Community Loan Technologies Becomes Nonprofits Assistance Fund

We are pleased to announce that Community Loan Technologies has become Nonprofits Assistance Fund as of January 2005. We decided to make this change to better communicate the resources and services offered to nonprofits through our loan fund and financial management programs. The name was chosen to convey our mission, which is unchanged: to foster community development and vitality by building financially healthy nonprofit organizations.

The new name might sound familiar to you if you know the Minnesota Nonprofits Assistance Fund (MNAF). MNAF was created in 1980 at The Minneapolis Foundation to address the increasingly frequent and serious cash flow problems faced by nonprofit human service agencies during a period of great economic and government change.   In the 25 years since that initial idea, MNAF has grown and evolved into a resource for financing and financial management advice for all nonprofits in the state. In addition to MNAF, other programs and loan funds were created over the years and the lending programs eventually grew to become a separate supporting organization, Community Loan Technologies, in 1998. At the time, there were six loan fund programs included in the Community Loan Technologies organizational umbrella. In 2002 our Board of Directors implemented a new strategic plan focusing our work on building financially healthy nonprofit organizations. With expertise and relationships developed over decades, the staff of MNAF and our other programs provide a unique and valuable perspective on nonprofit financial management.

The only thing that’s changing is our name. The programs – including Minnesota Primary Care Loan Fund, Minnesota Nonprofits Assistance Fund (MNAF), and Working Capital Fund – will continue to offer loans to nonprofits for working capital, facilities, and cash flow. We will also continue to provide expert and practical financial management training and advice to nonprofits in all fields of service.  In 2004 the loan funds have advanced 57 loans totaling $5.3 million for cash flow, working capital for expansion and for debt consolidation, facility renovation, leasehold improvements, and bridge loans for grants and capital campaigns.