Congress Approves $295 Million for the CDFI Fund
Mary Scott Balys
On March 11, just hours before the government funding deadline set in the last continuing resolution, Congress passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill setting the government funding levels for the remainder of FY 2022. President Biden then signed the bill into law. The CDFI Fund received $295 million for FY 2022, a $25 million increase in funding over FY 2021 levels.
The breakdown of the funding for various CDFI Fund programs is below.
Source: CDFI Coalition
Although the funding fell short of the House and Senate’s original proposals of $330 million and $360 million respectively, it is still a nine percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The increase for the CDFI Fund was larger than the overall increase in domestic spending of seven percent.
With the conclusion of the FY 2022 process, Congress will soon begin to work on the funding bills for FY 2023. President Biden’s budget request is expected to be released in the coming weeks and will kickstart the process. FY 2023 begins October 1, 2022.
The CDFI Fund is a vital source of capital for CDFIs, which leverage every dollar in CDFI Fund grant funding eight times with private and philanthropic investment. Increased federal investments in CDFIs will enable the industry to finance more small businesses and invest in the development of affordable housing, schools, grocery stores, healthcare centers, climate change solutions, and much more.
Stay tuned for updates and resources from OFN’s public policy team on how you can get involved in supporting the request for at least $1 billion for the CDFI Fund in FY 2023!