One potential source of funding for green and social entrepreneurs is venture capital (VC). Venture capital firms generally make equity investments in enterprises beyond the seed stage of development. In addition to financial resources venture capital firms can provide business guidance and other resources to entrepreneurs.
Many traditional venture capital firms now have dedicated funds and staff that focus on one or more aspects of environmental or social responsibility. In addition, some VC firms explicitly incorporate additional investment criteria, such as social or environmental benefits, in their mission and investing activities.
This page also includes links to some relevant corporate venture funds and angel investors. Angel investors generally provide capital at an early stage of an enterprise’s development, prior to the period of investment by traditional venture firms. In addition, this page contains links to other organizations that provide investments to startups (such as accelerators).
Other great resources for identifying green and climate venture capital are Climate Tech VC, Cleantech Group, and Startup Basecamp.
This list is a work in progress — to suggest an addition send an e-mail to hello [at] greenjobs.net
General Resources
- Angel Capital Association
- Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
- National Venture Capital Association
Funding Sources
- Access Venture Partners
- Braemar Energy Ventures
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures
- Climate Pledge Fund (Amazon corporate venture fund)
- Element 8
- Element Partners
- Elemental Excelerator
- Energy Impact Partners
- ennovent
- Gray Matters Capital
- GreenStart
- Greentown Labs
- IGNIA
- Lowercarbon Capital
- Mindful Investors
- Navitas Capital
- NGEN Partners
- Powerhouse Ventures
- RockPort Capital Partners
- Root Capital
- SJF Ventures
- Toniic
- True North Venture Partners