Portfolio

Impact Multiplier

We meet the demands of complex challenges with creativity, a high tolerance for risk, a willingness to be catalytic with capital, and an emphasis on developing the next generation.

Our endowment is 100% mission-aligned, from the program work we perform alongside amazing partners to direct investments, alternatives, and public equities. We work to find and fund solutions that help more people thrive.

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projects and companies we are proud to be a part of

Growth Loan Fund
Demonstrating New Models, Building Systems for Better Access, Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital Justin Esquivel Demonstrating New Models, Building Systems for Better Access, Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital Justin Esquivel

Growth Loan Fund

The Growth Loan was a non-collateralized loan of up to $35,000 for small-business owners who can't access capital through traditional underwriting. We designed and built it to fill a gap our other work kept surfacing: talented entrepreneurs being turned away not because they wouldn't repay, but because they didn't fit a credit-score box. More than a product, the Growth Loan was a conversation where borrowers speak directly to the loan committee, and confidence in the person carries real weight.

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Shelby Park - Louisville, KY
Building Systems for Better Access, Demonstrating New Models, Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital Justin Esquivel Building Systems for Better Access, Demonstrating New Models, Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital Justin Esquivel

Shelby Park - Louisville, KY

Shelby Park is where Access Ventures began. A small Louisville neighborhood built by German and Irish immigrants around an Olmsted-designed park, it thrived for the first half of the twentieth century and then, like so many American neighborhoods, hollowed out and losing residents and businesses to the suburbs and the interstate, and gaining vacancy, disinvestment, and crime in their place. By the time we began in the spring of 2014, roughly 83% of residents rented, median household income was about 60% below the national figure, and three of every five renters were cost-burdened.

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Kiva
Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital, Unlocking Capital Pathways, Building Systems for Better Access Bryce Butler Investing Your Values, Leveraging Blended & Flexible Capital, Unlocking Capital Pathways, Building Systems for Better Access Bryce Butler

Kiva

Kiva is a peer-to-peer platform that lets anyone crowdfund a 0%-interest loan of up to $10,000 for an entrepreneur and it’s capital extended on the strength of character and community rather than collateral and credit scores. We became one of Kiva's earliest and most trusted implementation partners in the U.S., launching Kiva Louisville, then Kiva Columbus, and then Kiva Tulsa, and serving as a hands-on partner for roughly three years.

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Global Venture Network
Building Systems for Better Access, Forming Catalysts, Empowering People, Cultivating Agency & Leadership Crystal Esquivel Building Systems for Better Access, Forming Catalysts, Empowering People, Cultivating Agency & Leadership Crystal Esquivel

Global Venture Network

Global Venture Network (GVN) is a private membership network for the leaders of the world's accelerators, venture studios, and innovation hubs. Known for most of our involvement as the Global Accelerator Network (GAN), which is now its flagship network, it connects hundreds of ecosystem builders across dozens of countries with peer forums, shared resources, and access to capital. We were an investor in the network, Bryce Butler served on its board, and Bryce spoke at one of its summits in 2017. We exited our position in 2025.

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Blueprint Local
Defining Mission-Aligned Strategy, Demonstrating New Models, Investing Your Values, Building Systems for Better Access Bryce Butler Defining Mission-Aligned Strategy, Demonstrating New Models, Investing Your Values, Building Systems for Better Access Bryce Butler

Blueprint Local

Access Ventures was a founding member of the collaboration that launched Blueprint Local which is a platform built to help entrepreneurs and communities access capital in the places they call home. What began as a neighborhood experiment on our own street in Louisville grew into one of the country's leading place-based investment platforms.

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