Notice2021-19598
Funding Opportunities: Capital Magnet Fund; 2021 Funding Round
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 10, 2021
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentCommunity Development Financial Institutions Fund
Abstract
The Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) is administered by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). Through the CMF, the CDFI Fund provides financial assistance grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and to qualified Nonprofit Organizations that have the development or management of affordable housing as one of their principal purposes. All awards provided through this Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) are subject to funding availability.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 173 (Friday, September 10, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 173 (Friday, September 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50773-50789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19598]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Funding Opportunities: Capital Magnet Fund; 2021 Funding Round
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
inviting Applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Funding Round of
the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF).
Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2021-CMF.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.011.
Dates:
Table 1--FY 2021 Capital Magnet Fund Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants
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Description Deadline Time (eastern time-ET) Submission method
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Last day to create an Awards October 12, 2021...... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via Awards
Management Information System Management Information
(AMIS) Account (if Applicant System (AMIS).
doesn't have one).
Last day to enter or update the EIN October 12, 2021...... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via AMIS.
and DUNS numbers in AMIS (all
Applicants).
Last day to submit SF-424 Mandatory October 12, 2021...... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via
Form (Application for Federal <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
Assistance).
Last day to contact Capital Magnet November 4, 2021...... 5:00 p.m. ET.......... Submit Service Request via
Fund Staff. AMIS; call CDFI Fund
Helpdesk: 202-653-0421; or
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#01626c6741626567682f75736460722f666e77"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c3f313a1c3f383a3572282e393d2f723b332a">[email protected]</span></a>.
[[Page 50774]]
Last day to submit CMF Application November 9, 2021...... 5:00 p.m. ET.......... Electronically via AMIS.
and Required Attachments.
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Executive Summary: The Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) is administered by
the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund).
Through the CMF, the CDFI Fund provides financial assistance grants to
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and to qualified
Nonprofit Organizations that have the development or management of
affordable housing as one of their principal purposes. All awards
provided through this Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) are subject
to funding availability.
I. Program Description
A. Authorizing Statute and Regulation: The CMF was established
through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), which
added section 1339 to the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992. For a complete understanding of the program,
the CDFI Fund encourages Applicants to review the CMF interim rule (12
CFR part 1807) as amended February 8, 2016 (the CMF Interim Rule); this
NOFA; the CDFI Fund's environmental quality regulation (12 CFR part
1815); the CMF funding application (referred to hereafter as the
``Application,'' meaning the application submitted in response to this
NOFA); and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles,
and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000), which is
the Department of the Treasury's codification of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) government-wide framework for grants
management at 2 CFR part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements or
UAR). Each capitalized term used in this NOFA, but not defined herein,
shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the CMF Interim
Rule, the Application, or the Uniform Administrative Requirements.
Details regarding Application content requirements are found in the
Application and related materials at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf">www.cdfifund.gov/cmf</a>.
B. History: The CDFI Fund was established by the Riegle Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to promote
economic revitalization and community development through investment in
and assistance to CDFIs. The CMF made its first awards in FY 2010, with
subsequent funding rounds beginning in FY 2016 and occurring annually
thereafter. To date, more than $740 million has been awarded under the
CMF Program.
C. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 1000): The Uniform
Administrative Requirements codify financial, administrative,
procurement, and program management standards that Federal award-making
agencies must follow. Per the Uniform Administrative Requirements, when
evaluating award Applications, awarding agencies must evaluate each
Applicant's merits, eligibility, and any risks to the program posed by
each Applicant. These requirements are designed to ensure that
Applicants for Federal assistance receive a fair and consistent review
prior to an award decision. This review will assess items such as the
Applicant's financial stability, quality of management systems, history
of performance, and single audit findings. In addition, the Uniform
Administrative Requirements include guidance on audit requirements and
other award compliance requirements for award Recipients.
D. Priorities: The purpose of the CMF is to attract private capital
for and increase investment in the Development, Preservation,
Rehabilitation, or Purchase of Affordable Housing for primarily
Extremely Low-Income, Very Low-Income, and Low-Income Families, as well
as Economic Development Activities, which, In Conjunction With
Affordable Housing Activities, implement a Concerted Strategy to
stabilize or revitalize a Low-Income Area or Underserved Rural Area. To
pursue these objectives, the CDFI Fund has established the following
priorities for the FY 2021 Funding Round: (i) Applications where at
least 20% of all rental Affordable Housing units that will be financed
and/or supported with FY 2021 CMF Awards are targeted to Very Low-
Income Families and/or at least 20% of all Homeownership Affordable
Housing units that will be financed and/or supported with FY 2021 CMF
Awards are targeted to Low-Income Families; (ii) Applications where
rental Affordable Housing units are located in either Areas of Economic
Distress (AED) \1\ or High Opportunity Areas (HOA) \2\; and (iii)
Applications where Homeownership Affordable Housing is either located
in an AED (targeted to Eligible-Income Families; 120% AMI and below) or
is targeted to Low-Income Families (80% AMI or below); and (iv)
Applications proposing to use the CMF Award to leverage private capital
to finance and/or support Affordable Housing Activities and Economic
Development Activities. Additionally, the CDFI Fund seeks to fund
Applications serving geographically diverse Areas of Economic Distress,
including Metropolitan Areas and Underserved Rural Areas. In
particular, the priority for geographic diversity includes funding
highly qualified Applications that serve territories not included in
the Service Areas of Recipients in the past two CMF rounds (FY 2019 and
FY
[[Page 50775]]
2020): American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
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\1\ Areas of Economic Distress: Areas of Economic Distress are
census tracts: (a) Where at least 20% of households that are Very
Low-Income (50% of AMI or below) spend more than half of their
income on housing; or (b) that are designated Qualified Opportunity
Zones under 26 U.S.C 1400Z-1; or (c) that are Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit Qualified Census Tracts; or (d) where greater than 20% of
households have incomes below the poverty rate and the rental
vacancy rate is at least 10%; or (e) where greater than 20% of the
households have incomes below the poverty rate and the homeownership
vacancy rate is at least 10%; or (f) are Underserved Rural Areas as
defined in the CMF Interim Rule (as amended February 8, 2016; 12 CFR
part 1807). The CDFI Fund will publish a dataset on its website
indicating which census tracts are designated as Areas of Economic
Distress for the FY 2021 Round.
\2\ High Opportunity Area: The CMF Program uses the definition
of High Opportunity Area found in the Federal Housing Finance
Agency's Duty to Serve Rule for this term: (a) An area designated by
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a
``Difficult Development Area'' during any year covered by an
Enterprise's Underserved Markets Plan (Plan) or in the year prior to
a Plan's effective date, whose poverty rate falls below 10% (for
Metropolitan areas) or below 15% (for Non-Metropolitan areas); or
(b) an area designated by a state or local Qualified Allocation Plan
(QAP) as a high opportunity area whose poverty rate falls below 10%
(for Metropolitan areas) or 15% (for Non-Metropolitan areas). The
CDFI Fund will publish a dataset on its website indicating which
census tracts are designated as High Opportunity Areas for the FY
2021 Round.
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E. Funding limitations: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to fund,
in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the Applications submitted in
response to this NOFA.
II. Federal Award Information
A. Funding Availability: The CDFI Fund plans to award up to $380.2
million in grants for the CMF FY 2021 Round under this NOFA. Eligible
organizations of all sizes are encouraged to apply, including new and
previous Applicants, past CMF Recipients, and Applicants focused on
Homeownership, Rental housing, or both. HERA prohibits the CDFI Fund
from obligating more than 15% of the aggregate available in CMF Awards
to any Applicant, its Subsidiaries and Affiliates in the same funding
round. In past rounds, the CDFI Fund has typically provided awards
smaller than the statutory cap. For example, for the FY 2020 funding
round, awards ranged from $750,000 to $8,000,000, with an average award
of $3.7 million. Given the larger amount of funding available for the
FY 2021 CMF round compared with the FY 2020 CMF round, the CDFI Fund
will consider award requests that significantly exceed the maximum
award amounts made in past rounds. In addition, the CDFI Fund
anticipates issuing more awards at various award sizes, including
smaller awards. Given the administrative and compliance
responsibilities for Recipients, the CDFI Fund will not accept
Applications for the FY 2021 CMF Round that request less than $500,000
and will not provide awards below $500,000 to any CMF Award Recipient
for the FY 2021 CMF Round.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
provide a CMF Award in an amount other than that which the Applicant
requests. However, the Award amount will not exceed the Applicant's
Award request as stated in its Application, nor will the Award amount
be less than the Applicant's minimum Award request if one is provided
in the Application. An Applicant may receive only one Award through the
FY 2021 CMF Round, though one or more Affiliates of an Applicant, if
eligible, may separately apply and be awarded.
B. Types of Awards: The CDFI Fund will provide CMF Awards in the
form of grants. CMF Awards must be used to support the eligible
activities as set forth in 12 CFR 1807.301. A CMF Award Recipient may
not distribute the CMF Award to any Affiliate, Subsidiary, or third-
party entity in any manner that would create a Subrecipient
relationship (as defined in the Uniform Administrative Requirements)
without the CDFI Fund's prior written consent. The Recipient of a CMF
Award must retain all obligations related to the Award. This
restriction does not prevent a Recipient from using its CMF Award to
loan to or invest directly in an Affiliate (separate legal entity) or
in a specific Project being undertaken by an Affiliate, unless the
Affiliate received a CMF Award in the same funding round.
C. Limitations on using CMF Awards in conjunction with other CDFI
Fund awards/allocations: 1. A CMF Award Recipient may not use its CMF
Award for any project that also receives funding from other CDFI Fund
program awards or allocations the Recipient (or any of its Affiliates)
has received, except when the CMF Award dollars are used to finance/
support a different ``phase'' of development in the same Project than
that financed by other CDFI Fund awards or allocations. The separate
phases of development financing are: (1) Predevelopment; (2)
acquisition; (3) site work (preconstruction); (4) construction/
rehabilitation; (5) permanent financing; and (6) bridge financing
between two or more phases. Additionally, one or more Affiliated
entities may not use CMF Award funds from the same funding round to
finance/support the same Project, regardless of whether the funds are
used in different phases of the Project.
The phase restriction above does not apply to the Recipient's prior
CMF Awards. The Recipient may combine its multiple CMF Awards to
provide financing on any Project, including financing the same phase of
any Project. However, the Recipient may not deem the same costs as
Eligible Project Costs under multiple CMF Awards and must prorate the
unit production performance across its multiple CMF Awards. Similarly,
Affiliates with CMF Awards from different rounds may only use those
Awards to finance the same Project if they prorate Eligible Projects
and unit production performance among the Affiliates (i.e., Affiliates
may not use the same Eligible Project Costs or housing units to meet
Assistance Agreement requirements under separate CMF Awards).
If providing Homeownership assistance, a CMF Award may be used in
conjunction with awards/allocations from other CDFI Fund programs only
if the Project can be divided into such phases, and the CMF Award is
used in a different phase from the other CDFI Fund program awards/
allocations. To clarify, a CMF Award cannot be used for a Homeownership
property that is permanently financed (or supported) by both the
Recipient's (or any of its Affiliates') CMF Award and an award/
allocation from another CDFI Fund program (e.g., down payment
assistance funded from CMF Award may not be combined with a permanent
mortgage funded from another CDFI Fund program).
2. Costs financed and/or supported by the Recipient's other awards/
allocations from CDFI Fund programs, including awards from prior CMF
rounds, may not be counted or reported as Leveraged Costs for the CMF
Award pursuant to this NOFA as further set forth in the Assistance
Agreement. While the Recipient may combine its CMF Award pursuant to
this NOFA with prior issued CMF Awards to finance/support the same
Project, each CMF Award must separately meet the program requirements
as outlined in the applicable Assistance Agreement and the CMF Interim
Rule (12 CFR part 1807).
In all cases, the CMF Award remains subject to the following
restriction imposed by the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program: Award funds
received under any CDFI Fund program cannot be used by any participant
of the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, including Qualified Issuers,
Eligible CDFIs, and Secondary Borrowers, to pay principal, interest,
fees, administrative costs, or issuance costs (including Bond Issuance
Fees) related to the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, or to fund the Risk
Share Pool for a Bond Issue (all capitalized terms used in this
sentence, other than ``CMF Award,'' shall have the meanings ascribed to
them in the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program regulations and applicable
guidance).
D. Anticipated Start Date and Period of Performance: The CDFI Fund
anticipates the period of performance for the FY 2021 CMF Round to
begin in early 2022. The period of performance for each CMF Award
begins with the date that the CDFI Fund announces the Recipients of FY
2021 CMF Awards and continues until the end of the ten-year period of
affordability for all Projects financed and/or supported with the CMF
Award, as set forth at 12 CFR 1807.401(d) and 12 CFR 1807.402, and as
further set forth in the Assistance Agreement, during which time the
Recipient must meet certain Performance Goals.
E. Eligible Activities: A CMF Award must support or finance
activities that attract private capital for and increase investment in
(i) the Development, Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Purchase of
Affordable Housing for primarily Low-, Very Low-, and
[[Page 50776]]
Extremely Low-Income Families, and (ii) Economic Development
Activities. CMF Awards may only be used as follows: (i) To provide Loan
Loss Reserves, (ii) to capitalize a Revolving Loan Fund, (iii) to
capitalize an Affordable Housing Fund, (iv) to capitalize a fund to
support Economic Development Activities, (v) for Risk-Sharing Loans, or
(vi) to provide Loan Guarantees. No more than 30% of a CMF Award may be
used for Economic Development Activities. For the FY 2021 CMF Round,
the CDFI Fund will allow all Recipients to use up to 5% of their CMF
Award for Direct Administrative Expenses. The amount available for
Direct Administrative Expenses may only be used for direct costs (as
defined by the Uniform Administrative Requirements) incurred by the
Recipient and related to the financing and/or support of a Project. The
CDFI Fund considers the tracking of impacts and outcomes associated
with Projects financed and/or supported by a CMF Award to fall under
Direct Administrative Expenses. Any portion of the amount available for
Direct Administrative Expenses may be used for direct costs related to
the effective tracking and evaluation of program or evidence-based
outcomes for Projects.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants: In order to be eligible to apply for a CMF
Award, an Applicant must either be a Certified CDFI or a Nonprofit
Organization, as defined in 12 CFR 1807.104. Table 2 indicates the
criteria that each category of Applicant must meet in order to be
eligible for a CMF Award pursuant to this NOFA. Note: A Certified CDFI
that is also a Nonprofit Organization only needs to meet the Certified
CDFI eligibility criteria described in Table 2, below, in order to be
eligible for a CMF Award.
Table 2--Applicant Eligibility Requirements
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Category Eligibility requirements
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Certified CDFI............... <bullet> Has been in existence as a
legally formed entity for at least 3
years prior to the AMIS Application
deadline under this NOFA;
<bullet> Has been determined by the CDFI
Fund to meet the CDFI certification
requirements set forth in 12 CFR
1805.201 and as verified in the CDFI's
AMIS account as of the publication date
of this NOFA; and
<bullet> Has not been notified in writing
by the CDFI Fund that its certification
has been terminated.
<bullet> In cases where the CDFI Fund has
provided a Certified CDFI with written
notification that it no longer meets one
or more certification standards and has
been given an opportunity to cure, the
CDFI Fund will continue to consider this
Applicant to be a Certified CDFI until
it has received a final determination
letter that its certification has been
terminated.
<bullet> Has audited financial statements
encompassing its two most recently
completed fiscal years prior to the
publication date of this NOFA. A
Regulated Institution that files call
reports to its regulator is exempt from
this requirement and must attach call
reports for its two most recently
completed fiscal years in lieu of
audited financial statements.
Nonprofit Organization....... <bullet> Has been in existence as a
legally formed entity for at least 3
years prior to the AMIS Application
deadline under this NOFA;
<bullet> Meets the definition of
Nonprofit Organization set forth in 12
CFR 1807.104.
<bullet> Demonstrates, through articles
of incorporation, by-laws, or other
board-approved documents, that the
development or management of affordable
housing are among its principal
purposes; and
<bullet> Demonstrates by providing an
attestation in the Application that at
least 33.3% of its total assets are
dedicated to the development or
management of affordable housing.
<bullet> Has audited financial statements
encompassing its two most recently
completed fiscal years prior to the
publication date of this NOFA. A
Regulated Institution that files call
reports to its regulator is exempt from
this requirement.
Debarment/Do Not Pay <bullet> The CDFI Fund will conduct a
Verification. debarment check and reserves the right,
in its sole discretion, to not consider
an Application submitted by an Applicant
(or Affiliate of an Applicant) as
eligible if the Applicant and/or
Affiliate is delinquent on any Federal
debt.
<bullet> The Do Not Pay Business Center
was developed to support Federal
agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through
programs funded by the Federal
government. The Do Not Pay Business
Center provides delinquency information
to the CDFI Fund to assist with the
debarment check.
System for Award Management <bullet> Each Applicant, including
(SAM). Affiliated Applicants, must have its own
active SAM registration in order to
submit the required Application
materials through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
<bullet> SAM is a web-based, government-
wide application that collects,
validates, stores, and disseminates
business information about the federal
government's trading partners in support
of the contract awards, grants, and
electronic payment processes. See
<a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> for more information.
<bullet> Applicants must have a <a href="http://login.gov">login.gov</a>
account to sign into SAM. Applicants
must also have a DUNS number and an EIN
in order to register in SAM.
<bullet> Applicants must complete
registration in SAM in order to be able
to complete the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> registration
and submit an SF-424.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund reserves the right
to deem an Application ineligible if the
Applicant's SAM account expires during
the Application evaluation period, or is
set to expire before March 1, 2022, and
the Applicant does not re-activate or
renew (as applicable) the account within
the deadlines that the CDFI Fund
communicates to affected Applicants
during the Application evaluation
period.
Application type and <bullet> Each Applicant must submit the
submission method through required Application documents listed in
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and Awards Table 4.
Management Information
System (AMIS).
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will only accept
Applications that use the official
Application templates provided on the
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and AMIS websites.
Applications submitted with alternative
or altered templates will not be
considered.
[[Page 50777]]
<bullet> Applicants undergo a two-step
process that requires the submission of
Application documents by two separate
deadlines in two different locations:
(1) The SF-424 in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and (2) all
other Required Application Documents in
AMIS.
<bullet> <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and the SF-424
Mandatory form:
[cir] Applicants must submit the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)-approved
Standard Form (SF) 424 Mandatory
(Application for Federal Assistance)
form in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
[cir] All Applicants must register in the
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> system to successfully submit
an Application. The <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>
registration process can take 30 days or
more to complete. The CDFI Fund strongly
encourages Applicants to register as
early as possible to meet the deadlines
in Table 1.
[cir] The SF-424 must be submitted in
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> before the other Application
materials are submitted in AMIS.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
submit their SF-424 as early as possible
via the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> portal.
[cir] Because the SF-424 is part of the
Application, if the SF-424 is not
accepted by <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> by the applicable
deadline, the Applicant will not be able
to submit the AMIS Application.
[cir] The SF-424 must be submitted under
the FY 2021 CMF Funding Opportunity
Number.
[cir] The CDFI Fund will not extend the
SF-424 application deadline for any
Applicant that started the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>
registration process on, before, or
after the date of the publication of
this NOFA, but did not complete it by
the deadline, except in the case of a
Federal government administrative or
technological error that directly
resulted in a late submission of the SF-
424.
<bullet> AMIS:
[cir] Applicants must submit all other
required Application materials in AMIS.
[cir] AMIS is the CDFI Fund's enterprise-
wide information technology system that
will be used to submit and store
organization and Application information
with the CDFI Fund.
[cir] Applicants are only allowed one
Capital Magnet Fund.
[cir] Application submission per funding
round in AMIS.
[cir] Affiliated entities must submit
every component of the Application
separate from its Affiliates.
[cir] Each Application in AMIS must be
signed by an Authorized Representative.
The Authorized Representative is an
employee or officer of the Applicant,
authorized to sign legal documents on
behalf of the organization. Consultants
working on behalf of the organization
may not be designated as Authorized
Representatives.
[cir] Only an Authorized Representative
or Application Point of Contact included
in the Application may submit the
Application in AMIS.
[cir] All Required Application Documents
must be submitted in AMIS on or before
the deadline specified in Table 1.
[cir] The CDFI Fund will not extend the
deadline for any Applicant except in the
case of a Federal government
administrative or technological error
that directly resulted in the late
submission of the Application in AMIS.
Employer Identification <bullet> Each Applicant must have a
Number (EIN). unique EIN assigned by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will reject an
Application submitted with the EIN of a
parent or Affiliate of the Applicant.
<bullet> The EIN in the Applicant's AMIS
account must match the EIN on the SF-424
submitted through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and the EIN
in the Applicant's System for Award
Management (SAM) account. The CDFI Fund
reserves the right to reject an
Application if the EIN in the
Applicant's AMIS account does not match
the EIN on the SF-424 and/or its SAM
account.
<bullet> The EIN of the Applicant must be
entered into the AMIS organization
profile by the applicable deadline in
Table 1.
DUNS number.................. <bullet> Pursuant to OMB guidance (68 FR
38402), an Applicant must apply using
its unique DUNS number in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will reject an
Application submitted with the DUNS
number of a parent or Affiliate of the
Applicant.
<bullet> The DUNS number of the Applicant
must be entered into the AMIS
organization profile by the applicable
deadline in Table 1.
<bullet> The DUNS number in the
Applicant's AMS account must match the
Applicant's DUNS number on the SF-424
submitted through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and its
<a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> account. The CDFI Fund reserves
the right to reject an Application if
the DUNS number in the Applicant's AMIS
account does not match the DUNS number
on the SF-424 and/or <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> accounts.
AMIS Account................. <bullet> Each Applicant, including
Affiliated Applicants, must register as
an organization in AMIS and submit all
required Application materials through
the AMIS portal.
<bullet> If the Applicant does not fully
register its organization in AMIS by the
deadline set forth in Table 1, its
Application will be rejected without
further consideration.
<bullet> The Authorized Representative
and Application Point of Contact must be
included as ``users'' in the Applicant's
AMIS account.
<bullet> An Applicant that fails to
properly register and update its AMIS
account may miss important
communications from the CDFI Fund or not
be able to successfully submit an
Application.
501(c)(4) status............. <bullet> Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 1611, any
501(c)(4) organization that engages in
lobbying activities is not eligible to
apply for or receive a CMF Award.
Compliance with <bullet> An Applicant may not be eligible
Nondiscrimination and Equal to receive an award if proceedings have
Opportunity Statutes, been instituted against it in, by, or
Regulations, and Executive before any court, governmental agency,
Orders. or administrative body, and a final
determination, issued within the last 3
years as of the publication date of this
NOFA, indicates the Applicant has
violated any of the following laws:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d);
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); the Age
Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.
6101-6107); Title VIII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968, as amended (42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); Executive Order
13166, Improving Access to Services for
Persons with Limited English
Proficiency, and Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972.
[[Page 50778]]
Depository Institution <bullet> In the case where a CDFI
Holding Company Applicant. Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicant intends to carry out the
activities of its award through its
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution, the Application must be
submitted by the CDFI Depository
Institution Holding Company and reflect
the activities and financial performance
of the Subsidiary CDFI Insured
Depository Institution.
<bullet> The Authorized Representative of
the Depository Institution Holding
Company Applicant must certify that the
information included in the Application
represents that of the Subsidiary CDFI
Insured Depository Institution, and that
the Award will be used to support the
Subsidiary CDFI Insured Depository
Institution for the eligible activities
outlined in the Application.
Regulated Institutions \3\... <bullet> To be eligible for an Award,
each Regulated Institution Applicant
must have a CAMELS/CAMEL composite
rating (rating for banks and credit
unions, respectively), by its Federal
regulator of at least ``3.''
<bullet> Organizations with CAMELS/CAMEL
composite ratings of ``4'' or ``5'' will
not be eligible for awards.
<bullet> Organizations with a Prompt
Corrective Action directive from its
regulator will not be eligible for
awards.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will also evaluate
material concerns identified by the
Appropriate Federal Banking Agency in
determining eligibility of Regulated
Institution Applicants.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any Applicant that does not meet the criteria in Table 2 is
ineligible to apply for a CMF Award under this NOFA. Further, Section
III.B describes additional considerations applicable to prior
Recipients and/or allocatees under any CDFI Fund program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Regulated Institutions include Insured Credit Unions,
Insured Depository Institutions, State-Insured Credit Unions, and
Depository Institution Holding Companies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Prior Award Recipients: Eligibility determinations in prior
funding rounds have no bearing on and do not guarantee eligibility in
this round. Prior CMF Award Recipients and prior award recipients of
other CDFI Fund programs will be eligible to apply under this NOFA if
they meet the eligibility criteria in Table 2, except as noted in Table
3.
Table 3--Eligibility Requirements for Applicants Which Are Prior Award/
Allocation Recipients
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pending resolution of <bullet> If an Applicant (or Affiliate of
noncompliance. an Applicant) that is a prior recipient
or allocatee under any CDFI Fund
program: (i) Has demonstrated it has
been in noncompliance with a previous
assistance agreement, award agreement,
allocation agreement, bond loan
agreement, or agreement to guarantee and
(ii) the CDFI Fund has yet to make a
final determination as to whether the
entity is in noncompliance with or
default of its previous agreement, the
CDFI Fund will consider the Applicant's
Application under this NOFA pending full
resolution, in the sole determination of
the CDFI Fund, of the noncompliance.
Default or Noncompliance <bullet> The CDFI Fund will not consider
status. an Application submitted by an Applicant
that is a prior CDFI Fund award
recipient or allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program if, as of the AMIS
Application deadline of this NOFA, the
CDFI Fund has made a final determination
in writing that such Applicant (or
Affiliate of such Applicant) is in
noncompliance with or default of a
previously executed assistance
agreement, award agreement, allocation
agreement, bond loan agreement, or
agreement to guarantee.
<bullet> Such entities will be ineligible
to apply for an Award pursuant to this
NOFA if the CDFI Fund has provided
written notification that such entity is
ineligible to apply for or receive any
future CDFI Fund awards or allocations.
Such entities will be ineligible to
submit an application for such time
period as specified by the CDFI Fund in
writing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Contacting the CDFI Fund: Applicants that are prior Recipients
and/or allocatees under any CDFI Fund program are advised to comply
with requirements specified in an Assistance Agreement, allocation
agreement, bond loan agreement, or agreement to guarantee, and to
ensure their Affiliates are in compliance with any agreements. All
outstanding reporting and compliance questions should be directed to
the Office of Certification, Compliance Monitoring, and Evaluation help
desk by AMIS Service Requests (select ``Capital Magnet Fund'' for
``Program''), via email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f3c3c323a3f1c1b1916510b0d1a1e0c51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3073737d7570535456591e44425551431e575f46">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at (202)
653-0421. For general questions, organizations with an AMIS account are
strongly encouraged to submit a Service Request in AMIS using ``Capital
Magnet Fund'' for the Service Request program. Members of the public
that do not have AMIS accounts can contact Capital Magnet Fund staff
via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bbf8f6fdfbd8dfddd295cfc9dedac895dcd4cd">[email protected]</a>. The CDFI Fund will not respond to
Applicants' reporting, compliance, or disbursement telephone calls or
email inquiries that are received after 5:00 p.m. ET on November 4,
2021 until after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond
to technical issues related to AMIS Accounts through 5:00 p.m. ET on
November 9, 2021, via AMIS Service Requests, or at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#81c0ccc8d2c1e2e5e7e8aff5f3e4e0f2afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="60212d293320030406094e14120501134e070f16">[email protected]</span></a>,
or by telephone at (202) 653-0422.
D. Cost sharing or matching funds requirements: Not applicable.
E. Other Eligibility Criteria:
1. Affiliates: As part of the Application review process, the CDFI
Fund considers whether Applicants are Affiliates, as such term is
defined in 12 CFR1807.104. Affiliates may submit separate Applications
under this NOFA. However, each Affiliate submitting an Application must
meet all of the eligibility requirements on its own behalf and may not
rely on any other organization for eligibility purposes. Moreover, an
Applicant must propose a substantially different strategy than its
Affiliate(s) applying under this NOFA. It must also present a distinct
project pipeline and rely on its own track record and not the track
record of any Affiliate also submitting an Application under this NOFA.
If the CDFI Fund deems that the Applications submitted
[[Page 50779]]
by Affiliates contain overlapping or substantially similar pipelines or
strategies, the CDFI Fund may, at its discretion, reject all such
Applications received or select only one of the submitted Applications
to deem eligible, assuming that Application meets all other eligibility
criteria in Section III of this NOFA. Collectively, all Affiliates may
not request more than 15% of the total amount available under this
NOFA.
2. An Applicant will not be eligible to receive a CMF Award if the
Applicant fails to demonstrate in the Application that its CMF Award
would result in Eligible Project Costs (Leveraged Costs plus those
costs funded by the CMF Award) that equal at least 10 times the amount
of the CMF Award. Note that no costs attributable to Direct
Administrative Expenses may be considered Eligible Project Costs.
IV. Application and Submission Information
A. Address to Request Application Package: Application materials
can be found on <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and the CDFI Fund's website at
<a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf">www.cdfifund.gov/cmf</a>. If an Applicant is unable to access <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> or
the CDFI Fund's website, an Applicant may request a paper version of
any Application material by contacting the CDFI Fund Help Desk by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cdaea0ab8daea9aba4e3b9bfa8acbee3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="70131d1630131416195e04021511035e171f06">[email protected]</span></a> or by phone at (202) 653-0421.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission: The CDFI Fund will
post to its website, at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf">www.cdfifund.gov/cmf</a>, instructions for
accessing and submitting an Application. Detailed Application content
requirements are found in the Application and related guidance
documents. All Applications must be prepared in English and
calculations must be made in U.S. dollars. Table 4 lists the required
funding Application documents for the FY 2021 CMF Round. Applicants
must submit all required documents for the Application to be deemed
complete. Please be aware that an Applicant that fails to submit
audited financial statements for its two most recently completed fiscal
years will be deemed as not having a complete Application and will be
considered ineligible. A Regulated Institution that submits call
reports for its two most recently completed fiscal years is exempted
from this requirement. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to request and
review other pertinent or public information that has not been
specifically requested in this NOFA or the Application. Information
submitted by the Applicant that the CDFI Fund has not specifically
requested will not be reviewed or considered as part of the
Application. Information submitted must accurately reflect the
Applicant's activities and/or its Subsidiary Insured Depository
Institution, in the case where the Applicant is an Insured Depository
Institution Holding Company.
Table 4--Funding Application Documents
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application document Submission format Required?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard Form (SF) 424 Mandatory Form................ Fillable PDF in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.. Required for all
Applicants.
CMF Application...................................... AMIS........................ Required for all
Applicants.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTACHMENTS TO THE APPLICATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Audited financial statements for the most recently PDF in AMIS................. Required for all
completed 2 fiscal years. Regulated Institutions may Applicants.
submit call reports in lieu of audited financial
statements.
Any Management Letters, if applicable, related to the PDF in AMIS................. Required for all
audited financial statements for the most recently Applicants.
completed 2 fiscal years. The Management Letter is
prepared by the Applicant's auditor and provides
communication on internal control over financial
reporting, compliance, and other matters.\4\ If no
Management Letter was issued for either of the two
most recently completed fiscal years, the Applicant
must attach a document explicitly stating such.
State Charter, Articles of Incorporation, authorizing PDF in AMIS................. Required only for
statute, or other establishing documents designating Applicants that are not
that the Applicant is a nonprofit or not-for-profit Certified CDFIs.
entity under the laws of the organization's State of
formation.
A certification demonstrating tax exempt status from PDF in AMIS................. Required only for
the IRS. Only Applicants that are governmental Applicants that are not
instrumentalities, and are unable to provide such Certified CDFIs.
determination from the IRS and meet all other
eligibility requirements, must submit a legal
opinion from counsel, in form and substance
acceptable to the CDFI Fund, opining that the
Applicant is exempt from Federal income tax.
Articles of incorporation, by-laws, authorizing PDF in AMIS................. Required only for
statute, or other documents demonstrating that the Applicants that are not
Applicant has a principal purpose of managing or Certified CDFIs.
developing affordable housing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The CDFI Fund has a sequential, two-step process that requires the
submission of Application documents in separate systems with two
separate deadlines. The SF-424 must be submitted through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and
all other Application documents through the AMIS portal. The CDFI Fund
will not accept Applications via email, mail, facsimile, or other forms
of communication, except in extremely rare circumstances that have been
pre-approved by the CDFI Fund. The separate Application deadlines for
the SF-424 and all other Application materials are listed in Tables 1
and 6. Only the Authorized Representative for the Organization or
Application Point of Contact designated in AMIS may submit the
Application through AMIS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The Management Letter may include suggestions for improving
identified weaknesses and deficiencies and/or best practice
suggestions for items that may not be considered to be weaknesses or
deficiencies. The Management Letter may also include items that are
not required to be disclosed in the annual audited financial
statements. The Management Letter is distinct from the auditor's
Opinion Letter, which is required by Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles (GAAP). Management Letters are not required by GAAP and
are sometimes provided by the auditor as a separate letter from the
audit itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit the SF-424 as early as
possible through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> in order to provide
[[Page 50780]]
sufficient time to resolve any potential submission issues. Applicants
should contact <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> directly with questions related to the
registration or submission process, as the CDFI Fund does not
administer the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> system.
The CDFI Fund strongly encourages Applicants to start the
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> registration process as soon as possible, as it may take
several weeks to complete (refer to the following link: <a href="http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html">http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html</a>). An Applicant that has
previously registered with <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> must verify that its registration
is current and active. If an Applicant has not previously registered
with <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>, it must first successfully register in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>, as
described in Section IV.D below.
C. Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS):
Pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, each Applicant
must provide as part of its Application submission a valid Dun &
Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. Any Applicant
without a DUNS number will not be able to register in SAM or register
and submit an Application in the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> system. Please allow
sufficient time for Dun & Bradstreet to respond to inquiries and/or
requests for DUNS numbers.
D. System for Award Management (SAM): Any entity applying for
Federal grants or other forms of Federal financial assistance through
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> must be registered in SAM before submitting its Application
materials through that platform. When accessing <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>, users will be
asked to create a <a href="http://login.gov">login.gov</a> user account (if they don't already have
one). Going forward, users will use their <a href="http://login.gov">login.gov</a> username and
password every time when logging into <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>. The SAM registration
process can take four weeks or longer to complete so Applicants are
strongly encouraged to begin the registration process upon publication
of this NOFA in order to avoid potential Application submission issues.
An original, signed notarized letter identifying the authorized entity
administrator for the entity associated with the DUNS number is
required by SAM and must be mailed to the Federal Service Desk. This
requirement is applicable to new entities registering in SAM or on
existing registrations where there is no existing entity administrator.
Existing entities with registered entity administrators do not need to
submit an annual notarized letter. Applicants without DUNS and/or EIN
numbers should allow for additional time as an Applicant cannot
register in SAM without those required numbers. Applicants that have
previously completed the SAM registration process must verify that
their SAM accounts are current and active.
Applicants are required to maintain a current and active SAM
account at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an
Application under consideration for an award by a Federal awarding
agency.
The CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that fails to
properly register or activate its SAM account and, as a result, is
unable to submit the SF-424 in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> or the Application by the
applicable Application deadline. Applicants must contact SAM directly
with questions related to registration or SAM account changes, as the
CDFI Fund does not maintain this system. For more information about
SAM, please visit <a href="https://www.sam.gov">https://www.sam.gov</a> or call 866-606-8220.
Table 5_Grants.gov Registration Timeline Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated minimum
Step Agency time to complete
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obtain a DUNS number............ Dun & Bradstreet.. One Week *
Obtain an EIN Number............ Internal Revenue Two Weeks *
Service (IRS).
Register in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>............. System for Award Four Weeks *
Management (SAM).
Register in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.......... <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>........ One Week **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Applicants are advised that the stated duration are estimates only and
represent minimum timeframes. Actual timeframes may take longer. The
CDFI Fund will not consider any Applicant that fails to properly
register or activate its SAM account, has not yet received a DUNS
number, and/or fails to properly register in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
** This estimate assumes an Applicant has a DUNS number, an EIN number,
and is already registered in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>.
E. Submission Dates and Times:
1. Submission Deadlines: Table 6 lists the deadlines for submission
of the documents related to the FY 2021 CMF Funding Round:
Table 6--FY 2021 CMF Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Deadline Time--eastern time (ET) Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SF-424 Mandatory form................ October 12, 2021....... 11:59 pm ET............ Electronically via
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
Create AMIS Account (if the Applicant October 12, 2021....... 11:59 pm ET............ Electronically via
does not already have one). AMIS.
CMF Application and Required November 9, 2021....... 5:00 pm ET............. Electronically via
Attachments. AMIS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Confirmation of Application Submission in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and AMIS:
Applicants are required to submit the SF-424 Mandatory Form through the
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> system under the FY 2021 Capital Magnet Fund Funding
Opportunity Number (listed at the beginning of this NOFA). All other
required Application materials must be submitted through the AMIS
website. Application materials submitted through each system are due by
the applicable deadline listed in Table 6. Applicants must submit the
SF-424 by an earlier deadline than that of the other required
Application materials in AMIS. If a valid SF-424 is not submitted
through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> by the corresponding deadline, the Applicant will
not be able to submit the additional Application materials in AMIS, and
the Application will be deemed ineligible. Thus, Applicants are
strongly encouraged to submit the SF-424 as
[[Page 50781]]
early as possible in the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> portal, given that potential
submission issues may impact the ability to submit a complete
Application. Applicants must also ensure that their AMIS account
contains the correct EIN and DUNS numbers by the deadline listed in
Table 1 of this NOFA.
(a) <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> Submission Information: Each Applicant will receive
an initial email from <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> immediately after submitting the SF-
424, confirming that the submission has entered the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> system.
This email will contain a tracking number for the submitted SF-424.
Within 48 hours, the Applicant will receive a second email which will
indicate if the submitted SF-424 was either successfully validated or
rejected with errors. However, Applicants should not rely on the email
notification from <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> to confirm that their SF-424 was
validated.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the tracking number
provided in the first email to closely monitor the status of their SF-
424 by checking <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> directly. The Application materials
submitted in AMIS are not accepted by the CDFI Fund until <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>
has validated the SF-424. In the <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> Workspace function, please
note that the Application package has not been submitted if you have
not received a tracking number.
(b) AMIS Submission Information: AMIS is a web-based portal where
Applicants will directly enter their Application information and add
required attachments listed in Table 4. Each Applicant must register as
an organization in AMIS in order to submit the required Application
materials through this portal. AMIS will verify that the Applicant
provided the minimum information required to submit an Application.
Applicants are responsible for the quality and accuracy of the
information in the Application and in the attachments included in the
Application submitted in AMIS. The CDFI Fund strongly encourages the
Applicant to allow sufficient time to confirm the Application content,
review the material submitted, and remedy any issues prior to the
Application deadline. Applicants can only submit one Application in
AMIS. Upon submission, the Application will be locked and cannot be
resubmitted, edited, or modified in any way. The CDFI Fund will not
unlock or allow multiple AMIS Application submissions.
Prior to submission, each Application in AMIS must be signed by an
Authorized Representative. An Authorized Representative is an employee
or officer that has the authority to legally bind and make
representations on behalf of the Applicant; consultants working on
behalf of the Applicant cannot be designated as Authorized
Representatives. The Applicant may include consultants as Application
point(s) of contact, who will be included on any communication
regarding the Application and will be able to submit the Application
but cannot digitally sign the Application. The Authorized
Representative and/or Application point(s) of contact must be included
as ``Contacts'' in the Applicant's AMIS account. The Authorized
Representative must also be a ``user'' in AMIS. An Applicant that fails
to properly register and update its AMIS account may miss important
communications from the CDFI Fund or fail to submit an Application
successfully. Only an Authorized Representative for the organization or
an Application point of contact can submit the Application in AMIS.
After submitting its Application, the Applicant will not be permitted
to revise or modify its Application in any way.
3. Multiple Application Submissions: Each Applicant is only
permitted to submit one complete Application in AMIS. However, the CDFI
Fund does not administer <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>, which does allow for multiple
submissions of the SF-424. If an Applicant submits multiple SF-424
Applications in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>, the CDFI Fund will only review the SF-424
Application submitted in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> that is attached to the AMIS
Application.
4. Late Submission: The CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if
a valid SF-424 is not submitted by <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> by the SF-424 deadline.
Additionally, the CDFI Fund will not accept an Application if it is not
signed by an Authorized Representative and submitted in AMIS by the
Application deadline. In either case, the CDFI Fund will not review any
material submitted and the Application will be deemed ineligible,
except where the submission delay was a direct result of a Federal
government administrative or technological error. This exception
includes any errors associated with <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>, <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>, AMIS, or any
other applicable government system. Please note that this exception
does not apply to errors arising from obtaining a DUNS number from Dun
& Bradstreet, which is not a government entity. An Applicant unable to
make timely submission of its Application due to any errors in the
process of obtaining a DUNS number will not be allowed to submit its
Application after the Application deadline has passed.
(a) SF-424 Late Submission: In cases where a Federal government
administrative or technological error directly resulted in the late
submission of the SF-424, the Applicant must submit a Service Request
in AMIS for acceptance of the late SF-424 submission and include
documentation of the error no later than two business days after the
SF-424 deadline. The CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for
acceptance of late SF-424 submissions after that time period.
Applicants must submit late SF-424 submission requests to the CDFI Fund
via an AMIS service request to the CMF Program with a subject line of
``CMF Late SF-424 Submission Request.''
(b) Application Late Submission: In cases where a Federal
government administrative or technological error directly resulted in a
late submission of the Application in AMIS, the Applicant must submit a
Service Request in AMIS for acceptance of the late Application
submission and include documentation of the error no later than two
business days after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will not
respond to requests for acceptance of late Application submissions
after that time period. Applicants must submit late Application
submission requests to the CDFI Fund via an AMIS service request to the
CMF Program with a subject line of ``CMF Late Application Submission
Request.''
5. Intergovernmental Review: Not Applicable.
6. Funding Restrictions: CMF Awards are limited by the following:
(a) A Recipient shall use CMF Award funds only for the eligible
activities set forth in 12 CFR 1807.301 and as described in Section
II.C and Section II.E of this NOFA and its Assistance Agreement.
(b) A Recipient may not disburse CMF Award funds to an Affiliate,
Subsidiary, or any other entity in any manner that would create a
Subrecipient relationship (as defined in the Uniform Administrative
Requirements) without the CDFI Fund's prior written approval.
(c) CMF Award dollars shall only be paid to the Recipient.
(d) The CDFI Fund, in its sole discretion, may pay CMF Awards in
amounts, or under terms and conditions, which are different from those
requested by an Applicant. However, the CDFI Fund will not grant an
Award in excess of the amount requested by the Applicant.
[[Page 50782]]
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria: All complete and eligible Applications will be
reviewed in accordance with the criteria and procedures described in
the CMF Interim Rule, this NOFA, the Application guidance, and the
Uniform Administrative Requirements. As part of the review process, the
CDFI Fund reserves the right to contact the Applicant by telephone,
email, mail, or through an on-site visit for the sole purpose of
clarifying or confirming Application information at any point during
the review process. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to collect such
additional information from Applicants as it deems appropriate. If
contacted, the Applicant must respond within the time period
communicated by the CDFI Fund or its Application may be rejected. For
the sake of clarity, specific Application evaluation criteria are
described in the context of the overall Application review and
selection process described in Section V.B. below.
B. Review and Selection Process: The CDFI Fund will evaluate each
complete and eligible Application using the multi-phase review process
described in this Section. For the first part of the review process,
the External Review, the Applications will be grouped into two
categories depending on their approach: (1) Financing entities and (2)
affordable housing developers/managers. All Applicants will be able to
select whether they are applying with a financing entity approach or
with an affordable housing developer/manager approach. However, all
eligibility requirements, as either a certified CDFI or Nonprofit
Organization, must be met. In most cases, CDFIs will select the
financing entity approach; however, a CDFI that is applying with a
strategy to act as an affordable housing developer and has a track
record as an affordable housing developer, can select the affordable
housing developer/manager entity approach. The Applications of these
two groups will be evaluated based on the criteria listed in this
section. Where appropriate, the CDFI Fund will use different criteria
in order to evaluate the financial health, capacity, portfolio
performance, and projected activities of the Applicant based on these
distinct approaches. These differences are noted in the following
sections and the Application Instructions.
1. External Review and Quantitative Assessment: All eligible
Applications will be evaluated through a Quantitative Assessment and
External Review. The Quantitative Assessment evaluates the
Application's quantitative factors and is performed automatically in
AMIS. In the External Review, Applications will be separately scored by
two or more external non-Federal reviewers who are selected based on
criteria that include: A professional background in affordable housing
or in community and economic development finance with experience with
affordable housing. These reviewers must complete the CDFI Fund's
conflict of interest process and be approved by the CDFI Fund.
Reviewers will be assigned a set number of Applications to review,
consisting of either Applicants with a financing entity approach or
Applicants with an affordable housing developer/manager approach. The
reviewer will provide a score for each of the Applications assessed in
accordance with the scoring criteria outlined in Section V.B.2 of this
NOFA and the Application materials.
The external reviewer's evaluation, in combination with the
quantitative assessment factors, will result in the Application being
awarded up to 100 points for each review scorecard. The majority of the
score will be based on the external reviewer's evaluation. These points
will be distributed across three sections: Business and Leveraging
Strategy (40 possible points), Community Impact (35 possible points),
and Organizational Capacity (25 possible points). As each Application
is evaluated by two external reviewers, the maximum score each
Application can receive is 200 points (100 points x 2 Reviewers).
(a) Business and Leveraging Strategy (40 points): In the Business
and Leveraging Strategy section, the Applicant will address: (i) The
needs of communities and persons in the areas it proposes to serve with
a CMF Award and the extent to which the proposed strategy addresses
these needs; (ii) the affordable housing, economic development, and
financing gaps addressed by its business strategy; (iii) the projected
CMF activities and relevant track record; (iv) the role CMF will play
in its project financing strategy; (v) its strategy for leveraging
private capital with a CMF Award; and (vi) its strategy for leveraging
its CMF Award at the Enterprise-level, through re-investments, and/or
at the Project-level (as applicable).
An Applicant will generally score more favorably in the criteria
evaluated by the external review and by the quantitative assessment
factors to the extent that it: (i) Clearly aligns its proposed CMF
Award activities with the affordable housing needs and financing gaps
it identifies; (ii) demonstrates that its CMF Award activities will
result in more favorable financing rates and terms to Projects; (iii)
demonstrates that its projected activities are achievable based on the
Applicant's strategy and track record; (iv) describes a process for
selecting projects that have a clear need for CMF financing; (v) has a
credible pipeline of projects or can demonstrate clear demand for its
proposed financial products from borrowers; (vi) has a clear strategy
for and track record of leveraging private capital resulting in a
higher multiplier of private leverage; (vii) has a clear strategy for
attracting capital and demonstrates a track record of leveraging funds
at the Enterprise-level, through re-investments, and/or at the Project-
level (as applicable); and (viii) whether the Application is proposing
to serve American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
(b) Community Impact (35 points): In the Community Impact Section,
the Applicant will address: (i) The extent to which the Applicant's
strategy is likely to result in the selected Affordable Housing and/or
Economic Development Activities impacts and its plan to track relevant
outcome metrics; (ii) for rental housing, (a) its strategy for and
track record of financing and/or supporting rental housing units
located in Areas of Economic Distress or High Opportunity Areas; and
(b) its strategy for and track record of financing rental housing units
targeted to Very Low-Income (VLI) Families (50% of AMI or below); (iii)
for Homeownership housing, its strategy for and track record of
financing Homeownership units targeted to Low-Income (LI) Families (80%
of AMI or below) or units located in Areas of Economic Distress ; (iv)
if applicable, its strategy for and track record of financing and/or
supporting Economic Development Activities and how the projected
activities will align with a Concerted Strategy and will benefit the
residents of nearby Affordable Housing; and (v) commitment to and track
record of serving Rural Areas.
An Applicant will generally score more favorably in the criteria
evaluated by the external reviewer and by the quantitative assessment
factors to the extent that it: (i) Demonstrates a clear strategy for
achieving the selected Affordable Housing and/or Economic Development
Activities impacts identified in the Application and it presents a
clear and effective plan to track metrics related to relevant outcomes;
(ii) if rental housing is proposed, demonstrates a compelling strategy
for and track record of financing and/or supporting rental housing
units located in Areas of Economic Distress and/or High Opportunity
Areas; (iii) if
[[Page 50783]]
rental housing is proposed, demonstrates a compelling strategy for and
track record of financing and/or supporting rental housing units
targeted to Very Low-Income (VLI) Families (50% of AMI or below), with
the maximum score available to Applications that propose to target at
least 45% of units to Very Low-Income Families; (iv) if Homeownership
is proposed, demonstrates a compelling strategy for financing and/or
supporting up to 100% of CMF Award to Homeownership units either
targeted to Low-Income Families (80% of AMI or below) or Homeownership
units targeted to Eligible-Income Families (120% of AMI or below)
located in AEDs, with the Applicant's track record supporting their
ability to execute this strategy; (v) if proposing Economic Development
Activities, demonstrates how its proposed Economic Development
Activities fit within a Concerted Strategy and will benefit the
residents of the nearby Affordable Housing; and (vi) makes a commitment
to invest at least 10% of the CMF Award in Rural Areas and presents a
corresponding track record of serving Rural Areas.
(c) Organizational Capacity (25 points): In the Organizational
Capacity section, the Applicant will discuss: (i) Its management team
and key staff; (ii) the roles and responsibilities of those staff in
managing the proposed CMF Award; (iii) its past experience managing
Federal awards; (iv) its financial health; and (v) lending or property
portfolio (as applicable).
An Applicant will generally score more favorably in the criteria
evaluated by the external reviewer and by the quantitative assessment
factors to the extent that it demonstrates: (i) Strong qualifications
of its key personnel with respect to their skills and experience in
identifying investments, underwriting or developing similar projects
(as applicable), and managing a portfolio of similar activities and
ensuring compliance with program requirements; (ii) a strong ability to
successfully manage Federal awards based on experience managing prior
Federal Awards or administering state or local government awards,
foundation grants, or other programs with complex compliance
requirements; (iv) strong financial health, including but not limited
to strong capitalization, sound operating performance, and strong
liquidity; (iv) favorable audit results (e.g., opinion other than
unqualified/unmodified) with no negative findings, including lack of a
``going concern paragraph'', lack of repeat findings of reportable
conditions, lack of material weaknesses in internal controls, lack of
delinquencies on obligations to investors or lenders, and not having
filed for bankruptcy or defaulted on financial obligations; and (iv)
solid portfolio performance (property portfolio or loan/investment
portfolio, as applicable). CMF Program encourages first-time
Applicants. Prior CMF Recipients will not receive a scoring advantage
solely for having received a prior CMF Award.
(d) Scoring anomaly: If, in the case of a particular Application,
the reviewers' total External Review scores vary significantly from
each other, the CDFI Fund may, in its sole discretion, obtain the
evaluation and numeric scoring of an additional reviewer to determine
whether the anomalous score should be replaced with the score of the
additional reviewer.
2. Internal Review: At the conclusion of the External Review phase,
the CMF Program Manager will determine the overall number of
Applications that will be initially forwarded for Internal Review. Each
group of Applications (financing entity approach and affordable housing
developer/manager approach) will be ranked separately based on their
External Review score. The CMF Program Manager may initially forward an
amount up to the highest scoring 50% of Applications from the External
Review to the Internal Review, as long as the forwarded Applications
reflect, within no more than 5% variance, the proportion of financing
entity approach Applications to affordable housing developer/manager
approach Applications in the overall Application Pool. Such
Applications will be forwarded for Internal Review in descending order
of External Review score. The forwarded Applications will be drawn from
the financing entity approach and affordable housing developer/manager
approach groups in proportion to each group's representation in the
overall Application pool. This approach will ensure that the percentage
of Applicants with a financing entity approach and affordable housing
developer approach forwarded to Internal Review reflects the proportion
of these entity strategies within the overall Application pool, with no
more than 5% variance.
These forwarded Applications will constitute the highly qualified
pool. During the Internal Review, CDFI Fund staff will prioritize the
Applications in the highly qualified pool for an Award based on a
combination of the following criteria: (i) Final External Review score;
(ii) alignment with CMF statutory and policy priorities; (iii) the
overall quality of the Applicant's strategy; and (iv) the Applicant's
organizational capacity and financial health. The CDFI Fund will not
attempt to ensure any specific balance of Applicants with a financing
entity approach and Applicants with an affordable housing developer
approach in the final Award pool.
In assessing the Applicant's organizational capacity, CDFI Fund
staff will consider the following factors, including, but not limited
to the Applicant's overall organizational and financial capacity,
including (a) its financial strength and ability, and its resources to
weather changing conditions and risks; (b) its organizational strength
as demonstrated by good management practices, risk management, and
internal controls; (c) key personnel with relevant experience and
capacity; and (d) relevant experience and capacity demonstrating
ability to meet federal award management standards (including
performance with prior CDFI Fund awards). The CDFI Fund will also
review OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility
qualification and financial integrity information, as part of the
assessment of organizational capacity. In the case of an Applicant that
has received awards from other Federal programs, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right to contact officials from the appropriate Federal agency or
agencies to determine whether the Recipient is in compliance with
current or prior award agreements as well as to review the results of
any Federal Single Audit, and to take such information into
consideration before making a CMF Award.
In assessing the Application's alignment with CMF statutory and
policy priorities, CDFI Fund staff will consider the following factors,
including, but not limited to: (a) The likelihood of the Applicant to
reach a minimum overall leverage multiplier of 10 times the Award
amount or more; (b) the amount of private capital it will leverage
relative to the CMF Award; (c) if rental housing is proposed, the
Applicant's approach, track record and ability to finance/support a
significant portion (up to 45%) of its rental housing for Very Low-
Income Families; (d) if rental housing is proposed, the Applicant's
approach, track record and ability to finance/support a significant
portion of rental housing located in Areas of Economic Distress (AED)
and/or High Opportunity Areas (HOA) as a percentage of its CMF rental
portfolio; (e) if Homeownership is proposed, the Applicant's approach,
track record and ability to successfully finance/support up to 100% of
its Homeownership units for Low-Income Families (80% AMI or
[[Page 50784]]
below) and/or in Areas of Economic Distress as a percentage of its CMF
Homeownership portfolio; and f) the number of Affordable Housing units
expected to be generated as a result of the Award.
In assessing the quality of the Applicant's strategy, the CDFI Fund
staff will consider the following factors, including, but not limited
to: (a) The effectiveness and cohesiveness of the Applicant's strategy;
(b) how well the proposed financing activities will help close the
financing gaps in their market, including more favorable rates and
terms than are currently available in its Service Area; (c) the
Applicant's ability to execute its strategy and support its
projections; (d) how adaptable the Applicant's strategy is to changing
market conditions; (e) the alignment between the proposed activities
and strategy and the selected impacts and outcomes; and (f) for
Applicant's proposing Economic Development Activities (EDA), the extent
the activities are part of a Concerted Strategy, whether activities
will benefit affordable housing residents, and the track record and
capacity of the Applicant to carry out EDA.
In addition to the criteria outlined above, the Applicant's ability
to deploy the CMF Award in a timely manner will be a key determinant in
funding recommendation. Deployment considerations may include the
Applicant's track record of activities compared with projections, the
Applicant's progress in committing and/or deploying past CMF Awards,
and whether the Applicant received a FY 2021 CDFI/NACA Program award
for a similar business strategy as the proposed use of the CMF Award.
The CDFI Fund may also consider the number of geographies served when
determining funding recommendations.
3. Selection: Once Applications have been internally evaluated and
preliminary award determinations have been made, the Applications will
be forwarded to a selecting official for a final award determination.
After preliminary award determinations are made, the selecting official
will review the list of potential Recipients to determine whether the
Recipient pool meets the following statutory objectives:
(a) The potential Recipients' proposed Service Areas collectively
represent broad geographic coverage throughout the United States; and
(b) The potential Recipients' proposed activities equitably
represent both Metropolitan Areas and Rural Areas. For the purposes of
the FY 2021 CMF Round, the term Rural Areas is defined per 12 CFR
1282.1 (Enterprise Duty To Serve Final Rule) as (i) A census tract
outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area as designated by the Office
of Management and Budget; or (ii) A census tract in a Metropolitan
Statistical Area as designated by the Office of Management and Budget
that is outside of the Metropolitan Statistical Area's Urbanized Areas,
as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural-
Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Code #1, and outside of tracts with a
housing density of over 64 housing units per square mile for USDA's
RUCA Code #2.
As Rural Areas data for the Enterprise Duty to Serve Rule is not
available for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands, all census tracts in these territories will be
deemed as Rural census tracts for Awards issued under this NOFA. The
CDFI Fund will publish a dataset indicating which census tracts are
designated as Rural Areas for the FY 2021 Round on its website.
In the event the preliminary Recipient pool does not reflect the
geographic coverage or representation of Metropolitan and Rural Areas
present in the overall Applicant pool, the CDFI Fund reserves the right
to modify CMF Award amounts and/or the CMF Recipient pool if deemed
necessary to achieve either of these statutory objectives. For the
purposes of conducting this analysis, the CDFI Fund will classify
Applications as addressing Rural Areas if they propose to use 20% or
more of their award in Rural Areas, and as addressing Metropolitan
Areas if they propose to use less than 20% of their Award in Rural
Areas.
In order to evaluate the geographic coverage of the potential CMF
Recipient pool, Applicants will be asked to designate one of the
following two Service Area types in their Applications: Statewide or
Multi-State. These Service Area types are further defined in the
Application. Applicants planning to serve communities below the state
level (cities and municipalities, counties, regions) and within one
state should designate their Service Area as Statewide.
Similarly, an Applicant that is planning to serve communities below
the state level, but in more than one state, should designate their
Service Area as Multi-State. The smallest Service Area an Applicant can
request is one state or U.S. territory; the largest Service Area an
Applicant can propose is a 15 state Multi-State Service Area.
Applicants should indicate in the narrative portions of their
Application if they plan to concentrate their CMF activities in a
subset (e.g., a county or a Metropolitan Area) of their broader Service
Area. If necessary to achieve proportional activity in Rural Areas and/
or broader geographic coverage, the CDFI Fund may award Applications
not in the preliminary Recipient pool, including Applications outside
of the highly qualified pool, in the order of their Internal Review
scoring ranking. During the selection process, the CDFI Fund also
reserves the right to modify or place restrictions on the Service Area
requested in any Application in order to further these statutory
objectives.
In cases where the selecting official's award determination varies
significantly from the initial CMF Award amount recommended by the CDFI
Fund staff review, the CMF Award recommendation will be forwarded to a
reviewing official for final determination. The CDFI Fund, in its sole
discretion, reserves the right to reject an Application and/or adjust
CMF Award amounts as appropriate, based on information obtained during
the review process.
4. Insured Depository Institution Applicants: In the case of
Applicants that are Insured Depository Institutions or Insured Credit
Unions, the CDFI Fund will consider safety and soundness information
from the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or Appropriate State
Agency, as applicable. If the Applicant is a CDFI Depository
Institution Holding Company, the CDFI Fund will consider information
provided by the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency and Appropriate
State Agency about both the CDFI Depository Institution Holding Company
and the CDFI Insured Depository Institution that will expend and carry
out the Award. If the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or Appropriate
State Agency identifies safety and soundness concerns, the CDFI Fund
will assess whether the concerns warrant that the Applicant is
incapable of undertaking the activities for which funding has been
requested.
5. Right of Rejection: The CDFI Fund reserves the right to reject
an Application if information (including administrative errors) comes
to the attention of the CDFI Fund that adversely affects an Applicant's
eligibility for an Award, adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation
or scoring of an Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on
the Applicant's part, including mismanagement of another Federal award.
If the CDFI Fund determines that any portion of the Application is
incorrect in any material respect, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in
its sole discretion, to reject the Application. The
[[Page 50785]]
CDFI Fund reserves the right to change its eligibility and evaluation
criteria and procedures, if the CDFI Fund deems it appropriate. If said
changes materially affect the CDFI Fund's Award decisions, the CDFI
Fund will provide information regarding the changes through the CDFI
Fund's website. There is no right to appeal the CDFI Fund's Award
decisions. The CDFI Fund's Award decisions are final.
6. Anticipated Award Announcement: The CDFI Fund anticipates making
CMF Award announcements in early 2022.
VI. Federal Award Administration Information
A. Award Notification: Each successful Applicant will receive
notification from the CDFI Fund stating that its Application has been
approved for an Award. Each Applicant not selected for an Award will
receive notification and be provided a debriefing document in its AMIS
account.
B. Administrative and Policy Requirements Prior to Entering into an
Assistance Agreement: The CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without
advance notice to the Recipient, terminate the Award or take other
actions as it deems appropriate if, prior to entering into an
Assistance Agreement, information (including an administrative error)
comes to the CDFI Fund's attention that adversely affects the
following: The Recipient's eligibility for an Award; the CDFI Fund's
evaluation of the Application; the Recipient's compliance with any
requirement listed in the Uniform Requirements; or indications of fraud
or mismanagement on the Recipient's part, including mismanagement of
another Federal award.
If the Recipient's certification status as a CDFI changes prior to
entering into an Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to re-evaluate the CMF Award, or modify
the Assistance Agreement based on the Recipient's non-CDFI status.
By receiving notification of a CMF Award, the Recipient agrees
that, if the CDFI Fund becomes aware of any information (including an
administrative error) prior to the Effective Date of the Assistance
Agreement that either adversely affects the Recipient's eligibility for
an CMF Award, adversely affects the CDFI Fund's evaluation of the
Recipient's Application, or indicates fraud or mismanagement on the
part of the Recipient, the CDFI Fund may, in its discretion and without
advance notice to the Recipient, rescind the notice of award or take
other actions as it deems appropriate.
The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an Award if the Recipient fails to return the Assistance
Agreement, signed by an Authorized Representative of the Recipient,
and/or provide the CDFI Fund with any other requested documentation,
within the CDFI Fund's deadlines.
In addition, the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the Assistance Agreement and the
award made under this NOFA for any criteria described in Table 7:
Table 7--Requirements Prior to Executing an Assistance Agreement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Criteria
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure to meet reporting <bullet> If an Applicant received a prior
requirements. award or allocation under any CDFI Fund
program and is not current on the
reporting requirements set forth in the
previously executed assistance, award,
allocation, bond loan agreement(s), or
agreement to guarantee, as of the date
of the notice of award, the CDFI Fund
reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to delay entering into an
Assistance Agreement and/or to delay
making a Payment of CMF Award, until
said prior Recipient or allocatee is
current on the reporting requirements in
the previously executed assistance,
award, allocation, bond loan
agreement(s), or agreement to guarantee.
<bullet> If such a prior Recipient or
allocatee is unable to meet this
requirement within the timeframe set by
the CDFI Fund, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to
terminate and rescind the notice of
award and the CMF Award made under this
NOFA.
<bullet> Please note that automated
systems employed by the CDFI Fund for
receipt of reports submitted
electronically typically acknowledge
only a report's receipt; such
acknowledgment does not warrant that the
report received was complete, nor that
it met reporting requirements. If said
prior Recipient or allocatee is unable
to meet this requirement within the
timeframe set by the CDFI Fund, the CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the
notice of Award and the CMF Award made
under this NOFA.
Failure to maintain CDFI <bullet> A Recipient must be a Certified
Certification (if CDFI or an eligible Nonprofit
applicable) or eligible Organization, as each is defined in the
Nonprofit Organization CMF Interim Rule and this NOFA, prior to
status (if applicable). entering into an Assistance Agreement.
<bullet> If, at any time prior to
entering into an Assistance Agreement
under this NOFA, an Applicant that is a
Certified CDFI has submitted reports (or
failed to submit an annual certification
report as instructed by the CDFI Fund)
to the CDFI Fund that demonstrate
noncompliance with the requirements for
certification, but the CDFI Fund has yet
to make a final determination regarding
whether or not the entity is Certified,
the CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its
sole discretion, to delay entering into
an Assistance Agreement and/or to delay
making a Payment of CMF Award, pending
full resolution, in the sole
determination of the CDFI Fund, of the
noncompliance.
<bullet> If the Applicant is unable to
meet this requirement, in the sole
determination of the CDFI Fund, the CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the
notice of award and the CMF Award made
under this NOFA.
Pending resolution of <bullet> The CDFI Fund will delay
noncompliance. entering into an Assistance Agreement
with a Recipient that has pending
noncompliance issues with any of its
previously executed CDFI Fund award(s),
allocation(s), bond loan agreement(s),
or agreement(s) to guarantee.
<bullet> If said prior Recipient or
allocatee is unable to satisfactorily
resolve the compliance issues, the CDFI
Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to terminate and rescind the
notice of award and the CMF Award made
under this NOFA.
[[Page 50786]]
Default or Noncompliance <bullet> If, at any time prior to
status. entering into an Assistance Agreement,
the CDFI Fund determines that an
Applicant (or an Affiliate of the
Applicant) that is a prior CDFI Fund
Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program is noncompliant or found in
default with any previously executed
CDFI Fund award or Assistance
agreement(s) and the CDFI Fund has
provided written notification that the
Applicant is ineligible to apply for or
receive any future awards or allocations
for a time period specified by the CDFI
Fund in writing, the CDFI Fund may, in
its sole discretion, delay entering into
an Assistance Agreement with Applicant
until the Recipient has cured the
noncompliance by taking actions the CDFI
Fund has specified in writing within
such specified timeframe. If the
Recipient is unable to cure the
noncompliance within the specified
timeframe, the CDFI Fund may modify or
rescind all or a portion of the CMF
Award made under this NOFA.
Compliance with Federal civil <bullet> The CDFI Fund will terminate and
rights requirements. rescind the Assistance Agreement and the
CMF Award made under this NOFA if, prior
to entering into an Assistance Agreement
under this NOFA, the Recipient receives
a final determination, made within the
last 3 years of the publication date of
this NOFA, in any proceeding instituted
against the Recipient in, by, or before
any court, governmental, or
administrative body or agency, declaring
that the CMF Award Recipient has
violated the following laws: Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended
(42 U.S.C. 2000d); Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794); the Age Discrimination Act of 1975
(42 U.S.C. 6101-6107); Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended (42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); Executive Order
13166, Improving Access to Services for
Persons with Limited English
Proficiency, and Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972.
Debarment/Do Not Pay......... <bullet> The CDFI Fund reserves the
right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind an award if the Recipient (or
Affiliate of Recipient) is identified as
being delinquent on any Federal debt in
the Do Not Pay database.
<bullet> The Do Not Pay Business Center
was developed to support Federal
agencies in their efforts to reduce the
number of improper payments made through
programs funded by the Federal
government. The Do Not Pay Business
Center provides delinquency information
to the CDFI Fund to assist with the
debarment check.
Safety and soundness......... <bullet> If it is determined that the
Recipient is or will be incapable of
meeting its CMF Award obligations, the
CDFI Fund will deem the Recipient to be
ineligible or require it to improve
safety and soundness conditions prior to
entering into an Assistance Agreement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Assistance Agreement: Each Applicant that is selected to receive
an award under this NOFA must enter into an Assistance Agreement with
the CDFI Fund in order to become a Recipient and receive Payment. Each
CMF Award under this NOFA generally will have a period of performance
that begins with the announcement date of the Award and continues until
the end of the period of affordability, as set forth at 12 CFR
1807.401(d) and 12 CFR 1807.402, and as further set forth in the
Assistance Agreement.
1. The Assistance Agreement will set forth certain required terms
and conditions of the CMF Award, which will include, but not be limited
to:
(a) The amount of the award;
(b) The approved uses of the award;
(c) The approved Service Area in which the award may be used.
Applicants selected for a CMF Award will be allowed to use up to 15% of
the award amount outside of their approved Service Area at their
discretion. Moreover, they will be able to reinvest Program Income from
the CMF Award anywhere in the United States, including the U.S.
territories.
(d) Performance goals and measures;
(e) Reinvestment requirements for Program Income; and
(f) Reporting requirements for all Recipients.
2. Prior to executing the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund may,
in its discretion, allow Recipients to request changes to the Service
Area of the Award and certain performance goals and measures. The CDFI
Fund, in its sole determination, may approve or reject these requested
changes or propose other modifications, including a reduction in the
Award amount. The CDFI Fund will only approve performance goals and
measures or Service Area changes if it determines that such requested
changes do not undermine the competitive process upon which the CMF
Award determination was made. The CDFI Fund may also, in its
discretion, provide Recipients the opportunity to add states to their
Service Area in order to serve states not already covered in the Award
pool and to further HERA's goal that the CMF serve geographically
diverse areas of every state. The CDFI Fund may also, in its
discretion, provide Recipients the opportunity to add states to its
approved Service Area in order to serve geographies for which: (i) The
President issued a ``major disaster declaration,'' and (ii) the major
disaster declaration makes such geographies eligible for both
``individual and public assistance.'' The major disaster declaration
must be made after the publication date of this NOFA and prior to the
execution of the Recipient's Assistance Agreement. In these cases, the
CDFI Fund may allow a Recipient to exceed the maximum 15 state Service
Area, if applicable. Any modifications agreed upon prior to the
execution of the Assistance Agreement will become a condition of the
Award.
3. The Assistance Agreement shall provide that, prior to any
determination by the CDFI Fund that a Recipient has failed to comply
substantially with the Act, the CMF Interim Rule, or the environmental
quality regulations, the CDFI Fund shall provide the Recipient with
reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard. If the Recipient fails
to comply substantially with the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI Fund
may:
(a) Require changes in the performance goals set forth in the
Assistance Agreement;
(b) Reduce or terminate the CMF Award; or
(c) Require repayment of any CMF Award that has been distributed to
the Recipient.
4. The Assistance Agreement shall also provide that, if the CDFI
Fund determines noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the
Assistance Agreement on the part of the Recipient, the CDFI Fund may:
(a) Bar the Recipient from reapplying for any assistance from the
CDFI Fund; or
(b) Take such other actions as the CDFI Fund deems appropriate or
as set forth in the Assistance Agreement.
5. In addition to entering into an Assistance Agreement, each
Applicant selected to receive a CMF Award must furnish to the CDFI Fund
a certificate of good standing from the jurisdiction in which it was
formed. The CDFI Fund may, in its sole discretion or in lieu of
[[Page 50787]]
a certificate of good standing, also require the Applicant to furnish
an opinion from its legal counsel, the content of which may be further
specified in the Assistance Agreement, and which, among other matters,
opines that:
(a) The Recipient is duly formed and in good standing in the
jurisdiction in which it was formed and the jurisdiction(s) in which it
transacts business;
(b) The Recipient has the authority to enter into the Assistance
Agreement and undertake the activities that are specified therein;
(c) The Recipient has no pending or threatened litigation that
would materially affect its ability to enter into and carry out the
activities specified in the Assistance Agreement;
(d) The Recipient is not in default of its articles of
incorporation or formation, bylaws or operating agreements, other
organizational or establishing documents, or any agreements with the
Federal government;
(e) The CMF affordability restrictions that are to be imposed by
deed restrictions, covenants running with the land, or other CDFI Fund
approved mechanisms that are recordable and enforceable under the laws
of the State and locality where the Recipient will undertake its CMF
activities;
(f) If applicable, the Recipient is exempt from Federal Income
taxation pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(g) If applicable, the Recipient is designated as a nonprofit or
not for profit entity under the laws of the organization's State of
formation.
6. Closing and Payment of the Award: Pursuant to the Assistance
Agreement, there will be an initial closing at which point the
Assistance Agreement and related documents will be properly executed
and delivered, and a Payment of the CMF Award is made. Recipients of
CMF FY 2021 Awards will have the option to choose Payment of the Award
in a single, lump sum payment or in two payment tranches, each no more
than one year apart, and as set forth in the Assistance Agreement. If
the Applicant is electing to receive Payment in two tranches, the first
Payment amount will be based on the Applicant's estimated amount of the
Award that will be Committed in the first year, though the first
Payment amount can be modified at the Recipients request prior to
closing the Assistance Agreement. The date of Payment will affect the
required date of Commitment of the Award, two years subsequent to each
Payment, but will not affect or change any other performance goal or
requirement set forth in the Assistance Agreement, including the
requirement that all Projects must achieve Project Completion within
five years of the effective date of the Assistance Agreement.
Following the initial closing of the Assistance Agreement, there
may be subsequent closings involving additional award Payments. Any
documentation in addition to the Assistance Agreement that is connected
with such subsequent closings and Payments shall be properly executed
and timely delivered by the Recipient to the CDFI Fund.
D. Paperwork Reduction Act: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. chapter 35), an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and an individual is not required to respond to a
collection of information, unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. If applicable, the CDFI Fund may inform Applicants that they do
not need to provide certain Application information otherwise required.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Capital Magnet Fund
Application has been assigned the following control number: 1559-0036.
E. Reporting: The CDFI Fund will require each Recipient that
receives a CMF Award through this NOFA to account for and report to the
CDFI Fund on the use of the CMF Award. This will require Recipients to
establish administrative controls, subject to the Uniform
Administrative Requirements and other applicable OMB guidance. The CDFI
Fund will collect information from each such Recipient on its use of
the CMF Award annually, following Payment and more often if deemed
appropriate by the CDFI Fund in its sole discretion. The CDFI Fund will
provide guidance to Recipients outlining the format and content of the
information required to be provided to describe how the funds were
used.
The CDFI Fund may collect information from each Recipient
including, but not limited to, an annual report with the components
listed in Table 8:
Table 8--Reporting Requirements \5\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Criteria Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Single Audit (if applicable). A non-profit Recipient must complete an
annual Single Audit pursuant to the
Uniform Requirements (2 CFR 200.501) if
it expends $750,000 or more in Federal
awards in its fiscal year, or such other
dollar threshold established by OMB
pursuant to 2 CFR 200.501. If a Single
Audit is required, it must be submitted
electronically to the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse (FAC) (see 2 CFR Subpart F-
Audit Requirements in the Uniform
Requirements) and optionally through
AMIS.
Financial Statement Audit.... For-profit and nonprofit Recipients must
submit a Financial Statement Audit (FSA)
report in AMIS, along with the
Recipient's statement of financial
condition audited or reviewed by an
independent certified public accountant.
Performance Report........... The Recipient must submit a performance
report not less than annually, which is
a progress report on the Recipient's use
of the CMF Award towards meeting its
performance goals, Affordable Housing
outcomes, and the Recipient's overall
performance. The CMF Performance Report
covers the Announcement Date through the
Investment Period for the CMF Award and
the ten-year Affordability Period for
each Project. The Investment Period
shall mean the period beginning with the
Effective Date of the Assistance
Agreement and ending not earlier than
the fifth year anniversary of the
Effective Date, or as otherwise
established in the Assistance Agreement.
The Affordability Period shall mean, for
each Project, the period beginning on
the date when the Project is placed into
service and consisting of the full ten
consecutive years thereafter, or as
otherwise established in the Assistance
Agreement.
If the Recipient fails to meet a
performance goal or reporting
requirements, it must submit an
explanation of noncompliance via AMIS.
[[Page 50788]]
Environmental Review......... The Recipient shall submit the
Environmental Review Notification Report
each time the Recipient identifies a new
proposed CMF project for which (i) a
categorical exclusion does not apply and/
or (ii) the Recipient determines that
the proposed project does involve
actions that normally require an
Environmental Impact Statement, as
described in 12 CFR Part 1815. The
Environmental Review Notification Report
must be submitted to the CDFI Fund no
later than one hundred eighty (180) days
prior to the date that the funds are
Committed to a Project.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is information, which if
lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in
substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an
individual. Although Applicants are required to enter addresses of
homes and other properties in AMIS, Applicants should not include the
following PII for the individuals who received the financial products
or services in AMIS or in the supporting documentation (i.e., name of
the individual, Social Security Number, driver's license or state
identification number, passport number, Alien Registration Number,
etc.). This information should be redacted from all supporting
documentation (if applicable).
Each Recipient is responsible for the timely and complete
submission of the annual reporting documents. The CDFI Fund will use
such information to monitor each Recipient's compliance with the
requirements set forth in the Assistance Agreement and to assess the
impact of the CMF. The CDFI Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to modify these reporting requirements if it determines it
to be appropriate and necessary; however, such reporting requirements
will be modified only after notice to Recipients.
F. Financial Management and Accounting: The CDFI Fund will require
Recipients to maintain financial management and accounting systems that
comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions
of the CMF Award. These systems must be sufficient to permit the
preparation of reports required by general and program specific terms
and conditions, including the tracing of funds to a level of
expenditures adequate to establish that such funds have been used in
accordance with the Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the CMF Award.
The cost principles used by Recipients must be consistent with
Federal cost principles, must support the accumulation of costs as
required by the principles, and must provide for adequate documentation
to support costs charged to the CMF Award. In addition, the CDFI Fund
will require Recipients to: Maintain effective internal controls;
comply with applicable statutes and regulations, the Assistance
Agreement, and related guidance; evaluate and monitor compliance; take
action when not in compliance; and safeguard personally identifiable
information.
VII. Agency Contacts
A. Availability: The CDFI Fund will respond to questions and
provide support concerning this NOFA and the Application between the
hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, starting on the date of the
publication of this NOFA until the close of business on the third
business day preceding the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will not
respond to questions or provide support concerning the Application that
are received after 5:00 p.m. ET on said date, until after the
Application deadline. CDFI Fund IT support will be available until 5:00
p.m. ET on date of the Application deadline. Applications and other
information regarding the CDFI Fund and its programs may be obtained
from the CDFI Fund's website at <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf">http://www.cdfifund.gov/cmf</a>. The CDFI
Fund will post on its website responses to questions of general
applicability regarding the CMF.
B. The CDFI Fund's Contact Information is Listed in Table 9
Table 9--Contact Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telephone
Type of question Preferred method number (not Email addresses
toll free)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CMF..................................... Submit a Service Request 202-653-0421 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa99979cba999e9c93d48e889f9b89d49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b2d1dfd4f2d1d6d4db9cc6c0d7d3c19cd5ddc4">[email protected]</span></a>.
in AMIS.
CDFI Certification...................... Submit a Service Request 202-653-0423 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7615151b13361512101f58020413170558111900">[email protected]</a>.
in AMIS.
Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation.... Submit a Service Request 202-653-0423 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c6a5a5aba386a5a2a0afe8b2b4a3a7b5e8a1a9b0">[email protected]</a>.
in AMIS.
Information Technology Support.......... Submit a Service Request 202-653-0422 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a4e5e9edf7e4c7c0c2cd8ad0d6c1c5d78ac3cbd2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e7f73776d7e5d5a5857104a4c5b5f4d10595148">[email protected]</span></a>.
in AMIS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The preferred method of contact is to submit a Service Request
within AMIS. For a CMF Application question, select ``Capital Magnet
Fund'' for the program. For a CDFI Certification question, select
``Certification.'' For a Compliance question, select ``Compliance &
Reporting.'' For Information Technology, select ``Technical Issues.''
Failure to select the appropriate program for the Service Request could
result in delays in responding to your question.
C. Communication with the CDFI Fund: The CDFI Fund will use AMIS to
communicate with Applicants and Recipients, using the contact
information maintained in their respective AMIS accounts. Therefore,
the Recipient and any Subsidiaries, signatories, and Affiliates must
maintain accurate contact information (including contact persons and
Authorized Representatives, email addresses, fax numbers, phone
numbers, and office addresses) in its AMIS account(s). For more
information about AMIS please see the Help documents posted at <a href="https://amis.cdfifund.gov/s/Training">https://amis.cdfifund.gov/s/Training</a>.
D. Civil Rights and Diversity: Any person who is eligible to
receive benefits or services from the CDFI Fund or Recipients under any
of its programs is entitled to those benefits or services without being
subject to prohibited discrimination. The Department of the Treasury's
Office of Civil Rights and Diversity enforces various Federal statutes
and regulations that prohibit discrimination in financially assisted
and conducted programs and activities of the CDFI Fund. If a person
believes that s/he has been subjected to discrimination and/or reprisal
because of membership in a protected group, s/he may file a complaint
with: Associate Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Civil Rights,
and Diversity, 1500
[[Page 50789]]
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20220 or (202) 622-1160 (not a
toll-free number).
E. Statutory and National Policy Requirements: The CDFI Fund will
manage and administer the Federal award in a manner so as to ensure
that Federal funding is expended and associated programs are
implemented in full accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Federal Law,
statutory, and public policy requirements: Including, but not limited
to, those protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare,
the environment, and prohibiting discrimination.
VIII. Other Information
None.
Authority: Public Law 110-289. 12 U.S.C. 4701, 12 CFR part 1805, 12
CFR part 1807, 12 CFR part 1815, 12 U.S.C. 4502.
Jodie L. Harris,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 2021-19598 Filed 9-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 10, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.