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Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
Kerwin Tesdell has led CDVCA since 1993, placing venture capital into funds targeting distressed US communities.
Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
Founded in 1993 by a coalition of foundations and public-policy advocates, CDVCA bridges the gap between institutional venture capital and community economic development. Kerwin Tesdell has helmed the organization throughout its history, positioning it as an intermediary that channels foundation grants, government awards, and private capital into venture-backed companies located in low-income areas. CDVCA operates a fund-of-funds strategy, committing capital to regional community development venture capital (CDVC) funds that make direct equity and near-equity investments in early-stage and growing companies. The portfolio spans multiple sectors — including light manufacturing, business services, and technology — across rural and urban markets from Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta. The underlying funds target seed through late-stage rounds, often using mezzanine and venture-debt instruments to meet the capital needs of founder-operators without traditional venture backing. In 2012, the alliance launched its Central Fund, consolidating investor commitments to back a generation of CDVC managers. The alliance has placed capital through a network of specialized regional funds. Funds in its orbit include the CEI Ventures-managed Coastal Ventures funds in Maine, which invest in growth-stage companies with a social-impact lens. CDVCA does not disclose a full portfolio list, but its model mirrors that of impact-first fund-of-funds like Ceniarth, applied to domestic poverty alleviation. In 2023, CDVCA maintained its small New York-based team and continued selecting fund managers for multi-year commitments. CDVCA's structural differentiator is its role as a market-builder rather than a pure allocator. It provides technical assistance and standardized operating metrics to the CDVC fund managers it backs — a scaffolding function that creates an investable asset class in markets the venture industry has historically bypassed. The alliance's nonprofit parent entity holds the investment vehicle as a programmatic arm, making capital deployment inseparable from policy advocacy.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
1993
AUM
$20M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Kerwin Tesdell
President
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does CDVCA source the underlying fund managers it backs?
CDVCA identifies fund managers through its network of community development financial institutions, foundation partners, and field-building events. The alliance prioritizes regionally anchored general partners with track records in both venture investing and community economic development. Selection criteria emphasize local-market knowledge alongside standard financial due diligence.
What distinguishes a community development venture capital fund from a conventional venture fund?
CDVC funds target market-rate financial returns while explicitly measuring job creation, wage growth, and wealth-building in low-income communities. They invest in operating companies located in economically distressed areas — often rural regions or inner-city neighborhoods — that fall outside the geographic screens of traditional venture firms. The double-bottom-line mandate is embedded in their limited-partner agreements.
Does CDVCA invest directly in companies or only through funds?
CDVCA invests primarily through a fund-of-funds structure, committing capital to regional CDVC fund managers. The alliance does not typically make direct equity investments into portfolio companies, though its underlying fund managers hold direct board seats and equity stakes in the businesses they back.
Who provides the capital CDVCA deploys?
CDVCA's investor base includes philanthropic foundations, banks satisfying Community Reinvestment Act obligations, and federal programs such as the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The alliance also receives grant funding from the Economic Development Administration and private foundations to support its technical-assistance programs.
How is CDVCA's investment activity separated from its advocacy work?
CDVCA operates a nonprofit membership association and a for-profit investment fund under a common umbrella. The investment vehicle, the CDVCA Central Fund, makes capital commitments to fund managers. The membership arm publishes research, runs an annual conference, and lobbies for policies that expand the CDVC field. Oversight sits with a single board, but the operations are functionally distinct.
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