Demand Increases 30 Percent for FY 2010 Native American CDFI Assistance Program

CDFI Fund Receives 61 Funding Applications Requesting $23.7 Million

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced today that it received 61 applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2010 funding round of the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program. Representing a 27 percent increase over the 48 applications the CDFI Fund received in the original, pre-Recovery Act application solicitation of the FY 2009 round, applicants requested more than $23.7 million in financial and technical assistance for FY 2010 round, up 30 percent over the $18.3 million requested last year.

"The NACA Program is vital for reaching and helping our nation's most distressed Native communities, helping them start to move toward economic recovery and economic self-sufficiency," said CDFI Fund Director Donna Gambrell. "The $23.7 million is the most funding ever requested in the history of the program and clearly demonstrates the critical need for these resources."

The CDFI Fund published a Notice of Funds Availability in the Federal Register on August 20, 2009 announcing that it was making approximately $12 million available through the FY 2010 funding round, pending Congressional appropriations. The deadline for applications was October 7, 2009, and awards will be announced in the spring 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 Native American communities. The characteristics of the applicant pool include:

Geographic Distribution

• Applications were received from 19 states

Institution Type

• Loan funds - 31 applicants (51 percent)
• Credit Unions - 1 applicant (2 percent)
• Banks, thrifts or holding companies - 3 applicants (3 percent)
• Sponsoring entities - 26 applicants (44 percent)

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