Embark on a Capital Project

Launching a capital campaign is an exciting moment at any nonprofit organization. However, it takes a lot of time to raise funds and receive cash from pledged gifts. Imagine if you could get started right away, rather than waiting months, or years, to collect enough cash to begin the project. With a loan from Nonprofits Assistance Fund, you can balance the timing of capital campaigns and the up-front cash needed to realize your vision.

How a loan can help

"Nonprofits Assistance Fund gave us the shot-in-the-arm that we needed to jumpstart the construction," Executive Director Mavis Brehm

In 2001, West Side Community Health Services (WSCHS) began a four-year expansion to increase the capacity of its dental clinic in the East Metro area and more than double the size of their main clinic on St. Paul’s West Side — with more than 30,000 patients, the clinic space was cramped and overflowing. There are many layers to financing a nonprofit’s capital project — with funds from foundations, federal and state governments and private individuals. The timetable for when the cash flows into the nonprofit may not match the construction timeline.

This was the case in the spring of 2003, when WSCHS found themselves more than half a million dollars short in their capital campaign to begin the $4.6 million construction on their flagship La Clinica in St. Paul. Executive Director Mavis Brehm sought the advice of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund.

Nonprofits Assistance Fund advanced the first $600,000 to start the construction of La Clinica. This cash helped leverage funds from traditional lenders to finance the project. According to Mavis, "Nonprofits Assistance Fund understands nonprofits in ways that banks don’t, and Kate was very knowledgeable and helpful in advising us on exactly what we needed to do to plan for the financing of the project. She helped us understand banking rules and advocated for us."

transformational lending

What makes a loan from Nonprofits Assistance Fund unique? At Nonprofits Assistance Fund, a loan is the beginning of a strategic financial collaboration for stabilization, growth, and transformation.