Our Approach

Our work

Mission and vision

Through capital, consulting, and advocacy, NFF boosts the collective success and power of nonprofits to advance racial equity and community wealth and well-being. 

We envision a world of equitable prosperity, where communities of color and other systematically excluded communities have the capital, community assets, knowledge, and agency to thrive.  

Where we're going

Our Strategy

See NFF's 2024-2026 strategy for our core strategic commitments, the pillars of our work, and emerging opportunities.

Theory of Change

NFF established a Theory of Change that articulates how we believe NFF's work creates change in communities.

Why we’re here

These organizations understand the communities’ aspirations, know the challenges communities face, have the greatest stake and accountability in creating positive social change, and have the clearest insights about how to do it.

Race-neutral policies often unintentionally exacerbate the inequities funders seek to address. Because of this, organizations led by and serving people of color don’t always have sufficient access to or control of the resources that let them do their powerful work. When funders seek out and fund leaders of color, value lived experience as expertise, and cede control, community-centered organizations can achieve their missions and help communities achieve their goals.

When nonprofits need funds for a new facility or critical maintenance and need a lender with a deep understanding of their work, we can help. When delayed payments from government contracts make it hard for them to meet payroll, we can help. When leaders need to consider business model changes, we can help. When they need to budget, forecast, and predict their cash flow, we can help. When they need an ally in advocating for racial equity in nonprofit finance, we can help.

To learn more about NFF’s commitment to make the community finance sector more equitable, visit our Equity at NFF page.

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Financing

We invest in communities through loans and other financing for mission-driven organizations. We get to know you so that we can offer the financing solution that works best for your organization and your community.

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Consulting

Our deep consulting services equip social-sector leaders to make financial decisions that serve their organizations’ missions. We’ll work together to craft solutions tailored to your organization and the communities you serve.

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Partnerships

We work with community-centered organizations, networks, organizers, funders, and other lenders that support community-led solutions. Together with our partners, we can collectively advance more equitable outcomes.

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Knowledge

We share accessible insights with nonprofits and funders to advocate for a more equitable funding system and support nonprofit leaders in achieving their missions. These resources include webinars, reports, tools, videos, and stories highlighting social sector leaders.

Our story

Our access to financial and social capital gives us privilege that many community-centered organizations do not have. We actively use our position to advocate for more equitable funding practices and to support grassroots organizations in championing their needs. To see how our work has evolved over the last 40 years, visit our History page.

In 2021 we launched Plan 50%+: an organization-wide effort to hold every department of NFF accountable to concrete targets around racial equity. We are currently on track to meet each of these goals. Going forward, we will continue to set ambitious targets to further embed equity into our work with our clients and with each other. Learn more about Plan 50%+ here.

 

Notice of Nondiscrimination 

Consistent with our mission and values and in accordance with federal law and US Department of the Treasury policy, NFF is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Submit a complaint of discrimination by mail to Nonprofit Finance Fund, 5 Hanover Square, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10004, (212) 457-4700 (phone), or [email protected] (email). Complainants also have the right to submit a complaint of discrimination directly to U.S. Department of the Treasury, Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20220; (202) 622-1160 (phone), [email protected]

  • Para solicitar esta información en español, envíe una solicitud a través de [email protected].   
  • To request this information in Spanish, please submit a request to [email protected]

Upon request, NFF will make every reasonable effort to provide translations of our information – including webinars – into Spanish or other languages, time and cost constraints permitting. Requests can be sent to [email protected] 

Our team

NFFers are knowledgeable, caring professionals with diverse experiences and backstories.

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Our team

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