Under the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund will provide competitively awarded grants to CDFIs and qualified nonprofit housing organizations to finance affordable housing and related community development projects.
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund is requesting emergency Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance of the FY 2010 Capital Magnet Fund Application. The attached clearance package includes the application and supporting tables and instructions.
Under the CMF, the CDFI Fund will provide competitively awarded grants to CDFIs and qualified nonprofit housing organizations to finance affordable housing and related community development projects. The CMF was authorized in July of 2008 under Section 1339 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-289): $80 million has been appropriated for this program through the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2010.
In order to expeditiously announce and distribute funds for this program, which is an important component in the housing and economic recovery and has been identified as a high priority by OMB, the CDFI Fund is requesting consideration under an emergency clearance at this time. The CDFI Fund shall provide for a public comment period under the normal PRA clearance process prior to the expiration date assigned by OMB.
The CDFI Fund plans to award CMF grants within six months of application receipt. It is the goal of the CDFI Fund to publish the FY 2010 Notice of Funds Availability and Application by February 25, 2010. The Application deadline will be April 8, 2010, and the CDFI Fund hopes to announce the award recipients by September 2010.
The pool of CMF applicants is anticipated to be broad. The CDFI Fund anticipates that approximately 250 CMF applications will be submitted, and that approximately 10-20 awards will be made totaling approximately $80 million. The total hour burden of this information collection is estimated 50 hours per applicant. Given the public comments and outreach that helped inform the application, including consultation with other Federal agencies, the CDFI Fund does not expect a full PRA process to yield any revisions to the existing materials.
This clearance package includes a draft of the Capital Magnet Fund Application. The CDFI Fund published a Request for Public Comments in the Federal Register on March 6, 2009, on the design, implementation, and administration of the CMF, with comments due on May 5, 2009. It received 36 responses, of which 22 were unique. Input was also solicited from the Department of AgricultureÂs Rural Development office and Housing and Urban DevelopmentÂs Community Planning and Development office. Those comments are reflected in the final application. There were no specific comments provided on the potential burden.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.