CDFI Fund Releases Mandatory Recertification Guidelines for CDFIs

Washington, DC  The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced today details regarding the requirement that all Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) originally or most recently certified prior to February 1, 2010 must apply to the CDFI Fund for recertification no later than 11:59 PM EST April 1, 2013.

The recertification requirement includes but is not limited to CDFIs currently in the process of submitting an application under the fiscal year (FY) 2013 rounds of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) or Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), as required in the Notice of Funding Availability released on December 28, 2012.

Also, any applicant to the CDFI Program or NACA Program that has not previously been certified as a CDFI but for which an award is contingent upon certification must submit its application for certification no later than the 11:59 PM April 1, 2013, deadline and in accordance with other relevant guidance included herein.

CDFIs that were originally certified after February 1, 2010 are not required to apply for recertification by the April 1, 2013, deadline; however any such CDFI must apply for recertification no later than 60 days after its three-year certification expires. Certified CDFIs that apply for recertification by either April 1, 2013, or 60 days following the expiration of their original three-year certification, whichever is appropriate, will be considered certified and in good standing until otherwise notified by the CDFI Fund while recertification applications are under review. The CDFI Fund anticipates that determinations on all recertification applications submitted by April 1, 2013 will be rendered before the end of FY 2013, or earlier for FY 2013 rounds of the CDFI Program and NACA Program.

In addition, all certification or recertification applications submitted to the CDFI Fund after February 4, 2013 are required to use the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS), rather than the 2000 decennial census data that was previously used, as the basis for defining investment areas and developing investment area maps. The CDFI Fund's Mapping System (CIMS) has been updated to include the ACS data for this purpose.

The CDFI Fund has updated its certification website, www.cdfifund.gov/cdficert, to include the new certification application as well as additional guidance and frequently asked questions, including:

1. Certified CDFIs as of January 31, 2013: A table with the names of all certified CDFIs as of January 31, 2013, and the date by which each must apply for recertification. Certified CDFIs must use this table to determine their requirement for recertification.
2. CDFI Certification Application: A new application that must be used to apply for certification/recertification. It includes two components: the CDFI Certification Application (Text) which provides narrative fields to be completed; and the CDFI Certification Workbook which consists of electronic spreadsheets where all tabular data are to be entered. All certification applications submitted to the CDFI Fund after February 4, 2013, must use the new form and spreadsheet.
3. CDFI Certification Application Supplementary Guidance and Tips: This document contains guidance on how to prepare and complete the certification/recertification application.
4. FAQs, CDFI Investment Area Transition to the American Community Survey 2006-2010 Data: Information on the CDFI Fund's implementation of 2006-2010 ACS census data, as it relates to certification applications and more broadly to qualified activities for the CDFI Program and NACA Program. In addition, the guidance helps determine how qualified activities are associated with program awards.
5. CIMS Mapping Guidance: Updated guidance for using the CIMS mapping, including instructions for defining investment area target markets based on 2006-2010 ACS census data.

CDFI Fund certification staff will conduct a series of conference calls regarding the recertification initiative. Industry participants will have the opportunity to review recertification requirements and ask specific questions. The schedule for these conference calls is as follows:

• Monday, February 11, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for Banks/DIHCs)
• Wednesday, February 13, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for Credit Unions)
• Friday, February 15, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for Loan/Venture Funds, A-E)
• Tuesday, February 19, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for Loan/Venture Funds, F-N)
• Wednesday, February 20, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for Loan/Venture Funds, O-Z)
• Friday, February 22, 2013 2:00pm 4:00pm Eastern (for All Types make-up)

To access any of the conference calls, prospective participants need to call the toll-free number (888) 677-5132 and use the required Participant Pass-code CCME2013. No prior registration is necessary. Please note that the call will be operator-assisted.

The CDFI Fund strongly advises each participant to review carefully all the documents listed above prior to the conference calls, so that discussions can focus on the most critical topics about the recertification process.

Questions about the process for recertification should be referred to the Help Desk for the CDFI Fund's Office of Certification, Compliance Monitoring, and Evaluation, at (202) 653-0423 or ccme@cdfi.treas.gov. For technical support relevant to CIMS, please contact the CDFI Fund IT Help Desk at (202) 653-0300 or ITHelpDesk@cdfi.treas.gov.

Further information about the CDFI Fund's transition to the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, including frequently asked questions about the process, can be found at www.cdfifund.gov/acs.

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