Research and Resources
Case Studies
Nonprofits that own or operate historic facilities often struggle to cover the high costs of maintenance and repair of these properties, and many do not adequately "fund" depreciation. This case study tells us the story of how The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) developed a new financial model and operations plan to secure the future of its beautiful facilities.
New York's Film Forum had raised more than half of a $4 million endowment, substantially from a handful of very large contributors passionately devoted to film and to Film Forum. Broadening that circle of donors was among the key challenges faced by the organization in 2002. Examine the film house's accomplishments and the choices that still lie ahead.
By returning sacred objects from its collection to tribal communities, the National Museum of the American Indian is redefining museum practices around the management of culturally sensitive materials. Explore how museum/tribal cooperation has contributed to the continuity of American Indian culture and community.
In this 2001 study, NFF and AEA Consulting analyzed the space and capacity-building needs of the
Philadelphia dance community, which, at the time, did not have a theater or primary locus for the dance community to rehearse, congregate, and exhange ideas. Funding for this study was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the William Penn Foundation. The report details the areas that need to be strengthened to develop the positive momentum of recent years.
NFF's asset-building financial service, Building for the FutureSM (BFF), originally sprang from a research study of Boys and Girls Clubs, examining ways NFF and the Hayden Foundation could work together to provide financial incentives that would reverse disinvestment in facilities that serve low- and moderateincome youth.
Ballet Memphis is a pioneer of the regional ballet movement, which has become an essential and dynamic element of the dance ecosystem. Find out how it became a thriving company within a community that had not historically supported ballet. Witness how it continues to evolve artistically while remaining relevant to the community.
Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada has developed a national following through its annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. How did the Center draw on the popularity of this event to attract supporters from around the country to sustain its overall programming? Explore how the Center has successfully navigated the sometimes rocky road of cultivating donors and members who may only pass through its doors once each year.
In 2002, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center was in the midst of a capital campaign, raising support from individual contributors at every income level. The fundraising drive revolved around a religious icon that embodied the spirit of the campaign and of the institution. See how the Center's leaders worked to make their vision a reality.
In this case study, NFF explores how Third Sector New England (TSNE) moved beyond the dream of controlling its costs to owning a financially and programmatically-grounded green building. By linking together its mission, programs and financial model, TSNE emerged as a leading social change landlord in Boston, while simultaneously achieving LEED and ENERGY STAR certification for its NonProfit Center.
hopeFound, formerly known as the Friends of Shattuck Shelter, is dedicated to helping men and women recover from addiction and find employment, housing, and hope for a better future. In 2005, hopeFound encountered financial challenges that had the potential to put its mission at risk. On its own road to recovery, hopeFound engaged NFF to help reveal the story behind its financial situation. Over the next 5 years, hopeFound used NFF’s findings as the spark to transform into a sustainable nonprofit achieving more social impact than ever before—all while weathering one of the worst recessions in decades.
This case study of three organizations that received loans from Nonprofit Finance Fund illustrates how access to capital enables educational nonprofits to improve and expand their vital services and achieve important results for the young people they reach. The loans and case study were made possible with generous support from The Goldman Sachs Foundation which funds the Education Ventures Initiative, a partnership with Nonprofit Finance Fund.
On the Boards (OtB) is recognized as a leader in contemporary performance. As with so many nonprofits that expand, growing pains were inevitable. In 1998, a wonderful performance space was for sale, and OtB found the support to purchase and renovate it. Though their audiences loved it, revenue couldn't cover the increased expenses of the new facility. See how their participation in NFF's Mid-Sized Presenting Organizations (MPO) Initiative helped them turn around.
The Steppenwolf Theater Company grew from an 88-seat facility in a suburban church basement to become a nationally acclaimed theater. This monograph explores how Steppenwolf achieved success through the continual balancing and rebalancing of business operations, capital investment, and artistic innovation. It's the "gold standard" story of nonprofit growth over 25 years.
During two fundraising campaigns, the Japanese American National Museum raised tens of millions of dollars from families and individuals who are neither wealthy nor accustomed to making large donations. Read the story of how and why the Museum succeeded.
The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center's Executive Director Elaine Ng shares her insights on the struggles and successes of negotiating for property ownership and major facility renovation. Ng and NFF provide insights on what to keep in mind when pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and handling the internal struggles implicit in organizational change.
Planning Guides
Most people know a facility project when they see one–buying or renting a building, renovation, office build-out, major repairs or systems upgrades. Not a difficult question to answer until you have to figure out how much the project is going to cost. Then, the definition of a facilities project broadens considerably. The question becomes, “how much and in what ways will this project have a financial impact on my organization?”
Financial Reporting Done Right introduces a new way of financial reporting that improves transparency around how organizations manage their capital resources. While conventional accounting and reporting treat capital and revenue in the same way, NFF recommends that nonprofits make straightforward adjustments for capital that better reveal their true operating performance and progress. If your organization is considering a facility project, there will be a special set of challenges to your infrastructure, which may already be hard-pressed to meet the demands of day-to-day responsibilities. As you prepare and manage the project, your decision must be able to withstand scrutiny in several areas. This planning guide provides an outline or several factors to consider as you move ahead.
The regulations outlined in this handbook help Philadephia child care centers renovate and build their facilities and take the steps to create a safe accessible environment for children and the personnel who care for them. The handbook goes one step further by first outlining the top best practices that have been implemented at local day care centers. Leaders in the child care provider world know that thoughtful construction and renovation of a center can enhance children’s capacity for learning as well as curricula and should not be an afterthought because of fear of higher costs or complications to the development process. Quality facilities promote children’s social, emotional and cognitive growth, and have also proven to substantially improve employee satisfaction while also promoting stability and retention. This simple tool outlines a timeline for organizations moving to a new facilities, to help you get a handle on the tasks you need to plan for.
If your nonprofit is relocating offices, this guide provides tips to help you manage the moving process. It discusses who is involved when, how to manage a schedule and budget, how to prepare for the move, select a mover, and manage the move.
If you've cleared your first hurdles and are now ready to face the challenges of construction, there are a variety of ways in which the wrong decision can have lasting consequences. The project itself will provide plenty of opportunities for missteps, many of which can be costly…and most of which can be avoided.
Studies & Reports
Detailed charts and tables mapped to each survey question from the 2009 State of the Sector Survey.
A snapshot of the 2009 State of the Sector Survey results, with charts and key points.
The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University and NFF hosted a gathering of funders, practitioners, and researchers to address nonprofit financial issues in March 2007. This report presents a summary of ideas from the event. More than 50 field leaders came together to voice their support for a fundamental shift in the way funders support the nonprofit sector.
Since 2006, NFF Capital Partners has supported 16 campaigns for philanthropic equity, totaling $312 million in financial investments. Philanthropic equity investments are high-stakes investments that have the potential to dramatically improve social outcomes, but are subject to the risks inherent to substantial change. This report analyzes: the role of philanthropic equity in the nonprofit sector, results associated to-date with these investments, and key challenges to developing a robust philanthropic equity marketplace. (You can also download a Report Summary!)
Since 2006, Nonprofit Finance Fund Capital Partners has supported 16 campaigns for philanthropic equity, totaling $312 million in financial investments. In this report summary, we provide an overview of the results of this work. The bottom line: Among NFF Capital Partners’ nine comprehensive philanthropic equity campaigns for which multi-year data are available, annual program delivery has grown on average by a factor of 3.1x, with a compound annual growth rate of 57%. You can also view the full report!
The Case for Change Capital in the Arts shares the philosophy governing the Leading for the Future Initiative and discusses the need for and application of change capital in the arts. It also outlines core principles and practices that can improve capitalization in the sector but that will require changes in behavior by both nonprofits and funders alike. The piece tells how each of the participating organizations is applying change capital to undertake meaningful artistic, organizational and financial change. (Download a print friendly pdf version here)
Facilities dominate arts operations to an extent rarely seen in any sector. Arts organizations are three times as asset-intensive as the American steel industry. Their facilities are technically complex, expensive and time-consuming to build and maintain. While appropriate facilities are intrinsic to the health of arts organizations, we treat them as if they were peripheral. This denial means that we spend millions annually--intentionally or not--to build and maintain an enormous asset base without acknowledging or providing for it. We tend to ignore the demands facilities place on artists and arts organizations and their impact over time. The results are costly.
Facilities dominate arts operations to an extent rarely seen in any sector. In this report, concluded in 1994, we explore the facility-related needs of arts organizations, which were, at the time, three times more asset-intensive than the American steel industry. The report also includes an evaluation of the quality and quantity of capital resources available to serve the arts and the potential to improve those resources.
Since 2008, NFF has worked with over 45 California-based domestic violence (DV) service providers to improve their sustainability and help them plan for the future. Through these Initiatives, NFF has developed a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities of this important group. In Part 1 of this report/case study, we examine the overall characteristics, history, and funding environment of the DV sector in California. In Part 2, we re-visit these sector-wide issues through unique organizational context of Center for Community Solutions, one of San Diego's oldest nonprofits dedicated to ending relationship and sexual violence.
This article by Rodney Christopher for Grantmakers In the Arts' GIAreader explains how and why an understanding of an organization's balance sheet is can help funders make informed decisions:
If we agree that the capitalization of arts organizations is important, and that evidence of capitalization can be found on the balance sheet, what should you, as grantmakers, be looking for?
Survey Results
See a clear snapshot of the 2010 State of the Sector Survey results, with charts, key points, and respondent comments.
Detailed charts and tables mapped to each survey question from the 2010 Nonprofit Survey.
The survey of more than 1,900 nonprofit leaders in markets nationwide found that while there are some signs of hope, many nonprofits are straining under year-after-year increases in the demand for services. 
We asked nonprofits what they were most proud of about their response to the economic challenges. Here are some of the many extraordinary stories.
Tips
Telling your financial story is critical to the success of any nonprofit. Today, more than ever, it’s necessary to keep your stakeholders engaged and provide the strongest, most urgent case for your organization’s impact and accomplishments. Review the following financial questions and use your answers to build the financial story you want to share with funders and supporters.
In this guide, you’ll find energy saving tips for nonprofits, with an emphasis on saving money on utilities, maintaining safe and healthy indoor spaces, and moving towards a more environmentally conscious approach to facility management. As a project of NFF Philadelphia's Child Care Initiative, the guide also pays particular attention to organizations serving children in the Philly area. We encourage you to consider ways to become more energy efficient and reduce your organization’s environmental footprint!
A broad economic crisis can magnify a nonprofit’s pre-existing financial difficulties. The tips below are helpful for sound financial planning in all economic situations. However, in unstable times, they become even more vital. Getting through such crises requires communication, transparency, and planning rather than “fake it ‘til we make it” behavior. In preparation for a possible recession, NFF recommends a two-part strategy: assess your nonprofits potential financial risks, then create a plan to respond to those risks.
What we do and how we serve is inspired by our commitment to create a financially strong nonprofit sector that's better able to serve the community. Throughout our 30 years, we've developed some core concepts and philosophies on nonprofit finance that inform all our practices. Our Top Tens, crafted for both nonprofits and funders, give a concise summary of these concepts.
Videos
Watch this video of a conversation between Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and NFF Founder Clara Miller on innovating and changing practices in arts organizations. Webinars
This webinar is a resource for organizations that are fairly new to the loan process and would like to learn more. Our Chief Credit Officer and Vice President of Financial Services, Anne Dyjak, reviews what kinds of loans are available for nonprofits, what lenders look for from potential borrowers, and what borrowers should expect from a good lender. There is a substantive Q&A at the end. We hope you find this helpful!
Worksheets
This worksheet customizes the long version of NFF's Self-Assessment worksheet to the specific needs of arts organizations. If you answer Yes to many questions, you’re likely weathering the current economic climate well and have a good grasp of your financial dynamics. If you’re answering No or Not Sure often, you may want to review what actions you are or could be taking to manage areas of concern. With support from your funders, NFF can help you interpret the results and consider next steps.
This worksheet provides nonprofit managers with a clear snapshot of some of their organization's financial strengths and weaknesses. If you answer Yes to many questions, you’re likely weathering the current economic climate well and have a good grasp of your financial dynamics. If you’re answering No or Not Sure often, you may want to review what actions you are or could be taking to manage areas of concern. With support from your funders, NFF can help you interpret the results and consider next steps.
