The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced an additional $500,000 commitment to expand its loan fund for Chicago-area arts and culture organizations facing cash flow challenges.

Launched in 2009 with a $1 million grant from MacArthur, the Working Capital Loan Fund for Arts and Culture provides short-term loans and longer term lines of credit to help meet the cash flow and working capital needs of small to midsize arts organizations. To apply to the fund, organizations must have an annual budget between $250,000 and $3 million and be a current grantee of the foundation's arts and culture program, either directly or through the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation or the Prince Charitable Trusts. To date, the fund has provided support to sixteen local arts and culture groups.

Overall, MacArthur's arts and culture program awards $7 million annually to two hundred organizations in the Chicago region. Most grants are earmarked for general operations and recipients have included theaters, dance groups, music organizations, visual arts programs, film centers, museums, and libraries.