OpportunitiesSBA Intermediary Lending Pilot Program The Intermediary Lending Pilot Program provides long-term loans to eligible non-profit intermediary lenders to finance their lending to small businesses. As a result, small businesses, especially those in underserved markets looking for loans up to $200,000, will have access to community-based funding sources under the program. Launched last year under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the ILP is designed to expand access to capital to small businesses and drive economic growth and job creation. Under the program, SBA will make loans of up to $1 million to participating lenders, which use the funds to make smaller loans to startup, newly established and growing small businesses. Applications must be submitted to the SBA no later than May 25, 2012. Application guidelines and forms can be found on the SBA website. Sixth Annual National Native American Economic Development Conference: Tribal Success Stories The Sixth Annual National Native American Economic Development Conference will bring together Tribal leaders and industry professionals to share essential information on how to create various economic development opportunities for future generations. The event will explore topics including project financing, federal grants, legislation, community development corporations, construction, telecommunications, renewable energy projects, land-use planning, and economic diversification. To register or learn more about this year’s agenda, visit the conference website. Community Economic Development (CED) Funding Opportunity The Community and Economic Development (CED) program will provide approximately $27 million in grants ($800,000 maximum per project) to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) for projects designed to address the economic needs of low-income individuals and families through the creation of employment and business opportunities. CED funding may be used to provide technical and financial assistance in order to create sustainable new employment and business opportunities for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income individuals whose income level does not exceed 125 percent of the Federal poverty level. This year, in coordination with the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), the CED program will provide up to $10 million of this funding to CDCs for CED projects located in food deserts and designed to improve access to healthy, affordable foods. The deadline to submit an application is 11:59 pm ET June 5, 2012. Application guidelines, application forms, and more information can be found on the HHS website. 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum (Presented by the American Banker and the Center for Financial Services Innovation) The 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum will explore how to spur innovation through opportunities for the financial services marketplace that create value for the industry while also making people’s lives better. The Forum will also highlight groundbreaking innovations and showcase efforts by leading financial services providers to help underserved consumers move toward financial prosperity. To view register for the conference or view this year’s agenda, visit the conference website. National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions 38th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved Join NFCDCU for its 38th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved in Atlanta, GA, the single largest gathering of credit unions serving low- and moderate-income communities nationwide. The conference will feature presentations by top-level federal officials, innovative credit unions, researchers, and many more. A pre-conference CDFI certification, application, and compliance workshop will be offered to full conference registrants. To register or learn more about this year's conference agenda, visit the conference website. Native Asset Building Initiative The Office of Community Services (OCS) and the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) have partnered to increase access to and awareness of asset building opportunities in Native American communities. OCS and the ANA will accept applications to establish and administer asset building projects with a focus on the Assets for Independence (AFI) projects. Grants will support organizations providing support and services to enable low income individuals and families to become economically self-sufficient for the long-term. The AFI focus of each project requires that eligible participants are given access to matched savings accounts, called Individual Development Accounts (IDA), in which participants save earned income for the purchase of a home, for business capitalization, or to attend higher education or training. The final deadline to submit an application is June 18, 2012. For more information visit the ACF website. 2012 NCIF Annual Development Banking Conference Each year, NCIF hosts the Annual Development Banking Conference, the nation’s premier event for community development banking institutions, offering three days of sharing best practices and actionable strategies for banks, thrifts and credit unions that provide financial services and catalyze economic development in low-income communities. NCIF has confirmed Donna Gambrell, Director of the CDFI Fund and Eugene Ludwig, CEO of Promontory Financial Group and former head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currrency as keynote speakers, and will once again host a kick-off cocktail hour before the two days of compelling panels and sessions to share knowledge on the CDFI Banking Industry. To sign up to receive up to date information on the conference, please use the signup form on NCIF's Conference Registration page to receive details on registration, speakers, and the agenda. Administration for Children and Families: Assets for Independence Grants The application deadline for the 2012 funding cycle is 4:30 PM EST on May 25, 2012. Additional funding cycles will open in 2013 (additional details available on the ACF website). Application guidelines, application forms, and more information can be found on the ACF website (Grants.gov funding opportunity # HHS-2011-ACF-OCS-EI-0137). CDFI Bond Program Of all the programs to come out of the Small Business Jobs Act, the CDFI Bond program is the least developed at this point. However, regulations that will structure the program are expected before the end of the year. SBA Community Advantage This program opened in early February 2011 and applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. State Small Business Credit Initiative |