Awards totaling $39.5 million will be awarded to 56 federally insured credit unions from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, with nearly half (27) of the credit unions being first-time awardees, NCUA announced Thursday.
According to NCUA, the 2017 credit union awardees are more than double the number of credit unions that received awards in 2016 (22). The 2017 number also represents about one in five of the more than 300 federally insured credit unions that are certified as CDFIs, based on figures provided by NCUA.
The credit union regulator said that, for 2017, CDFI Fund made awards with an emphasis on serving economically distressed areas, expanding opportunities in those areas, and collaboration with community partners.
The CDFI Fund, administered by the Treasury Department and created, was created in 1994 for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization and community development through investment in and assistance to community development financial institutions (CDFIs).
Overall, the Fund awarded 303 CDFIs $208.7 million in awards Thursday.
NCUA said in a release that its Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives (OSCUI) has a dedicated webpage that provides comprehensive information for qualified credit unions that want to be certified as Community Development Financial Institutions. The webpage includes information on a streamlined application process OSCUI developed with the CDFI Fund.