CAPITAL FUND AWARDS $2 MILLION TO CURB EXODUS OF NONPROFIT GROUPS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2002
CONTACT: Carolyn Johnson
415-392-8215, ext. 313
cjohnson@ncclf.org
SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 14) The Nonprofit Space Capital Fund announced $2.2 million in grants today to 11 nonprofit organizations so they can keep their offices and studios in San Francisco. The Nonprofit Space Capital Fund was established last September to foster the co-location of community groups at reasonable rents.
“Every time the rental market heats up or the economy takes a downturn, the nonprofits serving our neediest communities suffer,” said Mary Rogier, President of the Northern California Community Loan Fund. โBecause of the declining stock market, foundations have less to spend on capital grants. At the same time properties are becoming more affordable. This is a real window of opportunity for nonprofits in the current real estate market, and we want to help them take advantage of it to find permanent homes in the neighborhoods they serve.โ The San Francisco-based Community Loan Fund administers the Nonprofit Space Capital Fund.
The grants will support the creation of more than 150,000 square feet of new, permanently affordable space in eleven neighborhoods in San Francisco. The recipient organizations include Raphael House, 9th Street Media Consortium, Japanese Community Youth Council, Chinatown Community Development Center, North of Market Senior Services, TODCO Development, Ark of Refuge, Inc., Mercy Housing California and Family Connections.
The City and County of San Francisco provided $2.5 million in start-up capital for the Fund and the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a lead contributor with a $2.5 million challenge grant. Other initial funders include the San Francisco Foundation and the United Way of The Bay Area.
Rapidly escalating rents during the boom years of 1998 through 2001 threatened the survival of many local nonprofits. Faced with rent increases of 100% to 1000%, many nonprofits were forced to relocate, in some cases leaving needy communities without critical resources.
The Fund plans to raise up to $20 million in equity grant funds and provide technical support and advice to create permanently affordable office and program space for local nonprofits. The goal is to ensure stability for these community resources and the neighborhoods they serve before the real estate market experiences its next inevitable upswing. The Nonprofit Space Capital Fund will host a series of technical assistance workshops in Fall 2002 through Spring 2003 for nonprofit organizations planning to acquire or expand their space and for those groups, in particular, which plan to co-locate with other nonprofit organizations.
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