Photo by Mark & Tracy Photography | Oakland School for the Arts School of Dance

About

What We Do

The Arts Loan Fund (ALF) was created by art funders to alleviate short term cash-flow issues for arts organizations. The fund has provided quick-turnaround loans for over thirty years and aids organizations in sound financial habits that advance their mission.

Why We Do It

Arts organizations face unique cash-flow challenges, including delayed grant awards, seasonal earned and contributed income, and complexity in projecting program tuition and ticket sales.

While large nonprofit institutions and businesses are able to access credit through commercial lenders, community arts groups are generally ineligible or are subject to high interest rates. The ALF works to fill this gap and to provide a useful financial tool for small and mid-sized arts organizations. Since 1986 the Arts Loan Fund has provided over $23 million in loans, advancing the sustainability and growth of non-profit art and cultural organizations across Northern California.

Who We Are

The Fund is housed with Northern California Grantmakers, a regional association of grantmakers, and independently funded and governed by a Steering Committee comprised of foundations, corporations and local government agencies.

Steering Committee

• City of San Francisco, Grants for the Arts

• City of Oakland, Cultural Affairs Division

• City of San Jose, Office of Cultural Affairs

• Fleishhacker Foundation

• Kenneth Rainin Foundation

• Koret Foundation

• Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation

• San Francisco Arts Commission

• The David & Lucile Packard Foundation

• Gerbode Foundation

• Walter & Elise Haas Fund

• Zellerbach Family Foundation

 ALF Support

• Viridiana Romero, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Northern California Grantmakers

• Margaret Southerland, Principal, Padma Consulting, Consultant to Arts Loan Fund