CDFI Fund Opens the FY 2026 Bank Enterprise Award Program Funding Round

CDFI Fund Opens the FY 2026 Bank Enterprise Award Program Funding Round

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding round for the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program).

Up to $40 million is available in awards to eligible Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured depository institutions through the FY 2026 round of the program. This round of the BEA Program will consist of funding provided under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Pub. L. 119-4).

BEA Program Overview

Through the BEA Program, the CDFI Fund provides monetary awards to FDIC-insured banks and thrifts. Eligible applicants must successfully demonstrate that they have increased their investments in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or increased their own lending, investing, or service activities in the most economically distressed communities. Distressed Communities are defined as those where at least 30% of residents earn an income that is less than the national poverty level and where the unemployment rate is at least 1.5 times the national unemployment rate.

The formula-based grants are awarded to successful applicants for increasing Qualified Activities from one period, known as the Baseline Period, to a later period, known as the Assessment Period. There are three categories of Qualified Activities:

• CDFI Related Activities: Equity Investments, Grants, Equity-Like Loans, Loans, Deposits, and/or Technical Assistance provided to Certified CDFIs.
• Distressed Community Financing Activities: Direct lending or investment in the form of Affordable Housing Loans, Affordable Housing Development Loans and Project Investments, Commercial Real Estate Loans and related Project Investments, Education Loans, Home Improvement Loans, Small Business Loans and Project Investments, or Small Dollar Consumer Loans provided to residents or businesses located in Distressed Communities.
• Service Activities: Financial products and services, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, check cashing, financial counseling, Individual Development Accounts, or youth savings accounts provided to residents of Distressed Communities; as well as opening new branches or ATM machines in Distressed Communities.

Complete definitions of Qualified Activities may be found in the BEA Program Regulations, which are also posted on the CDFI Fund's website. Please review the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to learn more about the BEA Program. Additional details on how to apply to the program are available below.

Application Materials

Reference copies of the BEA Program NOFA and all application materials can be found on the BEA Program page on the CDFI Fund's website.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to closely review all application materials.

Required Application Systems

All applicants must be registered and have active accounts in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and the CDFI Fund's Awards Management Information System (AMIS) by July 24, 2026 to apply for funding. All applicants are also required to have the correct Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) attached to the relevant SAM.gov and AMIS accounts by July 24, 2026. To avoid potential application problems, all organizations should either create a new account, if one does not exist, or confirm that the existing account is up to date. Applicants are encouraged to create/update their accounts as soon as possible.

Deadlines

Please reference the FY 2026 BEA Program NOFA and BEA Program Application Instructions for detailed information regarding all relevant deadlines for the FY 2026 BEA Program funding round. As a highlight:

• Applicants must submit their SF-424 electronically via Grants.gov and create an AMIS account before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on July 24, 2026. BEA Program Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number: CDFI-2026-BEA
• Applicants must sign and submit their complete BEA Program Application in AMIS by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026.
• The CDFI Fund strongly encourages all Applicants to upload their transactions at least 3 business days prior to the application deadline of 11:59 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026 to ensure there's adequate time to address potential data validation or geocoding issues in AMIS.

Questions

The CDFI Fund will answer questions about the FY 2026 BEA Program application until 5:00 p.m. ET on July 29, 2026. Contact the BEA Program by submitting a Service Request through your AMIS account; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by phone to (202) 653-0421 (please note this is not a toll-free number).

The CDFI Fund's IT Support (AMIS) will be providing technical support for AMIS questions about the FY 2026 BEA Program application until 5:00 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026. Contact IT Support (AMIS) by submitting a Service Request through your AMIS account; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by phone to (202) 653-0422 (please note this is not a toll-free number).

To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit https://www.cdfifund.gov.