The Colorado Impact Fund

What The Colorado Impact Fund does

The Colorado Impact Fund (CIF) is a Denver-based venture capital firm founded in 2014 that manages approximately $80 million of private capital across two vehicles, the Colorado Impact Fund I and the Colorado Impact Bridge Fund. CIF invests exclusively in Colorado-headquartered companies with high-growth, scalable business models and an explicit community impact mission, deploying initial checks of $500,000 to $3 million at Late Seed, Series A, Series B, and growth stages across five sector verticals: Clean Energy, Education, Healthcare, Natural Foods, and Technology.

CIF's operating model combines capital deployment with hands-on portfolio support, including strategic planning, talent recruitment, and follow-on financing through the Bridge Fund vehicle. The fund operates as a small, partner-led team (1-10 employees) anchored by Founder and Managing Partner Jim Kelley (co-founder of Vestar Capital Partners), Partner and General Counsel Carly Abrahamson, Principal Ali Kelley, and Senior Advisor Federico Peña (former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Energy, former Mayor of Denver). The disclosed portfolio of roughly 19 companies includes scale-stage operators such as CirrusMD (4.4M lives covered), TeamSnap (20M users), Keystone Tower Systems (patented wind tower manufacturing), Tortuga AgTech (robotic harvesting), Project Canary (continuous ESG emissions monitoring), and impact-anchored brands such as Bhakti, Chocolove, Hope Foods, and Maria Empanada.

CIF generates revenue through conventional VC economics: annual management fees (typically 1-2% of committed capital) on its approximately $80M AUM, plus carried interest on exits above a hurdle rate. Deal sourcing is community-led and locally embedded in the Colorado entrepreneurial ecosystem, with explicit outreach to underrepresented founders and companies operating outside the Front Range. As a regional impact-mandated fund, CIF differentiates from generalist Colorado capital by combining geographic exclusivity, a formal impact reporting framework (2018 and 2021 reports published), and federal-level advisor credibility.

Name

The Colorado Impact Fund

Legal name

Colorado Impact Fund

Website

https://coloradoimpactfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Colorado Impact Fund is a Denver-based venture capital firm founded in 2014 that manages approximately $80 million to invest exclusively in Colorado-headquartered companies with high-growth, scalable business models and community impact missions, deploying $500K to $3M checks across Clean Energy, Education, Healthcare, Natural Foods, and Technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing (Intentional, Measurable Social/Environmental Outcomes) (FSAAALAC), Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Impact investment management
• Growth stage capital
• Seed round investing
• Private equity funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns (Carried Interest): As a venture capital fund, CIF generates returns through capital appreciation and exits from portfolio companies. The fund managers earn carried interest (typically 20%) on profits above the hurdle rate from successful portfolio company exits through M&A, IPOs, or secondary transactions.
2. Management Fees: VC funds typically charge annual management fees (1-2% of committed capital) to cover operational expenses including team compensation, deal sourcing, portfolio management, and administrative costs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Colorado Impact Fund is a Denver-based venture capital firm that invests capital and provides strategic, operational, and talent support to Colorado-based companies with high-growth, scalable business models and a commitment to community impact. CIF manages approximately $80 million of private capital through the Colorado Impact Fund I and the Colorado Impact Bridge Fund, deploying $500K to $3 million in initial investments at Late Seed, Series A, Series B, and growth stages across the Clean Energy, Education, Healthcare, Natural Foods, and Technology sectors.

Product overview

The Colorado Impact Fund (CIF) is a Denver-based venture capital firm that does not offer a standalone product or software platform. Instead, CIF provides investment capital, strategic support, and operational expertise to Colorado-based portfolio companies across sectors including Clean Energy, Education, Healthcare, Natural Foods, and Technology. CIF manages approximately $80 million across Colorado Impact Fund I and the Colorado Impact Bridge Fund, with initial investments ranging from $500K to $3 million in Late Seed, Series A, Series B, and growth stage companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Colorado Impact Fund I Flagship private venture capital fund vehicle managed by The Colorado Impact Fund, deploying capital to Colorado-based companies across Clean Energy, Education, Healthcare, Natural Foods, and Technology with $500K to $3 million initial investments and reserves for follow-on participation.
• Colorado Impact Bridge Fund Supplementary venture capital fund vehicle managed by CIF that provides additional capital flexibility for follow-on investments and bridge financing for Colorado-based portfolio companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• CirrusMD covers 4.4 million lives including 1.6 million Medicaid patients and 900k veterans
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World Cocoa FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortfolio company Chocolove is a contributor to the World Cocoa Foundation and has achieved certifications including Rain Forest Alliance, Fair Trade, Organic, Non-GMO and SQF Rating of Excellence.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• City Light Capital: New York-based venture capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage companies driving social and environmental impact. Comparable to CIF in fund structure, sector breadth across education, healthcare, energy, and technology, and dual bottom-line focus.
• Conscious Venture Partners: Baltimore-based early-stage impact VC investing in companies led by underestimated founders and targeting underinvested markets. Closely comparable to CIF's focus on underrepresented founders, mission-driven businesses, and a regional concentration thesis.
• Kapor Capital: Oakland-based impact venture firm investing seed-stage in startups closing gaps of access, opportunity, or outcomes for underrepresented people. Comparable to CIF in early-stage impact focus and demographic-mission alignment, though serving a different geography.
• Impact America Fund: Birmingham, AL-based venture capital fund investing in high-growth companies led by underestimated founders in the U.S. South and beyond. Highly comparable to CIF's regional impact thesis, founder demographic focus, and seed-to-Series-A stage.
• SJF Ventures: Durham, NC-based impact venture capital firm investing growth capital in high-impact companies across clean energy, education, healthcare, and technology. Directly comparable to CIF in mission focus, stage (Seed through growth), and sector-agnostic impact thesis, with similar geographic concentration in a regional ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Better Ventures: Oakland-based early-stage fund backing mission-driven founders solving major social and environmental problems. Comparable to CIF in impact thesis and seed-stage focus, though concentrated in the Bay Area ecosystem rather than a single state.
• NewSchools Venture Fund: Philanthropic venture fund supporting education entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions for K-12 and post-secondary learners. Comparable to CIF as a sector-adjacent impact investor in education/workforce, representing both a partial overlap and a potential co-investor or co-competitor in CIF's education vertical.
• VestedWorld: Early-stage impact VC investing in emerging markets, with a thesis of backing locally-led businesses across agriculture, education, healthcare, and financial services. Comparable to CIF in fund size, impact focus, and seed-to-Series-A stage, though operating across different geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Gray Ghost Ventures: Impact-focused venture firm investing in education, workforce, and emerging-market opportunities globally. Comparable to CIF in impact mandate and stage, but operates at a larger scale and broader geographic scope, providing a benchmark for what scaled impact VC looks like.
• Acumen: Global nonprofit impact investment organization deploying patient capital into early-stage companies addressing poverty across multiple sectors. A much larger, established incumbent in the impact investing space serving as a structural reference point for CIF's mission orientation and portfolio approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/COImpactFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colorado-impact-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments20 records

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

Frequently asked questions about The Colorado Impact Fund