The CDFA Community Facilities Technical Assistance Program brings together CDFA’s knowledge of development finance programs, along with the strategic support from private sector partners, to create a transferrable toolkit of finance programs and other resources capable of leveraging community facilities infrastructure in rural communities throughout the nation. This program includes resources accessible to every rural community, including a Rural Finance Resource Center, Rural Finance Newsletter, and Rural Finance Toolkit, along with targeted technical assistance support to six rural communities.
CDFA has worked with the USDA to develop an innovative technical assistance approach to support rural communities that have recently experienced a natural disaster. The goal of this program is to help rural communities utilize the USDA’s Community Facilities Program along with identifying other potential development finance tools to aid in the rebuild and recovery after a natural disaster.
Key program elements include:
Community Technical Assistance
CDFA will provide technical assistance to communities from a dedicated team of two-three development finance experts. The selected communities will receive one on-site visit to discuss how the USDA Community Facilities Program can be used, a roadmap outlining recommendations and potential next steps, and ongoing support to apply for the USDA’s Community Facilities Program. Eligible communities must have a population of no more than 20,000 and have a Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for hurricanes or wildfires in 2018 or floods or tornadoes in 2019. CDFA maintains a list of eligible states and counties for this program, and rural communities are encouraged to contact CDFA to determine eligibility.
Apply for Technical Assistance
Rural Finance Toolkit
The Rural Finance Toolkit is a printable guide that provides rural communities with an easy-to-use, best practices resource on development finance tools.
Rural Development Finance Resource Center
The Rural Development Finance Resource Center is a searchable online tool available on the CDFA website to learn about rural development finance programs at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as resources and best practices from communities.
View Rural Development Finance Resource Center
Rural Finance Newsletter
The Rural Finance Newsletter is a periodic newsletter covering the latest headlines, developments, best practices and case studies related to development finance initiatives in rural communities.
View Rural Finance Newsletter
Rural Development Finance Webinar Series
The CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar Series is a three-part series providing information and best practices about financing tools and programs specifically targeted for rural communities. View the webinar recordings below: