CDFI Certification

Step 3: Reporting

To maintain their Certification status and verify they continue to meet the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Certification requirements, all Certified CDFIs are required to submit the Annual Certification and Data Collection Report (ACR). The ACR, which must be completed in the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS), allows the CDFI Fund to annually assess CDFIs’ compliance with Certification guidelines and collect data that provides insights into the CDFI industry.

On December 7, 2023, the CDFI Fund released the final version of a revised ACR and Transaction Level Report (LTR) to coincide with the release of the revised CDFI Certification Application.

Transaction Level Reporting Modifications

Under the revised CDFI Certification policies, all new Applicants as well as all currently Certified CDFIs will be required to submit a TLR, both as part of an initial Certification Application and then on an annual basis as part of their ACR submission package. 

New Applicants will complete and submit an abbreviated version of the TLR—which has fewer data fields than the full-length version—prior to the submission of their CDFI Certification Application. This abbreviated TLR will be used to assess compliance with applicable Target Market percentage benchmarks in the Applicant’s proposed Target Market(s). In this abbreviated TLR, Applicants must report on origination activity for their most recently completed fiscal year prior to the submission of their Certification Application. 

The version of the TLR submitted by Certified CDFIs—whether in reapplying for Certification or as part of their ACR—will vary by award status. CDFIs with an active Assistance Agreement (for a CDFI Program, NACA Program, CDFI RRP, or CDFI ERP award) will continue to submit the full-length version of the TLR which will be used to satisfy the TLR requirement of the Certification Application as well as the ACR. CDFIs that do not have an active Assistance Agreement will submit the new abbreviated version of the TLR to satisfy the TLR requirement of the Certification Application as well as the ACR.

Annual Certification and Data Collection Report Modifications

The ACR verifies that Certified CDFIs continue to meet the requirements of Certification. Currently, Certified CDFIs are required to submit an ACR on an annual basis within 90 days of the end of their organization’s fiscal year. Data collected under the new ACR has been substantially modified to align with final changes to the CDFI Certification Application, as well as with information collected in the abbreviated TLR.

• Organizations certified as CDFIs using the revised CDFI Certification Application will now be required to submit the new ACR within 180 days of their fiscal year end. This updated ACR will only be used by those Certified as CDFIs using the revised CDFI Certification Application. 
• Currently Certified CDFIs will follow the new ACR submission process once they recertify under the revised Certification Application. The recertification process ensures that currently Certified CDFIs are held to the same evaluation, benchmarks, and review criteria as newly Certified CDFIs.
• Currently Certified CDFIs still must submit the ACR under the current 90 days deadline, until they are recertified under the revised Application.

Unless otherwise notified by the CDFI Fund, all CDFIs are required to complete the ACR on an annual basis in order to maintain their Certification status. Failure to file the ACR may result in loss of Certification status and lead to additional sanctions for CDFIs that are program Recipients. Full details about the new ACR and TLR requirements can be found in the Related Materials section below.

Material and information related to previous rounds of requests for comments on the CDFI Certification Application and related tools, as well as updates related to this process can be accessed on the CDFI Fund website here.

Quarterly Conference Calls

The CDFI Fund conducts quarterly Annual Certification and Data Collection Report (ACR) Conference Calls which are intended to serve as a forum for certified CDFIs and other ACR stakeholders to ask questions and discuss the ACR and its submission process.

Access Instructions

The schedule for ACR question and answer conference calls are provided below. The CDFI Fund now uses Zoom for all conference calls and webinar services. No prior registration is necessary. To access the current monthly conference calls, use the link provided below.

https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1613134907?pwd=WWVKM2VsU1VTVjkxRGpwSUpOVzczZz09

Meeting ID: 161 313 4907

Passcode: 490543

Find your local number: https://www.zoomgov.com/u/aEKLI8m2S

Requests for reasonable accommodations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act should be directed to Jay Santiago at (202) 653-0300 no later than 48 hours before the conference call begins.

ACR Quarterly Conference Call Schedule 

• Thursday, March 7, 2024 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern
• Thursday, June 6, 2024 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern
• Thursday, September 5, 2024 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern
• Thursday, December 5, 2024 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm Eastern