UP Community Fund

What UP Community Fund does

UP Community Fund is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based community development financial institution (CDFI) founded in May 2018 by David Sharp through his firm Urban Advisors, in partnership with Riverside Church as seed investor. The fund provides growth capital loans ranging from $250,000 to $5 million (terms up to four years) to small businesses — primarily entrepreneurs of color — with annual revenue between $300,000 and $5 million operating in the Southeastern U.S., Mid-Atlantic, and St. Louis Metro. As of February 2020, the fund had reached a total size of $19.5 million after a $7.35 million second close led by Calvert Impact Capital, with deployment of approximately $9.2 million to 14 businesses at a $576K average loan size, of which 40% were women entrepreneurs of color.

The core product is a relationship-based small business loan paired with bespoke technical assistance, business advisory, and access to a Resource Partners network of approved service providers (marketing, branding, design). A secondary product, the UCF Village platform, offers Standard and Premium membership tiers that provide borrowers ongoing community engagement, peer networking, success storytelling, and discounted partner services. The fund does not operate a proprietary technology platform; loan origination, underwriting, and servicing are conducted manually through a relationship-lending process with an approximately 30-day approval cycle.

Revenue is generated primarily through interest income and origination fees on the deployed loan portfolio, with a 2023 $500,000 non-dilutive grant from the U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund supplementing capital. Institutional capital is provided by Calvert Impact Capital, MetLife, Riverside Church, Amalgamated Bank, New Resource Bank, Progress Investment Management, Olamina Fund, Living Cities, Pi Investments, American Baptist Home Mission Society, and BSW Wealth Partners clients. The fund operates with a 1-10 person team led by Sharp (Managing Partner) and Tawruss Sellars (Partner, underwriting and operations), supported by advisors and resource partners.

Name

UP Community Fund

Legal name

UP Community Fund

Website

https://upcommunityfund.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UP Community Fund is a Charlotte-based CDFI founded in 2018 that provides $250K-$5M relationship-based growth capital loans, technical assistance, and community programming to entrepreneurs of color in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and St. Louis Metro.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Finance (CDFI small business lending)

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Affordable Housing Funds (FSANAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• Small business loans
• Impact investing
• Minority business financing
• Growth capital lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest and Origination Fees: UP Community Fund generates revenue through interest income on loans provided to small businesses. Loans range from $250,000 to $5 million with terms up to 4 years. The fund targets entrepreneurs of color in underserved markets who face limited access to traditional capital.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UP Community Fund is a community development financial institution that provides flexible growth capital loans of $250,000 to $5 million (terms up to 4 years) and relationship-based technical assistance to small business owners, with a focus on entrepreneurs of color in the southeastern United States. The fund pairs capital with ongoing business advisory, peer-based resource sharing through the UCF Village community platform, and a curated Resource Partners network of approved service providers.

Product overview

UP Community Fund is a community development financial institution offering a unified suite of growth capital and support services for small business owners, primarily entrepreneurs of color in the southeastern United States. The core offering consists of flexible small business loans ($250,000 to $5 million) combined with a relationship lending model that provides ongoing technical assistance and business guidance. Supplementary offerings include the UCF Village community platform (with Standard and Premium membership tiers), a Resource Partners network of approved service providers, and informal peer-based resource sharing among portfolio businesses. The products work together as an integrated support ecosystem designed to address access to capital, advisory services, and relationship networks for underserved entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Village: The UP Community Fund Village (UCF Village) is a hub for entrepreneurs, business owners, business professionals, and organizations committed to developing small, minority, and women-owned enterprises. It promotes unity, collaboration, and development as vehicles to inspire growth, change, and advancement. The Village includes Standard and Premium Membership options for clients, partners, and stakeholders.

Products and services

• Small Business Loans Flexible growth capital loans ranging from $250,000 to $5 million with loan terms up to 4 years, targeting small business owners with annual sales of $300,000 or more in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Use of funds covers working capital (contract financing, inventory/receivables financing, refinance, cashflow management) and growth capital (refinancing, acquisition, asset purchase). Approval process approximately 30 days.
• UCF Village (UP Community Fund Village) A branded community platform for entrepreneurs offering resources, success spotlights, and networking. Offers Standard Membership (free resources, newsletter, partner discounts) and Premium Membership (customized promotional graphics, brand placement, feature stories, event discounts for portfolio members).
• Technical Assistance Business advisory services including assessment, direction, and guidance tailored to each borrower alongside loan financing. Includes help with understanding business metrics, planning, and network expansion.
• Resource Partners Network A network of approved service providers offering marketing, branding, graphic design, digital marketing, and web design services to UP Community Fund clients at discounted rates.

Quantifiable outcome

• $9.2 million deployed to small businesses
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Nouveaux DimensionsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial UP Community Fund Resource Partner providing PR and Marketing services. Founded by Radea Sharp with over 15+ years experience in branding, marketing, public relations, management and event production.
• Nefer Design GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorResource Partner providing graphic design services for small businesses and organizations. Creates graphics for social media and email campaigns.
• 21fiveminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial UP Community Fund Team Partner providing branding and digital marketing services. Brand strategy and digital marketing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LiftFund: LiftFund is a CDFI providing small business loans and advisory to minority and underserved entrepreneurs, with overlapping borrower profiles, geography, and product offerings to UP Community Fund.
• Accion: Accion is a global nonprofit that provides loans, capital, and advisory services to small business owners — including underserved entrepreneurs — directly comparable to UP Community Fund's lending-plus-technical-assistance model in the US market.
• DreamSpring: DreamSpring is a CDFI delivering small business loans, mentorship, and capital to underserved entrepreneurs — directly comparable in target customer (minority and women-owned SMBs), product mix, and mission orientation.
• Grameen America: Grameen America provides microloans and financial services to women entrepreneurs living in poverty across the US, mirroring UCF's focus on women entrepreneurs of color and combining credit with peer support and financial education.
• Kiva: Kiva is a nonprofit that crowdfunds 0% interest loans to underserved borrowers including small business owners, sharing UCF's mission of financial inclusion and combining capital with community support.

Others

• Opportunity Finance Network: OFN is the national CDFI industry association that provides capital, policy advocacy, and capacity-building to CDFIs including UP Community Fund, making it an ecosystem/peer institution rather than a direct lender.

Broad incumbents

• Calvert Impact Capital: Calvert Impact Capital is a larger, established CDFI that mobilizes investor capital for impact — a direct investor and syndication partner of UP Community Fund, operating at much greater scale and portfolio breadth.
• Living Cities: Living Cities is a collaborative of major foundations and financial institutions that funds wealth-building in low-income communities — a current investor and broadly comparable institutional impact investor to UP Community Fund.

Regional players

• Self-Help Credit Union: Self-Help is a North Carolina-based CDFI and credit union providing community development lending and financial services — a close regional peer to UP Community Fund's Charlotte-headquartered operations.
• NDC (National Development Council): NDC is a nonprofit that provides financing, training, and technical assistance to underserved small businesses and communities through CDFIs — operating a comparable model of bundled credit and capacity-building support.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about UP Community Fund