Brooklyn's Progress
August 2002

Financing and Advice Helps Brooklyn’s Nonprofits Build Their Business July 2, 2002 [New York, NY] -- What do the Mark Morris Dance Group, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, and the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School have in common? All are Brooklyn nonprofits that have worked with Nonprofit Finance Fund. For 22 years, Nonprofit Finance Fund has provided financial and advisory resources to small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations throughout the City, helping them grow in a sound, strategic way. “Nonprofit Finance Fund was with us every step of the way - from the design phase with planning seminars to the construction phase with financing,” said Nancy Umanoff, Executive Director of the internationally-renowned Mark Morris Dance Group, which received a $775,000 loan to build their new home in Fort Greene. “They were a joy to work with, and a total lifesaver. When we needed a bridge loan to cover pledges, they immediately understood our position and were able to deliver the funds in a painless and timely way.” Nonprofit Finance Fund provides a wide range of financial products to nonprofits – most commonly loans – which it often makes without requiring collateral. These investments help nonprofits expand their space or programs, when they often have very little access to conventional sources of credit. Nonprofit Finance Fund also provides workshops, advice and consultation. “When we were starting out, Nonprofit Finance Fund was the only place where we could go to make a deal,” said David Sweeny, Executive Director of the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, which redeveloped an old rope factory into a burgeoning base of blue-collar jobs and economic development. Since first approaching Nonprofit Finance Fund, Greenpoint has received five loans totaling over $1.1 million to fund its growth, facilities renovation, and purchase of woodworking and office equipment. “They were the only organization that said ‘yes.’” “Nonprofit Finance Fund really came through for us when we had no other way to raise the money,” said Marcia Gardère, Head of School at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, which received a $500,000 loan for its major expansion. “They were wonderful to work with, too… professional, flexible, timely and easy to reach.” Because Nonprofit Finance Fund’s loans and advice are directed to nonprofits, it has been certified by the federal government as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which means it invests largely in the growth and stability of low and moderate-income communities. Founded and headquartered in New York, it also has offices in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Detroit and San Francisco serving eight markets nationwide. “Nonprofit Finance Fund is proud of its track record in Brooklyn,” said Chris Jenkins, Director of Nonprofit Finance Fund’s New York program. “Our nonprofit clients represent the borough’s great cultural history and sense of community.” Recent Brooklyn clients include engines of community development like Greenpoint, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Pratt Area Community Council, and Fifth Avenue Committee, service providers like Food First in Red Hook, Discipleship Outreach Ministries in Sunset Park, and Family Dynamics in Bedford Stuyvesant, as well as others in arts and culture, health care, and faith-based organizations. Nonprofit Finance Fund’s typical nonprofit clients have been in business and certified as 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities for at least three years, and have annual revenues of at least $500,000. If your nonprofit is interested in Nonprofit Finance Fund’s assistance, please contact: