U.S. Treasury Awards $208 Million for Investment Nationwide in Low-Income Communities

Funds Support Community Development and Revitalization Activity in Distressed Rural, Urban, and Native Communities

Washington - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 303 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) $208.7 million in awards today. The awards, through the fiscal year (FY) 2017 round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), will enable CDFIs to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation.

"We are very pleased to announce the FY 2017 CDFI Program and NACA Program award recipients. This is the largest pool of awardees in the history of the CDFI Fund," said CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan. "These award recipients represent a diverse array of organization types and community investment strategies, serving a broad spectrum of communities. We are especially proud that one-third of the awardees have committed to investing in Persistent Poverty Counties."

For the FY 2017 CDFI Program round, the CDFI Fund awarded $171.1 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 265 organizations in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. In addition, the CDFI Fund awarded $22 million to 13 CDFIs through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance awards (HFFI-FA), a supplemental program designed to encourage investments in businesses that provide healthy food options for communities. For the FY 2017 round, the CDFI Fund received applications from 434 eligible organizations requesting more than $567 million through the CDFI Program and more than $112 million through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

The CDFI Fund also awarded $15.6 million in FY 2017 NACA Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 38 organizations in 21 states. The program facilitates the creation and advancement of Native CDFIs. Organizations funded through the NACA Program serve a wide range of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities, and reflect a diversity of institutions in various stages of development, including: organizations in the early planning stages of CDFI formation; tribal entities working to certify an existing lending program; and established Native CDFIs in need of further capacity building assistance. The CDFI Fund received 56 applications requesting $33 million for the FY 2017 round.

View more information about the FY 2017 CDFI Program and NACA Program awardees below.

2017 CDFI Program and NACA Program Award Resources

• FY 2017 CDFI Program Award Book

• FY 2017 NACA Program Award Book

• CDFI Program and NACA Program Financial Assistance Application Evaluation Process

• CDFI Program and NACA Program Technical Assistance Application Evaluation Process

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $2.5 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, the Native American CDFI Assistance Program, and the Bank Enterprise Award Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $50.5 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, closed guaranteed bonds in the amount of $1.1 billion through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, and awarded more than $171 million through the Capital Magnet Fund.

To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov.