Congress Passes Level Funding for the CDFI Fund for FY 2026
Lily Jin, Associate, Public Policy, OFN
Bipartisan support maintains consistent federal investment in CDFIs , ends partial government shutdown
Read time: 3 minutes
On February 3, the House voted to approve a Senate-passed spending package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 that ended a four-day partial government shutdown. The five-bill package, including Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill, maintains level funding of $324 million for the CDFI Fund—a key win for the community development finance industry and the communities they serve.
Despite the president’s budget request proposing a cut to $134 million, Congressional support for the CDFI Fund stayed consistent with the House maintaining a level proposal from its FY25 recommendation and the final House and Senate agreement providing $324 million.
The FSGG bill also includes level funding of $41 million for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Technical Assistance program and level or slightly increased funding for many of the SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development programs.
“We are pleased to see strong bipartisan support maintain stable funding for the CDFI Fund,” said Dafina Williams, OFN’s Executive Vice President, Chief Public Policy Officer and Head of Government Affairs. “Main Street succeeds when CDFIs succeed—these federal dollars are an important investment into affordable housing, small business growth, and expanding economic opportunity for all Americans.”
The majority of funds Congressionally appropriated to the CDFI Fund for FY25 have yet to be disbursed with no recent update on status or timeline. OFN will continue to engage senior appropriators and Trump administration officials to ensure both the FY25 and FY26 CDFI Fund funding are apportioned and reach communities nationwide.
Throughout this appropriations cycle, OFN has consistently engaged with members of Congress and mobilized the CDFI industry to advocate for stable CDFI Fund appropriations. Stay tuned for new tools and resources as FY27 appropriations kicks off.
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