the arts loan fund

Loans are available to arts organizations located in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties, and individual artists located in the cities of Oakland and San Francisco who have received awards from the Cultural Funding Program or Grants for the Arts.

The ALF loans to a range of art disciplines: arts education, dance, folk and traditional arts, literary arts, media arts, multidisciplinary, museums, music, musical theatre, opera, presenting, theater, and visual arts.

Loan funds can be used to support a variety of projects,  even festivals, parades, and film/video projects.

the nitty gritty

• Applicants must be a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, or be fiscally sponsored by one. An individual artist applicant must be a current grantee of the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program or San Francisco Grants for the Arts.
• Applicants need to reside in one of the nine Bay Area counties this program serves.
• Collateral is needed, usually in the form of an approved grant or other guaranteed income.
• Interest will accrue on the loan at the rate of 1% below the Prime Rate.
• The loan amount has to be between $5,000 and $50,000. Some loans have smaller ranges, please be sure to review the guidelines.
• The loan needs to be paid back within six to twelve months. Some loans have longer repayment periods, so, again, please review the guidelines.
• One loan at a time, and a three-month rest in between the final payment of a loan and the application for another.