Remaining $289 Million in FY25 Funds Released for the CDFI Fund, Treasury Announces Award Reforms
Lily Jin, Senior Associate, Public Policy, OFN
Read time: 4 minutes
Following consistent advocacy from OFN in partnership with congressional champions, allies, and member CDFIs, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released $289 million in remaining Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) appropriations for the CDFI Fund on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Previously, only administrative funds had been apportioned to the Fund. For months, members of Congress and industry advocates pushed for the programmatic funds’ timely release ahead of their expiration at the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2026. Appropriated funds were released for the CDFI Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards, Small Dollar Loan program, Bank Enterprise Award, and other core CDFI Fund programs. It does not cover awards for the Capital Magnet Fund, which is funded through annual contributions from the government-sponsored entities (GSEs), or Emergency Capital Investment Program dollars.
A Bipartisan Effort
Lawmakers across the aisle pushed to release these funds, recognizing the importance of these programs to their communities. Last summer, co-chairs of the Senate Community Development Caucus Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) led a bipartisan group of 26 senators in a letter to OMB urging the swift deployment of the FY25 funds.
Sen. Crapo told PoliticoPro about his satisfaction with the news, “Congress allocated money for the CDFI Fund to serve rural, tribal and other underserved areas, and I’m pleased to see the funds released.”
“Getting [CDFI Fund dollars] released is a win for the bipartisan coalition that has long supported the CDFI Fund and its proven track record,” Sen. Warner shared in a statement on the release. “That said, it is unacceptable that it took months to move these funds, and alarming that the Fund itself has faced repeated attempts to weaken its capacity, despite rising demand from the people and small businesses that depend on the programs.”
The Future of the Fund
Along with the release of the funds, Treasury announced that the CDFI Fund plans to engage in a rulemaking process to ensure awards would not subsidize non-U.S. citizens who are not exempted or excepted from laws restricting the receipt of “federal public benefits” to U.S. citizens. In addition, the announcement said that new certification language would be added to grant award agreements to ensure compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. Violations of those anti-discrimination laws would include “providing employment or financial preferences or set-asides based on race, ethnicity, or sex, in a manner inconsistent with federal laws.” The details of the proposed rulemaking and new certification language are not yet available, though Treasury has indicated that “certified CDFIs will be required to adopt, implement, and maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with these requirements, certify annually as to the existence and administration of those policies and procedures, and make them available for review upon request by the CDFI Fund.”
While the news of this release is hard-earned and an important breakthrough for the industry, further efforts are needed around the apportionment of FY26 and future funds. Even as these funds were released, OMB Director Russell Vought used a House Budget Committee hearing to signal continued administration pushback to the program. With the FY27 appropriations cycle currently underway, OFN is advocating for level funding for the CDFI Fund and working with Congress to ensure the timely release of FY26 and future appropriations.
OFN is closely monitoring for new developments and will share details on the upcoming rulemaking and changes to award agreements as they become available.
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