The Treasury Department has extended the application deadline for its Community Development Financial Institutions grants so applicants can become better acquainted with a new online process.
Applications for the CDFI grants were initially due Jan. 23, but the deadline has been extended to Feb. 13. Applications for the CDFI program's Native American Assistance Program that had been due Feb. 14 are now due March 1.
The Treasury Department each year awards grants through its CDFI program to certified community development financial institutions, which include banks, thrifts, credit unions, and loan funds. Roughly 750 community development financial institutions will compete for about $28.5 million of grants, which recipients use largely to help spur development low-income neighborhoods.
Bill Luecht, a spokesman with Treasury's CDFI Fund, said that until this year community development financial institutions applied for grants at CDFI Fund's Web site or by using regular forms. Applications now have to be filed through a broader Treasury Department Web site, Grants.gov.
Mr. Luecht said that CDFI Fund staff is hearing that some applicants are having trouble with the registration process. "The trickiest part is that initial first step," he said. "But we believe after [applicants] get registered they will find it a lot easier than the electronic application was."
