RSF Social Finance

Name

RSF Social Finance

Legal name

RSF Social Finance, Inc.

Website

https://rsfsocialfinance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Finance

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Social Services (8300), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• Impact investment notes
• Donor advised funds
• Mission driven financing
• Regenerative social finance

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Interest Income on Loans: RSF earns interest income from its loan portfolio — providing lines of credit, term loans, construction financing, and customized financing to mission-driven businesses and nonprofits. This is the primary driver of RSF's operating revenue.
2. Social Investment Fund Note Issuance: RSF issues Social Investment Fund (SIF) notes to investors, raising capital that is then relent to borrowers. Investors earn annualized interest rates (e.g., 3.50% for 3-year notes) while capital flows to social enterprises.
3. Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Administration: RSF administers DAFs, receiving charitable contributions, investing them in a Liquidity Portfolio (focused on social impact), and earning fee revenue. RSF clients granted $60M+ to nonprofits in 2024 from DAFs.
4. Catalyst Fund Philanthropy: The Catalyst Fund is a philanthropic vehicle that accepts donations to support RSF's loan-loss reserve (2.5% of loan fund). Every dollar donated enables $40 in lending capacity. Donations are unrestricted and support RSF's charitable operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RSF Social Finance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit financial services organization that provides senior secured debt — including lines of credit, term loans, construction financing, and customized financing — to mission-driven enterprises in food and agriculture, climate and energy, education, and community impact. It funds this lending by issuing Social Investment Fund notes (90-day, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year terms) to a community of 1,300+ investors, and it administers Donor Advised Funds that channel philanthropic capital to nonprofits. The Catalyst Fund, supported by donations, backs a 2.5% loan-loss reserve so that every $1 donated enables approximately $40 in lending.

Product overview

RSF Social Finance operates as a financial services organization offering an integrated suite of three core products: the Social Investment Fund (investment notes in 90-day to 3-year terms), Donor Advised Funds for philanthropic giving, and Lending Products (lines of credit, term loans, construction financing, and customized solutions). These are complemented by the Catalyst Fund philanthropic vehicle that amplifies lending capacity and the RSF Prime community-based interest rate benchmark. The organization also historically offered Collaboratives for emerging social enterprises. RSF's products work together as an integrated capital ecosystem where investor notes fund loans to borrowers, DAF holders can invest in SIF notes to double impact, and Catalyst Fund donations support the loan-loss reserve enabling more lending.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Social Investment Fund: An impact investing fund that provides loans to help businesses and nonprofits address urgent social and environmental challenges. Supported by over 1,300 investors with a 100% repayment rate since 1984.
• RSF Prime
• Catalyst Fund

Products and services

• Social Investment Fund Notes
• Donor Advised Funds (DAF)
• Lending Products
• Catalyst Fund
• Social Investment Fund Broker Notes (Bloomberg-listed)

Quantifiable outcome

• $1 billion+ channeled to social enterprises since 1984
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Performance Trust Capital PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 August 2025Performance Trust Capital Partners serves as the broker-dealer for RSF's Social Investment Fund Broker Notes, which are CUSIP-assigned and listed on Bloomberg. RSF closed its first Broker Notes offering of $5.42 million through this partnership in August 2025. The channel enables professional investors and financial advisors to purchase RSF notes through any online brokerage account, significantly expanding the fund's reach.
• Purpose Trust Ownership NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRSF co-hosted a conversation with Purpose Trust Ownership Network, Equal Exchange, and Organically Grown Company exploring alternative ownership structures and regenerative finance. RSF supports organizations transitioning to alternative ownership models including purpose trusts, cooperatives, and perpetual purpose trusts.
• Equal Exchange (Citizen-Consumers)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEqual Exchange's citizen-consumers — a network of advocates who organize to place Equal Exchange products in stores, spread awareness about alternative trade, and even sit on Equal Exchange's board — represent a community-led distribution and advocacy model. RSF highlights this model as an example of empowering consumers to participate in regenerative supply chains.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF): LEAF is a nonprofit CDFI that lends to cooperatives, community enterprises, and mission-driven small businesses. Like RSF, it serves cooperatives and alternative-ownership models and channels capital from values-aligned investors to borrowers typically underserved by conventional banks.
• Calvert Impact Capital: Calvert Impact Capital is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that raises capital from individual and institutional investors and lends to mission-driven enterprises globally. Like RSF, it issues notes to investors, deploys loan capital to social enterprises, and reports to a community of impact investors, making it RSF's most direct structural and mission peer.
• Self-Help Ventures Fund: Self-Help is a CDFI and community development lender providing financing to underserved borrowers, cooperatives, and mission-driven organizations. Like RSF, it raises capital from a broad investor base, finances cooperatives and social enterprises, and emphasizes transparency and community governance.
• Capital Impact Partners: Capital Impact Partners is a nonprofit CDFI providing loans and capacity-building to underserved communities in health, education, and affordable housing — overlapping directly with RSF's community-impact and education lending verticals (e.g., childcare real estate, community facilities financing).
• Beneficial State Bank: Beneficial State Bank is a B-Corp, FDIC-insured community development bank serving mission-driven businesses and nonprofits with deposits funding loans. Comparable to RSF in serving the same values-aligned borrower segments, though operating via a regulated bank charter rather than RSF's nonprofit + DAF + SIF model.

Others

• Candid (formerly GuideStar): Candid is a nonprofit information aggregator providing transparency and accountability data on the social sector. While not a lender, Candid's Gold Seal transparency certification — held by RSF — is a shared industry signal relevant to nonprofit financial services comparability.
• Opportunity Finance Network: OFN is the national membership association for CDFIs. It is not a direct competitor but represents the broader ecosystem of mission-driven lenders, including many that operate similarly to RSF, and serves as an industry voice relevant to RSF's lending model.

Emerging players

• Kiva: Kiva is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that channels crowdfunded loans to small entrepreneurs and mission-driven businesses globally. While its retail investor base is much larger than RSF's, both are nonprofit lenders mobilizing individual capital to support social enterprises, with overlapping regenerative-agriculture and climate-loan initiatives.
• ImpactAssets: ImpactAssets is a nonprofit impact investing platform offering donor-advised funds, custom impact investing portfolios, and the IA50 ranking. It is a partial peer to RSF's DAF business and a recognized industry benchmark that has repeatedly recognized RSF as an Emeritus Impact Manager.
• Solar Mosaic (now Orchard) / Sunlight Financial: Solar finance companies that have financed distributed residential and community solar — overlapping with RSF's climate/energy lending vertical (e.g., Sunwealth, Plankton Energy). They represent a specialized competitor for the community-solar and clean-energy loan pipeline that RSF supports.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rsfsocfinance
• Facebookfacebook.com/rsfsocialfinance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rsf-social-finance

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments16 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RSF Social Finance