(a) General. If an Applicant proposes to carry out Service Activities or Distressed Community Financing Activities, the Applicant shall designate one or more Distressed Communities in which it proposes to carry out those activities. The Applicant may designate different Distressed Communities for each category of activity. If an Applicant proposes to carry out CDFI Support Activities, the Applicant shall provide evidence that the CDFI it is proposing to support is Integrally Involved in a Distressed Community as specified in the applicable NOFA.
(b) Minimum area and eligibility requirements. A Distressed Community must meet the following minimum area and eligibility requirements:
(1) Minimum area requirements. A Distressed Community:
(i) Must be an area that is located within the jurisdiction of one (1) Unit of General Local Government;
(ii) The boundaries the area must be contiguous; and
(iii) The area must:
(A) Have a population, as determined by the most recent census data available, of not less than 4,000 if any portion of the area is located within a Metropolitan Area with a population of 50,000 or greater; or
(B) Have a population, as determined by the most recent census data available, of not less than 1,000 in any other case; or
(C) Be located entirely within an Indian Reservation.
(2) Eligibility requirements. A Distressed Community must be a geographic area where:
(i) At least 30 percent of the Eligible Residents have incomes that are less than the national poverty level, as published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the most recent decennial census for which data is available;
(ii) The unemployment rate is at least 1.5 times greater than the national average, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent data, including estimates of unemployment developed using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census Share calculation method; and
(iii) Such additional requirements as may be specified by the Fund in the applicable NOFA.
(c) Area designation. An Applicant shall designate an area as a Distressed Community by:
(1) Selecting Geographic Units which individually meet the minimum area eligibility requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section; or
(2) Selecting two or more Geographic Units which, in the aggregate, meet the minimum area eligibility requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, provided that no Geographic Unit selected by the Applicant within the area has a poverty rate of less than 20 percent.
(d) Designation and notification process. The Fund will provide a prospective Applicant with data and other information to help it identify areas eligible to be designated as a Distressed Community. Applicants shall submit designation materials as instructed in the applicable NOFA.