TM07 asks Applicants to attest “that only a CDFI Fund-approved Target Market assessment methodology(ies) was and will continue to be used to determine whether or not Financial Product transactions and/or depository accounts have been directed to an eligible Target Market,” while TM08 asks Applicants to identify the Target Market assessment methodology(ies) used by the Applicant. The list of approved Target Market assessment methodologies was announced on December 7, 2023, and can be found on the CDFI Fund’s website. Applicants that seek to use a Target Market assessment methodology other than one that appears on the list of approved methodologies may request separate approval of that methodology through Section Zero of the Application.
For a Non-Certified CDFI Applicant, the attestation in TM07 must signify that all of the Target Market activity reported in its TLR was assessed using one or more of the approved methodologies that it identifies in its response to TM08.
Currently Certified CDFIs that have been using a Target Market assessment methodology other than one that appears on the list of pre-approved methodologies may use the grace period until their application submission deadlines either to request approval of that methodology or to adopt one or more of the pre-approved methodologies. For such a currently Certified CDFI, the attestation in TM07 must signify that the CDFI has begun using – and will continue to use – only one or more of the approved Target Market assessment methodologies that it identifies in its response to TM08 by the time it submits its application for CDFI Certification under the revised standards.