The Nonprofit Finance Fund has announced the launch of a $2.5 million funder collaborative to help human service providers in New York City keep up with increased demand for their services.

Launched with support from a variety of private and corporate funders, including the Citi, F.B. Heron, Clark, and Mizuho USA foundations, the Community Resilience Fund will provide fifteen safety-net nonprofits with access to specialized financial expertise and resources such as individualized business planning, financial analyses, and tailored capitalization plans. Participating nonprofits also will be eligible to apply for Change Capital grants to help defray the cost of strategic investments designed to build their capacity.

The first cohort of organizations receiving support includes the African Services Committee, the Business Center for New Americans, the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, the Floating Hospital, Friends of Island Academy, Grand Street Settlement, Heights and Hills, Iris House, Leake & Watts, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, Palladia, the Staten Island Mental Health Society, Sunnyside Community Services, and Women's Housing and Economic Development Corp.

"We are facing impossible trade-offs between serving people who need health care, legal services, food and shelter now and protecting our future viability," said Asfaha Hadera, founder and co-executive director of the African Services Committee, which provides social services to more than ten thousand people each year. "CRF delivers the rare chance to invest in our organization in ways that ensure we’re able to deliver on our mission in the months and years to come."

"CRF is one part of an urgent and growing movement to create more viable systems for supporting organizations that address critical social issues," said Nonprofit Finance Fund CEO Antony Bugg-Levine. "New York City is a great starting point: a beacon of cultural and financial strength, with enough courage and confidence to believe that we as a society can do better for people in need, for the benefit of all."