[Federal Register: February 4, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 23)]
[Notices]
[Page 5735-5738]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04fe03-138]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) Inviting Applications for the
Community Development Financial Institutions Program `` Technical
Assistance Component (incorporating Native American Technical
Assistance)
AGENCY: Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Department
of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of funds availability (``NOFA'') inviting applications
for the FY 2003 and FY 2004 funding rounds of the Technical Assistance
Component of the Community Development Financial Institutions
(``CDFI'') Program.
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SUMMARY: This NOFA is issued in connection with the FY 2003 and FY 2004
funding rounds of the Technical Assistance Component of the CDFI
Program. Through the Technical Assistance Component of the CDFI
Program, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the
``Fund'') provides technical assistance (``TA'') grants to CDFIs, and
entities proposing to become CDFIs, in order to build their capacity to
better address the community development and capital access needs of
their particular target markets, including Native American, Alaska
Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.
Subject to funding availability, the Fund expects that it may award
approximately $13 million for FY 2003 awards, and approximately $4.5
million for FY 2004 awards, in appropriated funds under this Technical
Assistance Component NOFA. The Fund expects that, within the FY 2003
amount, it will award up to $3 million to CDFIs, and entities proposing
to become CDFIs, that principally serve Native American, Alaska Native
and/or Native Hawaiian communities. The Fund reserves the right to
award in excess of said funds under this NOFA provided that the
appropriated funds are available and the Fund deems it appropriate. The
Fund reserves the right to re-allocate funds from the amount that is
anticipated to be available under this NOFA to other Fund programs,
particularly if the Fund determines that the number of awards made
under this NOFA is fewer than projected. The Fund intends to make
information available on its Web site about the level of dollars
remaining available on a regular basis.
Applicants should note that the Fund expects that the funding round
for this NOFA (and the NOFA for the NACD Program, also published in the
Federal Register on this date) will extend over a two-year funding
round, subject to funding availability and Fiscal Year 2004
appropriations.
Under this NOFA, the Fund anticipates making TA grants up to
$50,000 per Technical Assistance Component awardee and up to $100,000
per awardee principally serving Native American, Alaska Native, or
Native Hawaiian communities. The Fund, in its sole discretion, reserves
the right to award amounts in excess of the anticipated maximum award
amount if the Fund deems it appropriate. The Fund reserves the right to
fund, in whole or in part, any, all, or none of the applications
submitted in response to this NOFA.
The interim rule (12 CFR part 1805), also published in this issue
of the Federal Register, provides guidance on evaluation criteria and
other requirements of the CDFI Program. Detailed application content
requirements are found in the application related to this NOFA. The
Preamble to the Fund's NOFAs, published in this issue of the Federal
Register also specifies other program information, including
eligibility requirements, for each of the Fund's programs. While the
Fund encourages applicants to review the interim rule and the Preamble
to the NOFAs, all of the application content requirements and the
evaluation criteria set forth in the interim rule are set forth in the
application.
DATES: Simultaneously with or shortly following the publication of this
NOFA, the Fund will make available the FY 2003 funding application on
its Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov. Applicants may download the
application from the Fund's Web site or request application packages by
contacting the Fund, as described below.
The Fund will accept and review applications under this Technical
Assistance Component NOFA as they are submitted and in the order in
which they are submitted. Applications may be submitted at any time,
commencing with the date of the publication of this NOFA. Applications
must be received in the specific Bureau of the Public Debt--Franchise
Services (BPD) office designated below not later than 5 p.m. ET on May
31, 2004. Any applicant whose application is declined may submit a new
application before May 31, 2004. Applications received in the specific
BPD office designated below after that date and time will be rejected
and returned to the sender.
Applications sent by facsimile or e-mail will not be accepted;
however, an electronic application may be made available for this NOFA
at a later date and, if so, its availability and related guidance will
be announced on the Fund's Web site.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be sent to: CDFI Fund Awards Manager, TA
Component, Bureau of Public Debt--Franchising, 200 Third Street, Room
211, Parkersburg, WV 26101. The telephone number to be used in
conjunction with overnight mailings to this address is (304) 480-5450.
Applications will not be accepted at the Fund's offices. Applications
received in the Fund's offices will be rejected and returned to the
sender.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have any questions about the
programmatic requirements for this program, contact the Fund's Program
Operations Manager. If you have questions regarding administrative
requirements, contact the Fund's Awards Manager. The Program Operations
Manager and the Awards Manager may be reached by e-mail at
cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov, by telephone at (202) 622-6355, by facsimile
at (202) 622-7754, or by mail at CDFI Fund, 601 13th Street, NW., Suite
200 South, Washington, DC 20005. These are not toll free numbers.
Applications and other information regarding the Fund and its programs
may be downloaded and printed from the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov
or requested by contacting the Fund, as described
above. Allow at least one to two weeks from the date the Fund receives
the request for receipt of the application.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Eligibility
The Act and the interim rule specify the eligibility requirements
that each applicant must meet in order to be eligible to apply for
assistance under this NOFA. The following sets forth additional details
and certain additional dates that relate to the submission of
applications under this NOFA:
(1) Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants for the Technical
Assistance Component of the CDFI Program consist of CDFIs and entities
proposing to become CDFIs.
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(2) Certification: For purposes of this Technical Assistance
Component NOFA, eligible applicants consist of:
(i) Certified CDFIs whose certifications expire after June 30,
2003;
(ii) Entities that submit complete applications evidencing CDFI
certification prior to or simultaneous with applications under this
NOFA; or
(iii) Entities that demonstrate in their certification applications
that, in the judgment of the Fund, they have reasonable plans to become
certified CDFIs by January 31, 2005 (for applications received by May
31, 2003) or by January 31, 2006 (for applications received between
June 1, 2003 and May 31, 2004). Applicants must be certified by the
applicable date. Applicants may obtain CDFI certification applications
through the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov.
(3) Previous Awardees: Applicants must be aware that success in a
previous round of the CDFI Program or the Native American CDFI
Technical Assistance (``NACTA'') Program is not indicative of success
under this NOFA. Previous awardees are eligible to apply under this
NOFA, except as follows:
(a) Any entity that has received a Notice of Award from the Fund
for a previous CDFI Program or NACTA Program funding round, but that
has not submitted a CDFI certification application nor been certified
as a CDFI, is not eligible to receive funding under this NOFA (see
Certification section, above);
(b) The Fund is generally prohibited from obligating more than $5
million in assistance, in the aggregate, to any one organization and
its Subsidiaries and Affiliates during any three-year period (further
guidance on the calculation of the $5 million cap is available on the
Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov);
(c) The Fund will not consider an application submitted by an
applicant that is a previous Fund awardee under any Fund program or
component of the CDFI Program if the applicant has failed to meet its
reporting requirements, set forth in a previously executed assistance
or award agreement(s), as of the date an application for funding under
this NOFA is received by the Fund; and
(d) The Fund will not consider an application submitted by an
applicant that is a previous Fund awardee under any Fund program or
component of the CDFI Program that has a balance of undisbursed funds
under said previous award, as of the date an application for funding
under this NOFA is received by the CDFI Fund. Accordingly, applicants
that are previous awardees are advised to:
(i) Submit all required reports by the deadlines specified in the
assistance or award agreements governing said prior awards and to
comply with all requirements found therein, and
(ii) Contact the appropriate Program Operations representative of
the Fund to ensure that all necessary actions are underway for the
disbursement of any outstanding balance of said prior award. In
addition, in order to focus its resources on applicants that are most
in need of TA awards, the Fund does not expect to make awards under
this NOFA to any entity that has received Fund awards under the CDFI
Program or the NACTA Program in excess of $250,000, in the aggregate.
(4) Serving a Native American, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian
community: For the purposes of this NOFA, the Fund will determine, in
its sole discretion, that an applicant serves a Native American, Alaska
Native, or Native Hawaiian community if greater than 50 percent of its
historic and projected activities benefit Native American, Alaska
Native, or Native Hawaiian individuals.
(5) Designation of Targeted Population: For purposes of this NOFA,
the Fund will use the following definitions, set forth in the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Notice, Revisions to the Standards for the
Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (October 30,
1997):
(a) American Indian, Native American or Alaska Native: a person
having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South
America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment; and
(b) Native Hawaiian: a person having origins in any of the original
peoples of Hawaii.
II. Types of Assistance
An applicant may only submit an application for a TA grant under
this NOFA. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
provide a TA grant for uses other than that which is requested by an
applicant.
Applicants for TA grants under this NOFA shall describe the type(s)
of TA requested, when the TA will be acquired, the provider(s) of the
TA, the cost of the TA, and a narrative description of how the TA will
enhance their community development impact. Eligible types of TA grant
uses include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Acquiring consulting services;
(2) Paying staff salary for the limited purposes of completing
tasks and/or fulfilling functions that are otherwise eligible TA grant
uses under this NOFA;
(3) Acquiring/enhancing technology items; and
(4) Acquiring training for staff or management.
The Fund will generally not consider requests for TA grants under
this NOFA for expenses that, in the determination of the Fund, are
deemed to be ongoing operating expenses rather than non-recurring
expenses. The Fund will consider requests for use of TA to pay for
staff salary only when the applicant demonstrates, to the Fund's
satisfaction, that:
(i) The staff salary relates directly to building the applicant's
capacity to serve its target market;
(ii) The proposed staff time to be paid for by the TA grant will be
used for a non-recurring activity that will build the applicant's
capacity to achieve its objectives as set forth in its application;
(iii) The proposed capacity-building activity would otherwise be
contracted to a consultant or not be undertaken; and
(iv) The staff person assigned to the proposed task has the
competence to successfully complete the activity. The Fund may consider
funding requests for other staff salary uses, deemed appropriate by the
Fund in its sole discretion, particularly for applicants that have been
in operation 24 months or less as of the date of application. Further
guidance on the limited uses of TA grants for staff salary expenditures
is available on the Fund's Web site at http://www.cdfifund.gov.
III. Application
Applicants under this NOFA must submit all materials described in
the applicable application form. An application must include a valid
and current Employer Identification Number, issued by the Internal
Revenue Service, or the application will be rejected as incomplete and
returned to the sender.
IV. Evaluation
For purposes of this NOFA, the Fund will evaluate applications
through a merit-based, qualitative application process, as they are
submitted and in the order in which they are submitted, until such
point as all appropriated funds allocated for this NOFA are obligated
or May 31, 2004, whichever occurs first. Applications submitted after
that point will not be considered for funding; said applications will
be rejected and returned to the sender.
All applications will be reviewed for eligibility and completeness.
If determined to be eligible and complete, the Fund will conduct the
substantive review of each application in
[[Page 5737]]
accordance with the criteria and procedures described in the interim
regulations, this NOFA and the application. In the first part of the
substantive review, the Fund will evaluate each application on a 100-
point scale, comprising the four criteria categories set forth below,
and assign numeric scores. Applicants must score at least 10 points for
each of criteria 1, 2, and 3; and at least 20 points for criteria 4.
Applicants whose applications are assigned 60 points or more will be
considered for TA awards.
(1) Market Need and CDFI Strategy: including a review of the
applicant's understanding of its market context, its current and
prospective customers, the extent of economic distress within the
designated Investment Area(s) or the extent of need within the
designated Targeted Population(s), the extent of need for the CDFI, the
level of support for the Target Market, and the appropriateness of the
proposed products, services and delivery strategy to meet the needs in
the market. For any entity that has already received an award from the
Fund, the applicant also will be evaluated on the extent to which it
proposes to create greater community development impact than to be
achieved through the prior award and its track record in meeting
previous performance goals and other Assistance Agreement requirements
(maximum 20 points);
(2) Management: including a review of the applicant's current and
proposed management team, governing board, and key staff, its policies
and procedures for financial management, and its track record in
underwriting and portfolio management and ability to achieve the
objectives set forth in its application and to successfully use the
requested TA. For any applicant that has received one or more prior
awards through the CDFI Program, the Fund will consider the extent to
which the applicant has submitted required reports in a timely manner
and otherwise complied with the Fund's requirements (maximum 20
points);
(3) Financial Health and Resources: including a review of the
applicant's financial strength, its liquidity, and the likelihood of
obtaining resources to sustain operations, and a clear indication that
the CDFI will not be fiscally dependent on the Fund (maximum 20
points); and
(4) Community Development Performance and Effective Use of TA:
including the projected level of activity within the Target Market; the
extent to which the proposed activities are expected to promote
homeownership, affordable housing development, economic development,
provision of affordable financial services, and other community
development objectives; the extent to which the applicant needs the
Fund's assistance to achieve the objectives set forth in its
application; and the likelihood that the Fund's assistance will enhance
the applicant's ability to effectively serve its Target Market and
achieve community development impact (maximum 40 points).
Fund reviewers will evaluate and score each application and make
recommendations for funding to the Fund's selecting official. As part
of the substantive review process, applicants may receive a telephone
interview or an on-site visit by Fund reviewers for the purpose of
obtaining, clarifying, or confirming information. During the review
process, the applicant may be required to submit additional information
about its application in order to assist the Fund in its final
evaluation process. Such requests must be responded to within the time
parameters set by the Fund.
In the case of an applicant that has previously received funding
from the Fund under the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program, CDFI
Program or the Native American CDFI Technical Assistance (NACTA)
Program, the Fund will consider, as appropriate:
(a) The applicant's level of success and extent of compliance in
meeting its performance goals, financial soundness covenants (if
applicable), reporting requirements and other requirements set forth in
the assistance or award agreement(s) with the Fund;
(b) The benefits that will be created with new Fund assistance over
and above benefits created by previous Fund assistance; and
(c) The extent and effectiveness to which the applicant has used
previous assistance from the Fund.
The Fund's selecting official will make a final funding
determination based on the applicant's file, reviewer scores and
recommendations, and the amount of funds available. In the case of
regulated CDFIs, the selecting official will also take into
consideration the views of the appropriate Federal banking agencies.
Each applicant will be informed of the Fund's award decision either
through a Notice of Award if selected for an award (see Notice of Award
section, below) or a declination letter, if not selected for an award,
which may be for reasons of application incompleteness, ineligibility
or substantive issues. Any applicant that is not selected for an award
due to application incompleteness or ineligibility, and that believes
that such decision was made in error, may appeal said decision by
notifying the Fund's Awards Manager in writing or by e-mail (at
cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov, Attention: Awards Manager); such appeals must
be received by the Fund within five business days of the date of the
declination letter. Such appeal requests will be reviewed by the Fund's
Deputy Director for Management and the Deputy Director for Policy and
Programs, as appropriate, whose decision will be final. All applicants
that are not selected for awards based on substantive issues, will be
given the opportunity to request feedback on the strengths and
weaknesses of their applications. This feedback will be provided in a
format and within a timeframe to be determined by the Fund, based on
available resources.
The Fund reserves the right to change these evaluation procedures
if the Fund deems it appropriate; if said procedural changes materially
affect the Fund's award decisions, the Fund will provide information
regarding the procedural changes through the Fund's Web site.
VI. Notice of Award
The Fund will signify its selection of an applicant as an awardee
by delivering a signed Notice of Award to the applicant. The Notice of
Award will contain the general terms and conditions underlying the
Fund's provision of assistance including, but not limited to, the
requirement that an awardee and the Fund enter into an Assistance
Agreement. The applicant must execute the Notice of Award and return it
to the Fund. By executing a Notice of Award, the awardee agrees that,
if prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement with the Fund,
information comes to the attention of the Fund that either adversely
affects the awardee's eligibility for an award, or adversely affects
the Fund's evaluation of the awardee's application, or indicates fraud
or mismanagement on the part of the awardee, the Fund may, in its
discretion and without advance notice to the awardee, terminate the
Notice of Award or take such other actions as it deems appropriate.
Moreover, by executing a Notice of Award, an awardee agrees that, if
prior to entering into an Assistance Agreement with the Fund, the Fund
determines that the awardee is not in compliance with the terms of any
previous Assistance Agreement entered into with the Fund, the Fund may,
in its discretion and without advance notice to the awardee, either
terminate the Notice of Award or take such other actions as it deems
appropriate. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
rescind its award if the
[[Page 5738]]
awardee fails to return the Notice of Award, signed by the authorized
representative of the awardee, along with any other requested
documentation, within the deadline set by the Fund.
VII. Assistance Agreement
Each applicant that is selected to receive an award under this NOFA
must enter into an Assistance Agreement with the Fund. The Assistance
Agreement will set forth certain required terms and conditions of the
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 Target Market to which the award must be targeted;
(d) Performance goals and measures; and
(e) Reporting requirements for all awardees.
Assistance Agreements under this NOFA will generally have two-year
performance periods. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole
discretion, to rescind its award if the awardee fails to return the
Assistance Agreement, signed by the authorized representative of the
awardee, along with any other requested documentation, within the
deadline set by the Fund.
VIII. Reporting and Monitoring
The Fund will collect information, on at least an annual basis,
from all CDFI Program awardees, including:
(a) Annual reports related to, among other matters, awardee
compliance with the performance goals and measures set forth in the
Assistance Agreement;
(b) Audited financial statements;
(c) Annual surveys; and
(d) Such other information as the Fund may require, including loan
level data.
The Fund will use such information to monitor each awardee's
compliance with the requirements set forth in the Assistance Agreement.
The Fund will also use such information to assess the impact of the
CDFI Program. The 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 due notice to the awardee.
The Fund reserves the right, in accordance with applicable Federal
law and if authorized, to charge award reservation and/or compliance
monitoring fees to all entities receiving CDFI Program awards. Prior to
imposing any such fee, the Fund will publish additional information
concerning the nature and amount of the fee.
IX. Information Sessions
In connection with the Fiscal Year 2003 funding rounds of its
programs, the Fund may conduct Information Sessions to disseminate
information to organizations contemplating applying to, and other
organizations interested in learning about, the Technical Assistance
and Financial Assistance Components of the CDFI Program, the NACD
Program, and the BEA Program. For further information on the Fund's
Information Sessions, dates and locations, or to register online to
attend an Information Session, please visit the Fund's Web site at
http://www.cdfifund.gov or call the Fund at (202) 622-8401.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 21.020)
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4703, 4703 note, 4704, 4706, 4707, 4717; 12
CFR part 1805.
Dated: January 27, 2003.
Tony T. Brown,
Director, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
[FR Doc. 03-2339 Filed 2-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-70-P