The CDFI Fund anticipates opening the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program) application round in the fall of 2021. This will ensure that the CDFI Fund can review the applications and announce awards in the spring of 2022. If your FDIC-insured bank or thrift is contemplating submitting an application to the upcoming FY 2021 funding round for the BEA Program, you may find the following information helpful as you plan.
- Since program rules prohibit FDIC insured-banks or thrifts that are Certified CDFIs from receiving a BEA Program award and a CDFI Program award in the same 12-month period, please plan accordingly.
- See the ‘Eligibility Requirements for FY 2021 BEA Program Applicants’ section below for more detail.
- Be sure to have needed ID numbers (DUNS and EIN) and up-to-date login credentials for SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS).
- First-time applicants should set up your SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts today!
- See the ‘Required ID Numbers and Accounts Needed to Apply to FY 2021 BEA Program’ section below for more detail.
Eligibility Requirements for FY 2021 BEA Program Applicants
If your organization will be applying to the BEA Program in addition to other CDFI Fund Programs, be mindful a BEA Program Applicant may not receive a FY 2021 BEA Program award if the BEA Applicant:
- Has an application pending for assistance under the FY 2021 round of the CDFI Program;
- Has been included on the list of Award Recipients under the CDFI Program award announcement within the 12-month period prior to the Federal Award Date of the FY 2021 BEA Program Award Agreement;
- Has been awarded assistance from the CDFI Fund under the FY 2021 CDFI Program within the 12-month period prior to the Federal Award Date of the FY 2021 BEA Program Award Agreement;
- Has ever received assistance under the CDFI Program for the same activities for which it is seeking an FY 2021 BEA Program Award; or
- Receives an award for activities funded by the award funds of another CDFI Fund program or Federal program.
Initial “Getting Ready to Apply” Steps
The below information has been previously released and updated to reflect new information regarding the System for Award Management (SAM or SAM.gov). As always, the CDFI Fund encourages you to thoroughly review the information provided on SAM.gov and Grants.gov in advance, as the CDFI Fund is not responsible for maintaining those systems and processes may change.
To successfully submit a BEA Program application, your FDIC-insured bank or thrift will need to have key information on hand and account access for several different federal government websites. You should act now to make sure that your organization is ready to apply when the application period opens for the BEA Program.
Completing the following will ensure that you have the needed ID numbers and that your organization will be able to access required forms and information in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS. Please note that while we have done our 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: Obtain your DUNS and EIN Numbers
Each applicant must provide, as part of its application submission, a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. Applicants without a DUNS number will neither be able to register in SAM.gov and Grants.gov, nor submit a Standard Form (SF)-424 Mandatory in the Grants.gov system. Further, the DUNS number in your SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts must all match and must be the correct DUNS number of the Applicant.
- Please allow sufficient time for Dun and Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/or requests for DUNS numbers.
- Learn more about how to obtain a DUNS number here.
Applicants must also have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to register in SAM.gov, which is a prerequisite to submit a SF-424 Mandatory via Grants.gov. Applicants that do not have an EIN number must apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain the number. Please remember that the EIN number in your SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts must all match and must be the correct EIN number of the Applicant.
- Please allow sufficient time to obtain your organization’s EIN.
- To obtain an EIN, please visit the IRS.gov page here.
Step 2: Create or Update Your SAM.gov Account
SAM 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 is required as part of the Grants.gov registration process and for all applications submitted for the BEA Program.
Applicants that have previously registered with SAM must verify their accounts are current and active, as they need to be renewed annually. Even if your organization has registered with SAM previously, you should not assume that your account is still active. Also, the process to reactivate your SAM 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 2021 BEA Program award, the funds from your award will be deposited 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 3: Create or Update Your Grants.gov Account
Applicants must have a Grants.gov account and submit the appropriate SF-424 Mandatory by the deadline listed in the applicable program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) published in the Federal Register.
The appropriate SF-424 Mandatory must be completed and submitted electronically via Grants.gov before the application materials are due in your AMIS account. You will not be able to submit the SF-424 Mandatory to the CDFI Fund directly. If you upload the SF-424 Mandatory to your AMIS account, it will not be reviewed. An SF-424 Mandatory 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's a useful link on how to register for a Grants.gov account.
Step 4: Create or Update Your AMIS Account
Make sure your AMIS account is up-to-date: verify 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 the FY 2021 BEA Program Application.
Make sure that the person signing the application as the Authorized Representative has 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 e-mail 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 DUNs number recorded in AMIS in order to submit your application when the applicable funding round is opened. These numbers should reflect those recorded in the SF-424 Mandatory.
- Please allow 1-2 business days to create or update an AMIS account*.
- Learn how to establish an AMIS account here.
Please Note:
*Applicants are advised that the stated durations are estimates only and represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer.
