A grant from HCF’s immediate response fund helped support Hamilton’s first Homeless Baseball League. Organizers say the league helps give the players opportunities to be part of a community, and something to look forward to every week. It also provides individuals who are currently homeless the chance to engage with those who are now housed and witness the positive changes that have happened.
Resources
Newsroom
May 30, 2011
HCF Announces Partnership with Financing Fund
Hamilton Community Foundation and the Community Forward Fund have announced a partnership to provide loans to the non-profit and charitable sector.
HCF will provide $2 million in loan capital to Hamilton organizations from its $5 million community investing fund; CFF will provide due diligence, administration, and evaluation services for loans, and will also offer financial advisory services to these loan recipients.
“It’s an exciting partnership for us, because it lets the Foundation enter the community investment arena faster, and with additional confidence,” says HCF President & CEO Terry Cooke. “Offering loans through the Community Forward Fund will assist us in aligning more of our assets with our mission. Their experience, services and structure will also benefit the community by helping to strengthen local charities.”
Historically Canadian charities and non-profits have found it difficult to find financing for expanding services and facilities. The Community Forward Fund is based on U.S. and U.K. models which have been successfully offering loans for some time – typically with a lower default rate than for loans to the private sector.
By offering loans to the non-profit and charitable sectors CFF fills gaps not covered by traditional financing sources, such as grants and government funding. While these sources remain important, longer lead times for grants, the requirement to pay for a project before receiving government funding, and the lack of funding for core operations, growth and diversification, have led organizations to seek new financing vehicles. Foundations in the U.S. have concluded that loans are a great place for sector groups to start, and even to improve their financial capacity.
“The benefit to CFF of our partnership with the Foundation is their expert knowledge of local needs and priorities in Hamilton” says Nora Sobolov, President & CEO of the Community Forward Fund. “We want to provide Hamilton organizations with the opportunity to look at their whole financial picture and offer opportunities to strengthen their financial future in ways that weren’t previously available.”
Loan applications are currently under review with announcement of the first recipients expected by summer.
HCF has established the Community Investment Fund with $5 million of its unrestricted funds – those over which its board of directors has authority to direct to the community’s highest needs. Community investing is a process whereby foundations directly invest some of their assets into the community, or social/environmental enterprises consistent with their mission, rather than into the stock market. The investments can take the form of direct investment into charitable or non-profit ventures, or as loans to qualified organizations for purposes which further the foundation’s mission.
-30-