As we worked on the ground with communities over the past several years, we learned that when those communities sought local professional support that understood local investing for their projects, they were often unable to find that help.
Through NC3’s Community Capital Accelerator, we address this challenge, among others, by working directly with teams of community builders to support the development of community investment funds (CIFs) and empower communities so that they can fund local projects and/or invest in local businesses.
Our accelerator model is based on what the human services community discovered when they encountered similar problems, specifically, that they needed to bring all the necessary services to the table when working with their clients. This wrap-around model of service provision essentially describes NC3’s Accelerator program; we connect community - based projects to mission-aligned professional support for every step of the project.
The overall process includes the following elements:
During this process NC3 provides a menu of available service providers in the legal, technical, and training fields who are aligned with NC3’s Community Capital Principles, and then works with local communities to identify local providers where possible. Accelerator project teams are also invited to participate in a series of conversations (what we call our ComCap Casual Cohort Convos) to connect, share challenges and successes, and hear from a variety of presenters on topics such as business planning, governance, investor training, and marketing.
NC3 is currently working with projects in the following locations:
Many of these projects are developing a diversified community investment fund (DCIF). Learn more about diversified community investment funds here.
Interested in participating in the Accelerator? Please reach out to schedule an initial conversation at [email protected].
Through NC3’s Community Capital Accelerator, we address this challenge, among others, by working directly with teams of community builders to support the development of community investment funds (CIFs) and empower communities so that they can fund local projects and/or invest in local businesses.
Our accelerator model is based on what the human services community discovered when they encountered similar problems, specifically, that they needed to bring all the necessary services to the table when working with their clients. This wrap-around model of service provision essentially describes NC3’s Accelerator program; we connect community - based projects to mission-aligned professional support for every step of the project.
The overall process includes the following elements:
- Initial assessment – we look at the local team and make suggestions for the optimal membership
- Evaluation of project – what kind of project is the community planning and what (if any) new entities are best for raising capital and managing the project or fund
- Governance – who will be making decisions about the project and its impact on the community
- Capital raising – what is the optimal way to raise capital and what is in the ‘capital stack’
- Compliance - what’s required in the process and structure to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations
- Impact and Data Collection - how to best measure the impact of the project over time
During this process NC3 provides a menu of available service providers in the legal, technical, and training fields who are aligned with NC3’s Community Capital Principles, and then works with local communities to identify local providers where possible. Accelerator project teams are also invited to participate in a series of conversations (what we call our ComCap Casual Cohort Convos) to connect, share challenges and successes, and hear from a variety of presenters on topics such as business planning, governance, investor training, and marketing.
NC3 is currently working with projects in the following locations:
- Detroit, Michigan
- Petoskey, Michigan
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Rhode Island
Many of these projects are developing a diversified community investment fund (DCIF). Learn more about diversified community investment funds here.
Interested in participating in the Accelerator? Please reach out to schedule an initial conversation at [email protected].