Nonprofit Finance Fund and California's Largest Foundations Launch $6 Million Initiative to Bolster Los Angeles Nonprofits

California Community Foundation and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation Lead Sponsors of Nonprofit Sustainability Effort

Los Angeles - October 28, 2009 - Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a national leader helping nonprofits strengthen their financial health, today announced that it is working with the California Community Foundation and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to launch a new "Nonprofit Sustainability and Effectiveness Initiative" in Los Angeles. This initiative provides local nonprofits facing financial challenges with working capital loans and financial consulting services. This will be an unprecedented collaboration among Southern California's largest foundations to address the root causes of financial hardship among nonprofit organizations. Ultimately, this will ensure that critical community needs are met by a nonprofit sector facing record demands due to the economic crisis.

"Many Los Angeles nonprofits are facing a 'perfect storm' of challenges: demand for services has increased, funding has decreased, and fallout from the California budget crisis adds to financial instability," said David Greco, Vice President, Western Region, NFF. "Along with our funding partners, our goal is to support both the near-term survival, and long-term sustainability, of L.A.'s nonprofit organizations."

The Nonprofit Sustainability and Effectiveness Initiative includes a series of programs funded by California Community Foundation, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and others. Nonprofit Finance Fund will deliver a series of workshops, consulting engagements, and in-depth business analyses to help nonprofit organizations optimize financial decision-making and service delivery.

"Funding alone cannot address the significant challenges facing Los Angeles nonprofits," said Antonia Hernández, CEO and President of California Community Foundation, which is providing more than $3 million in lending and technical assistance. "By investing in their financial planning and decision-making capabilities, we're positioning our grantee organizations to more efficiently and effectively serve the community."

The initiative has received tremendous interest from nonprofits and foundations alike as the need for stable and effective community services has become even greater, and foundations look to provide financial expertise and support to their grantees. In addition to leadership from the California Community Foundation and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, First 5 LA is also providing major support for organizations dedicated to increasing the health, well-being and learning readiness of children prenatal through age 5. Other current funding for assistance to Los Angeles nonprofits includes the Weingart Foundation's Development Disabilities Initiative, and The California Wellness Foundation's funding of technical assistance for health-related nonprofits.

"Nonprofits are experiencing dramatic increases in demand to provide basic human services, while facing greater financial challenges to meet these demands. It will take more than financial support alone to bolster our local nonprofit sectors in these unprecedented economic times," said Janet Lamkin, California President, Bank of America. "By listening to the voice of the community and working with leading institutions like Nonprofit Finance Fund to convene some of the most active foundations in Southern California, we can together focus resources and expertise to help sustain nonprofits addressing the most critical of needs. This collaboration underscores how deeply vested we are as a corporate citizen and as residents of Southern California to improve the quality of life of our communities."

To learn about the newly launched LA Program, please click here.
To register for NFF services anywhere on the west coast, click here.

About Nonprofit Finance Fund
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF (www.nonprofitfinancefund.org) provides loan financing, access to capital, and consulting services that build the capacity and the financial health of nonprofits. A leading community development financial institution with over $80 million in assets, NFF has provided over $197 million in loans and access to additional financing via grants, tax credits and capital in support of over $1 billion in projects for nonprofit clients nationwide. NFF has a staff of more than 75 serving nonprofits nationally from offices in New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, Boston, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

For more information, contact:
Tricia McKenna or Crystal Noble
Louder Than Words
781-487-0002
nff@louderthanwords.com