The Fund’s first five investments — Pneuma Respiratory, Sensorium Therapeutics, BMI OrganBank, Fuel  Goods, and UpStream Biotechnology — span medical technology, transplant innovation, nature-derived  therapeutics, women-led consumer health and performance, and agriculture biotechnology. Early  results suggest the model is catalytic: Impact WNC estimates its investments have helped mobilize  additional aligned capital at leverage approaching 10:1, or up to roughly $12 million in related private,  institutional, and co-investment capital connected to the first-year portfolio. 

“Working with Impact WNC has felt different because they understand both what we are building and  where we are building it,” said Laura Jorgensen, Co-Founder of Fuel Goods. “A regionally based impact  venture fund brings capital, context, and relationships together, helping companies like ours grow  while staying connected to the community that helped shape us.” 

For institutional partners, that proof point matters because WNC’s next generation of asset-building  companies will need more than one-off investments. They will need a connected regional system that  can surface high-potential ventures, prepare them for growth capital, and help them scale from Western  North Carolina rather than leaving the region to find capital elsewhere. 

“Mountain BizWorks appreciates partnering with Impact WNC Fund,” said Matt Raker of Mountain  BizWorks, “because Western North Carolina has founders building scalable, high-growth ventures  that can create jobs, expand opportunity, and keep more value rooted here. We want to connect  those entrepreneurs with the capital and support they need to grow in WNC.” 

The Fund’s place-led model is also community-building by design. Impact WNC’s investment partners  include Mountain BizWorks and Abundance Capital, with CornerSquare Community Capital participating  through the Mountain BizWorks investment. The Fund also works alongside community and ecosystem  partners including Eagle Market Streets Development Corporation, Hatch Innovation Hub, LeVert  Ventures, Optimist Ventures, Pisgah Fund, and others. 

That ecosystem role is central to the Fund’s next phase. Impact WNC is helping shape a more  coordinated regional capital continuum, connecting founders with capital, technical assistance, diligence  support, community relationships, and aligned co-investors. The Fund is also exploring state, federal,  impact-oriented, and venture philanthropy resources that can strengthen entrepreneur readiness, rural  capital access, commercialization, and investment pipeline development across WNC.

“CornerSquare Community Capital participated in the Fund through a participation with Mountain  BizWorks because this is not only about one fund or one region,” said Armeer Kenchen of CornerSquare.  “Impact WNC Fund is helping test buildable growth-capital infrastructure that can serve entrepreneurs in  Western North Carolina and, over time, offer a model for other rural areas of North Carolina and the  broader Southern Appalachian region. The early leverage and portfolio momentum suggest this kind of  local equity platform can be both disciplined and catalytic.” 

The Fund’s early success also points to a larger opportunity for venture philanthropy partners. Fund I  has shown what committed local entrepreneurs and institutional investors can build with limited  philanthropic support. Future funds and aligned vehicles could expand that reach by pairing return generating investment capital with risk-mitigating blended capital structures, grant-funded technical  assistance, investment-readiness support, and ecosystem capacity. 

“Abundance Capital is interested in how donor-advised fund capital can move beyond grantmaking  alone and into return-generating venture philanthropy,” said Margaret Giffords of Abundance Capital.  “Impact WNC Fund offers an early example of how DAF capital and mission-aligned investment can  work together: supporting high-potential companies, recycling capital for future use, and expanding  the toolkit for people who want their philanthropic resources to build durable economic opportunity.” 

Impact WNC expects to continue deploying Fund I through year-end 2026, with a goal of backing up to  an additional five scale-ready ventures. At the same time, the GP team is laying groundwork for future  investment vehicles and blended-capital structures that can pair investment capital with grants,  technical assistance, institutional partnerships, and ecosystem infrastructure into 2027 and beyond. 

“Fund I is proof that local entrepreneurs can take on a catalytic role to build the capital infrastructure  this region needs,” said Jesse Fripp, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Impact WNC Fund. “This is  entrepreneurs paying it forward to entrepreneurs by leading with ‘skin in the game’ and providing disciplined investment, regional trust networks, and a scalable platform that future venture  philanthropy partners can help extend across more founders, communities, and rural markets.” 

Source: Impact WNC.