Treasury Awards More Than $200 Million in Community Development Funding

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Department of Treasury announced Friday the awarding of $202 million in grants and loans to 195 CDFIs through the CDFI Program and the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program, capping the 20th anniversary of CDFI funding.

The purpose of the CDFI Program is to invest in and build the capacity of community credit unions, banks, loan funds, and other financial institutions that serve rural and urban communities and do not have access to affordable financial products and services, according to Treasury. Since 31 CDFIs received the first CDFI Program awards ($35.5 million from the CDFI Fund) in 1996, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $1.5 billion through 20 rounds, building a nationwide network of more than 950 CDFIs covering all states. All CDFIs are focused on empowering the communities they serve.

"Today’s awards highlight how much the CDFI Program has contributed in its 20 year history towards building a strong network of CDFIs across the country," CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan said. "These important community partners are not only on the frontlines of economically distressed communities providing needed capital and credit, they are building a more inclusive economy which benefits the nation as a whole."

On Friday, 152 organizations received a total of $182.3 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards (including 28 first-time recipients) through the Fiscal Year 2015 round of the CDFI program. More than $439 million in funding was requested from a total of 374 organizations.

"Today’s awards highlight how much the CDFI Program has contributed in its 20 year history towards building a strong network of CDFIs across the country."

A total of 43 organizations received $19.6 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance from the NACA Program, which is designed to encourage the creation and strengthening of Native CDFIs. This includes seven first-time recipients. More than $37.5 million in funding was requested for the FY 2015 round which was the 14th round of funding that included awards specifically for Native Communities. The $19.6 million awarded from the NACA Program was a substantial increase from FY 2014, when $12.2 million was awarded to CDFIs serving Native Communities.

Additional information on the FY 2015 rounds of both the CDFI and NACA programs, which includes highlights and the full award list, can be found by clicking here for the CDFI Fund and by clicking here for the NACA Program.