WASHINGTON–More than 200 credit unions have received close to $600 million in total from Treasury’s CDFI Fund’s Equity Recovery program (CDFI ERP) grants.
In all, more than $1.73 billion in grants were awarded to 603 CDFIs across the country, with Treasury saying the funding will “strengthen the ability of CDFIs to help low- and moderate-income communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in long-term prosperity.”
Treasury said the CDFI ERP is designed to:
- Provide funding to Certified CDFIs to expand lending, grant making and investment activities in low- to moderate-income communities and to borrowers with significant unmet capital and financial services needs that have experienced disproportionate economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Catalyze growth in the financial and organizational capacity of CDFIs for the purpose of carrying out equitable recovery activities.
According to Treasury, the CDFI ERP grant funds may be used to support lending related to small businesses and microenterprises, community facilities, affordable housing, commercial real estate and intermediary lending to non-profits and CDFIs. The funds can also be used for financial services, development services to support borrowers and operational support for the CDFI grant recipient.
Award Commitments
Treasury said CDFI ERP award recipients committed to devote their awards in the following areas:
- 222 Recipients committed to serve low- or moderate-income Majority Minority Census Tracts received a total of $705.6 million in awards
- 179 recipients committed to serve minority individuals or to minority-owned or Controlled businesses received a total of $420.6 million in awards
- 134 recipients committed to serve persistent poverty counties, native areas and/or U.S. territories received a total of $441.5 million in awards
- 40 recipients committed to serve small businesses and farms received a total of $99.7 million in awards
- 28 Recipients committed to increase the dollar volume of financial products closed and grants made by their organizations in ERP-eligible geographies received a total of $67.6 million in awards.
The Recipients
The CDFI ERP Award Recipients include:
- Loan funds: 264 organizations receiving $615.5 million in awards;
- Credit unions: 203 organizations receiving $590.3 million in awards;
- Banking entities: 129 organizations receiving $513.7 million in awards; and
- Venture capital funds: Seven organizations receiving $15.5 million in awards.
For the full list of winners, including credit unions, visit CDFI ERP Award Recipients List