1. what the ALF does
The Arts Loan Fund (ALF) is a collaborative program of the members of Northern California Grantmakers, a regional association of grantmakers. It provides quick-turnaround, low-cost financial assistance 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.
The ALF was started in 1981 in response to the unique cash flow needs of arts organizations. While large nonprofit institutions and businesses can use commercial lenders, community arts groups generally cannot draw upon such resources or may pay high interest rates to do so. The ALF works to fill this gap and to provide a useful financial tool for small and mid-sized arts organizations. So far the ALF has provided 1,249 loans totaling $15,766,548, an huge investment in the health of the Bay Area arts community.
The ALF is independently funded and governed by its members, which include representatives from foundations, corporations and local arts agencies.