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.
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. A sample of key community-led ESOs shows that several ESOs are reaching critical inflection points, primed for scale, and ready to expand their impact.
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 and supported over 3,500 entrepreneurs. Resource ESO-supported entrepreneurs have raised over USD 400MM in investment capital, and 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.
The accelerator will take place from November 2024 to March 2025. Applications close on August 31. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.
Village Capital is committed to designing and implementing strategic and programmatic enhancements that will increase ten community-led ESO’s capacity to:
Our vision is to create a national community of ESOs, with regional chapters focused on shifting support and financing to founders who are proximate to the communities they serve. The Resource Community of Practice will help these entrepreneurs co-create regenerative systems and reduce systemic biases.
From November 2024 to February 2025, the selected ESOs will participate in a three-day in-person program launch event in Atlanta, GA, followed by three weeks of virtual capacity-building workshops. The program will conclude in March 2025 with an in-person Program Summit to interact with investors and stakeholders.
During the workshops, ESOs will receive support on fundraising, business development, and opportunities to build connections with the cohort and mentors. Village Capital will also work closely with cohort organizations to create individual milestone-based development plans, which will guide the progress and growth of each company throughout the program. The curriculum focuses on helping them develop the networks and tools they need to scale their impact. Upon completion of the program, each ESO will receive a USD 25K grant to support their work.
All ESOs that apply to the program can join Abaca, Village Capital’s free web app. Abaca includes Capital Explorer, which equips entrepreneurs to make strategic fundraising decisions that align with their mission and vision as well as identify relevant resources and capital providers. Our ESO Diagnostic Tool helps ESOs improve their financial, social, and human capital and better equip them with pipeline and programming tools.
For more information, reach out to Yireth Villaverde at Village Capital (yireth.villaverde@vilcap.com).
About Village Capital
Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth.
Village Capital has operated in the US since 2009 by running close to 50 accelerator programs. VilCap has supported more than 570 startups from over 43 states and 23 entrepreneur support organizations (ESO) working in sectors such as financial health, health equity, justice tech, and sustainability. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.
About Truist Foundation
Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Foundation, an endowed private foundation established in 2020 whose operating budget is independent of Truist Financial Corporation, makes strategic investments in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations centered around two focus areas: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses to ensure all communities have an equal opportunity to thrive. Embodying these focus areas are the Foundation’s leading initiatives - the Inspire Awards and Where It Starts. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.