Non-profit finance fund granted $20m boost.

A new $20 million allocation from the U.S. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund for the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is the biggest one-time financial boost NFF has ever received from an outside party. NFF will use the new $20 million New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to finance 10 community facility projects in low-income communities in New York City (where NFF is headquartered) and across the U.S.

NFF assists a wide spectrum of nonprofits, including organizations engaged in economic and community development, workforce development, day care, literacy promotion, youth services, domestic violence prevention, substance abuse treatment, arts, education, and health services. Over the past two decades, NFF has supplied $140 million in direct loans to fund over 500 loans for nonprofit facilities.

Clara Miller, president & CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund, said, "NFF now will break new ground by adding a new equity-like product to our offerings. The NMTC will allow NFF's clients to benefit from below-market rates and an equity-like feature built into the financing, which will reduce the amount of debt they need to carry over the long haul. In this way, the NMTC allocation will be leveraged by the Nonprofit Finance Fund several times to help build strong, healthy and stable communities in New York City and around the nation."

Miller said that as many as half of the major projects supported by the NMTC allocation are likely to be in the greater New York City area.

The NMTC allocation for NFF was announced earlier this month by U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow CDFI Fund Director Art Garcia in Philadelphia, Pa.