A diverse group of fund managers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers gathered in New Orleans, LA from March 24th through the 26th for the CDVCA 2010 Annual Conference and Pre-Conference Introductory Workshop. The conference featured a keynote address by CDFI Fund Administrator Donna Gambrell, as well as an opening address by Woody Tasch, the founder of the Slow Money Alliance.  Panels of industry experts discussed issues such as the current economic climate, challenges and opportunities for CDVC on Capitol Hill, making CDFI programs work for venture capital, and green investing. 

 CDVCA thanks our local sponsor in New Orleans, Advantage Capital, for their support and assistance in organizing the conference. 

A panel discussion on fundraising and investing in today’s economic climate brought together Anthony Williams of MMG Ventures, Yolanda Ruiz of Pacific Community Ventures, Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures and Southern Appalachian Fund, and Richard Venegar of Milestone Growth Fund.  Panelists reported that their portfolios were holding up surprisingly well through the downturn and discussed strategies they were using to help their portfolio companies survive, and in some cases thrive, through hard times. Universally, the panelists agreed that it is very difficult to raise capital in this environment, but that attractive investment opportunities had proliferated for fund managers with “dry powder.” While exits have been slow in the past couple of years, there are signs they are picking up in 2010. 

CDVCA President Kerwin Tesdell led a discussion of the challenges faced by CDVC funds in applying for CDFI certification or for Financial and Technical Assistance through the CDFI program. Ruth Juare, the CDFI Program Manager, and Christopher Stever, the Associate Program Manager for Certification, both participated in the enlightening back-and-forth. For a detailed review of the session with CDFI Fund staff, click here.

A panel on exiting VC investments featured Ray Moncrief of Meritus Ventures and the Southern Appalachian Fund, Nat Henshaw of CEI Ventures and Les Alexander of Advantage Capital Partners. The panel highlighted a number of investments that yielded both high financial returns and excellent social returns.  The panelists agreed that exit opportunities for portfolio companies had not been very attractive for the past year or so, with potential acquirers either maintaining large cash reserves or seeking to buy their targets on the cheap, but they thought the situation might be changing for the better in the coming year.

Conference attendees also heard from Alison Feighan of Rapoza Associates, Michael Novogradac of Novogradac & Co., and CDVCA’s own Mike Baxter. They provided an overview of developments relevant to CDVC programs, including updates on appropriations for the CDFI program and the status of efforts to reauthorize the New Markets Venture Capital and Rural Business Investment Company programs. For in-depth updates on these “core” programs, click here. For a detailed look at some provisions of the financial regulatory reform bill recently unveiled in the Senate, click here. And for a brief question and answer document on the health care legislation’s impact on CDVC portfolio companies, click here.

It wouldn’t be a venture capital conference without a panel on investing in the “cleantech” sector. Nat Henshaw of CEI Ventures, Scott Zajac of Advantage Capital Partners, and Cody Nystrom of SJF Ventures each detailed their relatively long experiences in the nascent field.

Pre-conference Introductory Workshop

Once again CDVCA offered an introductory workshop on the day preceding its Annual Conference. The strong showing at the pre-conference introductory workshop, An Introduction to the CDVC Approach, was an encouraging sign for the future of the CDVC industry and is indicative of the high level of interest surrounding CDVC funds.  Attendees possessed a range of experience in the community development and venture capital fields, which proved to be a recipe for dynamic and thought-provoking discussions.

The workshop included a primer on equity and near-equity investments, a business school-style case study, an overview of the CDVC industry as well as sessions on fund formation and social impact measurement and best practices for structuring investments, post-investment support and the difficult but necessary route to an exit.  CDVCA was pleased to have enlisted Les Alexander, Nat Henshaw, Ray Moncrief, Kerwin Tesdell and Anthony Williams to lead the workshop.

Presentations are available free to conference attendees here.  If you were not able to attend, you may purchase access to all of the presentation here.

Thank you to all involved in making the conference a success. We look forward to seeing you all next year!