Obtaining a loan for a non-profit organization is extremely difficult in the States. In Atlanta, this issue is being fixed thanks to the Community Foundation which is loaning money to those in tight monetary situations. These situation is most often true when these groups wait for reimbursement from government agencies.
The Community Foundation of Atlanta presented a program called the Non Profit Loan Fund to particularly give help to organizations whose yearly operating budgets are under $3 million. This effort is largely a result of the successful Arts Loan Fund which was a huge success. Under the program, 16 loans were given to small non profit art agencies. Fifteen of the loans were repaid on time and only one was restructured.
The Community Foundation has in depth knowledge on its market. In Georgia, 82% of all non profit organizations have a yearly operating revenue of less than $1 million. Based on the foundation’s research, half of the non profit groups were reported to have encountered cash troubles in 2009, though temporary.
