CDFI Grant Freeze Lifted—What It Means for Credit Unions

It has been a roller coaster of a week in the CDFI industry, with today's latest news providing some relief for CDFI credit unions interested in applying for this year's FA or TA Awards. Over the past two days, a freeze of federal grant and loans was put into effect, causing concern and confusion among CDFI institutions that leverage these opportunities for community development support. No one was certain what the impact was going to be on CDFIs.

Today, that freeze was formally rescinded, but the administration's talking points repeated that all programs are under review for compliance with recent Executive Orders. Given the rapidly evolving situation, we do not yet know if there will be further impacts to this year's FA/TA Award Round.

At CUCollaborate, we have consistently advised clients to stay the course. With the freeze currently lifted, credit unions should continue preparing strong applications for FA and TA funding until they hear otherwise from the CDFI Fund.

What This Means for Credit Unions

With applications moving forward, credit unions that are interested in applying for and FA or TA award should:

• Act strategically by defining clear plans for FA and TA Award Request applications and fund deployment.
• Diligently ensure SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and AMIS accounts are updated.  Get ahead of the February 18th deadline to submit the SF-424.
• Stay informed by monitoring further policy updates that could impact the process.

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CUCollaborate Is Here to Help

CUCollaborate remains committed to supporting credit unions in the CDFI Fund's FA and TA Award rounds. For our clients, we provide strategic guidance, compliance support, and data-driven insights to enhance their applications in a competitive funding landscape.

If you have questions or need assistance, reach out to CUCollaborate today.