news & stories

Inspiration and Resources for Change Makers

At Access Ventures, we believe our impact will reach only as far as the stories we tell.

We view storytelling as a critical amplifier of our work and the work of our partners, without which we cannot realize our mission.

Explore some of these stories below, and let us know what you think.

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Housing is a Fundamental Right

Housing is a Fundamental Right

Our goal for this workshop was to generate and collect meaningful ideas to address challenges within regional homelessness, while facilitating a larger and longer conversation among those who work in or have the ability to enact change within this space.

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Employer Student Loan Repayments

Employer Student Loan Repayments

Access Ventures has been offering student debt repayment as a benefit since 2016, allowing employees to choose between student debt repayment, 401k match, or tuition assistance, and despite initial hurdles, recent legislative changes have made employer contributions towards student loans tax-free, providing a compelling incentive for other employers to adopt similar benefits.

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A Place To Call Home

A Place To Call Home

Timothy Wilkins, once homeless and struggling with addiction, transformed his life through hard work and support from Facility Management Services and the Working Your Way Home program, ultimately achieving the dream of homeownership and providing stability for his family.

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Clean Water Through Crypto

Clean Water Through Crypto

Mrs. Fasoro Christina, a dedicated teacher in Lagos, Nigeria, provides safe drinking water to her students through Impact Water, a non-profit supported by blockchain-based funding from Goldfinch, highlighting how decentralized finance can facilitate access to essential resources in underserved communities.

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Why A Digital Financial System Is Impactful

Why A Digital Financial System Is Impactful

Access Ventures embraces a digital financial system through blockchain technology to foster an inclusive economy, transitioning from traditional investment strategies to supporting early-stage companies and protocols that aim to modernize financial infrastructure and enhance economic inclusion for marginalized populations.

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Investing In A Vibrant Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Investing In A Vibrant Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

When Access Ventures launched Render Capital in February 2020, the goal was to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Greater Louisville region by providing risk-tolerant, early-stage capital through initiatives like the Render Competition, which invests $100,000 into eight companies annually to foster growth and scalability, demonstrating the region's commitment to supporting startups and attracting external investment.

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What Causes Homelessness?

What Causes Homelessness?

Homelessness is a complex issue with varied causes unique to each individual, often misunderstood and surrounded by myths. The KNOW Homelessness campaign seeks to dispel these myths and challenge assumptions by providing insights into the realities of homelessness, encouraging a deeper understanding and proactive action to address the issue.

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Knowing Is Caring

Knowing Is Caring

Homelessness requires a multifaceted, community-wide approach involving emergency services, housing, workforce development, and public perception. Access Ventures' Know Homelessness campaign in Louisville and Southern Indiana aims to change misconceptions and increase empathy through stories and partnerships with local coffee shops, encouraging community action and support.

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Economic Agency and a Regional Investment Strategy

Economic Agency and a Regional Investment Strategy

Render Capital, Access Ventures' $15M fund, promotes economic agency in Louisville and Southern Indiana by providing character-based microloans, alternative capital products, and decentralized decision-making to support excluded entrepreneurs, aiming to build a robust ecosystem and empower entrepreneurs to improve their economic conditions independently.

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Economic Agency and the Empowerment of Entrepreneurs

Economic Agency and the Empowerment of Entrepreneurs

Access Ventures invests in Collab Capital to combat entrepreneurial inequalities by providing financial, human, and social capital to black-owned startups, aiming to subvert traditional exclusionary capital networks and enhance economic agency for historically disadvantaged groups through inclusive entrepreneurship.

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Economic Agency and the Democratization of Capital

Economic Agency and the Democratization of Capital

Access Ventures supports initiatives like Village Capital’s peer-selected investment model to increase economic agency for traditionally excluded entrepreneurs by democratizing capital flows, enhancing their ability to influence their economic conditions and accumulate wealth.

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Impact Through Renewable Energy

Impact Through Renewable Energy

Greenbacker Capital, an investment management firm focused on sustainable infrastructure, connects investors with green energy projects to support renewable energy and combat climate change, emphasizing the importance of values-driven investments and their impact on future energy solutions.

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Making Affordable Housing More Efficient

Making Affordable Housing More Efficient

Caroline Caselli, founder of Haven Connect, created a user-friendly platform to modernize the affordable housing process by enabling applicants to manage their waitlist status and property managers to streamline operations, addressing inefficiencies and injustices in the current system to help low-income individuals access housing more efficiently and equitably.

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Consciously Constructing Dynamic Portfolios

Consciously Constructing Dynamic Portfolios

Traditional portfolio construction focuses solely on maximizing financial return with minimal risk, often neglecting the impact of investments on values and ethics. Conscious construction challenges this by aligning investments with personal or corporate values without sacrificing returns, emphasizing the importance of evaluating all investments for their broader impact, and seeking out strategies that provide both financial and positive societal returns.

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