Demand Up 97 Percent in FY 2010 Round of CDFI Program CDFI Fund Receives 408 Applications Requesting More Than $467 Million

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced today that it received a total of 408 applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2010 round of the CDFI Program, representing a significant increase in demand. Applicants requested more than $467.4 million in assistance, a 97 percent increase from the $237.7 million requested through the original, pre-Recovery Act application solicitation of the FY 2009 round.

"CDFIs are continuing to deal with the harsh realities of the financial crisis on a day to day basis. The extraordinary demand we've seen in the latest application round of the CDFI Program shows the great need in distressed communities for capital to provide affordable financial products and services," said CDFI Fund Director Donna Gambrell. "Today's economy is creating a need for CDFIs to expand their impact as low-income people and communities across the nation continue to bear a disproportionate burden and rely on CDFIs to provide critically needed support."

The CDFI Fund received 322 applications requesting almost $459 million under the Financial Assistance component and 86 applications requesting over $8.4 million under the Technical Assistance component of the CDFI Program.

The CDFI Fund published a Notice of Funds Availability in the Federal Register on September 23, 2009 announcing that it was making approximately $113 million available for the FY 2010 round, pending Congressional appropriation. Approximately $20 million of these funds are being targeted to CDFIs that applied under Category I of the application, which is known as Small and Emerging CDFI Assistance or SECA Applicants. Approximately $90 million are targeted to CDFIs that applied under Category II of the application, known as Core Applicants. The remaining $3 million in funds will be awarded to CDFIs that applied for Technical Assistance only. The deadline for applications was November 18, 2009 and awards will be announced in the summer of 2010.

Applications are currently being evaluated through a merit-based qualitative review to identify those applicants most likely to have the greatest impact in our nation's most distressed low-income rural and urban communities. The characteristics of the applicant pool include:

Financial Assistance Component

Overview

322 applicants applied under the Financial Assistance Component requesting an aggregate total of $458,995,504 with:

• $435,726,392 in Financial Assistance
• $23,269,112 in Technical Assistance

Institution Type

• 245 (76.1 percent) are loan funds
• 45 (14.0 percent) are credit unions
• 23 (7.1 percent) are banks, thrifts or holding companies
• 9 (2.8 percent) are venture capital funds

Primary Geographic Market Served

• Major Urban: 170 (52.8 percent)
• Rural: 87 (27.0 percent)
• Minor Urban: 65 (20.2 percent)

Geographic Distribution

Applications were received from 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Technical Assistance Component

Overview

86 applicants applied for only Technical Assistance requesting an aggregate total of $8,466,949.

Institution Type

• 76 (88.4 percent) are loan funds
• 6 (7.0 percent) are credit unions
• 2 (2.3 percent) are banks, thrifts or holding companies
• 2 (2.3 percent) are venture capital funds

For more information on the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit: www.cdfifund.gov