Catalytic Capital
Direct access to growth capital through a USD 25K unrestricted grant to support their work.
Resource III
Supporting community-led ESOs by providing access to capacity-building support, capital, and networks to enhance their value proposition and effectiveness in accelerating early-stage startups and founders in their local communities.
About the Program
The Resource III program will increase community-led ESO’s capacity to:
Grow and Operate Sustainably by providing direct access to growth capital, with an emphasis on unrestricted funding.
Accelerate and Support Startups by participating in bespoke training, organizational and leadership development workshops, alternative financing, and fundraising workshops.
Build Networks of Opportunity by providing ESOs with greater direct access to decision-makers and gatekeepers to increase access to opportunities and resources that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.
Cultivate and Convene a National Community of Practice convening community-led ESOs that will work together to shift the center of support and financing to entrepreneurs in their local communities.
About Resource
The barriers that prevent capital from being distributed equitably are systemic, not insulated, and will require structural, relational, and transformational change. Organizations whose leadership are proximate to the beneficiaries they serve are able to form unique insight into the challenges faced by their local communities. For early-stage startups, Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) are often the first and most informative opportunity for founders to grow their network, expanding access to critical social and financial capital necessary to scale.
Since its initial launch by Village Capital and the Black Innovation Alliance in 2021, the Resource initiative has supported 23 community-led ESOs. In the last two and a half years, these organizations have raised over USD 23MM in operational funding, supported over 3,500 entrepreneurs, and helped founders raise over USD 400MM in investment capital. The average Resource ESO has helped drive more than USD 34MM to community-led startups, who have, in turn, created over 800 jobs since October 2021.
Village Capital, in collaboration with Truist Foundation, launches Resource III to support ten community-led ESOs in the US Southeast, enhancing their access to resources and networks to accelerate diverse entrepreneurs.
Meet the Cohort
Built2Last Innovations Lab
Built2Last Innovations Lab (Durham, North Carolina) provides training, technical assistance, and certifications to historically underrepresented businesses and assists Durham’s residents who live in marginalized communities.
Eligible Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) must:
Be legally incorporated as a for- or non-profit entity.
Have operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, or West Virginia.
Have been operating for more than 1+ year or have grown from co-founder/founder to 3+ team members.
Support early-stage founders in their local and regional communities who are growing scalable solutions through cohort-based incubation/accelerator programs.
Benefits
Each participating Entrepreneur Support Organization will receive:
Network Expansion
Two in-person workshop events to open and close the program in community.
Training
Two virtual interactive workshop weeks focused on capacity building and network expansion.
Media Exposure
Exposure on Village Capital’s website and other collateral communications.
Access to Abaca
Our ESO Diagnostic Tool on Abaca helps ESOs improve their financial capital, social capital, human capital, and better equip them with pipeline and programming tools.
Timeline
August 1, 2024
Applications Open
August 31, 2024
Applications Close
October 2024
Cohort Announced
November 13-15, 2024
Program Launch: In-person Event in Atlanta, GA
December 2024 - February 2025
Program Workshops
Virtual Workshop 1: December 9-12, 2024
Virtual Workshop 2: January 6-9, 2025
Virtual Workshop 3: February 3-6, 2025
March 3-5, 2025
In-person Program Summit: Location TBA
Resource Stories: Meet Our Alumni
Build in Tulsa, part of the Resource community, was conceptualized as a way to honor the legacy of Black Wall Street. They want to restore Tulsa’s place in Black America as being a destination for Black entrepreneurs.
Learn more about Ashli Sims’ path and the incredible work that Build in Tulsa is doing to amplify Black entrepreneurs and close the racial wealth gap.
You can also learn the stories of other Resource alumni on the VilCap blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the main goal of the program?
2. Who should apply for this program?
3. Do you require us to move to the cities of the program?
4. Will there be funding provided by this program?
News & Insights
Village Capital Launches Resource III to Continue Empowering Founders Across the US
Washington, DC (August 1, 2024) – Village Capital launches the third iteration of the Resource program, an initiative for community-led Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs). This initiative is supported by Truist Foundation.
Shifting the Center: 2023 Resource Lookbook
In 2022, we shared a first look at Resource with you through “Who Supports the Supporters?” The report captured our earliest learnings and impact findings in driving nationwide systems-level inclusion for BIPOC innovators through local ecosystems. After completing the second Resource cohort, we took a step back to strategically assess, learn, and reimagine the initiative’s next impact phase.
Who Supports the Supporters? A Resource Lookbook
Read the report to learn how the ESOs from the Resource accelerator-for-accelerators are pioneering new models for inclusive, democratic, and participatory organizations and ecosystems.