[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57196-57205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23137]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund

    Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) 
inviting applications for the FY 2009 funding round of the Native 
American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program.
    Announcement Type: Initial announcement of funding opportunity.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.020

DATES: Application deadlines for the FY 2009 funding round of the NACA 
Program (hereafter, the FY 2009 Funding Round) are as follows: (i) If 
you wish to apply for Financial Assistance (FA) and/or Technical 
Assistance (TA) funding, your funding application must be received by 
midnight, Eastern Time (ET), Friday, December 19, 2008; and (ii) if you 
wish to apply for CDFI certification, your certification application 
must be received by midnight, ET, Monday, November 3, 2008.

                 Table 1--FY 2009 NACA Program Deadlines
                      [All midnight, ET deadlines]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Application        Last date to
        Application type               deadline       contact fund staff
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Native CDFI Certification         Monday, November    Wednesday, October
 Application.                      3, 2008.            29, 2008.
NACA Program Funding Application  Friday, December    Wednesday,
                                   19, 2008.           December 17,
                                                       2008.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Executive Summary: Subject to funding availability, this NOFA is 
issued in connection with the FY 2009 funding round of the NACA 
Program.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    A. Through the NACA Program, the CDFI Fund provides: (i) FA awards 
to CDFIs that have at least 50 percent of their activities directed 
toward serving Native American, Alaskan Native and/or Native Hawaiian 
Communities (Native CDFIs) that have Comprehensive Business Plans for 
creating demonstrable community development impact through the 
deployment of credit, capital, and financial services within their 
respective Target Markets or the expansion into new Investment Areas, 
Low-Income Targeted Populations, or Other Targeted Populations, and 
(ii) TA grants to Native CDFIs, entities proposing to become Native 
CDFIs, and to Native organizations, Tribes and Tribal organizations 
that propose to create Native CDFIs (Sponsoring Entities), in order to 
build the Native CDFIs' capacity to better address the community 
development and capital access needs of their existing or proposed 
Target Markets and/or to become certified Native CDFIs.
    B. The regulations governing the CDFI Program are found at 12 CFR 
Part 1805 (the Regulations) and provide guidance on evaluation criteria 
and other requirements of the NACA Program. The Fund encourages 
Applicants to review

[[Page 57197]]

the Regulations. Detailed application content requirements are found in 
the applicable funding application and related guidance materials. Each 
capitalized term in this NOFA is more fully defined in the Regulations, 
the application or the guidance materials.
    C. The Fund reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, 
all, or none of the applications submitted in response to this NOFA. 
The Fund reserves the right to re-allocate funds from the amount that 
is anticipated to be available under this NOFA to other Fund programs, 
particularly if the Fund determines that the number of awards made 
under this NOFA is fewer than projected.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

    1. FY 2009 Funding Round: Through this NOFA, and subject to funding 
availability, the Fund expects that it may award approximately $8 
million in appropriated funds. The Fund reserves the right to award in 
excess of $8 million in appropriated funds to Applicants in the FY 2009 
Funding Round, provided that the funds are available and the Fund deems 
it appropriate.
    2. Availability of Funds for the FY 2009 Funding Round of the NACA 
Program: Funds for the FY 2009 Funding Round have not yet been 
appropriated. If funds are not appropriated for the FY 2009 Funding 
Round, there will not be a FY 2009 Funding Round. Further, it is 
possible that if funds are appropriated for the FY 2009 Funding Round, 
the amount of such funds may be greater than or less than the amounts 
set forth above. Further, if funds for the FY 2009 Funding Round are 
not appropriated, entities that are eligible to apply for CDFI Program 
funds and that might otherwise have applied for NACA Program funds, are 
encouraged to apply for CDFI Program funds through the FY 2009 Funding 
Round.

B. Types of Awards

    An Applicant may submit an application either for: (i) A FA-only 
award; (ii) a FA award and a TA grant; or (iii) a TA-only grant.
    1. FA Awards: FA is intended to provide flexible financial support 
to Native CDFIs so that they may achieve the strategies outlined in 
their Comprehensive Business Plans. FA awards can be used in the 
following four categories: (i) Financial Products, (ii) Loan Loss 
Reserves, (iii) Capital Reserves, and/or (iv) Operations. For purposes 
of this NOFA, Financial Products means loans, grants, equity 
investments and similar financing activities, including the purchase of 
loans originated by certified Native CDFIs and the provision of loan 
guarantees, in the Applicant's Target Market, or for related purposes 
that the Fund deems appropriate. Loan Loss Reserves means funds that 
the Applicant will set aside in the form of cash, or through 
accounting-based accrual, reserves to cover losses on loans, accounts 
and notes receivable made in its Target Market, or for related purposes 
that the Fund deems appropriate. Capital Reserves means funds that the 
Applicant will set aside in the form of reserves to support the 
Applicant's ability to leverage other capital, for such purposes as 
increasing its net assets or serving the financing needs of its Target 
Market, or for related purposes that the Fund deems appropriate. 
Operations means: funds that the Applicant will use to undertake 
Development Services, Financial Services, and/or for related purposes 
that the Fund deems appropriate. FA awards are most commonly used for 
an Applicant's Financial Products since FA funds can be used to support 
the Applicant's community development lending activities.
    The Fund may provide FA awards in the form of equity investments 
(including, in the case of certain Insured Credit Unions, secondary 
capital accounts), grants, loans, deposits, credit union shares, or any 
combination thereof. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to provide a FA award in a form and amount other than that 
which the Applicant requests; however, the award amount will not exceed 
the Applicant's award request as stated in its application. The Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide a FA award to a 
NACA Program Applicant on the condition that the Applicant agrees to 
use a TA grant for specified capacity building purposes, even if the 
Applicant has not requested a TA grant.
    2. TA Grants:
    (a) The Fund provides TA awards in the form of grants. The Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to provide a TA grant for 
uses and amounts other than that which the Applicant requests; however, 
the award amount will not exceed the Applicant's award request as 
stated in its application and the applicable budget chart.
    (b) TA grants may be used to address a variety of needs including, 
but not limited to, development of strategic planning documents (such 
as strategic or capitalization plans), market analyses or product 
feasibility analyses, operational policies and procedures, curricula 
for Development Services (such as entrepreneurial training, home buyer 
education, financial education or training, borrower credit repair 
training), improvement of underwriting and portfolio management, 
development of outreach and training strategies to enhance product 
delivery, operating support to expand into a new eligible market, and 
tools that allow the Applicant to assess the impact of its activities 
in its community.
    (c) Eligible TA grant uses include, but are not limited to: (i) 
Procuring professional services; (ii) acquiring/enhancing technology 
items, including computer hardware, software and Internet connectivity 
and related MIS; (iii) acquiring training for staff, management and/or 
board members; and (iv) paying recurring expenses, including staff 
salary and other key operating expenses, that will enhance the capacity 
of the Applicant to serve its Target Market and/or to become certified 
as a Native CDFI or to create a Native CDFI.

C. Notice of Award; Assistance Agreement

    Each Awardee under this NOFA must sign a Notice of Award and an 
Assistance Agreement in order to receive a disbursement of award 
proceeds by the Fund. The Notice of Award and the Assistance Agreement 
contain the terms and conditions of the award. For further information, 
see Sections VI.A and VI.B of this NOFA.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    The Regulations specify the eligibility requirements that each 
Applicant must meet in order to be eligible to apply for assistance 
under this NOFA. The following sets forth additional detail and dates 
that relate to the submission of applications under this NOFA:
    1. FA Applicant Categories: All Applicants for FA awards through 
this NOFA must meet the criteria below:

[[Page 57198]]



                                         Table 2--FA Applicant Criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    FA applicant category         Applicant criteria     Applicant may apply for:       Application deadline
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Native CDFI..................  A Certified/Certifiable   Up to and including       Midnight, ET, Friday,
                                Native CDFI that meets    $500,000 in FA funds,     December 19, 2008.
                                all other eligibility     and up to $150,000 in
                                requirements described    TA funds.
                                in this NOFA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Please note: (1) The Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to award amounts in excess of or less than the 
anticipated maximum award amounts permitted in this NOFA, if the 
Fund deems it appropriate. (2) The term ``Native Initiatives Funding 
Programs'' refers to the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) 
Program and all prior funding programs, through which funds are no 
longer available, including the Native American CDFI Technical 
Assistance (NACTA) Component of the CDFI Program, the Native 
American CDFI Development (NACD) Program, and the Native American 
Technical Assistance (NATA) Component of the CDFI Program.

    2. TA Applicants: All Applicants for TA grants through this NOFA 
must meet the following criteria:

                                         Table 3--TA Applicant Criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Applicant type          Criteria of applicant       Applicant can apply for:        Application due date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TA-Only................  A Certified Native CDFI, a    Up to $150,000 for capacity-  TA-only: Midnight, ET,
                          Certifiable Native CDFI, an   building activities.          Friday, December 19, 2008.
                          Emerging Native CDFI, or a
                          Sponsoring Entity.
FA/TA..................  A Certified Native CDFI, or   Up to $150,000 in TA for      FA/TA: Midnight, ET,
                          a Certifiable Native CDFI.    capacity-building             Friday, December 19, 2008.
                                                        activities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Fund, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to award 
amounts less than the anticipated maximum award amounts permitted in 
this NOFA, if the Fund deems it appropriate.
    3. Native CDFI Certification Requirements: For purposes of this 
NOFA, eligible FA Applicants include Certified Native CDFIs and 
Certifiable Native CDFIs; eligible TA Applicants include Certified 
Native CDFIs, Certifiable Native CDFIs, Emerging Native CDFIs, and 
Sponsoring Entities defined as follows:
    (a) Certified Native CDFIs: A Certified Native CDFI whose 
certification has not expired and that has not been notified by the 
Fund that its certification has been terminated. Each such Applicant 
must submit a ``Certification of Material Event Form'' to the Fund not 
later than the Certification Application deadline stated in Table 1 of 
this NOFA, or such other dates as the Fund may proscribe, in accordance 
with the instructions on the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Please note: The Fund provided some Native CDFIs with 
written notification that their certifications had been extended. The 
Fund will consider the extended certification date (the later date) to 
determine whether those Native CDFIs meet this eligibility requirement.
    (b) Certifiable Native CDFIs: For purposes of this NOFA, a 
Certifiable Native CDFI is an entity from which the Fund receives a 
complete CDFI Certification Application no later than the Certification 
Application deadline stated in Table 1 of this NOFA, or such other 
dates as the Fund may proscribe, evidencing that the Applicant meets 
the requirements to be certified as a Native CDFI. Applicants may 
obtain the CDFI Certification Application through the Fund's Web site 
at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Applications for certification must be 
submitted as instructed in the application form.

    Please note: FA Applicants that are Certifiable Native CDFIs: 
While your organization may be conditionally selected for funding 
(as evidenced through the Notice of Award), the Fund will not enter 
into an Assistance Agreement or disburse award funds unless and 
until the Fund has certified your organization as a Native CDFI. If 
the Fund is unable to certify your organization as a Native CDFI 
based on the CDFI certification application that your organization 
submits to the Fund, the Notice of Award may be terminated and the 
award commitment may be cancelled, in the sole discretion of the 
Fund.

    (c) Emerging Native CDFIs: For purposes of this NOFA, an Emerging 
Native CDFI is an entity that demonstrates to the Fund's satisfaction 
that it has a reasonable plan to be certified as a Native CDFI by 
December 31, 2012 or such other date selected by the Fund. Emerging 
Native CDFIs may only apply for TA grants; they are not eligible to 
apply for FA awards. Each Emerging Native CDFI that is selected to 
receive a TA grant will be required, pursuant to its Assistance 
Agreement with the Fund, to become certified as a Native CDFI by a 
certain date.
    (d) Sponsoring Entities: For the purposes of this NOFA, a 
Sponsoring Entity is an entity that proposes to create a separate legal 
entity that will become a certified Native CDFI. For purposes of this 
NOFA, Sponsoring Entities include: (a) A Tribe, Tribal entity, Alaska 
Native Village, Village Corporation, Regional Corporation, Non-Profit 
Regional Corporation/Association, or Inter-Tribal or Inter-Village 
organization; (b) an organization whose primary mission is to serve a 
Native Community including, but not limited to an Urban Indian Center, 
Tribally Controlled Community College, community development 
corporation (CDC), training or education organization, or Chamber of 
Commerce, and that primarily serves (meaning, at least 50 percent of 
its activities are directed toward serving) a Native Community. 
Sponsoring Entities may only apply for TA grants; they are not eligible 
to apply for FA awards. Each Sponsoring Entity that is selected to 
receive a TA grant will be required, pursuant to its Assistance 
Agreement with the Fund, to create a legal entity by a certain date 
that will, in turn, seek Native CDFI certification and to transfer 
available award funds to that Native CDFI upon certification.
    4. Limitation on Awards: An Applicant may receive only one award 
through the NACA Program in the FY 2009 Funding Round. No Applicant may 
receive a BEA Program award if it has a NACA Program and a BEA Program 
application pending in the

[[Page 57199]]

same funding round (subject to certain limitations; refer to the 
Regulations at 12 CFR 1805.102). A NACA Program Applicant, its 
Subsidiaries or Affiliates also may apply for and receive a tax credit 
allocation through the NMTC Program, but only to the extent that the 
activities approved for NACA Program awards are different from those 
activities for which the Applicant receives a NMTC Program allocation.
    5. Contacting the Fund. The Fund will respond to questions and 
provide support concerning CDFI certification related to the FY 2009 
Funding Round between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, through the 
date that is three business days before the certification application 
deadline. The CDFI Certification Application and other information 
regarding CDFI certification may be obtained from the Fund's Web site 
at http://www.cdfifund.gov.
    B. Prior Awardees: Applicants must be aware that success in a prior 
round of any of the Fund's programs is not indicative of success under 
this NOFA. For purposes of this section, the Fund will consider an 
Affiliate to be any entity that meets the definition of Affiliate in 
the Regulations. Prior awardees are eligible to apply under this NOFA, 
except as follows:
    1. $5 Million Funding Cap: The Fund is generally prohibited from 
obligating more than $5 million in assistance, in the aggregate, to any 
one organization and its Subsidiaries and Affiliates during any three-
year period. In general, the three-year period extends back three years 
from the date that the Fund signs a Notice of Award; for purposes of 
this NOFA, and for ease of administration, the Fund will consider any 
assistance documented with a Notice of Award dated between July 31, 
2006 and July 31, 2009 (which is the anticipated date that the Fund 
will issue Notices of Award for the FY 2009 Funding Round).
    2. Failure to meet reporting requirements: The Fund will not 
consider an application submitted by an Applicant if the Applicant, or 
an Affiliate of the Applicant is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program and is not current on the reporting requirements 
set forth in a previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s), as of the applicable application deadline of this NOFA. 
Please note that the Fund only acknowledges the receipt of reports that 
are complete. As such, incomplete reports or reports that are deficient 
of required elements will not be recognized as having been received.
    3. Pending resolution of noncompliance: If an Applicant is a prior 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and if: (i) It has 
submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate 
noncompliance with a previous assistance, allocation or award 
agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final determination as 
to whether the entity is in default of its previous assistance, 
allocation or award agreement, the Fund will consider the Applicant's 
application under this NOFA pending full resolution, in the sole 
determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance. Further, if an 
Affiliate of the Applicant is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee and if 
such entity: (i) Has submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund 
that demonstrate noncompliance with a previous assistance, allocation 
or award agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final 
determination as to whether the entity is in default of its previous 
assistance, allocation, or award agreement, the Fund will consider the 
Applicant's application under this NOFA pending full resolution, in the 
sole determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance.
    4. Default status: The Fund will not consider an application 
submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program if, as of the applicable application deadline of 
this NOFA, the Fund has made a final determination that such Applicant 
is in default of a previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s). Further, an entity is not eligible to apply for an award 
pursuant to this NOFA if, as of the applicable application deadline of 
this NOFA, the Fund has made a final determination that an Affiliate of 
the Applicant is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund 
program and has been determined by the Fund to be in default of a 
previously executed assistance, allocation or award agreement(s). Such 
entities will be ineligible to apply for an award pursuant to this NOFA 
so long as the Applicant's, or its Affiliate's, prior award or 
allocation remains in default status or such other time period as 
specified by the Fund in writing.
    5. Termination in default: The Fund will not consider an 
application submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee or 
allocatee under any Fund program if: (i) Within the 12-month period 
prior to the applicable application deadline of this NOFA, the Fund has 
made a final determination that such Applicant's prior award or 
allocation terminated in default of a previously executed assistance, 
allocation or award agreement(s); and (ii) the final reporting period 
end date for the applicable terminated assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s) falls within the 12-month period prior to the application 
deadline of this NOFA. Further, an entity is not eligible to apply for 
an award pursuant to this NOFA if: (i) Within the 12-month period prior 
to the applicable application deadline, the Fund has made a final 
determination that an Affiliate of the Applicant is a prior Fund 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program whose award or allocation 
terminated in default of a previously executed assistance, allocation 
or award agreement(s); and (ii) the final reporting period end date for 
the applicable terminated assistance, allocation or award agreement(s) 
falls within the 12-month period prior to the application deadline of 
this NOFA.
    6. Undisbursed award funds: The Fund will not consider an 
application submitted by an Applicant that is a prior Fund Awardee 
under any Fund program if the Applicant has a balance of undisbursed 
award funds (defined below) under said prior award(s), as of the 
applicable application deadline of this NOFA. Further, an entity is not 
eligible to apply for an award pursuant to this NOFA if an Affiliate of 
the Applicant is a prior Fund Awardee under any Fund program, and has a 
balance of undisbursed award funds under said prior award(s), as of the 
applicable application deadline of this NOFA. In a case where another 
entity that Controls the Applicant is Controlled by the Applicant or 
shares common management officials with the Applicant (as determined by 
the Fund), is a prior Fund Awardee under any Fund program, and has a 
balance of undisbursed award funds under said prior award(s), as of the 
applicable application deadline of this NOFA, the Fund will include the 
combined awards of the Applicant and such Affiliated entities when 
calculating the amount of undisbursed award funds.
    For purposes of the calculation of undisbursed award funds for the 
BEA Program, only awards made to the Applicant (and any Affiliates) 
three to five calendar years prior to the end of the calendar year of 
the application deadline of this NOFA are included (`includable BEA 
awards'). Thus, for purposes of this NOFA, undisbursed BEA Program 
award funds are the amount of FY 2004, 2005 and 2006 awards that remain 
undisbursed as of the application deadline of this NOFA.
    For purposes of the calculation of undisbursed award funds for the 
CDFI Program and the Native Initiatives Funding Programs, only awards 
made to the Applicant (and any Affiliates) two to five calendar years 
prior to the end of the calendar year of this NOFA are

[[Page 57200]]

included (`includable CDFI/NI awards'). Thus, for purposes of this 
NOFA, undisbursed CDFI Program and NI awards are the amount of FY 2004, 
2005, 2006 and 2007 awards that remain undisbursed as of the 
application deadline of this NOFA.
    To calculate total includable BEA/CDFI/NI awards: Amounts that are 
undisbursed as of the application deadline of this NOFA cannot exceed 
five percent (5%) of the total includable awards. Please refer to an 
example of this calculation on the Fund's Web site, found in the Q&A 
document for the FY 2009 Funding Round.
    The ``undisbursed award funds'' calculation does not include: (i) 
Tax credit allocation authority made available through the New Markets 
Tax Credit (NMTC) Program; (ii) any award funds for which the Fund 
received a full and complete disbursement request from the Awardee by 
the applicable application deadline of this NOFA; (iii) any award funds 
for an award that has been terminated in writing by the Fund or 
deobligated by the Fund; or (iv) any award funds for an award that does 
not have a fully executed assistance or award agreement. The Fund 
strongly encourages Applicants requesting disbursements of 
``undisbursed funds'' from prior awards to provide the Fund with a 
complete disbursement request at least 10 business days prior to the 
application deadline of this NOFA. An Applicant that is unsure about 
the disbursement status of any prior award should contact the Fund's 
Financial Manager via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4b080f0d02652f2238293e39382e22253a3e2239222e380b282f2d22653f392e2a38652c243d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e1d1a1817703a372d3c2b2c2d3b37302f2b372c373b2d1e3d3a3837702a2c3b3f2d70393128">[email protected]</span></a> 
for more information, no less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to 
the funding application deadline of this NOFA. Requests submitted less 
than thirty calendar days prior to the application deadline may not 
receive a response before the application deadline.
    7. Contact the Fund. Applicants that are prior Fund Awardees are 
advised to: (i) Comply with requirements specified in assistance, 
allocation and/or award agreement(s), and (ii) contact the Fund to 
ensure that all necessary actions are underway for the disbursement or 
deobligation of any outstanding balance of said prior award(s). 
Disbursement questions should be directed to Grants Management via e-
mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#355247545b414658545b54525058505b41755651535c1b41475054461b525a43"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bcdbceddd2c8cfd1ddd2dddbd9d1d9d2c8fcdfd8dad592c8ced9ddcf92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>. Reporting and compliance 
questions should be directed to Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation 
(CME) at (202) 622-6330 or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#55363830153631333c7b21273034267b323a23"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dab9b7bf9ab9bebcb3f4aea8bfbba9f4bdb5ac">[email protected]</span></a>. Telephone 
calls to Grants Management and Financial Management should be directed 
to (202) 622-8226; facsimiles to (202) 622-7754; and mail to CDFI Fund, 
601 13th Street, NW., Suite 200 South, Washington, DC 20005. The Fund 
will respond to Applicants' reporting, disbursement or compliance 
questions between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, starting the date 
of the publication of this NOFA through the date that is two business 
days before the applicable funding application deadline. The Fund will 
not respond to Applicants' reporting, disbursement or compliance phone 
calls or e-mail inquiries that are received after 5 p.m. ET on said 
date, until after the funding application deadline.

C. Matching Funds

    1. Matching Funds Requirements in General: Applicants responding to 
this NOFA must obtain non-Federal matching funds from sources other 
than the Federal government on the basis of not less than one dollar 
for each dollar of FA funds provided by the Fund (matching funds are 
not required for TA grants). Matching funds must be at least comparable 
in form and value to the FA award provided by the Fund (for example, if 
an Applicant is requesting a FA grant from the Fund, the Applicant must 
have evidence that it has obtained matching funds through grant(s) from 
non-Federal sources that are at least equal to the amount requested 
from the Fund). Funds used by an Applicant as matching funds for a 
prior FA award under the NACA Program or under another Federal grant or 
award program cannot be used to satisfy the matching funds requirement 
of this NOFA. If an Applicant seeks to use as matching funds monies 
received from an organization that was a prior Awardee under the NACA 
Program, the Fund will deem such funds to be Federal funds, unless the 
funding entity establishes to the reasonable satisfaction of the Fund 
that such funds do not consist, in whole or in part, of NACA Program 
funds or other Federal funds. For the purposes of this NOFA, BEA 
Program awards are not deemed to be Federal funds and are eligible as 
matching funds. The Fund encourages Applicants to review the 
Regulations at 12 CFR 1805.500 et seq. and matching funds guidance 
materials on the Fund's Web site for further information.
    2. Matching Funds Requirements per Applicant Category: Due to 
funding constraints and the desire to quickly deploy Fund dollars, the 
Fund will not consider for a FA award any Applicant that has no 
matching funds in-hand or firmly committed as of the application 
deadline of this NOFA. Specifically, FA Applicants must meet the 
following matching funds requirements: An Applicant for a FA award must 
demonstrate that it has eligible matching funds equal to no less than 
25 percent of the amount of the FA award requested in-hand or firmly 
committed, on or after January 1, 2007 and on or before the application 
deadline. The Fund reserves the right to rescind all or a portion of a 
FA award and re-allocate the rescinded award amount to other qualified 
Applicant(s), if an Applicant fails to obtain in-hand 100 percent of 
the required matching funds by March 14, 2010 (with required 
documentation of such receipt received by the Fund not later than March 
31, 2010), or to grant an extension of such matching funds deadline for 
specific Applicants selected to receive FA, if the Fund deems it 
appropriate. For any Applicant that demonstrates that it has less than 
100 percent of matching funds in-hand or firmly committed as of the 
application deadline, the Fund will evaluate the Applicant's ability to 
raise the remaining matching funds by March 14, 2010.
    3. Matching Funds Terms Defined; Required Documentation. (a) 
``Matching funds in-hand'' means that the Applicant has actually 
received the matching funds. If the matching funds are ``in-hand,'' the 
Applicant must provide the Fund with acceptable written documentation 
of the source, form and amount of the Matching Funds (i.e., grant, 
loan, deposit, and equity investment). For a loan, the Applicant must 
provide the Fund with a copy of the loan agreement and promissory note. 
For a grant, the Applicant must provide the Fund with a copy of the 
grant letter or agreement for all grants of $50,000 or more. For an 
equity investment, the Applicant must provide the Fund with a copy of 
the stock certificate and any related shareholder agreement. Further, 
if the matching funds are ``in-hand,'' the Applicant must provide the 
Fund with acceptable documentation that evidences its receipt of the 
matching funds proceeds, such as a copy of a check or a wire transfer 
statement.
    (b) ``Firmly committed matching funds'' means that the Applicant 
has entered into or received a legally binding commitment from the 
matching funds source that the matching funds will be disbursed to the 
Applicant. If the matching funds are ``firmly committed,'' the 
Applicant must provide the Fund with acceptable written documentation 
to evidence the source, form, and amount of the firm commitment (and, 
in the case of a loan, the terms thereof), as well as the anticipated 
date of disbursement of the committed funds.
    (c) The Fund may contact the matching funds source to discuss the

[[Page 57201]]

matching funds and the documentation provided by the Awardee. If the 
Fund determines that any portion of the Applicant's matching funds is 
ineligible under this NOFA, the Fund, in its sole discretion, may 
permit the Applicant to offer alternative matching funds as substitute 
for the ineligible matching funds; provided, however, that (i) the 
Applicant must provide acceptable alternative matching funds 
documentation within 2 business days of the Fund's request and (ii) the 
alternative matching funds documentation cannot increase the total 
amount of Financial Assistance requested by the Applicant.
    4. Special Rule for Insured Credit Unions. Please note that the 
Regulations allow an Insured Credit Union to use retained earnings to 
serve as matching funds for a FA grant in an amount equal to: (i) The 
increase in retained earnings that have occurred over the Applicant's 
most recent fiscal year; (ii) the annual average of such increases that 
have occurred over the Applicant's three most recent fiscal years; or 
(iii) the entire retained earnings that have been accumulated since the 
inception of the Applicant or such other financial measure as may be 
specified by the Fund. For purposes of this NOFA, if option (iii) is 
used, the Applicant must increase its member and/or non-member shares 
or total loans outstanding by an amount that is equal to the amount of 
retained earnings that is committed as matching funds. This amount must 
be raised by the end of the Awardee's second performance period, as set 
forth in its Assistance Agreement, and will be based on amounts 
reported in the Applicant's Audited or Reviewed Financial Statements or 
NCUA Form 5300 Call Report. The Fund will assess the likelihood of this 
increase during the application review process. An award will not be 
made to any Applicant that has not demonstrated that it has increased 
shares or loans by at least 25 percent of the requested FA award amount 
between December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2008, as demonstrated by the 
corresponding NCUA report.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Form of Application Submission

    Applicants may submit applications under this NOFA only 
electronically, through Grants.gov. Applications sent by mail, 
facsimile or other form will not be accepted, except in circumstances 
that the Fund, in its sole discretion, deems acceptable.

B. Grants.gov

    For the FY 2009 Funding Round, in compliance with Public Law 106-
107 and Section 5(a) of the Federal Financial Assistance Management 
Improvement Act of 1999, the Fund is accepting applications submitted 
through the Grants.gov electronic system. The Fund has posted to its 
Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov instructions for accessing and 
submitting an application through Grants.gov. Applicants are encouraged 
to start the registration process now at www.Grants.gov as the process 
may take several weeks to fully complete. See the following link for 
information on getting started on Grants.gov: http://grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.pdf.

C. Application Content Requirements

    Detailed application content requirements are found in the 
application and guidance. Please note that, pursuant to OMB guidance 
(68 FR 38402), each Applicant must provide, as part of its application 
submission, a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 
number. In addition, each application must include a valid and current 
Employer Identification Number (EIN), with a letter or other 
documentation from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirming the 
Applicant's EIN. An electronic application that does not include an EIN 
is incomplete and cannot be transmitted to the Fund. Applicants should 
allow sufficient time for the IRS and/or Dun and Bradstreet to respond 
to inquiries and/or requests for identification numbers. Once an 
application is submitted, the Applicant will not be allowed to change 
any element of the application. The preceding sentence does not limit 
the Fund's ability to contact an Applicant for the purpose of obtaining 
clarifying or confirming application information (such as a DUNS number 
or EIN information).

D. MyCDFIFund Accounts

    All Applicants must register User and Organization accounts in 
myCDFIFund, the Fund's Internet-based interface. An Applicant must be 
registered as both a User and an Organization in myCDFIFund as of the 
applicable application deadline in order to be considered to have 
submitted a complete application. As myCDFIFund is the Fund's primary 
means of communication with Applicants and Awardees, organizations must 
make sure that they update the contact information in their myCDFIFund 
accounts before the applicable application deadline. For more 
information on myCDFIFund, please see the ``Frequently Asked 
Questions'' link posted at https://www.cdfifund.gov/myCDFI/Help/Help.asp.

E. Application Deadlines

    Applicants must submit all materials described in and required by 
the application by the applicable deadline.
    1. Application Deadlines: Applications must be received in 
accordance with this NOFA by the following deadlines:

                                     Table 4--FY 2009 CDFI Program Deadlines
                                          [All Midnight, ET deadlines]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Application type               Application deadline             Last date to contact fund staff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Native CDFI Certification             Monday, November 3, 2008..  Wednesday, October 29, 2008.
 Application.
NACA Program Funding Application....  Friday, December 19, 2008.  Wednesday, December 17, 2008.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    All funding applications must be electronic and submitted through 
Grants.gov: No paper submittals or attachments will be accepted (please 
see the CDFI Certification Application for requirements specific to 
that application).
    2. Late Delivery: The Fund will neither accept a late application 
nor any portion of an application that is late; an application that is 
late, or for which any portion is late, will be rejected. The Fund will 
not grant exceptions or waivers. Any application that is deemed 
ineligible will not be returned to the Applicant.

F. Intergovernmental Review

    Not applicable.

[[Page 57202]]

G. Funding Restrictions

    For allowable uses of FA proceeds, please see the Regulations at 12 
CFR 1805.301.

V. Application Review Information

A. Format

    Funding applications must be single-spaced and use a 12-point font 
with 1-inch margins. Each section in the Application that is scored has 
page limitations. Applicants are encouraged to read each section 
carefully and to remain within the page limitations for each section. 
The Fund will not consider responses beyond the specified page 
limitation in each section. Also, the 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, such 
as the Applicant's five-year strategic or marketing plans.

B. Criteria

    The Fund will evaluate each application on a 100-point scale using 
numeric scores with respect to the five sections required in the 
Application. The Fund will score each section as follows:

                  Table 5--Application Scoring Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Scoring
                     Application sections                        points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Market Analysis...............................................        25
Business Strategy.............................................        25
Community Development Performance & Effective Use.............        20
Management....................................................        20
Financial Health & Viability..................................        10
------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Technical Assistance Proposal

    Any Applicant applying for a TA grant, either alone or in 
conjunction with a request for a FA award, must complete a Technical 
Assistance Proposal (TAP) as part of its application. The TAP consists 
of a summary of the organizational improvements needed to achieve the 
objectives of the Comprehensive Business Plan, a budget, and a 
description of the requested goods and/or services comprising the TA 
award request. The budget and accompanying narrative will be evaluated 
for the eligibility and appropriateness of the proposed uses of the TA 
award (described above). In addition, if the Applicant identifies a 
capacity-building need related to any of the evaluation criteria above 
(for example, if the Applicant requires a market need analysis or a 
community development impact tracking/reporting system), the Fund will 
assess its plan to use the TA grant to address said needs.
    1. Non-Certified Applicants: An Applicant that is not a Certified 
Native CDFI and that requests TA to address certification requirements 
must explain how the requested TA grant will assist the Applicant in 
meeting the certification requirements. The Fund will assess the 
reasonableness of the plan to become certified (as specified above in 
Section III, Eligibility Requirements; A.3. CDFI Certification 
Requirements), taking into account the requested TA. For example, if 
the Applicant does not currently make loans and therefore does not meet 
the Financing Entity requirement, it might describe how the TA funds 
will be used to hire a consultant to develop underwriting policies and 
procedures to support the Applicant's ability to start its lending 
activity.
    2. Recurring Activities: An Applicant that requests a TA grant for 
recurring activities must clearly describe the benefit that would 
accrue to its capacity or to its Target Market(s) (such as plans for 
expansion of staff, market, or products) as a result of the TA award. 
If the Applicant is a prior Fund Awardee, it must describe how it has 
used the prior assistance and explain the need for additional Fund 
dollars over and above such prior assistance. The Fund will not provide 
funding for the same activities funded in prior awards.

D. Review and Selection Process

    1. Eligibility and Completeness Review: The Fund will review each 
application to determine whether it is complete and the Applicant meets 
the eligibility requirements set forth above. An incomplete application 
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 eligible, the Fund will 
conduct the substantive review of the application in accordance with 
the criteria and procedures described in the Regulations, this NOFA and 
the application and guidance. As part of the review process, the 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 (such as statements of work, matching funds 
documentation, EINs, DUNS numbers, for example). 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 Fund.
    3. Application Scoring; Ranking:
    (a) Application Scoring: The Fund will evaluate each application on 
a 100-point scale, comprising the five criteria categories described 
above, and assign numeric scores. An Applicant must receive a minimum 
score in each evaluation criteria in order to be considered for an 
award.
    (i) Evaluating Prior Award Performance: In the case of an Applicant 
that has previously received funding from the Fund through any Fund 
program, the Fund will consider and will deduct points for: (i) The 
Applicant's noncompliance with any active award or award that 
terminated in Calendar Year 2008 in meeting its performance goals and 
measures, reporting deadlines and other requirements set forth in the 
assistance or award agreement(s) with the Fund during the Applicant's 
two complete fiscal years prior to the application deadline of this 
NOFA; (ii) the Applicant's failure to make timely loan payments to the 
Fund during the Applicant's two complete fiscal years prior to the 
application deadline of this NOFA (if applicable); (iii) performance on 
any prior Assistance Agreement as part of the overall assessment of the 
Applicant's ability to carry out its Comprehensive Business Plan; and 
(iv) funds deobligated from a FY 2005, FY 2006 or FY 2007 FA award (if 
the Applicant is applying for a FA award under this NOFA) if (A) the 
amount of deobligated funds is at least $200,000 and (B) the 
deobligation occurred subsequent to the expiration of the period of 
award funds availability (generally, any funds deobligated after the 
September 30th following the year in which the award was made). Any 
award deobligations that result in a point deduction under an 
application submitted pursuant to either funding round of this NOFA 
will not be counted against any future application for FA through the 
NACA Program. Furthermore, in the case of an Applicant that has 
previously received funding through any Fund program, the Fund will 
consider and may, in its discretion, deduct points for those Applicants 
that have in any proceeding instituted against the Applicant in, by or 
before any court, governmental or administrative body or agency 
received a final determination within the last three (3) years 
indicating that the Applicant has discriminated on the

[[Page 57203]]

basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, marital status, 
receipt of income from public assistance, religion, or sex.
    (b) Ranking: The Fund then will rank the applications by their 
scores, from highest to lowest.
    4. Award Selection: The Fund will make its final award selections 
based on the rank order of Applicants by their scores and the amount of 
funds available. In addition, the Fund may consider the institutional 
and geographic diversity of Applicants when making its funding 
decisions.
    5. Insured CDFIs: In the case of Insured Depository Institutions 
and Insured Credit Unions, the Fund will take into consideration the 
views of the Appropriate Federal Banking Agencies; in the case of 
State-Insured Credit Unions, the Fund may consult with the appropriate 
State banking agencies (or comparable entity). The Fund will not 
approve a FA award or a TA grant to any Insured Credit Union (other 
than a State-Insured Credit Union) or Insured Depository Institution 
Applicant for which its Appropriate Federal Banking Agency indicates it 
has safety and soundness concerns, unless the Appropriate Federal 
Banking Agency asserts, in writing, that improvement in status is 
imminent and such improvement is expected to occur not later than 
September 30, 2009 or within such other time frame deemed acceptable by 
the Fund, or (ii) the safety and soundness condition of the Applicant 
is adequate to undertake the activities for which the Applicant has 
requested a FA award and the obligations of an Assistance Agreement 
related to such a FA award.
    6. Award Notification: Each Applicant will be informed of the 
Fund's award decision either through a Notice of Award if selected for 
an award (see Notice of Award section, below) or written declination if 
not selected for an award. Each Applicant that is not selected for an 
award based on reasons other than completeness or eligibility issues 
will be provided a written debriefing on the strengths and weaknesses 
of its application. This feedback will be provided in a format and 
within a timeframe to be determined by the Fund, based on available 
resources. The Fund will notify Awardees by email using the addresses 
maintained in the Awardee's myCDFIFund account (postal mailings will be 
used only in rare cases).
    7. The Fund reserves the right to reject an application if 
information (including administrative errors) comes to the attention of 
the Fund that either adversely affects an applicant's eligibility for 
an award, or adversely affects the Fund's evaluation or scoring of an 
application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of an 
Applicant. If the Fund determines that any portion of the application 
is incorrect in any material respect, the Fund reserves the right, in 
its sole discretion, to reject the application. The Fund reserves the 
right to change its eligibility and evaluation criteria and procedures, 
if the Fund deems it appropriate; if said changes materially affect the 
Fund's award decisions, the Fund will provide information regarding the 
changes through the Fund's Web site. There is no right to appeal the 
Fund's award decisions. The Fund's award decisions are final.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Notice of Award

    The Fund will signify its conditional selection of an Applicant as 
an Awardee by delivering a signed Notice of Award to the Applicant 
through its myCDFIFund account. The Notice of Award will contain the 
general terms and conditions underlying the Fund's provision of 
assistance including, but not limited to, the requirement that the 
Awardee and the Fund enter into an Assistance Agreement. The Applicant 
must execute the Notice of Award and return it to the Fund. By 
executing a Notice of Award, the Awardee agrees, among other things, 
that, if prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement with the Fund, 
information (including administrative error) comes to the attention of 
the Fund that either adversely affects the Awardee's eligibility for an 
award, or adversely affects the Fund's evaluation of the Awardee's 
application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the part of the 
Awardee, the Fund may, in its discretion and without advance notice to 
the Awardee, terminate the Notice of Award or take such other actions 
as it deems appropriate. Moreover, by executing a Notice of Award, the 
Awardee agrees that, if prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement 
with the Fund, the Fund determines that the Awardee or an Affiliate of 
the Awardee, is in default of any Assistance Agreement previously 
entered into with the Fund, the Fund may, in its discretion and without 
advance notice to the Awardee, either terminate the Notice of Award or 
take such other actions as it deems appropriate. The Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to rescind its award if the Awardee 
fails to return the Notice of Award, signed by the authorized 
representative of the Awardee, along with any other requested 
documentation, within the deadline set by the Fund. For purposes of 
this section, the Fund will consider an Affiliate to mean any entity 
that meets the definition of Affiliate in the Regulations.
    1. Failure to meet reporting requirements: If an Awardee, or an 
Affiliate of the Awardee is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any 
Fund program and is not current on the reporting requirements set forth 
in the previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s), as of the date of the Notice of Award, the Fund reserves 
the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance 
Agreement until said prior Awardee or allocatee is current on the 
reporting requirements in any previously executed assistance, 
allocation or award agreement(s). Please note that the Fund only 
acknowledges the receipt of reports that are complete. As such, 
incomplete reports or reports that are deficient of required elements 
will not be recognized as having been received. If said prior Awardee 
or allocatee is unable to meet this requirement within the timeframe 
set by the Fund, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, 
to terminate and rescind the Notice of Award and the award made under 
this NOFA.
    2. Pending resolution of noncompliance: If an Applicant is a prior 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and if: (i) It has 
submitted complete and timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate 
noncompliance with a previous assistance, award or allocation 
agreement; and (ii) the Fund has yet to make a final determination as 
to whether the entity is in default of its previous assistance, award 
or allocation agreement, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole 
discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance Agreement, pending 
full resolution, in the sole determination of the Fund, of the 
noncompliance. Further, if an Affiliate of the Awardee is a prior Fund 
Awardee or allocatee and if such entity: (i) Has submitted complete and 
timely reports to the Fund that demonstrate noncompliance with a 
previous assistance, award or allocation agreement; and (ii) the Fund 
has yet to make a final determination as to whether the entity is in 
default of its previous assistance, award or allocation agreement, the 
Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into 
an Assistance Agreement, pending full resolution, in the sole 
determination of the Fund, of the noncompliance. If the prior Awardee 
or allocatee in question is unable to satisfactorily

[[Page 57204]]

resolve the issues of noncompliance, in the sole determination of the 
Fund, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate 
and rescind the Notice of Award and the award made under this NOFA.
    3. Default status: If, at any time prior to entering into an 
Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, the Fund has made a final 
determination that an Awardee that is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee 
under any Fund program is in default of a previously executed 
assistance, allocation or award agreement(s), the Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance 
Agreement, until said prior Awardee or allocatee has submitted a 
complete and timely report demonstrating full compliance with said 
agreement within a timeframe set by the Fund. Further, if at any time 
prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, the 
Fund has made a final determination that an Affiliate of the Awardee is 
a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program and is in 
default of a previously executed assistance, allocation or award 
agreement(s), the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to 
delay entering into an Assistance Agreement, until said prior Awardee 
or allocatee has submitted a complete and timely report demonstrating 
full compliance with said agreement within a timeframe set by the Fund. 
If said prior Awardee or allocatee is unable to meet this requirement 
and the Fund has not specified in writing that the prior Awardee or 
allocatee is otherwise eligible to receive an Award under this NOFA, 
the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and 
rescind the Notice of Award and the award made under this NOFA.
    4. Termination in default: If (i) Within the 12-month period prior 
to entering into an Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, the Fund 
has made a final determination that an Awardee that is a prior Fund 
Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program whose award or allocation 
was terminated in default of such prior agreement; and (ii) the final 
reporting period end date for the applicable terminated agreement falls 
within the 12-month period prior to the application deadline of this 
NOFA, the Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to delay 
entering into an Assistance Agreement. Further, if (i) within the 12-
month period prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement through 
this NOFA, the Fund has made a final determination that an Affiliate of 
the Awardee is a prior Fund Awardee or allocatee under any Fund program 
whose award or allocation was terminated in default of such prior 
agreement; and (ii) the final reporting period end date for the 
applicable terminated agreement falls within the 12-month period prior 
to the application deadline of this NOFA, the Fund reserves the right, 
in its sole discretion, to delay entering into an Assistance Agreement.
    5. Deobligated awards: An Awardee that receives a FA award pursuant 
to this NOFA for which an amount over $200,000 is deobligated by the 
Fund subsequent to the expiration of the period of award funds 
availability (generally, any funds deobligated after the September 30th 
following the year in which the award was made) but within the 12 
months prior to the application deadline, may not apply for a new award 
through the NOFA for another CDFI Fund program funding round after the 
date of said deobligation.
    6. Compliance with Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws: If the Awardee 
has previously received funding through any Fund program, and if at any 
time prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement through this NOFA, 
the Fund is made aware of a final determination, made within the last 
three (3) years, in any proceeding instituted against the Awardee in, 
by or before any court, governmental or administrative body or agency, 
declaring that the Awardee has discriminated on the basis of race, 
color, national origin, disability, age, marital status, receipt of 
income from public assistance, religion, or sex, the Fund reserves the 
right, in its sole discretion, to terminate and rescind the Notice of 
Award and the award made under this NOFA.

B. Assistance Agreement

    Each Applicant that is selected to receive an award under this NOFA 
must enter into an Assistance Agreement with the Fund in order to 
receive disbursement of award proceeds. The Assistance Agreement will 
set forth certain required terms and conditions of the award, which 
will include, but not be limited to: (i) The amount of the award; (ii) 
the type of award; (iii) the approved uses of the award; (iv) the 
approved eligible market to which the funded activity must be targeted; 
(v) performance goals and measures; and (vi) reporting requirements for 
all Awardees. FA-only, FA/TA, and TA-only Sponsoring Entity Assistance 
Agreements under this NOFA generally will have three-year performance 
periods; TA-only Assistance Agreements generally will have two-year 
performance periods.
    The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate 
the Notice of Award and rescind an award if the Awardee fails to return 
the Assistance Agreement, signed by the authorized representative of 
the Awardee, and/or provide the Fund with any other requested 
documentation, within the deadlines set by the Fund.
    In addition to entering into an Assistance Agreement, each Awardee 
that receives an award either (i) in the form of a loan, equity 
investment, credit union shares/deposits, or secondary capital, in any 
amount, or (ii) a FA grant in an amount greater than $500,000, must 
furnish to the Fund an opinion from its legal counsel, the content of 
which will be specified in the Assistance Agreement, to include, among 
other matters, an opinion that the Awardee: (A) Is duly formed and in 
good standing in the jurisdiction in which it was formed and/or 
operates; (B) has the authority to enter into the Assistance Agreement 
and undertake the activities that are specified therein; and (C) has no 
pending or threatened litigation that would materially affect its 
ability to enter into and carry out the activities specified in the 
Assistance Agreement. Each other Awardee must provide the Fund with a 
good standing certificate (or equivalent documentation) from its state 
(or jurisdiction) of incorporation.

C. Reporting

    1. Reporting requirements: The Fund will collect information, on at 
least an annual basis, from each Awardee including, but not limited to, 
an Annual Report that comprises the following components: (i) Financial 
Reports (including an OMB A-133 audit, as applicable; however Financial 
Reports are not required of Sponsoring Entities); (ii) Institution 
Level Report; (iii) Transaction Level Report (for Awardees receiving FA 
awards); (iv) Financial Status Report (for Awardees receiving TA 
grants); (v) Uses of Financial Assistance and Matching Funds Report 
(for Awardees receiving FA awards); (vi) Uses of Technical Assistance 
(for Awardees receiving TA grants); (vii) Explanation of Noncompliance 
(as applicable); and (viii) such other information as the Fund may 
require. Each Awardee is responsible for the timely and complete 
submission of the Annual Report, even if all or a portion of the 
documents actually is completed by another entity or signatory to the 
Assistance Agreement. If such other entities or signatories are 
required to provide Institution Level Reports, Transaction Level 
Reports, Financial Reports, or other documentation that the

[[Page 57205]]

Fund may require, the Awardee is responsible for ensuring that the 
information is submitted timely and complete. The Fund reserves the 
right to contact such additional signatories to the Assistance 
Agreement and require that additional information and documentation be 
provided. The Fund will use such information to monitor each Awardee's 
compliance with the requirements set forth in the Assistance Agreement 
and to assess the impact of the NACA Program. All reports must be 
electronically submitted to the Fund via the Awardee's myCDFIFund 
account. The Institution Level Report and the Transaction Level Report 
must be submitted through the Fund's web-based data collection system, 
the Community Investment Impact System (CIIS). The Financial Report may 
be submitted through CIIS. All other components of the Annual Report 
may be submitted electronically, as directed, by the Fund. The Fund 
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify these reporting 
requirements if it determines it to be appropriate and necessary; 
however, such reporting requirements will be modified only after notice 
to Awardees.
    2. Accounting: The Fund will require each Awardee that receives FA 
and TA awards through this NOFA to account for and track the use of 
said FA and TA awards. This means that for every dollar of FA and TA 
awards received from the Fund, the Awardee will be required to inform 
the Fund of its uses. This will require Awardees to establish separate 
administrative and accounting controls, subject to the applicable OMB 
Circulars. The Fund will provide guidance to Awardees outlining the 
format and content of the information to be provided on an annual 
basis, outlining and describing how the funds were used. Each Awardee 
that receives an award must provide the Fund with the required complete 
and accurate Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) form for its bank account 
prior to award closing and disbursement.

VII. Agency Contacts

    A. The Fund will respond to questions and provide support 
concerning this NOFA and the funding application between the hours of 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, starting the date of the publication of this NOFA 
through the date that is two business days prior to the applicable 
application deadline. The Fund will not respond to questions or provide 
support concerning the application that are received after 5 p.m. ET on 
said dates, until after the respective funding application deadline. 
Applications and other information regarding the Fund and its programs 
may be obtained from the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. 
The Fund will post on its Web site responses to questions of general 
applicability regarding the NACA Program.
    B. The Fund's contact information is as follows:

                                          Table 6--Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Telephone number (not
           Type of question                  toll free)                         Email addresses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Fax number for all offices: 202-622-7754
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Technology/Technical       202-622-2455..........  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1b726f737e776b7f7e68705b787f7d72356f697e7a68357c746d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="761f021e131a061213051d361512101f58020413170558111900">[email protected]</span></a>.
 Support.
CDFI Program/NI......................  202-622-6355..........  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f19295979899949d81b192959798df8583949082df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f09394969998959c80b093949699de8482959183de979f86">[email protected]</span></a>.
CDFI Certification...................  202-622-6355..........  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#187b7c7e71707d7468587b7c7e71366c6a7d796b367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4f2c2b2926272a233f0f2c2b2926613b3d2a2e3c61282039">[email protected]</span></a>.
Grants Management....................  202-622-8226..........  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#177065767963647a76797670727a727963577473717e39636572766439707861"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d1b6a3b0bfa5a2bcb0bfb0b6b4bcb4bfa591b2b5b7b8ffa5a3b4b0a2ffb6bea7">[email protected]</span></a>.
Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation  202-622-6330..........  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#197a747c597a7d7f70376d6b7c786a377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="24474941644740424d0a50564145570a434b52">[email protected]</span></a>.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    C. Information Technology Support: People who have visual or 
mobility impairments that prevent them from creating a Target Market 
map using the Fund's Web site should call (202) 622-2455 for assistance 
(this is not a toll free number).
    D. Legal Counsel Support: If you have any questions or matters that 
you believe require response by the Fund's Office of Legal Counsel, 
please refer to the document titled ``How to Request a Legal Review,'' 
found on the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Further, if 
you wish to review the Assistance Agreement form document from a prior 
funding round, you may find it posted on the Fund's Web site (please 
note that there may be revisions to the Assistance Agreement that will 
be used for Awardees under this NOFA and thus the sample document on 
the Fund's Web site is provided for illustrative purposes only and 
should not be relied on for purposes of this NOFA).
    E. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The Fund will use the 
myCDFIFund Internet interface to correspond 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, email 
addresses, fax numbers, phone numbers, and office addresses) in its 
myCDFIFund account(s). For more information about myCDFIFund (which 
includes information about the 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 Fund may conduct webcasts or host information sessions for 
organizations that are considering applying to, or are interested in 
learning about, the Fund's programs. For further information, please 
visit the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov.

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 4706, 4707, 4717; 12 
CFR part 1805.

    Dated: September 24, 2008.
Donna J. Gambrell,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. E8-23137 Filed 9-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>