CDFI Fund Opens FY 2013 Funding Round of BEA Program

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CDFI Fund Opens FY 2013 Funding Round of BEA Program

Washington, DC—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) made the fiscal year (FY) 2013 Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program) application materials available on its website today in anticipation of the publication of the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register on June 6, 2013. For FY 2013, approximately $17.1 million in awards will be made available to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured banks and thrifts.

The BEA Program complements the community development activities of insured depository institutions by providing financial incentives to expand investments in CDFIs and to increase qualified lending, investment, and service activities within economically distressed communities. Activities that qualify depository institutions for BEA Program awards occur in census tracts where at least 30 percent of the population lives at or below the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is 1.5 times above the national average. Since inception, the CDFI Fund has awarded approximately $376 million through the BEA Program.

More information about the application process can be found below.

BEA Program Overview

The BEA Program provides formula-based grants to applicants for increasing Qualified Activities from a Baseline Period to a later Assessment Period. Awards are based on activities within three categories:
1.CDFI Related Activities: Equity Investments (such as grants, stock purchases, purchases of partnership interests or limited liability company membership interests), Equity-Like Loans, and CDFI Support Activities (such as loans, deposits or technical assistance) to certified CDFIs.
2.Distressed Community Financing Activities: loans or investments for Affordable Home Mortgages, Affordable Housing Development, Education, Home Improvement, Small Businesses, and Commercial Real Estate Development in Distressed Communities.
3.Service Activities: Deposit Liabilities, Financial Services (such as check-cashing, money orders, or certified checks), Electronic Transfer Accounts, Individual Development Accounts, or Community Services provided to Low- to Moderate-Income individuals or the institutions serving them.

Note: Definitions for Qualified Activities can be found in the BEA regulations and application materials available at the link found in the Application Materials section below.

Deadlines

Please reference the NOFA and application instructions for detailed information regarding the following application deadlines:
•Part I must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. EDT on July 12, 2013.
•Part II must be submitted through myCDFIFund by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 12, 2013.
•Part III must be received by the Bureau of Public Debt at the address provided in the application instructions by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 16, 2013.

Application Materials

In addition to being available through Grants.gov, the FY 2013 NOFA and application materials are available via the CDFI Fund's website, www.cdfifund.gov/bea.

Q&A Webinars

The CDFI Fund will be conducting two webinars regarding the FY 2013 BEA Program funding round. The webinars will serve as forums for potential applicants to ask questions of CDFI Fund staff about the BEA application materials and award process.

The webinars will be held on June 13, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and June 20, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

To access the webinar, participants need to call 1-888-989-3421 for audio, and access the video via the following website: https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join/. For the June 13 webinar the conference number is PW1019053 and the audience passcode is 5124512; for the June 20 webinar the conference number is PW1019058 and the audience passcode is 5124512. Please note that both webinars have the same passcode, but different conference numbers.

No prior registration is necessary. Phone lines are limited – please consolidate dialing in from one phone line if representing the same institution.

For those unable to participate in the webinars, the presentation materials will be added to the CDFI Fund’s website.

Questions

For more information on the BEA Program, please contact the CDFI Fund Help Desk at (202) 653-0421 or email cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded over $1.7 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Awards Program, the Capital Magnet Fund, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $36.5 billion in tax credit authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program.

For more information about the BEA Program or the CDFI Fund’s other programs, please visit the CDFI Fund's website at www.cdfifund.gov.




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