Grantee Spotlight: Nonprofit Finance Fund

May 31, 2022
An illustration of a diverse community of people living, working, and playing in harmony

Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a New York City-based nonprofit lender and consultant with nearly 40 years of national and local experience. It helps organizations support their communities by offering capital, strategic advice, and accessible insights and envisions a society in which money and knowledge work together. 

In spring 2020, Trinity made a $2 million program-related investment (PRI) to the NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund (NYCRIF), a partnership of leading philanthropic organizations managed by NFF. Later that year, using the framework set up for NYCRIF, Trinity issued an $8 million PRI to NFF to launch the Trinity Church Wall Street Grantee Loan Fund. The fund provided no-interest loans to partners experiencing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and city government payment delays.

Illustration of people holding a three circle Venn diagram together. The text above reads "NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund"

Using the framework set up for NYCRIF, Trinity issued an $8 million PRI to NFF to launch the Trinity Church Wall Street Grantee Loan Fund to alleviate the financial effects of the pandemic and delayed government payments for 15 NYC grantee partners.

In early 2022, Trinity and NFF used the PRI’s remaining funds to establish a separate technical assistance offering, which extended to U.S. grantee partners access to online webinars and education resources; on-demand financial management office hours; and deep-dive, multi-month coaching engagements with NFF consultants. This was built on a prior technical assistance offering to organizations working with justice-involved women.

The Grantee Loan Fund has helped Trinity partners make up pandemic-related funding gaps, including canceled fundraising events or increased operating expenses incurred to provide critical services, along with payment delays from New York City government contracts and other sources. The average loan size is $507,700, and 10 of the 15 groups are led by people of color.

Keeping important community organizations afloat means that the New Yorkers who depend on them for essential services such as food, shelter, and safety are better positioned to weather the pandemic and other disruptions. Together, the loan funds, technical assistance, and capacity-building offerings have enabled Trinity and NFF to provide funding that benefits grantee partners and the communities they serve.