Note: since the original publication of this article, the CDFI Fund extended the deadline for ERP applications from August 23 to September 22; the text has been updated to reflect that.
On June 23, the Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund released the application for the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program (ERP).
CU Strategic Planning will host a webinar on July 6 for current clients who have signed on for ERP grant writing services. [editor's note: the date and audience of the webinar has been changed since original publication]
The program provides awards to certified Community Development Financial Institutions, with awards ranging from a minimum of $500,000 to a maximum of $15,000,000 or three times an applicant’s average on-balance sheet Financial Products closed in the last five fiscal years, whichever is less.
The purpose of the program, according to the CDFI's Notice of Funds Availability, is "1) to expand lending, grant making and investment activity in Low- or Moderate-Income communities and to borrowers, including minorities, that have significant unmet capital or financial services needs, and were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) to enable CDFIs to build organizational capacity and acquire technology, staff, and other tools necessary to accomplish the activities under a CDFI ERP Award."
To be eligible to apply for an ERP Award an organization must:
Be a certified CDFI as of June 23, 2022;
Have a track record of serving CDFI ERP-eligible geographies, which CU Strategic Planning can document with past data; and
Meet certain financial management criteria, be in compliance with any outstanding CDFI Fund awards, allocations or bond requirements and meet financial and programmatic financial safety and soundness benchmarks.
Applications are due September 22, 2022. The CDFI is hosting two webinars, on June 29 and July 7, to present the ERP application. More info about this, as well as the application materials, can be found on the CDFI Fund’s Equitable Recovery Program page.
Our team will have the best data foundations and grant writing to make applications that can win the largest awards they are eligible for.