Nonprofit Finance Fund - Where Money Meets Mission

"Moving Beyond Business as Usual" in The Center for Effective Philanthropy Blog

asoya — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:50:44 +0000

To read "Moving Beyond Business as Usual" by our CEO, Antony Bugg-Levine, in The Center for Effective Philanthropy Blog, please click here.

"When to Draw the Line: A Guide to Use and Abuse of Credit" in New York Nonprofit Press

asoya — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:50:44 +0000

To read this very useful article, "When to Draw the Line: A Guide to Use and Abuse of Credit," by Barbara Libove, our Portfolio Manager, in the April 26th issue of New York Nonprofit Press, please click here.

The article contains:

What are the benefits of an LOC?
Fundamentals
Is an LOC right for my organization?
When not to use a line: operating deficit
When not to use a line: capital expenditures
What is a nonprofit to do?
Look before you leap

The article also appeared on The Huffington Post on May 8, 2012

Financial SCAN: First Online Service to Offer Comprehensive Analysis of Nonprofit Financial Health

asoya — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:44:42 +0000

GuideStar and Nonprofit Finance Fund Partner on New Industry Standard for Interpreting Nonprofit Financial Data

Washington, DC and New York, NY — April 10, 2012 — Today GuideStar and Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) launched Financial SCAN (Situation and Comparables ANalysis), the first online platform to provide a comprehensive picture of a nonprofit’s financial health. Financial SCAN makes nonprofit data and analysis more consistent and accessible, creating a new industry standard.

Financial SCAN draws data from Forms 990 received directly from the IRS and presents the information in an easy-to-read, shareable format with financial dashboards and graphs, an educational guide, and questions to prompt discussion among nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, donors and advisors. The platform offers a more complete interpretation of financial health than is currently available, and it focuses on metrics and trends that are most meaningful when assessing an organization’s financial strengths and weaknesses.

“Understanding a nonprofit’s financial story can be daunting, since the way money flows in and out of the sector is complex and counterintuitive,” said Rebecca Thomas, Vice President, Strategy & Innovation, for Nonprofit Finance Fund. “NFF and GuideStar recognized that there was no reliable and easy way to access useful financial information, so we pooled our expertise to address this unmet need in the sector. Financial SCAN provides nonprofit leaders and their supporters and advisors with greater clarity about how to interpret and use this data in decision-making and strategy.”

“As the leading source of nonprofit information, we saw an opportunity to improve the use of Form 990 data by adding a layer of education and analysis, and we knew NFF was the right partner to help us create this new financial resource,” said Lee Glenn, GuideStar’s senior vice president. “We believe our user-friendly visual tool will become the new industry standard for interpreting nonprofit financial data.”

Nonprofit supporters often consider limited financial metrics, such as overhead ratio, when making judgments about which organizations to support. Financial SCAN focuses on ratios and trends that have a far greater influence on a nonprofit’s overall financial health and capacity to deliver excellent programs. The analysis can help change the conversation about what it takes for a nonprofit organization to be stable and effective. With just a few clicks, Financial SCAN provides a financial heath dashboard that illustrates five-year trends and ratios for a single nonprofit organization as well as more detailed graphical analyses of a nonprofit’s profitability, expense trends, revenue dynamics, balance sheet health, and liquidity. A peer comparison dashboard allows users to review an organization’s financials side by side with up to five peer nonprofits of their choice. An educational component interprets the data in the report and poses questions to provoke dialogue about a nonprofit’s current situation and future goals.

“This innovative new tool builds the financial management capacity of nonprofits and helps grantmakers engage with their grantees about financial health and funding needs,” said Kathy Reich, Director or Organizational Effectiveness Grantmaking at the David & Lucile Packard Foundation. “By creating a new standard for nonprofit financial analysis, Financial SCAN underscores the relationship between strong finances and effective programs.”

For more about the benefits and uses of the Financial SCAN report, and for pricing information, visit www.guidestar.org/financialscan. Interested parties are invited to a free webinar on May 3, 2012, to better understand Financial SCAN and its many uses. To register, please visit https://guidestarusa.webex.com/guidestarusa/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=645471546

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About Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF)
NFF (www.nonprofitfinancefund.org) provides millions of dollars in loans to nonprofits and pushes for fundamental improvement in how money is given and used in the sector. We provide a continuum of financing, consulting, and advocacy service to nonprofits and funders nationwide. From workshops, to one-on-one consulting, to financing, our services are designed to help great organizations stay in balance and grow or innovate when they’re ready.

About GuideStar
GuideStar (www.guidestar.org) connects people and organizations with information on the programs and finances of more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar serves a wide audience inside and outside the nonprofit sector, including individual donors, nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, government officials, academic researchers, and the media. GuideStar’s mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.

Contact:
Tricia McKenna
617.553.8020
triciabmckenna@gmail.com

WOR interviews Antony Bugg-Levine on "State of the Nonprofit Sector"

asoya — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:54:10 +0000

WOR's Denver Frederick talks with our CEO, Antony Bugg-Levine, about the state of the nonprofit sector during the Business of Giving show on April 7, 2012. To listen, please click here.

Nonprofit Finance Fund 2012 Survey: After Year of Adaptation, Fundamental Challenges Remain

asoya — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:25:55 +0000

60% of Human Service Organizations Can’t Meet 2012 Demand

NFF CEO Antony Bugg-Levine: “We must make systemic changes to the way we address social problems.”

2012 survey generously supported by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation

New York – April 2, 2012 – Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) today released the results of its 2012 State of the Nonprofit Sector survey. More than 4,500 respondents at nonprofits across the country shared the details of how they are adapting their organizations and finances to current economic conditions. The survey, which was supported for the second year in a row by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, reveals that while 2011 was a year of significant organizational and programmatic changes, many nonprofits are still facing fundamental challenges that threaten the stability of the sector and the well-being of the people they serve.

“Over the past 3 years, the length of stays at our shelter has increased from 11 to 27 to 33 nights, because of a lack of affordable housing,” said Sarah Lange, Director of Fund Development and External Relations for Abby’s House, which provides shelter, housing and advocacy to homeless women and children across central Massachusetts. “We are scrambling to come up with creative solutions to shelter women for whom we have no room. Economic recovery is still not a reality here.”

85% of nonprofits experienced an increase in the demand for services in 2011.
This is on top of years of increased demand: previous NFF surveys found that 77% of nonprofits experienced an increase in demand in 2010; 71% experienced an increase in 2009; and 73% experienced an increase in 2008.
88% expect an increase in demand for services in 2012.
57% have 3 months or less cash-on-hand.
87% said their financial outlook won’t get any better in 2012.

“Nonprofits are adapting to continued economic pressure in all sorts of creative and substantive ways, but for many, these are stopgap measures that won’t make up for the bigger forces at play: decreasing government support, the unwillingness of some private foundations to evolve funding practices, and a lack of necessary support from some boards,” said Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund. “We must rethink the way we fund solutions to our most pressing social problems.”

Responses from human service organizations, which form the backbone of our social safety net, reveal that reductions and delays in government funding are of paramount concern and threaten services to vulnerable populations:

58% of human service organizations were unable to meet demand in 2011.
60% won’t be able to meet 2012 demand.
56% of human services respondents received federal government funding or contracts; 69% receive state or local funding.
52% reported late payments from the federal government; 62% said state or local government payments were late.
65% or more of human service nonprofits receiving late federal, state or local government payments used reserves to cover the gap.

"We are reducing services and changing our business model to compensate for the decline in government funding– but changing business models requires resources, and organizational time and money are in short supply as we focus on the people we serve,” said Darryl Evey, Executive Director of Family Assistance Program, a California-based organization that provides services to victims of domestic violence and their children.

There were bright spots as nonprofits dug deep to serve constituents and maintain employment:

55% of survey respondents added or expanded programs or services.
52% increased the number of people served.
50% hired for new positions.
While 23% of respondents cut staff in 2011, just 10% expect to do so in 2012.

“Nonprofits are an engine of the economy – providing critical services to people in need and providing employment to millions of Americans,” said Kerry Sullivan, President of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. “The changing funding landscape requires greater collaboration between government, private foundations and nonprofits in order to ensure that critical services remain in place and that the nonprofit sector remains a vibrant contributor to our country’s economic health.”

This year’s survey underlined the need for a more open conversation among funders, boards, and nonprofits:

Just 1 out of 5 nonprofits feels comfortable talking with their funders about cash flow concerns.
Only 6% feel comfortable talking with funders about debt.
73% say their boards don’t do enough to leverage their relationships to support fundraising.
38% report that their boards aren’t able to sufficiently understand and communicate their expense drivers.

“Year after year, our survey finds nonprofits, and many of the people they serve, in dire straits,” said Bugg-Levine. “Many people believe the crisis is over, but our social safety net is still in peril. Nonprofits dipped into reserves last year to tide themselves over but expect 2012 to be even worse. Government, funders, boards, and nonprofits need to work more collaboratively to ensure that crucial services can be delivered and secure a true economic recovery. ”

Survey media coverage: http://nonprofitfinancefund.org/articles/State-of-the-Sector-Surveys

Full survey results are available at: http://nonprofitfinancefund.org/2012Survey

NEW interactive NFF Survey Analyzer is available at http://survey.nonprofitfinancefund.org

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About Nonprofit Finance Fund (www.nonprofitfinancefund.org)
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF provides loan financing, access to capital and direct advisory 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 $235 million in loans and access to additional financing via grants, tax credits and capital in support of over $1.3 billion in projects for thousands of nonprofit clients nationwide. NFF has a staff of more than 70 serving nonprofits nationally from offices in New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, New Jersey, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Contact:
Tricia McKenna
617.553.8020
triciabmckenna@gmail.com

"The Future of Impact Investing" by Antony Bugg-Levine in Momentum

asoya — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:04:56 +0000

To read "The Future of Impact Investing" by our CEO, Antony Bugg-Levine in the March issue of Momentum, please click here.

Benchmark Survey on the State of Scaling Impact Among Nonprofit Organizations and Initiatives - DUE 3/30/12

asoya — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:46:54 +0000

NFF is pleased to share a link to the State of Scaling Impact Among Nonprofit Organizations and Initiatives, a national research survey being conducted by Growth Philanthropy Network and the Social Impact Exchange (www.socialimpactexchange.org), with assistance from survey experts at Veris Consulting. We encourage you to complete the survey and also pass it along to other nonprofits who are in your network.

You can access the survey by clicking here http://verissurveys.com/survey/416460/170d/.

The goal of this first-of-its-kind survey is to provide funders and the sector at-large with valuable baseline information about the status and readiness for scaling impact among nonprofits and their leaders. For purposes of the survey, ‘scaling impact’ refers to an entity that is scaling its entire organization, a specific program, a model or intervention, a social movement, a policy initiative, a media or advocacy campaign, a marketplace solution, an effort to achieve systemic change, and so on. The vehicle doesn’t really matter, as long as the goal is to increase social impact.

Participation in the survey is important - whether or not you are considering or in the process of scaling an initiative. The deadline for submission is Friday, March 30.

http://verissurveys.com/votingmodule/s180/survey/416460/170d/

Join a live web chat on Tuesday, March 20th at Noon EST "How to Get Foundation Money for the Necessities"

asoya — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:34:56 +0000

How to Get Foundation Money for the Necessities

As government cuts hurt the budgets of nonprofits across the nation, many organizations are turning to foundations for help.

But grant makers are often reluctant to provide unrestricted or multiyear grants.

How can nonprofits find grant makers interested in supporting basic operations or persuade foundations to take a leap and make such grants? And what kind of creative approaches might foundations take to help nonprofits bridge gaps until the economy recovers?

Join us for a live discussion hosted by the Chronicle of Philanthropy on Tuesday, March 20, at Noon EST.. Our CEO, Antony Bugg-Levine, and Sandra Martínez, Director of Public Policy at The California Wellness Foundation will answer these questions and discuss the implications of the results of The Chronicle’s 2012 Survey.

Click here to read the (archived) discussion.

New Restructuring Fund Launches for California Community Clinics

asoya — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:12:17 +0000

Fund will provide technical assistance as clinics prepare for health reform

New York, NY – March 15, 2012 – With the economic crisis and the shifting landscape of health reform, community clinics face unprecedented challenges. To flourish, clinics now will need to simultaneously compete for resources and collaborate.

To facilitate this change in strategy, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), in partnership with Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), announces the California Catalyst Fund, designed to underwrite technical assistance for new or existing clinic partnerships.

CHCF has committed $350,000 to create the one-year fund, which builds upon earlier foundation efforts to help California clinics with collaborative strategies to expand services, achieve operational efficiencies, and fulfill their roles as health leaders in their communities.

The new fund replicates a successful model called the Catalyst Fund for Nonprofits, a five-year fund launched in September 2010 and managed by NFF that supports collaborations and mergers across multiple sectors in the Boston area.

Examples of community clinic restructuring are administrative consolidation and joint programming, as well as more formal long-term partnerships such as joint ventures, organizational mergers, and the creation of management service organizations.

“The fund combines CHCF’s history of supporting clinics and fostering collaboration with NFF’s work of supporting the capital needs of nonprofits and connecting them to valuable technical assistance,” said Jessica LaBarbera, California Market Director of NFF. “Our collective goal is to have a lasting impact on the community.”

“We are excited to partner with NFF on the new restructuring fund,” said Melissa Schoen, senior program officer at CHCF. “As clinics prepare for the implementation of health care reforms, many of which take effect in 2014, we believe the fund can spur clinics to work together and succeed.”

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About the California HealthCare Foundation
The California HealthCare Foundation works as a catalyst to fulfill the promise of better health care for all Californians. We support ideas and innovations that improve quality, increase efficiency, and lower the costs of care. For more information visit www.chcf.org.

About Nonprofit Finance Fund
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF provides loan financing, access to capital and direct advisory services that build the capacity and the financial health of nonprofits. For more information visit www.nonprofitfinancefund.org.

Contact:
Tricia McKenna
617.553.8020
triciabmckenna@gmail.com

"5 Questions for...Craig Reigel, Managing Partner, NFF Capital Partners" in PhilanTopic

asoya — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:13:00 +0000

To read "5 Questions for...Craig Reigel, Managing Partner, NFF Capital Partners" by Mitch Nauffts in the March 13th issue of PhilanTopic, please click here.