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CDVCA Programs
Community development venture capital represents a new frontier. Already showing impressive results, it has the potential to make durable improvements in communities that economic prosperity has passed by and in the lives of the people who live in them. To ensure that this potential is fulfilled, CDVCA plays a critical role in supporting our member funds and strengthening and expanding the industry through:
- Training Programs
- Consulting Services
- Central Fund
- Research
- Communications
- Advocating for the Field
Training Programs
It takes highly skilled professionals to successfully manage community development venture capital funds. Providing high-quality training and peer-learning experiences for professionals in the field has been the hallmark of CDVCA since its inception. Our Annual Conference, held in a different U.S. city each year, draws hundreds of CDVC practitioners of all levels to build their skills, learn new strategies, discover new developments in the field, and share challenges and successes.
CDVCA offers introductory training sessions for those who are new to the field, as well as in-depth regional training programs on specific topics for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners. We also facilitate communication and foster relationships among our members through an e-mail listserv that provides an electronic forum for CDVC practitioners around the world. Click here to read about upcoming training events.
Consulting Services
In addition to our training programs, CDVCA provides individualized consulting services to member funds, investors in funds, and other interested organizations to help strengthen and support their work. Our consultants are leaders in the community development venture capital field, with extensive investment experience, who can tailor their assistance to any organization at any stage of development. For more information on CDVCA Consulting Services click here.
Central Fund
CDVCA's Central Fund is the linchpin of our efforts to build a strong and expanding field of community development venture capital. The Fund currently has almost $6 million under management and is actively seeking investment opportunities to put those funds to work in a meaningful way in the community development venture capital industry. The Fund is available to make two types of investments: Fund of Funds investments and Co-investment Fund investments. Click here for more information about the Central Fund.
Research
For practitioners, policy-makers, investors, or anyone interested in community development venture capital, CDVCA is a leading resource for current information on this rapidly evolving field. CDVCA collects and disseminates data on member funds, portfolio companies, investment strategies, and industry trends, providing comprehensive data on the social and financial returns of the field both nationally and internationally. For more information about CDVCA's research program, click here.
Communications
CDVCA serves as the public voice for the CDVC industry, playing a vital role in reaching out beyond our membership and those already interested in the field to the broader audience of the general business community. In this role CDVCA maintains this website, sends Ventures, a quarterly e-newsletter to a large distribution list, frequently presents at gatherings of economic development and venture capital professionals, and works to encourage press coverage of CDVC funds and their portfolio company. For a list of recent articles about CDVC and recent CDVCA press releases, click here. To view archives of Ventures, click here. To be added to the mailing list to receive Ventures and other CDVCA informational announcements, click here.
Advocating for the Field
As the national voice for the community development venture capital industry, CDVCA works to increase public knowledge and understanding of the field. To support the work of our member funds and increase public and private resources for the field, we educate national policy makers about the critical capital needs of our economically distressed areas and encourage the development of programs that will address these needs. CDVCA helped shape ground-breaking Federal legislation for two programs- the New Markets Venture Capital Program and the New Markets Tax Credit Program - that bring crucial equity capital and technical assistance to the nation's distressed regions. CDVCA is also working to push for the launch of the new Rural Business Investment Program. Additionally, CDVCA works as part of The Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI Coalition) to support the broader CDFI Industry. Click here to read more about public programs and CDVCA's involvement in them.
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