New Restructuring Fund Launches for California Community Clinics

Fund will provide technical assistance as clinics prepare for health reform

LOS ANGELES and OAKLAND, Calif., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the economic crisis and the shifting landscape of health reform, community clinics face unprecedented challenges. To flourish, clinics now will need to simultaneously compete for resources and collaborate.

To facilitate this change in strategy, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), in partnership with Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), announces the California Catalyst Fund, designed to underwrite technical assistance for new or existing clinic partnerships. 

CHCF has committed $350,000 to create the one-year fund, which builds upon earlier foundation efforts to help California clinics with collaborative strategies to expand services, achieve operational efficiencies, and fulfill their roles as health leaders in their communities.

The new fund replicates a successful model called the Catalyst Fund for Nonprofits, a five-year fund launched in September 2010 and managed by NFF that supports collaborations and mergers across multiple sectors in the Boston area.

Examples of community clinic restructuring are administrative consolidation and joint programming, as well as more formal long-term partnerships such as joint ventures, organizational mergers, and the creation of management service organizations.

"The fund combines CHCF's history of supporting clinics and fostering collaboration with NFF's work of supporting the capital needs of nonprofits and connecting them to valuable technical assistance," said Jessica LaBarbera, California Market Director of NFF. "Our collective goal is to have a lasting impact on the community."

"We are excited to partner with NFF on the new restructuring fund," said Melissa Schoen, senior program officer at CHCF. "As clinics prepare for the implementation of health care reforms, many of which take effect in 2014, we believe the fund can spur clinics to work together and succeed."

About the California HealthCare Foundation
The California HealthCare Foundation works as a catalyst to fulfill the promise of better health care for all Californians. We support ideas and innovations that improve quality, increase efficiency, and lower the costs of care. For more information visit www.chcf.org.

About Nonprofit Finance Fund
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF provides loan financing, access to capital and direct advisory services that build the capacity and the financial health of nonprofits. For more information visit www.nonprofitfinancefund.org.

SOURCE Nonprofit Finance Fund