the extent to which investments under different programs 

interact and identify opportunities for coordination or alignment among programs that could 

strengthen communities.

Treasury’s OCED and Commerce’s Regional Initiative will identify key institutions through which 

significant federal community and economic development flows, such as units of state or local 

government, CDFIs, or other community-based institutions. This pilot has the potential to 

benefit communities by providing information on federal investments in their communities that 

could assist in local alignment or collaboration and a streamlined approach to community and 

economic development.

The findings of this analysis could inform local community and economic development planning and 

future collaborations among ICIC agencies. It could also inform the potential value of developing a 

national database of community and economic development investments in the future. The power 

of this type of geographically-mapped data may be seen in USDA’s Rural Gateway tool, which tracks 

and displays USDA’s investments across programs and time and HUD CART, a reference tool which 

displays HUD’s investments in communities across the United States. 

2. Support community finance market development through access to secondary markets

The CDFI sector has grown substantially in recent years as CDFIs responded to financing needs in their 

community throughout the pandemic and the sector has absorbed significant federal investment. There 

is increasing interest, from a wide range of public agencies and private sector investors, in partnering 

with CDFIs to responsibly deploy capital in financially underserved communities. 

HUD, through Ginnie Mae (GNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC) have a joint 

initiative which provides smaller mortgage lenders with access to the secondary mortgage market 

by pooling government-backed mortgages and securitizing them into GNMA-backed securities. In 

2022, the scale of this HUD-FHLBC program reached $3 billion. Looking at this joint initiative as a 

way to help smaller financial institutions expand the origination of government-backed mortgages 

in underserved communities, HUD, USDA, and Treasury’s CDFI Fund will work together to encourage 

more CDFIs to participate in the program. USDA will focus on the most underserved rural areas, 

especially tribal communities. This collaboration would enable more borrowers to realize the 

benefits of affordable homeownership while expanding community lenders’ access to global 

financial markets through HUD’s GNMA guaranty.
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 13

The CDFI Fund and Treasury will also engage private sector investors and CDFIs to better understand 

the metrics that could best support market development, secondary market access, and the value 

of CDFIs to the communities they serve. Informed by this engagement, an RFI on financial data 

collection from CDFIs will be released in 2023.

3. Ensure ‘no wrong doors’ for small businesses trying to access capital

Collectively, the ICIC agencies support a nationwide network of more than 1,000 field offices and 

external resource partners6 focused on providing small and minority-owned businesses with 

technical assistance, including guidance on accessing capital. When entrepreneurs walk through 

the door of a specific agency field office they are currently only able to receive information about 

the capital products and technical assistance programs of that respective agency. The ICIC envisions 

a ‘no wrong door’ policy through information sharing and referrals between agency field offices to 

ensure entrepreneurs get the information and assistance most relevant to them. 

To fulfill this vision, agency field offices will develop knowledge of the capital products and technical 

assistance of other agencies and create the ability to refer entrepreneurs to other agency field 

offices. The ICIC will work across agencies to provide information guides and train field and resource 

partner staff on the full suite of federal capital products and technical assistance programs. The ICIC 

will work with agencies to develop a repository of recorded trainings and other materials for staff 

to refer to as they work with entrepreneurs and small business owners. Additionally, the ICIC will 

consider the technology services needed to assist staff in referring entrepreneurs to the agency or 

resource partner most impactful for their business needs.

These efforts will promote a better, more cohesive customer service experience for business owners 

and increase the likelihood they are able to find the best financial product or education for their 

unique needs.

4. Leverage the convening power of the Federal Government to connect rural communities to capital

In April 2022, USDA established the Rural Partners Network (RPN), an initiative that transforms how 

the Federal Government partners with and delivers economic opportunity for rural communities.

RPN executes on this vision by placing new federal staff in select communities; providing intensive 

whole-of-government, place-based technical assistance; deploying multiple capacity-building 

tools and federal resources to help rural communities access federal, state, and private sources 

of investment. As part of the ICIC’s commitment to deliver capital to rural communities, agencies 

have identified opportunities to leverage RPN to provide information guides and train field and 

RPN staff on federal support for affordable housing, small business development, and workforce 

development. Further, RPN has leveraged relationships with private sector stakeholders designed to 

facilitate technical and capacity building assistance. The initial focus of these activities will be:

Rural Housing. Chronic underinvestment in new housing means many communities across America, 

including rural communities, lack access to sufficient affordable housing for their residents. Through 

ARP, Treasury’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program provided $350 billion to 

over 30,000 state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments across the country to support their 

response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their longer-term efforts to build a strong recovery. As part 

of their work on the RPN, HUD has established a Rural Prosperity Coordinating Council to improve 

6 Field offices and external resources partners include USDA’s State Rural Development Offices and Rural Partners Network Staff; Minority 

Business Development Agency Business Centers; DOT’s Small Business Transportation Resource Centers; SBA’s Field Offices; and Treasury’s 

CDFI Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative. 
14 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

the agency’s efforts to build local capacity to advance rural housing, alongside the housing and 

homeownership programs that HUD administers for rural America. Expanding access to affordable 

housing is a top priority for RPN and the Administration, and the use of SLFRF funds for affordable 

housing is part of the Administration’s broader Housing Supply Action Plan to increase the supply of 

affordable housing over time. In July 2022, Treasury announced guidance designed to increase the 

affordable housing supply by expanding the list of presumptively eligible uses of funds for affordable 

housing and permitting recipients to use SLFRF to make long-term loans to finance certain 

affordable housing projects, includeing LIHTC projects. Since then, SLFRF recipients have increased 

their investments in affordable housing projects by 20%. Through the ICIC, Treasury, HUD, and USDA 

Rural Housing Service will work to share information on how more rural communities can leverage 

SLFRF for affordable housing development..

Small Business. USDA and Commerce will coordinate on developing minority businesses through 

the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and RPN communities. The Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act authorized MBDA to establish a Rural Business Center Program (RBCP). 

MBDA is putting together a rural supplement initiative to provide resources to several existing MBDA 

Business Centers that have existing relationships to rural communities to expand their footprint 

in FY 2023. This initiative will expand rural services and provide MBDA important information as it 

prepares to launch the RBCP once it is fully funded in FY 2024. There is an opportunity through RPN 

to catalyze this funding in nearby RPN community networks to expand business opportunities in 

these communities. For example, workforce development is a critical issue in the Mississippi RPN 

networks, so the Mississippi MBDA Business Center can partner with the RPN community networks 

to address workforce development.

Workforce Development. The BIL made amendments to Section 504(e) that expand eligible 

activities to include developing a robust surface transportation workforce with new skills resulting 

from emerging transportation technologies and activities to attract new sources of job-creating 

investment. An Administration priority for this work is to provide electric vehicle charging 

infrastructure in rural communities to enable EV use outside of major metropolitan centers. 

Leveraging RPN, DOT and USDA will improve technical assistance and educate local communities 

on eligible workforce development activities that can be funded with 504e funds and connect 

communities with USDA’s Rural Workforce Innovation Network. Furthermore, as DOT implements 

infrastructure project contracts, including those related to BIL, MBDA will work with its technical 

assistance programs to provide support to minority-owned enterprises to encourage participation in 

these federal projects.  

5. Identify opportunities to improve the alignment of federal investments to maximize 

community impact

The ICIC agencies are committed to working together to identify and, where feasible, take action 

to streamline or clarify the requirements of certain programs to facilitate their positive community 

impact. Given the numerous statutes and regulations across federal programs, this work is also more 

complex and challenging than other actions identified in this plan to develop best practices, share 

information, and leverage data to improve policy outcomes. It is also in many cases easier to achieve 

during the design phase of implementing new programs or new amendments to existing programs, 

than it is when implementing existing and long-standing federal programs. Recognizing both 

these challenges and the critical need to identify impactful first steps, the ICIC agencies identified 

preliminary opportunities to coordinate or clarify funds as ‘proof of concept’, to build from actions 
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 15

identified in the White House Housing Supply Action Plan, and to demonstrate the impact of this 

work on community development.

In December 2022, Congress expanded SLFRF to include eligible activities under HUD’s Community 

Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) which may enable local jurisdictions to make additional 

significant housing, community development, and infrastructure investments in their communities 

once these eligible uses are available. Treasury and HUD are working together to ensure that SLFRF 

and CDBG, as much as possible, complement each other and to limit the burden on recipient 

communities, consistent with the theme across RFI respondents of the need to align and minimize 

duplication of compliance requirements across federal programs. By allowing greater flexibility for 

SLFRF funds, more communities across the country will have the flexibility to make community 

development investments.. 

HUD, Treasury, and USDA will work together to ensure clarity as HUD develops implementation 

guidance for the Department’s recent “income and asset” rule under the Housing Opportunity 

Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). Among other things, once this rule is fully 

implemented, it will streamline the process for determining household income and rent payments, 

including by making it easier for Public Housing Authorities and HUD-assisted property owners 

to use income determinations made under other federal benefit programs such as LIHTC and the 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), where applicable. 

HUD is working with Treasury and other agencies to ensure that as the new programs funded in the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act are developed, their program design 

and definitions are created in a way that is consistent with and supports the White House Housing 

Supply Action Plan. 

Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack in conversation with farmers in England, Arkansas.
16 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

SECTION 4. LOOKING FORWARD

In less than a year, the ICIC has identified an initial set of actions described in this 2023 Action Plan 

to advance in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity and equitable 

development that uplifts all Americans. While these actions are meaningful first steps, they are only the 

start of this journey. Over the coming year, as this work continues to deepen through implementation of 

the first set of actions, the ICIC will look forward to scaling impact through two channels:

• Continue to foster collaboration through the ICIC by expanding its membership.

A bright spot from the RFI responses was the extraordinary support for the ICIC’s mission and interest 

to see its membership expanded to include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the 

Department of Energy (DOE). A key goal of this interest is helping historically disinvested

communities participate in historic federal investments to mitigate climate change. The Biden-Harris 

Administration, through its Justice 40 Initiative, has made it a goal that 40 percent of

the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are

marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. Fostering greater collaboration among

federal agencies historically charged with community development and federal agencies at the

forefront of climate and environmental policy will help further this goal.

• Identify opportunities where private investment can scale impact.

The public and privatesector work better when they work together. There is a need for coordinated

action to create virtuous cycles of investment and to achieve sustainable community development.

As RFI responses noted, there are often community needs that are not covered by federal funds where

parallel investment is needed to unlock the full potential of these dollars. In July 2022, Vice President

Harris announced with the ICIC the formation of the Economic Opportunity Coalition (EOC), a private 

coalition of 20+ corporations and foundations committed to investing in underserved communities 

and entrepreneurs alongside the ICIC’s work. In October 2022, the EOC announced several 

commitments aligned with the RFI findings and agency actions discussed in this plan

-- to invest $1 billion in deposits to Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs); enhance access to

technology, data, and professional expertise for CDFIs and MDIs; and create more pathways for

students and small business owners to access the education and technical assistance necessary

to grow their businesses. The ICIC will continue to identify opportunities where private investment

can scale impact working with the EOC and others to support transformative change in historically

underinvested communities.

While there is more work to do, this Action Plan represents an important step forward in building a 

more equitable economy.
ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN 17

APPENDIX A: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION QUESTIONS

1. Please describe examples of best practices and lessons learned from community investment

projects that have layered a mix of public, private, and/or philanthropic capital. How could these

projects have been more impactful or more cost effective to implement? In responding to this

question, examples may address any of the four substantive areas of focus described in this RFI:

(1) strengthening the capacity of community financial institutions; (2) supporting small businesses

and entrepreneurship; (3) improving financial health and inclusion; and (4) investing in community

facilities and infrastructure. In addition, a non-exhaustive list of example programs is provided in

the appendix of this RFI as a reference.

2. From the examples provided in response to question 1, what specific changes could agencies

consider to facilitate the layering of federal funds to attract greater private follow-on funding, as they

implement new community investment programs and contemplate modifications to others?

3. As agencies are implementing new programs under recent CHIPS and IRA legislation, how can they

best incorporate these lessons to streamline design and delivery, as well as ensure historically

underserved communities benefit from federal funds?

4. Community financial institutions play a critical role in providing safe, affordable capital and financial

services to historically underserved communities. How can federal agency coordination help build

the capacity of these organizations to serve their communities?

5. What specific changes to federal credit or securitization programs could facilitate additional private

investment in community financial institutions, and what are the most important existing limitations

of these programs that may prohibit additional scale that could be achieved?

6. How can the Agencies incentivize or structure data collection and reporting to promote increased

private sector and philanthropic investment in community financial institutions?

7. How can further alignment of and coordination between federal agencies in the four areas of

substantive focus result in stronger outcomes with regards to reducing racial economic disparities,

improving financial security and economic mobility, and generating broadly shared economic

opportunity?

8. What data should the Agencies consider collecting to better understand and report the impact of

community investments in reducing racial, gender, and geographic, or other economic disparities?

9. How can the Agencies collaborate on providing technical assistance, opportunities for peer-to-peer

learning, and other non-financial resources to support the deployment of capital or implementation

of community-serving projects in historically underserved communities?

10. Please describe best-in-class examples of how federal technical assistance has been best

implemented through public-private partnerships.
18 ICIC 2023 ACTION PLAN

APPENDIX B: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION SUBMISSIONS 

•	 Accion Opportunity Fund

•	 African American Alliance of 

CDFI CEOs

•	 American Bankers Association

•	 Anonymous (4)

•	 Arkview Capital

•	 Association for Enterprise 

Opportunity

•	 Avenida Guadalupe 

Association

•	 Calvert Impact

•	 CDFI Coalition

•	 Center for Impact Finance

•	 Community Development 

Bankers Association

•	 Community Education Group

•	 Community Investment 

Corporation

•	 Credit Union National 

Association

•	 Dream.org Green for All

•	 Ewing Marion Kauffman 

Foundation

•	 Fahe

•	 Federation of American 

Scientists

•	 Financial Services Innovation 

Coalition

•	 Fincher’s Texas Best, LLC

•	 Gordon Long

•	 Guider Property Management 

Inc.

•	 Gusto

•	 Hope Credit Union/Hope 

Enterprise Corporation/Hope 

Policy Institute

•	 Housing Assistance Council

•	 Inclusiv

•	 Independent Community 

Bankers of America

•	 JD Quinitchette

•	 Joebed Carpena-Bermudez

•	 Judith Williams

•	 Larry Ephfrom

•	 Latino Community 

Foundation

•	 Lendistry

•	 LiftFund

•	 Local Initiative Support 

Corporation

•	 Maeve McNamee Danielson

•	 Napoleon Hardy

•	 National Association for 

Latino Community Asset 

Builders

•	 National Association of 

Affordable Housing Lenders 

•	 National Community 

Reinvestment Coalition

•	 National Disability Institute

•	 National Fair Housing Alliance

•	 National Rural Housing 

Coalition

•	 Nationally Association of 

Federally-Insured Credit 

Unions

•	 Native CDFI Network

•	 New Markets Tax Credit 

Coalition

•	 Northeast Community Federal 

Credit Union

•	 Opportunity Finance Network

•	 Pacific Community Ventures

•	 Partners for Rural 

Transformation

•	 Pioneer Green Farms, Inc.

•	 Poverty & Race Research 

Action Council

•	 Prospera

•	 Prosperity Now

•	 Reform the SBA: BIGGER 

Mission, Authority, and 

Resources

•	 Reimagine Main Street

•	 Reimagining Rural Assistance 

Network

•	 Resilient Veterans

•	 Sachs Management, Inc.

•	 Southern Economic 

Advancement Project

•	 Student Borrower Protection 

Center 

•	 Test-Taking Solution, LLC

•	 The National Asian/

Pacific Islander American 

Chamber of Commerce and 

Entrepreneurship

•	 The National Bankers 

Association

•	 Tony Hamer

•	 TrackerSled

•	 U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.

•	 U.S. Impact Investing Alliance

•	 Unique Adult Day Healthcare 

Inc.

•	 United South and Eastern 

Tribes Sovereignty Protection 

Fund

•	 United States Hispanic 

Chamber of Commerce