Interested in applying to the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding round for the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program)? The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) is tentatively planning to open the FY 2025 CDFI Program and NACA Program Application round this winter. Now is a great time for organizations to begin preparing to apply for a CDFI Program or NACA Program award.
To help your organization prepare for the upcoming CDFI Program and NACA Program Application round, please review the steps below, and stay tuned for additional news about the program by subscribing to receive updates from the CDFI Fund.
Prepare Now: Initial “Getting Ready to Apply” Steps
To successfully submit a CDFI Program or NACA Program funding Application, your organization will need to have key information on hand and account access for several different federal government websites. You should act now to prepare your organization for when the Application period opens for these programs.
The CDFI Fund encourages you to thoroughly review the information regarding SAM.gov and Grants.gov in advance. Applicants should be advised that the CDFI Fund is not responsible for maintaining those systems and processes may change.
Completing the following steps will ensure that you will be able to access required forms and information in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS). Please note that while the CDFI Fund has done its best to compile useful links to help you, the CDFI Fund is not responsible for maintaining links or the accuracy of the information on other organizations' websites.
Step 1: Create or Update Your SAM.gov Account
SAM.gov is an official website of the U.S. government that collects, validates, stores, and disseminates business information about the federal government's trading partners in support of the contract awards, grants, and electronic payment processes. You must have an active registration in SAM.gov to do business with the federal government.
Registration in SAM.gov is required as part of the Grants.gov registration process and for all funding Applications submitted for the CDFI Program or NACA Program.
Applicants that have previously registered with SAM.gov must verify their accounts are current and active, as they need to be renewed annually. Even if your organization has registered with SAM.gov previously, you should not assume that your account is still active. Also, the process to reactivate your SAM.gov account may take longer than you anticipate. If your SAM.gov account is not active, you will be unable to submit the Grants.gov portion of your application.
Additionally, if your organization is selected to receive an FY 2025 CDFI Program or NACA Program award, the proceeds from your award will be paid to the bank account you have on file with SAM.gov. Therefore, it is important to have accurate bank information in the system.
- SAM.gov requires the public to have a Login.gov account to use SAM.gov. Here's more information about how to use Login.gov to access SAM.gov.
- Here’s a useful link on how to register a new entity with SAM.gov.
- This process may take three weeks or longer for both new applicants and applicants that need to re-activate an existing SAM.gov account.*
Step 2: Obtain your UEI and EIN Numbers
All entities wishing to do business with the federal government must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Each application submission for a federal award must include a UEI. Applicants without a UEI will not be able to register in Grants.gov, nor submit a Standard Form (SF)-424 Form in the Grants.gov system. Further, the UEI in your SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts must all match and must be the correct UEI for the organization submitting a CDFI Program or NACA Program application. Learn more about how to obtain a UEI here.
Applicants must also have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to register in SAM.gov, which is a prerequisite to submit an SF-424 Form via Grants.gov. Applicants that do not have an EIN must apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain the number. Further, the EIN in your SAM.gov and AMIS accounts must match and must be the correct EIN of the applicant.
- Please allow sufficient time to obtain your organization's EIN.
- To obtain an EIN, please visit the IRS.gov page here.
If you are currently registered in SAM.gov, you have already been assigned a UEI by SAM.gov. It is viewable on your entity registration record in SAM.gov. If you need to update or renew your registration, you will still need to ensure your renewal or updates occur on time and as required, but this does not affect whether you have been assigned a UEI. If your registration has expired, go here for instructions on how to renew your entity registration.
Step 3: Create or Update Your Grants.gov Account
Applicants must have a Grants.gov account and submit the appropriate SF-424 Form by the deadline listed in the applicable program NOFA published in the Federal Register.
The appropriate SF-424 Form must be completed and submitted electronically via Grants.gov by the deadline listed in the applicable program NOFA. Please note, you will not be able to submit the SF-424 Form to the CDFI Fund directly. An SF-424 Form must be submitted separately for each program applied to on an annual basis, in accordance with each program’s NOFA.
- Please allow sufficient time to register for a Grants.gov account.
- Here is a useful link on how to register for a Grants.gov account.
Step 4: Create or Update Your AMIS Account
Make sure your AMIS[1] account is up to date—verify that the contacts for your organization are current and assign them the proper permissions. Only a user designated as an Authorized Representative in AMIS can sign an FY 2025 CDFI Program or NACA Program Application.
Make sure that the person signing the Application as the Authorized Representative has the authority to sign legal documents on behalf of your organization. Consultants working on behalf of your organization cannot be designated as Authorized Representatives. Be sure to include email addresses and phone numbers for each contact. Also, make sure that your organization’s mailing address is correct.
In addition, your organization must have an EIN/Tax ID and UEI number recorded in AMIS to submit its Application when the applicable funding round is opened. These numbers should be the same as those recorded in the SF-424 Form.
- Please allow 1-2 business days to create or update an AMIS account*.
- Learn how to establish an AMIS account here.
Please note:
*Applicants should be advised that the stated durations are estimates only and represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer.
[1] AMIS is an enterprise-wide business system, built on a commercial off-the-shelf product called Salesforce that has been customized to meet the CDFI Fund’s specific needs. AMIS supports all CDFI Fund programs through each phase of the programs’ life cycles.
