Grant for Community Development Financial Institutions – May 24

Posted by Citi Foundation on April 26, 2022

Citi Foundation invites ideas from Community Development Financial Institutions

The Citi Foundation has announced a $50 million request for ideas to support the next level of growth for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to catalyze and expand their work in building assets and wealth for low-income and diverse communities.

The Community Finance Innovation Fund will support intermediary-like nonprofit organizations with the ability to provide technical assistance and capacity-building innovations to multiple CDFIs working on a national or regional basis. The Citi Foundation will invite promising concepts to submit grant applications for funding from the ideas submitted.

Through this national RFI, the foundation aims to solicit breakthrough innovations to advance the field of community development finance in four key areas that include human capital and talent development, financial and risk-sharing models, technology and operational efficiencies, and thought leadership and research. Applicant organizations must be able to demonstrate a successful track record of advancing the field of community development finance, specifically in conjunction with CDFIs, and be able to demonstrate that their idea has the ability and/or intent on achieving regional or national scale, impacting low- and moderate-income and underserved communities.

Priority will be given to ideas that address an identified and measurable gap in the field of community development finance that directly affects CDFIs. In addition, priority will be given to organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and intentionality to apply a racial equity lens to community development finance. In addition to ideas that have the ability and/or intent to achieve regional or national scale, the foundation has a strong interest in ideas that impact low- and moderate-income and underserved communities within Citi Foundation’s strategic U.S. markets of California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

To be eligible, applicant organizations or their fiscal sponsors must be tax-exempt public charities as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Initial ideas are due May 24, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. ET. A sub-set of organizations that submit ideas will be contacted for further information on a ruling basis.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Citi Foundation website.

Deadline: May 24, 2022 4:00 p.m. ET (Initial ideas)