The mission of the Secured Finance Foundation is to encourage, facilitate, and support education, innovation, and charitable works for the betterment of organizations and professionals who deliver and enable secured finance—and for the communities of which they are a part.

As a separate entity from the Secured Finance Network, the Secured Finance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds crucial initiatives benefiting secured lenders worldwide.

Where does your money go?

Generous donations from corporations and individuals make it possible for us to move the industry forward in these key areas:

Education Programs

Funded by the Secured Finance Foundation, the SFNet Education Focus 20/20 Initiative has reshaped both course content and delivery to provide a well-rounded foundation for a successful career in secured finance. We are partnering with industry professionals to create classes across multiple discipline tracks, each with an eye to real-world application in the current lending environment.

SFNet’s foundational courses have been updated so that industry practitioners gain a thorough understanding of the secured finance ecosystem. Master classes have been developed to offer a deeper dive into specific functional areas and new classes have been created, such as Impactful Leadership for Secured Finance Professionals.

To prepare secured finance professionals for the challenges in today’s environment, we have funded the development of an on-demand education program. Each multi-module series takes a hard look at timely topics: Appraisals, Factoring, Legal and Workouts & Bankruptcies. All training modules feature industry professionals who delve into relevant, real-world examples.
 

Industry Data Studies

Valuable benchmarking and industry data are another key deliverable of the Secured Finance Foundation. Insights gleaned from our research and world-class reporting help to attract capital and keep members up to date and equipped to take on any business challenge. The Foundation provides the funding to SFNet so that they can produce data and insights that inform smart business decisions and improve competitiveness for its members in the following ways:

• SFNet Market Pulse
• Asset-Based Lending & Factoring Surveys
• Secured Lending Confidence Index
• SFNet Compendium of Secured Finance Law
• Laws & Amicus Briefs
• Market Sizing & Impact Study Updates

SFNet Crucial Conversations Webinar Series

To ensure timely and relevant information regarding the secured finance industry is disseminated to our members, the Foundation is supporting SFNet’s webinar series around “Crucial Conversations” in the current lending environment. Since its launch, this series of webinars has had thousands of participants.

Delivered in a virtual format, these webinars bring together industry leaders to discuss important topics including valuations, field exams, legal issues, portfolio implications and underwriting. We’re also looking at content from an industry perspective such as retail, consumer, healthcare, supply chain and more.

For example, the newest edition of the SFNet Market Pulse report and accompanying webinar–both produced together with Keybridge– takes stock of the ongoing economic and financial fallout associated with COVID-19 to determine what’s in store for secured finance over the coming months.



Development of the Next Generation

40 Under 40 Awards – Recognizing and supporting the growth of our future leaders is one of the most gratifying endeavors of our Foundation. We celebrate young professionals with our SFNet 40 Under 40 Awards which has recognized 160 talented individuals in our industry.

Mentoring Program – In conjunction with SFNet’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, the Foundation developed and launched a mentoring program in 2022 that provides our next generation access to the knowledge and expertise of the most talented and respected executives in our industry.

Guest Lecture Program – The Secured Finance Foundation, in conjunction with our chapters, developed a Guest Lecture Program designed to introduce ABL, factoring and other secured finance products to undergraduate juniors and seniors. Colleges and universities are the primary targets for these programs that expose students to our industry and the career options that are available to them.

Internship Database – As an added benefit for students attending the Guest Lecture Program, they have access to internships at SFNet member companies to further their knowledge and gain hands-on experience in secured finance.

Scholarships – In support of our Guest Lecture Program, the Katz Family has created a scholarship to lessen the financial stressors, help remove monetary disenfranchisement, and bring diverse talent to the secured finance industry.
 

Community Outreach & Investment

The Foundation is proud of our initiatives that help communities recover from the devastation of the pandemic including timely financial relief information on The Cares Act including the Paycheck Protection Program and Main Street Lending Program, free e-learning courses, Small Business Administration (SBA) updates, state-by-state relief updates, and supporting lending organizations that finance underserved or hardest impacted communities.

As part of our initial community outreach roll-out, the Secured Finance Foundation focused and tested our outreach on two lending organizations, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives (Micro Finance Group) and the Chicago Community Loan Fund, who both focus on underserved communities, including women and minority owned businesses. We implemented a pilot program providing access to SFNet training workshops and educational materials for their loan personnel. The program is still in the assessment stage but we hope to expand the scope and accessibility of the program as these organization utilize the training and materials available to them and give us a better sense of their needs. We will be looking to implement our program in other underserved communities in the near future.

To donate by check, please mail to Secured Finance Foundation, P.O. Box 21611 New York, NY 10087- 1611. The Secured Finance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your contributions are tax deductible. A receipt will be emailed to you as proof of your donation.