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Notice2023-00932

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

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Published

January 19, 2023

Issuing agencies

Treasury Department

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 certified 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 88 Issue 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3460-3478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00932]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

Capital Magnet Fund; 2023 Funding Round.

Funding Opportunities: Capital Magnet Fund; 2023 Funding Round.
Funding Opportunity Title: Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
inviting Applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Funding Round of
the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) and waiver of the requirement to verify
tenant income annually for CMF Recipients who used their CMF Awards to
finance or support rental housing Projects with an Affordability Period
covering the dates of April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021.
Announcement Type: Announcement of funding opportunity.
Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2023-CMF.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 21.011.
Dates:

Table 1--FY 2023 Capital Magnet Fund Funding Round Critical Deadlines for Applicants
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Time (eastern time--
Description Deadline ET) Submission method
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Last day to create an Awards February 23, 2023..... 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 February 23, 2023..... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via AMIS.
Employer Identification Number
(EIN) and Unique Entity Identifier
(UEI) numbers in AMIS (all
Applicants).
Last day to submit SF-424 Mandatory February 23, 2023..... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via
Form (Application for Federal <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
Assistance).
For Applicants using a Consortium February 23, 2023..... 11:59 p.m. ET......... Submit Service Request via
Approach only: Applicants are AMIS using ``Capital
asked to submit a Service Request Magnet Fund'' for the
in AMIS notifying the CMF Program program.
of the organization's intent to
apply as a Consortium Member using
the Consortium Approach.
Last day to contact Capital Magnet March 17, 2023........ 5:00 p.m. ET.......... Submit Service Request via
Fund Staff. AMIS using ``Capital
Magnet Fund'' for the
program; call CDFI Fund
Helpdesk: 202-653-0421; or
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aac9c7cceac9ceccc384ded8cfcbd984cdc5dc">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
Last day to contact CDFI Fund with March 17, 2023........ 5:00 p.m. ET.......... Submit Service Request via
questions about Compliance or CDFI AMIS using ``Compliance
Certification. and Reporting'' or
``Certification''; call
CCME Helpdesk: 202-653-
0423; or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee8d8d838bae8d8a8887c09a9c8b8f9dc0898198">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
Last day to contact AMIS-IT Help March 21, 2023........ 5:00 p.m. ET.......... Submit Service Request via
Desk (regarding AMIS technical AMIS using ``Technical
problems only). Issues'' for the program;
call AMIS Helpdesk: 202-
630-0422; or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#33525e5a40735057555a1d47415652401d545c45">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
Last day to submit CMF Application March 21, 2023........ 11:59 p.m. ET......... Electronically via AMIS.
and Required Attachments.
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[[Page 3461]]

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
certified 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 $1.07 billion has been awarded under the
CMF Program.
C. Programmatic Changes from the Prior Round NOFA:
1. Ability to apply using a Consortium Approach: Under this NOFA,
Applicants will be able to apply for a CMF Award as individual members
of a Consortium. See Section I.D.2 and Section I.D.3 for definitions.
Additional details on applying for and performing as a Consortium
member as it relates to a CMF Award are provided throughout this NOFA.
2. Expansion of the High Opportunity Area (HOA) Definition: In
addition to the HOA criteria established by the Federal Housing Finance
Agency's Duty to Serve Rule, this NOFA includes Expanded CMF HOA
Criteria developed by the CDFI Fund. See Section I.D.6 of this NOFA for
additional details.
D. Definitions:
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 Sec. 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. The CDFI Fund will publish a dataset on its website indicating
which census tracts are designated as Areas of Economic Distress for
the FY 2023 CMF Funding Round.
2. Consortium: A Consortium is comprised of a group of at least
two, and no more than five, eligible, and unaffiliated CDFIs or
nonprofit affordable housing developers/managers, applying for a CMF
Award under this NOFA. The purpose of the Consortium must be to finance
and support Affordable Housing, and Economic Development Activities, if
applicable.
3. Consortium Approach: The Consortium Approach is the manner in
which members of a Consortium apply for a CMF Award under this NOFA,
wherein member Applications are evaluated both individually and as a
Consortium.
4. Entity Approach: The Entity Approach is the manner in which the
Applicant will be using the CMF Award. There are two types of Entity
Approaches: (a) financing entities and (b) affordable housing
developers/managers. Each Applicant will be required to specify which
type of Entity Approach it will be using prior to starting the
Application.
A financing entity is an entity whose predominant business activity
is the provision of arm's length transactions and services to
independent, unrelated parties, each acting in its own best interest.
Such transactions support and promote affordable housing and/or
community development through the provision of financial products that
serve low-income communities, individuals, or families in underserved
markets or communities.
An affordable housing developer/manager is a Nonprofit Organization
whose primary mission is the construction, development, redevelopment,
preservation, or management of affordable housing. The affordable
housing developer/manager may own the housing that it develops; may own
it in part, such as a limited partnership; may sell the Homeownership
or rental housing it develops once completed; or may sell but continue
to manage the housing if rental housing.
5. High Opportunity Areas (HOA):
(A) Standard HOA Criteria: Shall mean the definition of High
Opportunity Area (HOA) found in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's
Duty to Serve Rule (12 CFR 1282.1), effective as of the date of the
publication of this NOFA. This term is defined as: (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 2023 CMF Funding
Round.
(B) Expanded CMF HOA Criteria: The CMF Program will accept an
expanded definition of High Opportunity Area for areas that do not meet
the Federal Housing Finance Agency definition, but instead meet a set
of Expanded CMF HOA Criteria demonstrating the designated area(s)
provide access to a combination of at least three of the following four
criteria: (1) high-quality youth (K-12) education opportunities; (2)
employment opportunities; (3) transportation opportunities; and/or (4)
financial service opportunities. For a

[[Page 3462]]

Project to qualify as being in a High Opportunity Area under the
Expanded CMF HOA Criteria definition, the location of the Project must
meet at least three of the four Expanded CMF HOA Criteria, and cannot
be located in a Food Desert as identified by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert">https://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert</a>) as of the
publication date of this NOFA in the Federal Register.
I. CMF HOA Criteria Definitions: To meet the Expanded CMF HOA
definition, the location must meet at least three of the following four
CMF HOA Criteria:
(1) Access to High-Quality Youth (K-12) Education: To meet the
high-quality youth (K-12) education criterion, the CMF-financed/
supported rental unit(s) must be: (i) located in an area served by a
school that, in any of the three years prior to the date of this NOFA,
has been either recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a
National Blue Ribbon School, or has received the highest rating
available from its State's education agency; and (ii) available to
Families living in CMF-financed/supported rental units.
(2) Access to Employment: To meet the access to employment
criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be located
within a one-mile radius of one of the 25 largest employers in the
applicable county. The largest employers in the county are measured by
number of employees at the location(s) in the applicable county.
(3) Access to Transportation: To meet the access to transportation
criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be within \1/
4\ mile of a multi-modal transit station (includes at least two forms
of public transit such as metro, light rail, bus, ferry, or trolley) if
located in a Metropolitan Area. The CMF-financed/supported rental
unit(s) must be within two miles of ``Fixed-route Public
Transportation'' if located in a rural (``Non-Metropolitan'') area.
``Fixed-route Public Transportation'' means year-round, regularly
scheduled public transportation that operates at least 5 days per week
and provides regular service throughout the day.
(4) Access to Financial Services: To meet the access to financial
services criterion, the CMF-financed/supported rental unit(s) must be
in a census tract with a bank or credit union branch presence (i.e.,
not simply a standalone ATM).
E. 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.
F. 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 2023 CMF Funding Round: (i) Applications where at
least 20% of all rental Affordable Housing units that will be financed
and/or supported with FY 2023 CMF Awards are reserved for Very Low-
Income Families, and/or at least 20% of all Homeownership Affordable
Housing units are reserved for Low-Income Families; (ii) Applications
where rental Affordable Housing units located in either Areas of
Economic Distress (AED) and/or High Opportunity Areas (HOA) are
reserved for Eligible-Income Families; (iii) Applications where
Homeownership Affordable Housing units are for (a) Families with
incomes above 80% and no greater than 120% of AMI located in an AED,
(b) Low-Income Families (up to 80% of the AMI), or (c) a combination of
(a) and (b); 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 2020 and FY 2021: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
G. 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 $320.6
million in grants for the FY 2023 CMF Funding 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 its Affiliates in
the same funding round. In past rounds, the CDFI Fund has provided
Awards smaller than the statutory cap. For example, in the last three
funding rounds, Awards ranged from $633,750 to $12,000,000, with an
average Award of $4.4 million. Given the administrative and compliance
responsibilities for Recipients, the CDFI Fund will not accept
Applications that request less than $500,000, and will not provide
Awards below $500,000 to any CMF Award Recipients.
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. An Applicant may receive
only one Award through the FY 2023 CMF Funding Round. Affiliates of
Applicants are not allowed to apply separately.
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 loaning or investing directly in an

[[Page 3463]]

Affiliate (separate legal entity) or in a specific Project being
undertaken by an Affiliate. With the exception of Depository
Institution Holding Company Applicants, CMF Awards may not be used to
support the activities of, or otherwise be passed through, transferred,
or co-awarded to, third-party entities, whether Affiliates,
Subsidiaries, or others, unless done pursuant to a merger or
acquisition or similar transaction, and with the CDFI Fund's prior
written consent.
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: (i) Predevelopment; (ii) acquisition;
(iii) site work (preconstruction); (iv) construction/rehabilitation;
(v) permanent financing; or (vi) bridge financing between two or more
phases. This restriction 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. Recipients using
a Consortium Approach (see Section III.E.1) with separate CMF Awards
from the FY 2023 CMF Funding Round must use their Awards to finance the
same Projects. For these Projects, Eligible Project Costs, unit
production, and Leveraged Costs are prorated.
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 (e.g. construction of
for-sale housing) and the CMF Award is used in a different phase from
the other CDFI Fund program awards/allocations. However in the case of
Homeownership purchase assistance, a CMF Award cannot be used for a
Homeownership property that is permanently financed (or supported) by
mortgages funded by both the Recipient's (or any of its Affiliates')
CMF Award, and an award/Allocation from another CDFI Fund program, or
that of another CMF Recipient.
2. As further set forth in the Assistance Agreement, CMF Recipients
shall not count or report as Leveraged Costs pursuant to this NOFA any
costs financed and/or supported by a Recipient's awards/allocations
from other CDFI Fund programs or awards/allocations from other CMF
Recipients, including awards from prior CMF rounds. While a Recipient
may combine its CMF Award pursuant to this NOFA with other 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 2023 CMF Funding Round
to begin in 2023. The period of performance for each CMF Award begins
on the date the CDFI Fund announces the Recipients of the FY 2023 CMF
Funding Round 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
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. The CDFI Fund allows 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.
The CDFI Fund recognizes that some CMF Recipients, due to their
business model, may need to work with a third-party originator to
originate the CMF loans for mortgage financing. The CMF regulations in
12 CFR 1807.104 defines ``Purchase'' as ``to provide direct financing
to a Family for purposes of Homeownership.'' The CDFI Fund hereby
clarifies that under the definition of ``Purchase,'' a CMF Recipient
may use its CMF Award to purchase CMF eligible loans from a third-party
originator within 12 months of origination. The CDFI Fund deems the CMF
Recipient's purchase of the CMF eligible loans as ``direct'' financing
under the definition of ``Purchase.'' The CMF Recipient must work with
the third-party originator to identify income eligible borrowers and
ensure the loans and associated Affordable Housing meet all of the
requirements of 12 CFR part 1807.

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. Applicants may be members applying under a
Consortium Approach comprised of eligible Applicants, but

[[Page 3464]]

each Consortium member must separately apply and be individually
eligible to receive a CMF Award.
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\1\ (A) Applicants with a 6/30 fiscal year end date, or 9/30
fiscal year end date, and a completed FY 2022 audit will treat FY
2022 as their most recent historic fiscal year. (B) Applicants with
a 6/30 fiscal year end date, or a 9/30 fiscal year end date, but
without a completed FY 2022 audit will treat FY 2021 as their most
recent historic fiscal year. (C) Applicants with a 3/31 fiscal year
end date will treat FY 2022 as their most recent historic fiscal
year. (D) Applicants with a 12/31 fiscal year end date will treat FY
2021 as their most recent historic fiscal year.

Table 2--Applicant Eligibility Requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category Eligibility requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certified CDFI...................... <bullet> Has been in existence as a legally formed entity for at least
three (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 in the
Federal Register; and
<bullet> Has not been notified in writing by the CDFI Fund that its
certification has been terminated since the publication date of this
NOFA.
<bullet> If a Certified CDFI loses its certification at any point prior to
the Award announcement, the Application will be deemed ineligible and no
longer be considered by the CDFI Fund. Post-Award, if a CMF Recipient
loses its CDFI Certification, its compliance status with respect to the
Assistance Agreement will be reviewed by the Office of Compliance
Monitoring and Evaluation (OCME) in accordance with the terms of the
Assistance Agreement.
<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 it has been given an opportunity to cure, the CDFI Fund
will continue to deem this Applicant to be a Certified CDFI until it has
received a final determination letter that its certification has been
terminated. A Certified CDFI is considered eligible for an Award until a
final certification determination has been made, and a final
determination letter has been provided to the Applicant by the CDFI Fund.
<bullet> Has audited financial statements encompassing its two most recent
historic fiscal years prior to the publication date of this NOFA.\1\ A
Regulated Institution that files call reports to its regulator is exempt
from this requirement and must attach call reports for its two most
recent historic fiscal years in lieu of audited financial statements.
Nonprofit Organization.............. <bullet> Has been in existence as a legally formed entity for at least
three (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;
<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; and
<bullet> Has audited financial statements encompassing its two most recent
historic 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
recent historic fiscal years in lieu of audited financial statements.
Debarment/Do Not Pay Verification... <bullet> The CDFI Fund will conduct a debarment check and will not
consider an Application submitted by an Applicant if the Applicant (or
Affiliate of an Applicant) 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 (SAM)... <bullet> Each Applicant 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 that have an active SAM registration have been
assigned a UEI. Applicants must also have an EIN number in order to
register in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>.
<bullet> Applicants must complete registration in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> 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 December 31, 2023, 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 submission <bullet> Each Applicant must submit the required Application documents
method through <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and listed in Table 4.
Awards Management Information <bullet> The CDFI Fund will only accept Applications that use the official
System (AMIS). 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.
<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:
<bullet> 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>.
<bullet> 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 and Table 6.
<bullet> 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.

[[Page 3465]]

<bullet> 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.
<bullet> The SF-424 must be submitted under the FY 2023 CMF Funding Round
CMF Funding Opportunity Number.
<bullet> 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
precluding an Applicant from submitting the SF-424 by the required
deadline.
<bullet> AMIS:
<bullet> Applicants must submit all other required Application materials
in AMIS.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Applicants are only allowed one Capital Magnet Fund Application
submission per funding round in AMIS.
<bullet> Members of a Consortium must submit every component of the
Application separately and independently from other members of the
Consortium.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Only an Authorized Representative or Application Point of Contact
included in the Application may submit the Application in AMIS.
<bullet> All Required Application Documents must be submitted in AMIS on
or before the deadline specified in Table 1.
<bullet> 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 precluding an Applicant
from submitting the Application in AMIS by the required deadline.
Employer Identification Number (EIN) <bullet> Each Applicant must have a 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.
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)...... <bullet> The transition from the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) to UEI is a federal, government-wide initiative.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will reject an Application submitted with the UEI
number of a parent or Affiliate organization of an Applicant.
<bullet> The UEI number in the Applicant's AMIS account must match the UEI
number in the Applicant's <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and SAM accounts.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will reject an Application if the UEI number in the
Applicant's AMIS account does not match the UEI number in its <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>
and SAM accounts.
<bullet> Applicants must enter their UEI number into their AMIS profile on
or before the deadline specified in Table 1.
AMIS Account........................ <bullet> Each Applicant, including each Consortium Member, 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.
<bullet> In cases where a federal government administrative or
technological error directly resulted in precluding an Applicant from
creating an AMIS account by the required deadline, the Applicant must
submit a written request for approval to create its AMIS account after
the deadline, and include documentation of the error, no later than two
business days after the AMIS account creation deadline specified in
Tables 1 and 6. The CDFI Fund will not respond to requests for creating
an AMIS account after that time. Applicants must submit such request via
an AMIS Service Request to the CMF Program with a subject line of ``AMIS
Account Creation Deadline Extension Request.''
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 Nondiscrimination <bullet> An Applicant may not be eligible to receive a CMF Award if
and Equal Opportunity Statutes, proceedings were instituted against it in, by, or before any court,
Regulations, and Executive Orders. governmental agency, or administrative body, and a final determination
was made within the time period beginning three years prior to the
publication of this NOFA through the execution of the Assistance
Agreement, declaring that the Applicant violated any federal civil rights
laws or regulations, including: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42
U.S.C. 6101-6107).
Depository Institution Holding <bullet> If a Depository Institution Holding Company and its Certified
Company Applicant. CDFI Subsidiary Insured Depository Institution both apply for a CMF
Program grant, only the Depository Institution Holding Company will
receive an Award, not both. In such instances, the Subsidiary Insured
Depository Institution will be deemed ineligible.
<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.

[[Page 3466]]

Regulated Institutions \2\.......... <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'' or
state regulator equivalent.
<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> In the case of a Depository Institution Holding Company Applicant
that intends to carry out the Award through a Subsidiary Insured
Depository Institution, the CAMELS/CAMEL rating eligibility requirements
noted above apply to both the Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicant, as well as the Subsidiary Insured Depository Institution.
<bullet> The CDFI Fund will also evaluate material concerns identified by
the Appropriate Federal Banking Agency or Appropriate State 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ Regulated Institutions include Insured Credit Unions,
Insured Depository Institutions, State-Insured Credit Unions, and
Depository Institution Holding Companies. 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 default or <bullet> If an Applicant (or Affiliate of an Applicant) that is a prior
noncompliance. recipient or allocatee under any CDFI Fund program: (i) has demonstrated
it has been in default or 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 default or noncompliance.
Default or Noncompliance status..... <bullet> The CDFI Fund will not consider an Application submitted by an
Applicant that is a prior CDFI Fund Recipient or allocatee under any CDFI
Fund program if, as of the AMIS Application deadline of this NOFA, is
noncompliant or found in default with a previously executed award
agreement(s), assistance agreement(s), allocation agreement(s), bond loan
agreement(s) or agreement(s) to guarantee 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 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" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ecafafa1a9ac8f888a85c2989e898d9fc28b839a">[email&#160;protected]</a>, or by telephone at (202) 653-0423. 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="296a646f694a4d4f40075d5b4c485a074e465f">[email&#160;protected]</a>. The CDFI Fund will not respond to Applicants'
reporting, compliance, or disbursement related telephone calls or email
inquiries that are received after 5:00 p.m. ET on March 17, 2023 until
after the Application deadline. The CDFI Fund will respond to technical
issues related to AMIS Accounts through 5:00 p.m. ET on March 21, 2023,
via AMIS Service Requests, or at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="70313d392330131416195e04021511035e171f06">[email&#160;protected]</a>, or by telephone
at (202) 653-0422.
D. Cost sharing or matching funds requirements: Not applicable.
E. Other Eligibility Criteria:
1. Consortium Approach: To be eligible under a Consortium Approach,
individual members of a Consortium must submit individual Applications
and meet the eligibility criteria defined in Table 2 on a stand-alone
basis. If awarded, each Recipient will receive a separate Award, and be
required to meet the terms of its individual Assistance Agreement. The
CDFI Fund will require Recipients using the Consortium Approach to
enter into a CMF Recipient Consortium Member Agreement, which will
specify the binding commitments of each member.
All Consortium members must invest their individual Awards in the
same Projects as the other Consortium members. A Consortium does not
need to be legally formed in advance of submitting an Application;
however, each Consortium member is asked to submit a Service Request in
AMIS notifying the CDFI Fund of the organization's intent to apply
under this NOFA as a Consortium member by the required deadline
specified in Table 1.
If one or more members indicate an intent to apply under the
Consortium Approach, but fail to meet the eligibility criteria in Table
2, or are otherwise not eligible for an Award, the CDFI Fund reserves
the right to review the other Applications on a stand-alone basis and
not as a Consortium.

[[Page 3467]]

2. Affiliates: As part of the Application review process, the CDFI
Fund considers whether Applicants are Affiliates, as defined in 12 CFR
1805.104. If an Applicant and its Affiliate(s) wish to submit an
Application, they must do so through one of the Affiliated entities, in
one Application; an Applicant and its Affiliates may not submit
separate Applications. If Affiliates submit multiple or separate
Applications, the CDFI Fund may, at its discretion, reject all such
Applications received or select only one of the submitted Applications
to be deemed eligible, assuming that Application meets all other
eligibility criteria in Section III of this NOFA.
3. Minimum Leverage Multiplier: 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#e2818f84a28186848bcc9690878391cc858d94">[email&#160;protected]</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. 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
recent historic 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 recent historic 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 intending to carry out the activities of
the Award through its Subsidiary Insured Depository Institution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\3\ 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.

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 two most recent PDF in AMIS................. Required for all
historic 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 two most recent Applicants.
historic 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.\3\ If no
Management Letter was issued for either of the two
most recent historic 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Application Submission: 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

[[Page 3468]]

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.
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 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.
D. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): The UEI has replaced the Dun and
Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number effective
April 4, 2022. The UEI, generated in the System for Award Management
(<a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>), has become the official identifier for doing business with
the federal government. This transition allows the federal government
to streamline the entity identification and validation process, making
it easier and less burdensome for entities to do business with the
federal government. If an entity is registered in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> today, its
UEI has already been assigned and is viewable in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>, including
inactive registrations. New registrants will be assigned a UEI as part
of their SAM registration.
E. 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 UEI 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 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
Step Agency minimum time to
complete
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
This step will
include obtaining a
UEI.
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 UEI
number, and/or fails to properly register in <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
** This estimate assumes an Applicant has a UEI number, an EIN number,
and is already registered in <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a>.

F. Submission Dates and Times:
1. Submission Deadlines: Table 6 lists the deadlines for submission
of the documents related to this CMF Funding Round:

Table 6--FY 2023 CMF Funding Round Deadlines for Applicants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Deadline Time--eastern time (ET) Submission method
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SF-424 Mandatory form............ February 23, 2023............ 11:59 p.m. ET............ Electronically via
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>.
Create AMIS Account (if the February 23, 2023............ 11:59 p.m. ET............ Electronically via
Applicant does not already have AMIS.
one).
For Consortium Approach February 23, 2023............ 11:59 p.m. ET............ Electronically via
Applicants only: Applicants are AMIS.
asked to submit a Service
Request in AMIS notifying the
CMF Program of the
organization's intent to apply
as a Consortium Member using the
Consortium Approach.
CMF Application and Required March 21, 2023............... 11:59 p.m. 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 2023 CMF Funding Round Capital Magnet
Fund Funding Opportunity Number (listed at the beginning of this NOFA).
All other required Application materials

[[Page 3469]]

must be submitted through the AMIS website. Application materials
submitted through each system are due by the applicable deadline listed
in Tables 1 and 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 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 UEI 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.
(c) CMF Consortium Member Service Request: Applicants intending to
apply using a Consortium Approach are asked to submit a Service Request
in AMIS by February 9, 2023, to notify the CDFI Fund of their intent to
apply as part of a Consortium. As part of the Service Request,
potential Consortium members are asked to provide the names of the
Consortium member organizations, the UEIs of Consortium members, and
the amount of funding to be requested by each member. In the event all
Consortium members do not submit an Application or a member is
otherwise ineligible for an Award, the CDFI Fund reserves the right to
review the Applications of the other members on a stand-alone basis and
not as a Consortium.
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. Applicants using a Consortium Approach must each
separately submit an SF-424.
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 in the case of a federal government administrative or
technological error that directly resulted in precluding an Applicant
from submitting by the deadline. 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.
(a) SF-424 Late Submission: In cases where a federal government
administrative or technological error directly resulted in precluding
an Applicant from submitting the SF-424 by the deadline, 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
precluding an Applicant from submitting the Application by the
deadline, 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.''

[[Page 3470]]

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.
(e) With the exception of Depository Institution Holding Company
Applicants, CMF Awards may not be used to support the activities of, or
otherwise be passed through, transferred, or co-awarded to, third-party
entities, whether Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or others, unless done
pursuant to a merger or acquisition or similar transaction, and with
the CDFI Fund's prior written consent.

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 Entity Approach:
(1) financing entities and (2) affordable housing developers/managers.
All Applicants will be able to select the Entity Approach under which
they are applying. However, all eligibility requirements described in
Table 2, 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/manager, and has a track record as an
affordable housing developer/manager, may select the affordable housing
developer/manager approach. Separately, those Applicants applying using
a Consortium Approach will also indicate that they are applying using
the Consortium Approach. The Applications of the two Entity Approach
classifications, and those using a Consortium Approach, 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 affordable
housing experience. 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, an 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 reinvestments, 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 for 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 reinvestments, 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

[[Page 3471]]

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 targeted to
Families with incomes above 80% and no greater than 120% of AMI; (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 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 Areas of Economic Distress, 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).
Applicant(s) 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; (iii) 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 (v)
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/manager 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 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/manager 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: (i) its financial strength and ability, and its resources to
adapt to changing market conditions and risks; (ii) its organizational
strength as demonstrated by good management practices, risk management,
and internal controls; (iii) key personnel with relevant experience and
capacity; and (iv) relevant

[[Page 3472]]

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: (i) the likelihood of the Applicant to
reach a minimum overall leverage multiplier of 10 times the Award
amount or more; (ii) the amount of private capital it will leverage
relative to the CMF Award; (iii) 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; (iv) 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; (v) if Homeownership is proposed, the Applicant's approach,
track record, and ability to successfully finance/support up to 100% of
its Homeownership units for (a) Families with incomes in excess of 80%
but not greater than 120% of Area Median Income (AMI) located in an
Area of Economic Distress (AED); or (b) Low-Income Families (80% AMI or
below); or (c) a combination of (a) and (b); and (vi) 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: (i) the effectiveness and cohesiveness of the Applicant's strategy;
(ii) 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; (iii) the
Applicant's ability to execute its strategy and support its
projections; (iv) how adaptable the Applicant's strategy is to changing
market conditions; (v) the alignment between the proposed activities
and strategy and the selected impacts and outcomes; and (vi) for
Applicants 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 2022 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. Scoring of Applicants Using a Consortium Approach:
Applicants using a Consortium Approach will be evaluated and scored
in the following manner:
(a) Applicants will be evaluated as a Consortium and receive the
same score on: (i) strategy; (ii) the needs and financing gaps
addressed; (iii) track record; (iv) pipeline; (v) impact and metrics;
(vi) geographic targets (Areas of Economic Distress and/or High
Opportunity Areas); (vii) income targeting; (viii) key personnel; (ix)
adaptability and community partnerships; (x) alignment with priorities;
(xi) Project selection process; (xii) serving underserved areas; (xiii)
resources to adapt to changing market conditions and risks; and (xiv)
deployment capacity.
(b) Applicants will be evaluated on a prorated basis and receive an
individual score on: (i) Eligible Project Costs; (ii) unit production;
and (iii) Leveraged Costs.
(c) Applicants will be evaluated individually and receive an
individual score on: (i) previous federal award management; (ii)
financial health; (iii) audit findings; (iv) portfolio performance; (v)
the likelihood of reaching the minimum leverage multiplier; (vi)
organizational strength; (vii) management practices; (viii) the ability
to execute the strategy and projected activities; and (ix) commitment
to serving Rural Areas. In the event that an Applicant(s) applying
using a Consortium Approach does not sufficiently score to reach the
highly qualified pool, the CDFI Fund will evaluate the remaining
members of the Consortium using the Consortium Approach, provided there
are at least two members remaining in the highly qualified pool. If
there is only one member of the Consortium remaining in the highly
qualified pool, the Applicant will be evaluated on an individual basis.
4. Selection: Once Applications have been internally evaluated and
preliminary Award determinations have been made, the Applications will
be forwarded to the selecting official(s) for a final Award
determination. After preliminary Award determinations are made, the
selecting official(s) 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 2023 CMF Funding 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 2023 CMF Funding 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

[[Page 3473]]

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, municipalities, counties, or 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 the case of Applicants
using a Consortium Approach, the Service Area designated by each
Consortium member in its Application will be combined with the Service
Area of the other members as part of the review process. This ensures
all members are serving the same areas and that all members are able to
invest in all CMF financed/supported projects of the Consortium.
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 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 calendar year 2023.

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 CDFI certification status 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:

[[Page 3474]]

Table 7--Requirements Prior to Executing an Assistance Agreement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirement Criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure to meet reporting <bullet> If an Applicant received a prior award or allocation under any
requirements. 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 CDFI or an eligible Nonprofit
Certification (if applicable) or Organization, as each is defined in the CMF Interim Rule and this NOFA,
eligible Nonprofit Organization prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement.
status (if applicable). <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 that demonstrate noncompliance with the requirements for
certification to the CDFI Fund, failed to submit an annual certification
report as instructed by the CDFI Fund, or demonstrates noncompliance with
the requirements for certification through other information obtained by
the CDFI Fund, 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 default or <bullet> The CDFI Fund will delay entering into an Assistance Agreement
noncompliance. with a Recipient that has pending default or 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 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.
Default or Noncompliance status..... <bullet> If, at any time prior to 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 award agreement(s), assistance agreement(s), allocation
agreement(s), bond loan agreement(s), or agreement(s) to guarantee) 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 default or noncompliance by
taking actions the CDFI Fund has specified in writing within such
specified timeframe. If the Recipient is unable to cure the default or
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 rights <bullet> If, within the period starting three years prior to this NOFA and
requirements. through the date of the Assistance Agreement, the Recipient received a
final determination, in any proceeding instituted against the Recipient
in, by, or before any court, governmental, or administrative body or
agency, declaring that the Recipient violated any federal civil rights
laws or regulations, including: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42
U.S.C. 6101-6107), the CDFI Fund may terminate and rescind the Assistance
Agreement and the Award made under this NOFA.
Debarment/Do Not Pay................ <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.
<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.
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

[[Page 3475]]

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. Recipients may utilize up to 15% of their Award to undertake
Activities outside of their Service Area at their discretion.
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 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 required to be
imposed by deed restrictions, covenants running with the land, or other
CDFI Fund approved mechanisms 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.
As a condition of closing on the Assistance Agreement, the CDFI
Fund will require a CMF Recipient Consortium Member Agreement to
specify the binding commitments of each member awarded under a
Consortium Approach.
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 Awards will have the option to choose Payment of the Award in a
Lump Sum Payment or, in two payments, an Initial Payment and Subsequent
Payment, each no more than one year apart, as set forth in the
Assistance Agreement. If the Applicant elects to receive the Award in
two Payments, they must specify an Initial Payment amount in the
Application. The CDFI Fund reserves the right to adjust the Initial
Payment amount based on the total Award amount so that no payment is
less than $500,000. For example, if awarded $950,000 and the Initial
Payment amount requested in the Application was $500,000, per the rule
above, the CDFI Fund would disburse a single $950,000 Lump Sum Payment
to the Recipient, pursuant to the Assistance Agreement.
The Payment option election will affect the required date of
Commitment of the Award, but will not affect or change any other
performance goal(s) or requirement(s) 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. The Lump Sum Payment \4\ or Initial Payment \5\
must be committed for use two years after the Effective Date of the
Assistance Agreement. The Subsequent Payment \6\ must be committed
three years after the Effective Date of the Assistance Agreement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\4\ ``Lump Sum Payment'' shall mean one single payment which
comprises the entire CMF Award.
\5\ ``Initial Payment'' shall mean the first Payment from the
CDFI Fund to the Recipient at Closing.
\6\ ``Subsequent Payment'' shall mean a second Payment
representing the balance of the CMF Award in the case where a
Recipient exercises its option to receive the CMF Award in two
Payments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following the initial closing of the Assistance Agreement, for
those Recipients who opted for and qualify for two Payments, there will
be a subsequent closing involving the additional Award payment. In
addition to the Assistance Agreement, any documentation that is related
to the subsequent closing and payment shall

[[Page 3476]]

be properly executed and delivered in a timely manner 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 UAR 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 Award 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 *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 no 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.
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 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 Award. 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 second
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

[[Page 3477]]

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 number
Type of question Preferred method (not toll free) Email addresses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CMF Program and Application Questions. Submit a Service Request 202-653-0421 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ae9e7eccae9eeece3a4fef8efebf9a4ede5fc">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
in AMIS.
CDFI Certification.................... Submit a Service Request 202-653-0423 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cba8a8a6ae8ba8afada2e5bfb9aeaab8e5aca4bd">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
in AMIS.
Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation.. Submit a Service Request 202-653-0423 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4e2d2d232b0e2d2a2827603a3c2b2f3d60292138">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
in AMIS.
Information Technology Support........ Submit a Service Request 202-653-0422 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a3b3733293a191e1c13540e081f1b09541d150c">[email&#160;protected]</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 Equal Employment Opportunity 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: Director, Office of Civil Rights
and Equal Employment Opportunity, 1500 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,
and public policy requirements, including, but not limited to: those
protecting free speech, religious liberty, public welfare, and the
environment; and those prohibiting discrimination.

VIII. Other Information

The CMF regulations are set forth in 12 CFR part 1807. 12 CFR
1807.105 provides the CDFI Fund the ability to waive any part of the
regulations for good cause: ``The CDFI Fund may waive any requirement
of this part that is not required by law upon a determination of good
cause. Each such waiver shall be in writing and supported by a
statement of the facts and the grounds forming the basis of the waiver.
For a waiver in an individual case, the CDFI Fund must determine that
application of the requirement to be waived would adversely affect the
achievement of the purposes of the Act. For waivers of general
applicability, the CDFI Fund will publish notification of granted
waivers in the Federal Register.'' Pursuant to this requirement, the
CDFI Fund is publishing notification in this NOFA that it hereby waives
the requirements set forth in 12 CFR 1807.401(f) for all CMF Recipients
who used their CMF Awards to finance or support rental housing Projects
with an Affordability Period covering the dates of April 1, 2020
through December 31, 2021. Thus, if a CMF Recipient's Affordability
Period covers the timeframe of April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021,
the requirement to verify the tenant's income annually in such
timeframe is hereby waived.
A. Statement of Facts: The CMF Interim Rule requires CMF Recipients
to annually re-examine tenant income. 12 CFR 1807.401(f) requires that
each year during the period of affordability, the tenant's income must
be re-examined. The tenant income examination and verification is
ultimately the responsibility of the CMF Recipient. Annual income
includes income from all household members. CMF Recipients must require
the Project owner to obtain information on rents and occupancy of
Affordable Housing financed or assisted with a CMF Award in order to
demonstrate compliance with 12 CFR 1807.401(f). On March 13, 2020, the
President of the United States issued an emergency declaration under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq., in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On
February 18, 2022, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), the President continued the
national emergency declared in Proclamation 994 concerning COVID-19
pandemic to be in effect beyond March 1, 2022. On January 31, 2020,
Secretary of Health and Human Services issued a determination that as a
result of the confirmed cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus, a public
health emergency exits and has existed since January 27, 2020,
nationwide (``HHS Determination''). On October 13, 2022, the HHS
Determination was renewed to state that a public health emergency
exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide, due to the
continued consequences of COVID-19. In response, several federal
agencies issued notices announcing certain statutory suspensions and
regulatory waivers to alleviate the burden on program participants and
stakeholders affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
B. Grounds for Waiver: The CDFI Fund determined that Recipients
experienced difficulty in carrying out annual tenant income
recertification during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, other federal
agencies provided temporary relief from federal program criteria
similar to those required by CMF Recipients. To illustrate, the
Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2021-12 granting relief for
owners of low-income buildings from the requirement to perform income
re-certifications under 26 CFR 1.42-

[[Page 3478]]

5(c)(1)(iii) from April 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Similarly, the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a memorandum on
September 27, 2021, updating its memorandum, Revision, Extension and
Update of April 2020 Memorandum Availability of Waivers and Suspensions
of the HOME Program Requirements in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
issued on December 4, 2020, extending the waiver to perform onsite
inspections of HOME-assisted rental housing and annual re-inspections
of units assisted with HOME Tenant-Based Renal Assistance from
September 30, 2021, to December 31, 2021. The CDFI Fund has determined
that to provide relief to CMF Recipients during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and to align CMF regulatory requirements with other
federal programs, temporary relief related to annual tenant income
determination for this period is warranted.
For the above stated reasons, the CDFI Fund is issuing a general
waiver herein of 12 CFR 1807.401(f) in cases where the CMF Award
Recipient did not undertake or complete annual tenant income
examination and verification during the period of affordability for the
applicable dates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to
provide maximum administrative flexibility and better assist low-and
very low-income households as they deal with the effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
This waiver extends relief for the period beginning April 1, 2020,
and ending December 31, 2021. As of January 1, 2022, the CMF Award
Recipient shall have recommenced tenant income re-certification on an
annual basis in compliance with 12 CFR 1807.401(f).
Authority: Pub. L. 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. 2023-00932 Filed 1-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-05-P

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