Revolving Loan Fund: A New Support for Linn County Nonprofits 

Early this year, the Community Foundation launched a Revolving Loan Fund for local nonprofit organizations. The fund will be administered by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) and will provide low-interest loans of $2,500 – $25,000 to nonprofits headquartered and operating in Linn County.  

“At the Community Foundation, we strive to listen to the needs of the organizations serving our community,” said Joe Heitz, Vice President of Community Impact. “In recent months, we’ve heard from many small- and mid-sized nonprofits that access to credit is an ongoing challenge.” 

The Revolving Loan Fund is a new resource that can help those organizations grow services, maintain operations, and even access additional grants. Because some federal grants are paid as reimbursements, nonprofits may have upfront costs. Access to a short-term loan would reduce the initial burden as organizations await such grant funding.   

Funding for the program comes from the Community Foundation’s Community Investment Fund, which supports programs or projects that catalyze community involvement on issues of broad importance. Using these funds allows the Community Foundation to launch the program without impacting its existing competitive grant programs. As a revolving fund, this investment in the community will be able to serve a growing list of nonprofits over time.  

Building on Strong Partnerships 

Community Foundation staff looked at existing programs in other states and drew on past experiences to bring the Revolving Loan Fund to life.  

In 2015, the Community Foundation worked with donors, businesses, and government groups to launch MICRO. This award-winning program provides low-interest loans and other resources to entrepreneurs in Cedar Rapids. MICRO, also administered by ECICOG, has helped dozens of small businesses. The existing partnership helped make the Revolving Loan Fund a possibility at a time when many nonprofits are looking for new funding solutions.  

“We are excited to be able to partner with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation on this project,” said Karen Kurt, Executive Director of ECICOG. “Many nonprofit funding sources have been disrupted over the last year, and this loan program will allow our nonprofits to continue to provide critical community services as well as look forward to future needs.” 

Loan applications are available now at ecicogrlf.org.