National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3)

What National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) does

NC3 (National Coalition for Community Capital) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. The organization educates, advocates for, and activates a community capital movement in the United States, with its work centered on Community Investment Funds (CIFs) — locally managed investment vehicles that channel resident capital toward local businesses, projects, and initiatives rather than Wall Street intermediaries. Its served populations include community organizers, local entrepreneurs, nonprofit partners, individual community members, and policy advocates.

The organization's productized deliverables include the CIF Starter Workbook, CIF Handbook (containing ten fund profiles plus a legal primer), CIF Toolkit (templates and worksheets), a Practitioners' Directory spanning law, financial planning, and community development, monthly Coalition Conversations convenings, a bi-monthly listserv, and a Community Capital Accelerator Program that incubates new funds. Its advocacy portfolio includes state and federal policy engagement, including representation at the 2025 SEC Small Business Capital Formation Forum and conference presence at the Just Economy Conference (1,200+ leaders) and the IEDC Annual Conference (1,500+ attendees). Documented programmatic outcomes include Rhode Island's first Diversified Community Investment Fund raising $3.5 million via the Local Return partnership and the Commongrounds cooperative project in Michigan raising $1.8 million from more than 400 community investors.

NC3 operates on a donation- and membership-based revenue model with no commercial product pricing. The organization is led by CEO Chris Miller, who also serves as Board Chair, and operates with a small team of approximately five employees, scaling impact primarily through its partner network (Crowdfund Better, Local Return, Right To Start, PathLight Law, Commongrounds, Urban Institute) and its practitioner community rather than through headcount expansion.

Name

National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3)

Legal name

National Coalition for Community Capital

Website

https://nc3now.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 that educates, advocates for, and activates the community capital movement in the United States, supporting locally managed Community Investment Funds through education, policy advocacy, and fund incubation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, NC3 raises funds through donations and membership contributions to support their educational programs, advocacy efforts, and community investment fund incubation activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NC3 educates, advocates, and activates the community capital movement by providing educational resources and programs on local investing, advocating for state and federal legislation that expands community investment opportunities, and incubating Community Investment Funds (CIFs). Its deliverables include the CIF Starter Workbook, CIF Handbook, CIF Toolkit, monthly Coalition Conversations, and a Practitioners' Directory that connects communities with legal, financial, and technical expertise.

Product overview

National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a suite of educational resources and programs focused on community investing. The core offering centers on Community Investment Funds (CIFs) — locally managed investment vehicles designed to keep capital within communities. The product portfolio includes the CIF Starter Workbook (for initial planning), the CIF Handbook (comprehensive manual with fund profiles and legal guidance), and the CIF Toolkit (practical implementation resources including team building, financial modeling, and operating structure tools). Together, these resources guide communities through the process of establishing and managing local investment funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Investment Funds (CIFs) Locally managed investment funds designed to keep capital rooted in the communities they serve. Through CIFs, community members can invest and support many local businesses, projects, and initiatives within their own neighborhoods via local sourcing, investing, and decision-making. Targeted at community organizations, local leaders, and everyday community members seeking to build or participate in place-based investment vehicles.
• CIF Starter Workbook A guided, hands-on workbook for individuals and community groups taking their first steps toward building a Community Investment Fund, including practical exercises for clarifying purpose, identifying partners, engaging communities, and planning for capital raising.
• CIF Handbook A comprehensive manual illustrating a wide range of approaches to building a Community Investment Fund, featuring short profiles of 10 funds, basic steps for development, and a legal primer on types of community investment funds. Designed for community organizations and local leaders ready to move from concept to launch.
• CIF Toolkit A collection of practical implementation resources to help develop Community Investment Funds, including Team Builder Matrix, Investment Thesis Worksheet, Fund Calculator, Operating Structure Checklist, and Financial Modeling Guidelines, plus explainer videos and downloadable worksheets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rhode Island launched the first Diversified Community Investment Fund in the nation, raising $3.5M from everyday people
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• Crowdfund BettercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative education partnership where Crowdfund Better and NC3 work together to create awareness and develop tools to empower local organizations, businesses, and leaders to take charge of local production and investment.
• Jessica David / Local ReturncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJessica David from Local Return launched the first Diversified Community Investment Fund (DCIF) in the nation, inspired by NC3's community investment fund handbook and supported through NC3's network and resources.
• Right To StartnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Right To Start, whose CEO Victor Hwang's work simplifying business start legislation complements NC3's community capital and wealth-building mission.
• PathLight LawnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrian Beckon, NC3 Board Member and attorney at PathLight Law, helps introduce the nuances of the Diversified Community Investment Fund structure and provides legal expertise.
• CommongroundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommongrounds is a community-funded cooperative project in Michigan that raised $1.8M from over 400 community investors, representing a successful model of NC3's community capital approach.
• Urban InstitutenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with NC3 at the Just Economy Conference to share insights on how community-driven funds are expanding access to local investment and ownership.
• Kate Redmond / CommongroundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Executive Director of Commongrounds who shared insights on investment crowdfunding campaigns and wealth-building in communities during an NC3 Coalition Conversation.
• Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) FellowsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix ERC fellows co-presented at IEDC conference, workshopping the process of setting up community investment funds in their host communities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RSF Social Finance: Nonprofit financial intermediary that pools capital from individuals and foundations to fund social enterprises and local food systems. Most comparable to NC3 in using community-sourced capital for place-based impact, and serves as a direct model of the kind of pooled-investor vehicle NC3 promotes.
• Kiva: Nonprofit crowdfunding platform enabling crowdfunded microloans from everyday lenders to entrepreneurs. Directly comparable to NC3's model of mobilizing ordinary people to deploy capital locally, though Kiva focuses on individual loans rather than diversified pooled funds.
• Slow Money: Nonprofit movement investing in local food systems and small food enterprises through community capital. Highly comparable in its philosophy of redirecting capital from Wall Street to local communities, and similarly uses education, convening, and fund incubation as core tactics.
• Invest Local (Local Return): Operator of the Rhode Island Diversified Community Investment Fund directly inspired by NC3's Handbook. Most directly comparable as a living implementation of NC3's CIF framework, serving as both proof-of-concept and exemplar for replication in other communities.
• Right To Start: Nonprofit advocating for entrepreneurship policy reform. Comparable as a movement-building nonprofit partner of NC3 focused on removing barriers to local economic activity and startup formation, complementing NC3's community-capital focus.
• Crowdfund Better: Education and advocacy organization empowering local organizations to use investment crowdfunding. Closest peer in scope, also a nonprofit, also focused on educating communities about local investment vehicles, and explicitly a partner of NC3.

Broad incumbents

• Opportunity Finance Network: National CDFI network representing hundreds of community development lenders. Highly comparable because both organizations advance community-level capital access, but OFN is far larger, focuses on lending institutions rather than grassroots community-investor vehicles, and operates more as an industry trade group.
• Community Reinvestment Fund: National CDFI providing capital to underserved communities through lending and investment. Comparable in targeting community-development capital gaps, but operates at institutional scale with bank and foundation capital rather than grassroots community pooling.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major national community development financial institution deploying billions into underserved communities. Comparable to NC3 in mission of channeling capital locally, but LISC operates at vastly greater scale with institutional capital rather than grassroots community-investor pooling.

Emerging players

• Grameen America: Nonprofit microfinance organization building community-based poverty alleviation through small-business lending. Comparable mission of community-empowered capital access, but operates a lending model rather than the diversified community-investor-pooled fund structure NC3 promotes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nc3now
• Facebookfacebook.com/nc3now
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nc3now
• Instagraminstagram.com/nc3now

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3)