Impact America Fund

What Impact America Fund does

Impact America Fund is a 100% Black female-owned venture capital firm headquartered in Oakland, California, founded in 2014 by Kesha Cash. The firm invests at the Seed through Series B stages, deploying $500K to $3M per company into startups whose commercial success increases economic agency and participation for people of color and low-to-moderate income communities. Sectors of focus include fintech, healthcare, the care economy, beauty and retail, and future-of-work platforms, with portfolio companies such as CareAcademy, SoLo Funds, Twentyeight Health, Esusu, Mayvenn, and Nest Health. The firm manages $177 million in total assets under management across three funds, with Fund III having closed at $112 million in June 2023 with a target of 30 new investments.

Revenue mechanics follow conventional VC economics: management fees on committed and deployed capital plus carried interest from successful exits. Deal flow originates primarily through a curated network of investors, founders, and limited partners that the firm describes as 'friends of the fund', supplemented by a public Airtable pitch form. The firm positions itself as a counter- or pre-consensus investor, with cultural fluency to surface opportunities that mainstream VCs miss. Notable realized exits include ConnXus from Fund II. The limited partner base spans major foundations (W.K. Kellogg, Ford, MacArthur, California Wellness), institutional and corporate investors (MassMutual, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Deutsche Bank, Cambridge Associates, Pivotal Ventures), and impact-focused partners.

Rather than building proprietary technology, Impact America Fund differentiates through research-driven investment theses and ecosystem partnerships. The firm publishes landscape analyses across themes such as Computational Agency, AI Adoption in Medicaid Settings, Reproductive Justice, Maternal Health, Financial Inclusion, and the Green Economy, developed in collaboration with fellows from the Kellogg School of Management's Venture Lab and the ICM Mosaic Fellowship Program. The team is small (1–10 employees, including Kesha Cash as Founder & GP and Yusill Scribner as Head of Business Operations & Strategy), and the firm is geographically concentrated in the United States with no disclosed international expansion.

Name

Impact America Fund

Legal name

Impact America Fund

Website

https://impactamericafund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Impact America Fund is a 100% Black female-owned venture capital firm headquartered in Oakland, California, investing $500K to $3M at Seed through Series B in startups that advance economic agency for people of color, managing $177M in AUM across three funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Impact Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH), Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Impact investing
• Seed stage funding
• Early stage investment
• Equity investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fund Management and Equity Investment Returns: Impact America Fund generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. The fund deploys capital from its $112M Fund III (total AUM $177M) into 30 new companies at Seed through Series A stages. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits via acquisition or IPO.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Impact America Fund is a venture capital firm that invests Seed to Series B equity capital ($250K to $3M per company) in startups whose commercial success advances ownership, opportunity, and empowerment for people of color. The firm manages $177M AUM across three funds, with Fund III ($112M, closed June 2023) as its current active vehicle backing approximately 30 new companies. In addition to capital, it provides portfolio support, network access, and thesis-driven research to founders serving low-to-moderate income communities.

Product overview

Impact America Fund is a 100% Black female-owned venture capital firm that invests Seed to Series B in companies serving people of color. The firm manages $177M AUM across three funds and focuses on investments that increase economic agency and participation for communities of color. Rather than offering technology products or services, the firm provides capital, mentorship, and strategic support to portfolio companies across sectors including fintech, health tech, care economy, and workforce platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Impact America Fund III A $112M venture capital fund vehicle that invests $250K to $3M in equity rounds from Seed through Series A in companies with demonstrated traction in $1B+ markets and whose commercial success advances ownership, opportunity, and empowerment for people of color. Available for capital commitment by institutional limited partners.
• Impact America Fund II A $55M venture capital fund vehicle investing Seed to Series B in companies serving people of color and low-to-moderate income communities, with 67 Limited Partners including foundations, wealth managers, and institutional investors. The fund produced the firm's first exit via ConnXus.
• Investment Thesis Research Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% Black female owned firm
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Nest HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2025Impact America Fund invested in Nest Health's $22.5M Series A round. Nest Health provides in-home, family-centered Medicaid care services. Impact America Fund joined investors including Socium Ventures, Amboy Street Ventures, Hopelab, University Growth Fund, and Luminary Impact Fund to expand behavioral health and SUD treatment services.
• Kellogg School of ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2025Kellogg School of Management's quarterly Venture Lab program brings fellows to Impact America Fund to support research function. Fellows contribute to landscape analyses and investment thesis development.
• ICM Mosaic Fellowship ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Impact Capital Managers' Mosaic Fellowship Program brings summer fellows to Impact America Fund to support sourcing, deal diligence, and portfolio management work.
• SoLo FundsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025Portfolio company featured at AGM reporting on 'Cash Poor' across the country. SoLo Funds is an inclusive financial services platform with 2M+ unique downloads and nearly $1B in transaction volume serving low and moderate income communities.
• CareAcademyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025Portfolio company featured at AGM. CareAcademy provides home care skills training, retention, and compliance software serving agencies and caregivers across the U.S.
• Twentyeight HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025Portfolio company featured at AGM. Twentyeight Health is a digital-first women's healthcare platform serving 100,000+ users in 43 states with reproductive and sexual healthcare.
• EsusuflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025Portfolio company featured at AGM. Esusu helps renters build credit history by reporting rent payments, serving 1.8M consumers with rent reporting services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harlem Capital Partners: Early-stage venture firm investing in underrepresented founders, with a minority-focused thesis and multi-fund track record. Highly comparable to IAF in stage, check size, and DEI mandate.
• Backstage Capital: Seed-stage fund investing in founders of color, women, and LGBTQ+ founders. Operates in a directly overlapping DEI-driven, Seed–Series A venture strategy.
• Precursor Ventures: Generalist seed-stage venture firm investing in pre-seed and seed rounds across sectors. Comparable in stage and check size though thematically broader than IAF.
• Kapor Capital: Impact-driven seed venture fund focused on startups closing gaps of access, opportunity, or outcome for underserved communities. Overlaps with IAF on impact thesis and early-stage investing.
• Chingona Ventures: Early-stage venture fund led by a Latina GP, investing in overlooked and underestimated founders. Comparable stage, check size, and underrepresented-founder thesis.
• Zeal Capital Partners: Impact-led venture firm investing in companies serving Black, Brown, and women-led founders and consumers. Closely aligned with IAF's communities-of-color thesis and stage focus.
• Socium Ventures (Socium Capital): Impact-focused venture firm investing in underrepresented founders and underserved markets. Overlaps with IAF on impact mandate, stage, and co-investment activity (e.g., Nest Health).
• Concrete Rose Capital: Seed-stage venture fund investing in Black, Latino, and women founders. Comparable thesis, stage, and check size to IAF.

Broad incumbents

• Goldman Sachs Inclusive Growth & One Million Black Women: Goldman Sachs' strategic initiatives invest in Black women, founders of color, and underserved communities through direct commitments and LP allocations. Comparable as an institutional capital allocator into IAF's category.
• Kleiner Perkins: Large multi-stage venture firm that has launched DEI-focused initiatives (e.g., KP Fellows for underrepresented founders). Represents the scaled-VC competition IAF increasingly faces for impact-titled deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ia_fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments37 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Impact America Fund