CAPITAL ROOTED IN RELATIONSHIP
As an entrepreneur, you’re not just building a business—you’re shaping culture and building a future where your community thrives. The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund is designed to meet you there.
Our program centers entrepreneurs like you, who lead with purpose, commitment, and a deep sense of responsibility to community.
Through our close partnership with Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative, and a growing network of grassroots, values-aligned organizations and referral partners, we co-create capital pathways grounded in care and trust.
OUR PROGRAM
The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund provides non-extractive, reparative capital to entrepreneurs who are rooted in historically Black communities and growing businesses with heart and intention.
This isn’t your traditional loan fund. It’s a healing, human-centered financial experience shaped by Believe-In-You Money principles, character-based underwriting, and the belief that your lived experience matters more than a credit score.
Our program weaves together coaching, community, and capital—offering entrepreneurs the guidance, relationships, and resources needed to grow their business with confidence and care.
COMMUNITY
Build relationships with our team, referral partners, and other entrepreneurs in our ecosystem by attending events like Fertile Ground. Or, check out our Training & Education offerings.
COACHING
Our referral and technical assistance partners support you with customized one-on-one business advising. From getting you capital-ready all the way through repayment, they're with you at every step.
CAPITAL
Access to funding begins with a personal invitation from a trusted partner in our network. You don’t apply alone—you’re invited in. A referral from one of our partners opens the door to a funding experience built on care, clarity, and trust.
RUNWAY ROOTS IS CURRENTLY ACTIVE IN
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Greater Chicago, IL
Greater Boston, MA
Lower Alabama, AL
Coming Soon
Hampton Roads Region, VA
Coming Soon
REFERRAL PARTNERS
The Portals of Our Ecosystem
Referral partners are embedded into the design of our community-led fund.
We don’t believe in cold applications. Every entrepreneur is referred by one of our trained, trusted referral partners—organizations anchored in the communities we serve and who deeply understand the entrepreneurs within them.
Our partners are:
Trained in our underwriting model and movement finance principles
Grounded in values of repair, equity, and Believe-in-You Money
Members of RUNWAY Roots’ committees and decision-making structures
TRUSTED ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS
Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative
(Bay Area, Boston & Chicago)
Illinois Facilities Fund
(Greater Chicago)
DuSable Museum
(Greater Chicago)
GCI Greater Chatham
(Greater Chicago)
Boston Ujima Project
Nectar
Lazu Group
ARE YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR LOOKING TO GET CAPITAL-READY?
We believe in moving at the speed of trust. That means not relying on rigid applications that don’t tell the whole story. Instead, we rely on trusted referral partners who know you, your business, and the communities you serve.
To be invited into our capital program, entrepreneurs must:
Be in relationship with an established referral partner in our network
Be based in one of our active regions
Have completed a business training program
Show strong potential for financial sustainability and community impact
Be committed to healing their relationship with money and to reshaping wealth as a tool for justice
Desire to be in deep community and right relationship with RUNWAY Roots and our community of entrepreneurs