OMB Finally Releases FY 2025 CDFI and Native CDFI Funding

5/8/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C.   –  Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finally released $289 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding to the Department of Treasury for the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund. The funding was released more than a year after it was passed by Congress. The funding includes $28 million for the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program which funds Native CDFIs.

OMB delayed releasing these funds to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14238 entitled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” Section 2 of the Executive Order provides for the elimination of non-statutory CDFI functions , as well as other programs, to the extent possible under existing law. For any remaining statutory functions, CDFIs were then required to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law . . .”

The NACA Program funds Native CDFIs to provide financial literacy, capital investment, and individual financing in rural and urban Native communities. There are about 65 certified Native CDFIs in about 25 states around Indian Country. Native CDFIs offer small business development loans, home repair loans and mortgages , consumer loans, and credit repair to tens of thousands of Native people on reservations and other rural areas where traditional banks and credit opportunities are scarce or non-existent.

While the FY 2025 funding has finally been released, Treasury has not yet provided information on how Native CDFIs can apply to NACA to receive Financial or Technical Assistance grants. Financial Assistance grants are used by Native CDFIs to provide lending and funding opportunities in Native communities. Technical Assistance grants are used by Native CDFIs to develop their programs and increase capacity for supporting Native communities.

Looking ahead, Congress has already provided about the same amount of funding for the CDFI fund in FY 2026. This is resulting in a backlog of funding within OMB and Treasury for CDFIs and Native CDFIs. Meanwhile in his FY 2027 budget proposal, the President continues to seek significant cuts to core CDFI fund programs. The CDFI fund has bipartisan support in Congress, but uncertainty around the release of funds has been a challenge for the operation of CDFIs and Native CDFIs.

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