Director Art Garcia to leave CDFI Fund

CDFI Fund Director Art Garcia has announced his intentions to leave the CDFI Fund. "Recently, a great opportunity presented itself to me to return to Albuquerque to work on economic development within the state of New Mexico. I am very excited about going home and the impact I can make in this new position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but I will sincerely miss my work at the CDFI Fund and its incredibly dedicated staff.” Director Garcia’s last day at the Fund will be Friday, December 8, 2006. The Department of the Treasury is currently assessing plans for an interim Director.

Biography

Press Release on Appointment to the CDFI Fund

5th Round of New Markets Tax Credit Program Opens

$3.9 Billon Available

Today marks the opening of the fifth round of competition for $3.9 billion in tax credits under the NMTC Program. The NMTC Program attracts private-sector capital investment into the nation’s urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic growth and create jobs.

Under this round of the NMTC Program $3.5 billion in allocations authority is available under the general round and an additional $400 million specifically for recovery and redevelopment in the Hurricane Katrina Gulf Opportunity Zone.

Guidance and application materials are available on the CDFI Fund’s website (link below). The allocation application deadline is February 28, 2007.

NMTC Program Webpage

QEI Issuance Requirements for 5th Round

NMTC Application Workshops

The CDFI Fund will be hosting several application workshops on the New Markets Tax Credit Program around the country from December 4th through December 19th. The purpose of these workshops is to describe how the NMTC Program works, including how to apply for certification as a Community Development Entity (CDE), and how to apply to compete for an allocation of NMTCs under the current round. The application workshops are free of charge.

Please visit the links below to learn more about these application workshops or to register to attend.

Press Release

To Register

NACA Program Application Workshop

The CDFI Fund is pleased to announce that it is partnering with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) to offer application workshop for the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program through OFN's Virtual Learning Center. The session will be on Tuesday, December 19th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Anyone interested should e-mail Jacqueline Fox at OFN at jfox@opportunityfinance.net.

Not Applying to the 2007 CDFI Program?

Consider being a Reader!

The CDFI Fund is currently seeking readers to assist in its review of applications received under the fiscal year 2007 CDFI Program. If you think you or someone you know might be interested in participating in this unique opportunity, please refer to the link below for more details about how to apply to be a Reader.

If you have any questions, please contact Bridget Ware, CDFI Program Advisor, via e-mail at wareb@cdfi.treas.gov or via phone at (202) 622-8453.

Apply to be a Reader

FY 2007 Program Calendar Updated

The CDFI Fund has updated its calendar for the fiscal year 2007 rounds of its programs. Outlined in the program calendar are the anticipated milestone dates for each of the Fund’s programs. The dates provided are approximate and are subject to change, and should only be used for general planning purposes. Final dates regarding application submission deadlines and other eligibility requirements will be included in the relevant program Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) or Notice of Allocation Availability (NOAA), which will be published in the Federal Register.

Independent Evaluation of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program

In July 2006, the CDFI Fund contracted with the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy research organization based in Washington DC, to conduct the first phases of a long-term evaluation of the NMTC Program.

Under this contract, the Urban Institute will analyze the performance data allocatees have reported to the Fund through the Community Investment Impact System and the Allocation Tracking System, and will conduct a financial analysis of a small sample of NMTC-funded projects around the country. The Urban Institute will also conduct an analysis of successful and unsuccessful NMTC Program applicants.

The final product of the contract will be a detailed design for a multi-year evaluation addressing three broad topics: the flow of private capital through allocatees to Low-Income Communities, the performance of NMTC allocatees, and the outcomes at the community level.

It is anticipated that the first phase activities will be completed by in the first quarter of 2007 and that the multi-year evaluation may begin before the end of FY 2007.

New CIIS Release

The Community Investment Impact System - or CIIS - is now available for CDFIs and NMTC Allocatees that are required to submit Institution Level Reports (ILRs) and Transaction Level Reports (TLRs) for fiscal year 2006. Please see the announcement below for more details.

Announcement

Join the CDFI Fund Team!

Over the course of the next several months, the CDFI Fund will be seeking qualified applicants for various different positions. Please visit the Fund's website periodically for these annouincements.