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Human Services

Human Service organizations provide a range of vital services, offering support and assistance to meet many needs of members of our community. They range from small neighborhood groups to nonprofits focused on a single issue to large multi-service organizations that serve the entire state. These organizations operate programs that empower and protect, working to combat hunger, crime, abuse, homelessness, and other injustices.

These organizations rely on a mix of program fees, state and county contract grants, and other fundraising activities. Because many government programs operate on a reimbursement basis, these organizations regularly have cash flows challenges. They must spend money to deliver direct services, but often will not receive payment for weeks or months. State and country budget shifts may alter these government contracts, which in turn impacts Human Service organizations, as well as those they serve. For more information about the State of Minnesota’s budget, please visit the MCN Budget Project.

Nonprofits Assistance Fund partners with Human Service organizations through loans to address cash flow issues and providing working capital for growth and stability. We also work with these groups to help them think strategically about their cash flow and have a plan to address this systemic challenge.

Featured Story

Family Focus

"I have no idea what we would have done without Janet's help. It was a really stressful time — the kind of stuff that keeps you awake at night — but Janet advocated for us and we ended up with a better banking arrangement." Dave Kise, chief financial officer and founding member.

Family Focus was started in 2000 by a small group of human service professionals and mothers who wanted to make a difference in family and foster care services for at-risk youth in Minnesota. The organization's mission is to provide families and communities with an array of quality services that promote the development of healthy family relationships and supportive living environments. Family Focus uses lines of credit to bridge cash flow gaps while they wait for payments from their county contracts. As the organization expanded to serve more children and families, they needed additional credit. Nonprofits Assistance Fund provided a loan that Family Focus could use as working capital. This partnership also helped Family Focus improve their relationship with their bank, think strategically about their cash flow challenges, and implement healthier financial practices.