SeaChange Capital Partners is a non-profit merchant bank; its mission is to enable transactions that increase the impact of nonprofits while offering leveraged funding opportunities and strategic partnerships with funders. They facilitate transactions by making grants, loans, and investments, by providing advisory services, and by “making markets” within their network. We were a founding member of its New York Merger, Acquisition, and Collaboration Fund (NYMAC) and its Pooled PRI Fund. NYMAC makes grants to cover a portion of the one-time costs required to explore or complete these transactions. As a neutral outside party willing to invest resources, NYMAC has worked with funders, boards, and leaders of nonprofits considering a transaction to catalyze sensible action. The New York Pooled PRI Fund, founded by Heckscher with three other foundations, provides secured and unsecured loans, loan guarantees, equity, and/or equity-like securities that qualify as program-related investments.
SeaChange has also provided independent advice to our grantees that are at an inflection point in their leadership, strategy, or growth, and that seek the benefit of an independent, third-party review of their organizations with a particular focus on finance, impact, and scalability. Our support of SeaChange has allowed it to play a pivotal role in dozens of transactions spanning a range of sectors involving underserved youth and others.