70% go toward low-income and disadvantaged communities The Environmental Protection Agency announced its selections for $20 billion in grant awards for the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), part of the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The selected organizations include nonprofit coalitions, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) intermediaries and CDFIs: Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv, Native CDFI Network, Justice Climate Fund and Appalachian Community Capital. Collectively, the selected organizations have committed to driving significant impact. They will: Reduce or avoid up to 40 million metric tons of climate pollution per year Mobilize almost $7 of private capital for every $1 of federal funds Dedicate more than $14 billion of capital—over 70% of the selections for awards announced today—toward low-income and disadvantaged communities The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is the most significant non-tax investment from the Inflation Reduction Act aimed at building a clean energy economy while benefiting historically disadvantaged communities. “We look forward to assisting our CDFI credit unions work with the selected organizations to deploy capital in much-needed areas," CU Strategic Planning CEO Stacy Augustine said. These grants will go a long way toward lifting up forgotten communities that our credit unions want to serve.” Great Work Already Being Done According to the Biden Administration, the eight selected applicants have supported thousands of individuals, businesses, and community organizations to access capital for climate and clean energy projects. Now, they can unleash tens of thousands more, like Opportunity Finance Network member Solar and Energy Loan Fund. SELF, a U.S.-Treasury certified CDFI in Florida, recently partnered with Miami-Dade County’s Office of Resilience to invest in solar power, window and roof upgrades, and aging-in-place upgrades—including the installation of solar panels and battery backup systems for Gibson Plaza, a 65-unit affordable senior housing project. These investments have helped the community reduce energy costs while building resiliency, ensuring residents can stay in their homes and remain protected against future climate impacts. “OFN is thrilled to partner with the EPA to finance the clean energy transition and drive opportunity in communities across the country by supporting mission-driven community lenders through the GGRF,” said Opportunity Finance Network President and CEO Harold Pettigrew. “As the nation’s leading investment intermediary and network of community lenders serving rural, urban, and Native low-income and disadvantaged communities, we are clear that now is the time to act on climate change and community development finance is an integral part of the solution. OFN, our network, and the CDFI industry are made for this moment, and we look forward to working with partners to deliver impact.” GGRF Background Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan met with a homeowner in a historically Black community, where a local nonprofit, Self-Help, worked with community partners to finance, renovate, and construct energy-efficient, affordable homes for low- and moderate-income families. Thanks to that partnership, this first-time homeowner pays significantly lower energy bills and has a healthy and comfortable place to raise his family. “When President Biden and I made the largest investment in our nation's history to address the climate crisis and to build a clean energy economy, we made sure that every community would be able to participate and benefit,”  Vice President Harris said. “The grantees announced today will help ensure that families, small businesses, and community leaders have access to the capital they need to make climate and clean energy projects a reality in their neighborhoods.” If you’d like to learn more about CDFIs, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Grants and more, please connect with us today.

Two webinars will provide timely best-practice advice How do you ensure that your CDFI credit union's lending in 2024 will meet compliance standards in 2025? Are you reaching the people in your Target Market, and is that lending equitable? CU Strategic Planning will be hosting a pair of lending-related webinars in April covering just this topic. Increasing Your Credit Union’s Target Market Lending: A Panel Discussion April 3, 2024 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT As a CDFI credit union, you must serve the community that is your designated Target Market. Providing low-income people, vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities with financial products and services is key to your mission, and Target Market lending is a critical metric for measuring your success. We’re hosting a panel discussion with five of our own CDFI Lending experts. They’ll share best practices and advice for increasing your Target Market Lending. We’ll cover both short-term and long-term strategies to increase Target Market lending, as well as valuable sources of data to help you reach those underserved members. Fair Lending: A Practical Discussion April 23, 2024 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT Fair lending is a regulatory hot topic for credit unions, and one that the NCUA has announced as a supervisory area of priority 2024. In this webinar, Joe Brancucci will be tackling this issue from a practical perspective. He’ll discuss how to uncover fair lending pitfalls, and where your credit union’s practices might be unknowingly creating disparate impact among your borrowers. Joe will share his perspective from a career as a credit union leader, and as head of our CU Results consulting division, with advice and best practices to help your credit union live its cooperative principles and serve your community. Join us for either, or both! Even if you can't attend the webinars live, go ahead and register and we'll email you a link to the recording after the event.

In a long-awaited announcement, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund stated on March 11 that Pravina Raghavan has joined as its new Director. Acting Director Marcia Sigal had held the position for almost a year, during which time she oversaw the update of the CDFI certification application. Raghavan most recently was Director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, a public private partnership, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President at Empire State Development, New York State's economic development agency, where she played a key role in designing and implementing economic assistance programs, including those aimed at small business recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. In that position she launched the $100 million CDFI New York Forward Loan Fund that provided low-cost capital to small businesses, including through partnerships with CDFIs. Raghavan also had experience with CDFIs in her tenure as Deputy Associate Administrator and New York District Director in the US Small Business Administration, where she managed substantial loan portfolios and collaborated with CDFIs and credit unions to support small businesses. CU Strategic Planning President and CEO, Stacy Augustine, stated, “we were delighted to hear of Ms. Raghavan’s appointment as the incoming Director of the CDFI Fund and look forward to her leadership of the agency. Director Raghavan’s leadership role in economic development, and background working with both loan funds and credit unions should make her a tremendous addition to the CDFI Fund’s professional staff.”

Editor's note: a version of this article also appears in The Credit Union Connection. Accountability is a critical component when it comes to obtaining or (or maintaining) certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).  As a CDFI, you serve what’s called a Target Market (or multiple Target Markets), which are made up of low income and underserved people and communities. To understand and serve your Target Market, you must have people in a governing or advisory capacity who are accountable to that Target Market. With the newest CDFI certification rules, that accountability standard is tougher than it has been in the past. You can learn more about that from the recording of our December 14 webinar. To put it simply, our work with CDFI credit unions leads us to believe that most will need to implement an advisory board to meet accountability standards. But there are benefits beyond just accountability. Before we get to those: Advisory Board Basics What are the CDFI Fund’s requirements for an advisory board? An advisory board must: be appointed by the credit union’s board of directors. provide strategic input to the credit union’s board of directors. consist of no less than five persons. meet at least three times a year. contain at least one credit union board member. operate according to a policy that describes the advisory board’s purpose and scope. What needs to be included in the required advisory board policy? The following items need to be addressed in the credit union’s advisory board policy: The purpose of the advisory board and the scope of topics or strategic policy matters on which the advisory board provides input or advice to the credit union’s board of directors. How input that the advisory board provides to the credit union’s board of directors is documented (for example: the advisory board is regularly or occasionally invited to meetings of the credit union’s board of directors, minutes from advisory board meetings are included in board meeting packets for review, or the advisory board provides the credit union’s board with written feedback on key policy issues, etc.); The process by which individuals are selected and approved as members of the advisory board; and How the advisory board seeks input from, and/or reviews data on the financial needs and opportunities in the Target Market(s) for which it provides accountability. These matters can be outlined in a stand-alone document, or they can be incorporated into the credit union’s existing policy manual. Does the advisory board need to be called an “advisory board”? No. The credit union can give this advisory entity another more descriptive name so long as the advisory board requirements are met. Is an advisory board always required to be a CDFI? No. An advisory board is just one method for demonstrating accountability to your Target Market or Target Markets. How can an advisory board show accountability? An Advisory Board as a Strategic Advantage The key term to remember is advisory; this is an excellent way to get insight and input from your community, and in particular from your Target Market. Think of it as an in-house focus group: bringing an advisory board together for a quarterly discussion about community needs helps highlight issues facing your Target Market, strengthen community partnerships, and set the stage for product and policy development that’s a proper fit for the people you want to serve. How do you find your advisory board members? Look at your Target Market. At least 60% of your advisory board must be accountable to your overall Target Market. How to find them? Start with community partners – if you work with an organization that’s embedded in your community and serves low to moderate income people, you’ve got great candidates right there. Or community development organizations that aren’t partners – it’s an excellent way to get to know each other. Even Rotary clubs and other local, community-minded groups are a great place to find volunteers. How are advisory board members selected? Your policy should outline the process of appointing members to your advisory board, along with the term length and other details. Although advisory board members need to be actively engaged in the advisory board, they don’t need to be recruited from your current membership and can be a good way of attracting community leaders that might be well-suited to eventually serve on the credit union’s board of directors. What staff member should be responsible for your advisory board? You have options! You may want your head of member experience to take charge. Or your community engagement director, or the head of marketing – all are good choices. Just remember that the advisory board doesn’t need to be operated with the same degree of formality as your board of directors. Love Your Advisory Board Your credit union sought CDFI certification because it’s dedicated to serving the underserved. Regularly listening to your community is more than just a way to check off an accountability box – it’s at the heart of your mission.

It's been a very eventful 2023, and as it draws to a close we've asked our team to share a few of their wishes for 2024. Happy New Year! I wish that the CDFI Fund would resume the historical practice of opening the annual FA grant in February.  Opening the grant during the holidays is no fun for CDFIs or, presumably, for the CDFI Fund staff. Aaron Duffy, VP Business Intelligence My wish for the new year is for everyone to have equitable access to financial services, and for the elimination of food insecurity. Michele Lenox, Community Development Manager I’m happy to share that I have already received my wish for this year in that when I decided to make a career change earlier this year, the item at the top of my list was finding an organization that I felt was making a large impact for good. In the short time I have been with CU Strategic Planning, that impact is not only evidenced by the nearly $1 billion in funds that they have helped CDFI credit unions obtain, but also in the attitude in which it is done. They are willing to stand up for those less fortunate by using their talents, background, and other skills to help tell the story of how our credit unions are already helping the underserved plus how they can do more with additional resources. My wish for 2024 is that we celebrate not only hitting the $1 billion mark together but are reminded of the thousands upon thousands of families who are impacted by this work through the many CDFI credit unions who are willing to look at things through a different lens and stand in the gap for those who need a helping hand. Chip Serna, Community Development Manager This year, I find myself reflecting on the incredible sense of community that makes our CDFI credit unions truly special.  In the spirit of the season, I have a heartfelt Christmas wish: to help credit unions continue to build partnerships that not only brighten the holidays, but also create lasting impacts on the communities we cherish. Imagine a world where every partnership brings forth not just joy but tangible support—referrals, resources, financial education and more. Together, my wish can transform into a reality! Our community economic development summits explore synergies and resources and forge partnerships that create community collaboration magic. Jessica LaRocca, Senior Director of Strategic Planning Services I wish for: All CDFI credit unions to retain their certification and even more credit unions nationwide to earn this powerful designation. Every community in America to have access to a CDFI. An even greater recognition from the CDFI Fund of the importance of Financial Services among low income consumers. A calendar that lists when grant opportunities will be released (give me a two week window) so that I can plan for business needs and vacation time. Stacy Augustine, President/CEO I wish that, now that the CDFI Fund has released its new certification application, more credit unions will become CDFIs to better served their underserved communities. Carrie Ostrem, AVP Certification Services My wish for 2024 is that all have a chance to open mainstream financial accounts and have access to Financial Services that improve their lives and help keep money in the pockets of those who need it most. Jamie Koster, Community Development Manager

In a significant milestone for credit unions certified as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), U.S. Treasury shared the new CDFI certification requirements. The official release came after seven years of work, delays, and revisions in response to significant pushbacks from stakeholders, including CUNA, NAFCU, Inclusiv and CU Strategic Planning, to protect credit unions from losing the designation. CU Strategic Planning is leading the charge in deciphering and disseminating the revised requirements for credit unions. As the foremost experts in credit union CDFI certification and compliance, CU Strategic Planning proudly represents nearly 200 credit unions in CDFI compliance services, having certified 203 credit unions as CDFIs and secured $945 million in award funding. No single organization provides more direct CDFI and grant compliance services to credit unions than CU Strategic Planning. Project Scope CU Strategic Planning analyzes the CDFI Fund’s programmatic and regulatory updates for credit unions that already face heavy regulatory burdens in regular operations. Its team of 35 is methodically breaking down the new requirements with a depth of expertise gained from its 15 years working with credit unions to meet US Treasury CDFI Fund requirements. CU Strategic Planning will be sharing insights with credit union leagues, system partners and credit unions. It is currently working on a credit union CDFI research project with the Filene Research Institute. CEO Statement of Response "Our goal is to ensure credit unions retain their CDFI certification while facilitating the expansion of the powerful designation to even more credit unions nationwide," said Stacy Augustine, President/CEO CU Strategic Planning. "We firmly believe that every community in America deserves access to a CDFI."

When Buckeye State Credit Union became certified as a Community Development Financial Institution, the team wasn’t confused on what to do next. They got straight to work. The Akron-headquartered credit union serves an area of northeastern Ohio that’s squarely in the Rust Belt, which includes 90 Opportunity Zones. Nearly 80% of Buckeye’s activities are directed to low-income members, according to analysis of their lending. The $136.5 million Buckeye has partnered with CU Strategic Planning beginning with its 2017 CDFI certification, and has earned nearly $7.5 million in grant funding since then. Abernathy added that while the average credit score among Buckeye’s borrowers is 660, the credit union is still able to safely make loans to these members that other financial institutions have abandoned. “We take risks on people every other financial institution has left behind,” Abernathy asserted. “They’re not living paycheck-to-paycheck; they’re living day-to-day.” ​ Download the complete case study to learn more about Buckeye's success as a CDFI.

The US Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund posted on its blog last week that the FY 2024 CDFI Program and NACA Program Application round, also known as the FA Awards, is coming soon – although the timeline still no more specific than “later this fall”. The post suggested that now is the time for organizations to begin preparing to apply, and provided tips to create or update sam.gov, grants.gov and AMIS accounts and obtain UEI and EIN Numbers. However, with 15 years of experience writing hundreds of successful CDFI certifications and financial award applications, we know that there’s a lot more to it than that. Our team has been working for months on our clients’ applications for this combined 2023/2024 round of Financial Assistance Award applications. This is a brief look at what’s involved in creating a winning FA application. About the CDFI Fund and Programs The CDFI Fund was established in 1994 to create economic opportunity and transform the lives of working-class people, defined as moderate to low income. It is a mission we and credit unions in general hold dear, and in our work we’ve found that most credit unions, by their very nature, are eligible for CDFI Certification based on a combination of the geographic areas served and/or the income of members. The Fund administers a number of programs that offer financial assistance to Certified CDFIs, with the CDFI Program Financial Assistance Awards being a mainstay. The CDFI Program Financial Assistance Awards These usually annual grants – 2023 has been an anomaly – are up to $1 million and can be used for capital reserves, loan loss reserves and operational expenses. FA awards can be used for lending capital, loan loss reserves, capital reserves, financial services, and development services to achieve at least one of these objectives: Increase volume of products or services Provide new products or services Expand operations into new geographic areas Service new targeted populations The awards application process is daunting, layering hundreds of pages of guidance across dozens of separate documents. It requires historical CDFI application knowledge, regulatory, lending and financial expertise. Prior to writing an application, CU Strategic Planning’s experienced team dissects and cross-references the current application documents, comparing materials to prior applications to identify trends, strategies, assumptions and key language. This is not your typical grant; there’s a reason that the application is officially named a Comprehensive Business Plan. It’s a five-year plan that includes projected lending goals and community impacts, and requires strategies that involve local community partners. What the Application is Really Asking When staring down the application process, you can expect that the questions might be interpreted in a variety of ways and supported with data in several others. When it gets down to it, in our experience, here’s what they’re really asking: Is your Comprehensive Business Plan (grant application) compelling? Does your application represent the need and challenge in your community as more compelling than other communities? Is your strategy more compelling and progressive than other applicants? Are your products, partners and projected impacts more compelling? Is your application credible? Just as your credit union would evaluate a business as a credible applicant for a business loan, capable of meeting its financial projections, does your credit union’s grant application demonstrate the capacity to achieve its goals? Does the historical financial performance of your credit union demonstrate that future projections and assumptions are reasonable, and does your management team have the experience to achieve them? Does your application cite reputable sources as evidence of the credibility, with all claims supported by evidence? You must ensure your credit union is represented as knowledgeable in every aspect of the application. CDFI Fund leadership and members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Financial Services are accountable to use taxpayer dollars wisely, so they really dig in to ensure the funds are going to the best possible lenders to fulfill the CDFI mission of injecting capital into historically neglected communities. Award Application Review Process and Scoring The CDFI Fund receives hundreds of applications for FA awards every year, and the aggregate application amount requested always far exceeds the available funds. The application evaluation and award selection process evolve from year to year but have typically included these five steps: 1. Eligibility Review 2. Financial Analysis and Compliance Evaluation 3. Business Plan Review 4. Policy Objective Review 5. Award Amount Determination First, the CDFI Fund evaluates each application to determine if it meets the eligibility requirements. Then comes the financial analysis and compliance risk evaluation. The financial analysis score comes from a credit union’s CAMELS/CAMEL rating (which must be at least a 3), along with other feedback from the NCUA. The compliance risk evaluation is primarily performed by an automated CDFI Fund tool with additional review by staff as necessary. The purpose of this step is to ensure the applicants have the capacity to maintain financial health and remain in compliance with the award requirements throughout the performance period. The intent of the business plan review is to ensure that each applicant’s comprehensive business plan is sound and achievable. Two external reviewers, experts in community development finance, assess and score each component of the Comprehensive Business Plan (the application). Next comes the policy objective review, performed by CDFI Fund staff to evaluate the extent of each applicant’s impact within the communities it serves and ability to meet the policy objectives, plus a due diligence review. Applicants are then grouped according to Total Policy Objective Review Composite Scores. All Step 4 applicants being recommended for an award will advance to Step 5, the award amount determination. The CDFI Fund determines an award amount for each application based on a number of variables, such as the Total Policy Objective Review Composite Score, the applicant’s request amount, the applicant’s deployment track record, minimum award size, and funding availability. CU Strategic Planning is Here to Help As you can see, the CDFI Program FA Awards process is a complex one, with prep work that begins long before the official opening of each year’s application round and is much more complex than updating a sam.gov account. As you’re considering certification or applying for financial awards from the CDFI Fund, you’ll likely be overwhelmed with all the lingo and depth of the application requirements. We’d love to chat with you about how our dedicated team of experts can help your credit union certify as a CDFI and succeed in its funds quest to serve your members even better! We’re here to help.

As strong proponents of the credit union community, and particularly Community Development Financial Institution certifications and financial awards, we are regularly in communication with a variety of people from all over the country supporting our cause. From Capitol Hill to community development organizations right in your neighborhood, CU Strategic Planning is advocating for CDFI credit unions and those that are interested. “Credit unions thrive in an environment where they understand the rules of the road,” CU Strategic Planning CEO Stacy Augustine says. “Many use the third and fourth quarter of the year to build out their strategic and tactical plans. We deeply appreciate the CDFI Fund’s scholarly consideration of comments from the community development industry. However, continued delay in releasing the revised certification standards will have a heightened effect on credit union planning if further delayed.” Of course, we aren’t in this fight alone. We thank both CUNA and NAFCU for submitting letters in advance of a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing that occurred last week, How Community Development Financial Institutions Promote Housing and Economic Opportunity. Calling the current CDFI environment “challenging” in its letter, CUNA writes, “Currently, CDFI-certified credit unions seeking recertification from the Department of Treasury, and those seeking certification, are waiting for the Fund to release its updated application requirements. Additionally, credit unions have expressed concerns regarding the acceptance of grants tied to CDFI certification maintenance or unreleased reporting requirements. The longer Treasury delays finalization of these requirements, the longer communities across the nation miss out on housing and economic opportunities. Further, if requirements are set outside of the risk tolerance of credit union governing boards, it is possible there may be a decrease of participation by credit unions in this space. This would represent a tremendous loss to underserved and low-income communities given CDFI-certified credit unions primacy in offering mortgage loans and a full array of consumer financial products and services. We urge the subcommittee, through this hearing, to underscore what is at stake as CDFIs wait for the Fund complete its updated certification process.” NAFCU’s letter voices support for the bipartisan CDFI Fund Transparency Act that calls for enhanced oversight by Congress of the CDFI Fund, while also criticizing the “months long blackout period” for CDFI certification applications. Additionally, NAFCU’s letter reads, “NAFCU is also pleased to support S. 869, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act. The Bond Guarantee Program has provided more than $2 billion in guarantees to support lending and investment in underserved communities. The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program provides a valuable line of long-term capital to CDFIs through the Federal Financing Bank. This legislation reduces the minimum loan amount, creating an immediate and positive impact on CDFIs and the communities they serve.” Our own leadership also wants to take this opportunity to reiterate that we have our fingers on the pulse of the CDFI community, including inside the beltway. Our experienced team continues to work diligently on our clients’ certification and CDFI Fund financial awards applications. As political pressure mounts, we are ready when the CDFI Fund is. Is your credit union ready to learn more?

New department will help credit unions to better achieve mission-driven relevancy. Welcome to the Team Credit union veteran Joseph (Joe) Brancucci has joined CU Strategic Planning as executive vice president, working alongside Chief Consulting Officer Shirley Senn in our new CU Results division. “CDFI credit unions are very relevant to the communities they serve, and for me, helping them do that more successfully by embracing the cooperative principles to leverage themselves in those communities is important,” Brancucci said. “It’s an opportunity for me to spend time not just in one credit union, but to spread what I've learned and my passion to many credit unions and help them be successful.” Brancucci has enjoyed a long career in credit unions, most recently as senior vice president of lending at Financial Partners Credit Union where he led the credit union in record organic loan growth during his tenure. He’s served as the first president of the CUSO CU Rate Reset (now Finofr), president/CEO of GTE Financial, executive vice president at BECU, chairman/CEO/founder of Prime Alliance and more. He’s received significant industry recognition, such as being named 2013 CU Times CEO Trailblazer of the Year. About CU Results CU Results will work with credit unions to create relevant, mission-driven and sustainable strategies for success, focusing on: Meeting goals set by boards and in CDFI grants Significantly and safely increasing lending Identifying opportunities within credit unions’ communities Achieving financial sustainability that directly translates into improving members’ lives CU Results is committed to empowering credit unions by providing the necessary tools, knowledge and support to effectively implement CDFI Fund awards and strategies. Deliverables will include a detailed five-year implementation roadmap, strategic plan and ongoing support. “Helping CDFI credit unions align their practice with the communities they serve is really important to executing on their responsibilities to their CDFI certification,” Brancucci noted. “We’re dedicated to helping credit unions make being a CDFI part of who they are rather than merely something they do.” With the launch of the new CU Results consulting division, CU Strategic Planning Co-Owner Shirley Senn has taken on the role of chief consulting officer and will work closely with Brancucci. “We’re very excited to have Joe joining our team,” Senn said. “I look forward to working with him to expand credit unions’ capacity to manage and deploy their CDFI funds more efficiently to create meaningful, sustainable impacts on the communities they serve. His experience is invaluable.” Learn more about CU Results and how our personalized consulting can provide a roadmap for your credit union's relevancy and success.

For Baton Rouge’s Neighbors Federal Credit Union, the long wait is finally over. While they were awarded $35 million in a secondary capital award from the US Treasury as part of the $8.7 billion awarded to CDFIs and MDIs in the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) in December 2021, they just last month were able to begin using the funds. A Community Development Financial Institution is measured by service to one or more target markets. A target market can be either a historically distressed investment area, a low-income population, or an “other targeted population” - vulnerable or underserved populations that have historically been denied credit or lack adequate access to capital. A change in census mapping required Neighbors to modify their CDFI-approved target market in order to maintain their CDFI status. CU Strategic Planning worked with the credit union to do this and demonstrate that it was still lending to low-income populations and the underserved in and around Baton Rouge. The CDFI Fund approved this change and reconfirmed Neighbors’ CDFI status in December of 2022. “We were so pleased to see Neighbors make it over the finish line for this award,” Chief Experience Officer Mike Beall said. “We know they’ll be able to use those secondary capital funds to provide real benefits to their members and community.” CU Strategic Planning has a long history of working with Louisiana credit unions. We’ve had the pleasure of partnering with 25 of them and have helped 19 earn certification as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Those CDFIs have won over $121,000,000 in grants and awards from the CDFI Fund and US Treasury, providing critical capital to help communities address generational inequality, recover from natural disasters, and come to the aid of those disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. Those credit unions include: ANECA FCU Ascension CU Caddo Parish Teachers FCU Centric FCU Greater New Orleans FCU Neighbors FCU New Orleans Firemen's FCU Ouachita Valley FCU Pelican State CU Shreveport FCU Southwest Louisiana CU St. Tammany FCU UNO FCU And we’re pleased to be working with new clients for this round of CDFI FA awards, including: Baton Rouge Telco Bossier FCU Campus We’re currently handling the compliance reporting of over $100 million in awards for LA credit unions, including the $35 million ECIP award to Neighbors. Contact us to find out more about our CDFI Services, including certification, grant writing, compliance and strategic consulting.

In her first official statement as acting director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Marcia Sigal announced two key pieces of information for CDFI-certified institutions and good news for those who have been waiting to apply for certification due to the pause. First, the good news: The CDFI Fund intends to implement a one-time process change for the 2023-2024 Program Award Application round (the FA Awards) to permit organizations with pending CDFI Certification Applications to apply, rather than requiring certification to already be in place. As the Certification process has been on hold since October of 2022, this means the Fund plans to re-open the Certification Application portal before this fall before accepting Program Award Applications. Which brings us to those Program Awards. The Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) marks the beginning of the period when these grant applications are accepted. Sigal’s statement describes the timing of this as late fall. CU Strategic Planning has been hard at work on our credit unions’ FY 23/24 grants for the past year to be ahead of the curve for the upcoming grant round. CDFI Certification Update Acting Director Sigal acknowledged that the CDFI certification revisions have piqued the interest of the entire community, and said a revised version still is expected to be released this fall. CU Strategic Planning and many other industry players have been providing input on the matter and working to keep our clients apprised of the situation. We recently learned that the CDFI Fund advisory board took credit unions’ issues to heart and recommended some of our suggestions to the Fund. As we await the final results for the certification process update, know that it will go into effect immediately for new CDFIs, according to the acting director. Existing CDFIs will receive a grace period before they must submit the newly revised application for recertification. Acting Director Sigal suggested, and we concur, that existing CDFIs use this time to assess their ability to meet the revised criteria. Know that we are on top of this with our credit unions and will continue to keep yours up to date on the changes that may be needed to ensure continued certification. Additionally, CU Strategic Planning received a communication from the CDFI Fund affirming our compliance and reporting methodologies earlier this year. Credit unions can continue to rely on CU Strategic Planning to guide your credit union to remain in compliance with CDFI requirements. Acting Director Sigal also shared that detailed information regarding the deadlines, guidance material and information on the new Application, Annual Certification and Data Collection Report (ACR) and abbreviated Transaction Level Report (TLR) will be provided. CDFI Fund staff will also offer training opportunities. Over our 15 years and more than 200 credit union certifications, the CU Strategic Planning team has seen first-hand that these changes are never straightforward. Our credit unions have come to rely on us to understand and translate the jargon in the Fund’s communications and provide guidance through areas that are not easily defined. When the new materials are released, we will provide a complete analysis as it pertains to credit unions.