As a reminder, on August 1, 2018 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) will pause acceptance of new applications for certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). This “blackout” period will be implemented for a period of 90 days to allow the CDFI Fund to administer critical system updates that affect the CDFI Certification process. The CDFI Fund will resume accepting new CDFI Certification application submissions on November 1, 2018.
Organizations either in the process of applying for CDFI Certification or that intend to do so in the near future have until July 31, 2018, to submit their applications using an interim submission process, outlined below. The CDFI Fund will review all certification applications submitted by the July 31, 2018 deadline. Any applications received on or after August 1, 2018 will not be considered and must be resubmitted once the blackout period ends on November 1, 2018.
Why a «blackout» period?
The CDFI Fund is currently in the process of implementing systems changes that will transition the CDFI Certification application to the new Awards Management Information System (AMIS). AMIS is a unified technology platform that will support all CDFI Fund programs through each phase of the program life cycle, including CDFI Certification and compliance monitoring. The blackout period is necessary to provide the CDFI Fund an opportunity to convert to the updated system for processing CDFI Certification applications.
If I need to submit a CDFI Certification Application before August 1, how do I do so?
Effective immediately and through July 31, 2018, the CDFI Fund will be deploying an interim process for the submission of CDFI Certification applications. Organizations must first submit a CDFI Certification Signature Page through the myCDFIFund portal, and then separately submit all required application documents and attachments to the “Org Related Attachments” section in AMIS. Information and guidance on how to submit the CDFI Certification application and attachments may be found on the CDFI Certification webpage at www.cdfifund.gov/cdficert under How to Apply Step 1: Apply.
I’m a currently certified CDFI. Is there any impact on me?
Currently certified CDFIs are not affected by this change, and are still required to meet any reporting requirements previously communicated to them, including the Annual Certification Report requirement for 2018. Please reach out to the Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation Help Desk if you have any questions.
Questions and Information
Any questions regarding CDFI Certification should be directed to the Certification, Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation Help Desk via an AMIS Service Request, via e-mail at [email protected], or phone at (202) 653-0421. More information and guidance can be found on the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov/cdficert.
Also as reminder, CIIS will be unavailable August 1 – September 1, 2018, to allow for integration into the Awards Management Information System (AMIS). For more information, visit the CDFI Fund’s website here.