Blog

Interview with Greg Brodsky; Managing Member of the Equitable Economy Fund Jen: How was the Equitable Economy Fund Created?  Greg: The fund was spun out from Start.coop, the nation's premier cooperative accelerator because we saw that the lack of outside equity...

Jen: How was the REDF Impact Investing Fund Created?  Carrie: REDF is a 25 year-old venture philanthropy investing exclusively in businesses that exist to help drive participation, equity, and growth -- employment social enterprises.  These small businesses...

Jen: How was the Sunwealth Solar Impact Fund Created?  Omar: Sunwealth was created by recognizing a blind spot in the approach of traditional capital in the solar industry. The blind spot was primarily driven by the focus on proxies instead of community-based...

Jen: How was the Black Farmer Fund Created?  Olivia: In 2017, my co-founder Karen Washington and I came together at a farmers conference and talked about the lack of access to capital for farmers, particularly farmers of color. At the time, I was transitioning...

Jen: How was Walden Mutual Bank Created?  Charley: Back in 2013 I started Walden Local, a brand of local, sustainable meat.  We had grown to be a really amazing and impactful company, but in building that supply chain, it became clear there was an...

Jen: How was Invest Appalachia Created?  Andrew: Invest Appalachia was started in response to the identified need for more flexible capital and capacity to plug gaps in the region's investment system. A 5-year collaborative research, planning, and design process...

Jen: How was Akiptan, Inc Created?  Skya: Akiptan was founded by Native ag professionals from the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) in 2017 and as of January 1st, 2019, Akiptan has begun operating and lending as an independent organization. Founders of...

Jen: How was Infinity Point CDFI and the Local Ownership Catalyst Fund (LOCF) Created?  Marc: The fund was started by Marc Tognotti, Founder & President of Infinity Point CDFI, in association with a team of independent professionals who, collectively, have...

Jen: How was the Potlikker Fund Created?  Mark: Fund was started to address rural racism as it manifests in farming and climate impacts. Fund co founded by Mark Watson and Konda Mason Jen: How are your investment funds catalytic in a way that is different from...

Jen: Why was the Reinventure Fund I created? Julianne Zimmerman: Edward Dugger III was motivated to found Reinventure Capital to reintroduce the high-return + high-impact strategy he previously executed with UNC Partners which generated 32% IRR by investing...