Program Awards More Than $408 Million to Spark Economic Opportunity in Distressed and Underserved Communities 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) today awarded 357 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with $408.2 million in Financial Assistance (FA) awards to provide financial services and products for low-income and underserved individuals and communities across America. The awards were made through the fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), which consists of funding provided under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. 117-328), as well as the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-47).

“With this year’s record-breaking submissions of FA applications—increases of more than 40% for the CDFI Program and nearly 30% in the NACA Program—the CDFI Fund is excited to provide more than $408 million in awards to improve economic opportunity, spark economic growth, and drive revitalization efforts in distressed and underserved communities across the nation,” said CDFI Fund Director Pravina Raghavan. “Of particular note are those organizations that received their first ever FA award, of which there were 91 CDFIs that received $74.4 million in funding.”

The CDFI Program and the NACA Program provide monetary awards to invest in and build the capacity of specialized financial institutions called Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), empowering them to grow, achieve organizational sustainability, and contribute to the revitalization of low-income and distressed communities nationwide. CDFIs use FA awards to meet goals such as: expanding operations into a new investment area or areas; serving a new targeted population or populations; providing new products or services; or increasing volume of products or services. The FA awards have resulted in business creation and growth, new jobs, affordable housing development and increased homeownership, and increased financial services for individuals and communities in need across the country. While both programs provide FA awards under a competitive application process, the NACA Program specifically awards funding to CDFIs that primarily serve Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian individuals and communities.

Collectively, FA awards encompass Base Financial Assistance (Base-FA) and the following awards that are provided as a supplement to a Base-FA award: Healthy Food Financing Initiative-Financial Assistance (HFFI-FA), Persistent Poverty Counties-Financial Assistance (PPC-FA), and Disability Funds-Financial Assistance (DF-FA).

The FY 2024 CDFI Program and NACA Program Financial Assistance Award Recipients include 176 loan funds; 135 credit unions; 43 depository institutions and holding companies, and three venture capital funds. Award recipients also included 39 CDFIs that are also Minority Depository Institutions, as designated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and National Credit Union Administration.

CDFI Program Financial Assistance Awards

For the FY 2024 CDFI Program round, the CDFI Fund awarded $257.1 million in Base-FA awards to 332 organizations in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The CDFI Fund also awarded nearly $43 million in PPC-FA awards to 145 CDFIs specifically to serve Persistent Poverty Counties nationwide.

In addition, the CDFI Fund awarded $48 million in HFFI-FA awards to 15 CDFIs, which is a supplemental program designed to encourage investments in businesses that provide healthy food options for communities. The CDFI Fund also awarded $12.95 million in DF-FA awards to 14 CDFIs; DF-FA is a supplemental program designed to help CDFIs finance projects and services to assist individuals with disabilities.

NACA Program Financial Assistance Awards

The CDFI Fund awarded $43.2 million in FY 2024 NACA Program Base-FA awards to 25 organizations in 13 states. In addition, eight Native CDFIs received four million in PPC-FA awards.

Upcoming Technical Assistance Awards

The CDFI Fund also provides Technical Assistance awards through the CDFI Program and NACA Program to further build capacity of emerging and Certified CDFIs to become certified and further expand their financing activities. The CDFI Fund anticipates announcing the FY 2024 Technical Assistance awards later in the fall of 2024.

To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit www.cdfifund.gov. Additional information about the CDFI Program is available at www.cdfifund.gov/cdfi and the NACA Program at www.cdfifund.gov/native.