Accessing Funds

The Donor Management component in CDFA’s Grant’s Management System assists with organizing the progression of a fundraising campaign. While this component is updated internally by CDFA staff, it can be an important tool in monitoring the progress of the tax credit award.

The top portion of the component contains the information pertaining directly to the award.

Most of the information outlined in this section reflects the contract terms (ex: yearly allocations and total award amount). The important information for a project to track is the Balance to Raise and the lower section regarding the amounts available to the project. Those items will inform a project on it’s progress toward raising its award amount (generally required before drawing down funds) and the amount available to the project before and after any claims have been paid.

The final portion of the Donor Management component lists each donor that has pledged to the project and the progress toward full payment of that pledge.

All requests for payment of Tax Credit funds are submitted via the Grants Management System (GMS). Projects may submit one (1) Request for Payment per grant per month.

The request should clearly outline the activities associated with this payment request. Source documentation should tell the story of the basis of the costs incurred and the actual dates of the expenditure. For example, source documentation on payments to contractors would include a request for payment, proof of inspection to verify work and materials, and perhaps, cancelled checks. CFDA encourages the use of purchase orders or payment vouchers when preparing expenditures for payment of any cost associated with the project. It is also encouraged that a spreadsheet is kept of all expenditures to avoid double billing.

If an organization has received more than one award, a separate request should be completed for each award. The requests for tax credit funds should be consolidated to the extent possible and timed to be in accordance with the actual, immediate cash requirements of the grantee in carrying out the approved activities.

Funds drawn down will be deposited directly into the ACH Account, when an EFT Authorization Form has been submitted or a check will be mailed.

Projects should maintain a physical or digital copy of each payment request in chronological order. The amounts entered in each column should be capable of being verified against your financial and project records. All budget revisions and related correspondence should be maintained with these records.

CDFA processes claims every two weeks. It can take varying amounts of time for a Project to receive funds once a request is processed, dependent on the type of disbursement method they have chosen.