CDFI Fund Hosts Application Workshop for NACA Program

For Immediate Release: August 30, 2007
Contact: Tony Hozeny, Department of Commerce, 608/267-9661

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund will be conducting an application workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday, September 7, 2007, on the application to receive financial and technical assistance through the FY 2008 round of the CDFI Fund's Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program.

Friday, September 7, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - CDFI NACA Program Application Workshop
Hilton Milwaukee City Center
Room: Wright C
509 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 23203

What is a CDFI?
Generally, CDFIs are community-based specialized financial institutions that serve low-income people or work in economically distressed communities, often working in market niches that may be underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs provide a unique range of financial products and services in economically distressed target markets, such as mortgage financing for low-income and first-time homebuyers, commercial loans, small business lending, and investments to small start-up or expanding businesses in low-income areas.

CDFI NACA Program
The NACA Program supports Native CDFIs, and entities proposing to become or create Native CDFIs, to help build their capacity to better address the community development and capital access needs of Native communities. The NACA Program provides Financial Assistance (FA) and Technical Assistance (TA) grants to Native CDFIs; and TA grants to entities proposing to become or create Native CDFIs.

Financial Assistance (FA) awards must be matched by the applicant with funds of the same type from non-federal sources. FA awards enable CDFIs to leverage private capital to respond to demand for affordable financial products and services in economically distressed markets and by low-income families.

Technical Assistance (TA) awards to CDFIs and entities proposing to become CDFIs, provides grants to build the capacity of start-up and existing CDFIs by acquiring prescribed types of products or services including technology, staff training, consulting services to acquire a market analysis or lending policies and procedures.

Application Workshop Registration
Anyone wishing to attend the Application Workshop must register through the CDFI Fund's on-line registration system. The registration period is now open. Detailed instructions on how to register and a link to the on-line registration system are available on the homepage of the CDFI Fund's website at cdfifund.gov.

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