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Impact Ventures
Ben Vann, chief executive of Impact Ventures, speaks during a video-recorded event at JPMorgan Chase’s Dallas office, where the nonprofit announced the launch of its CDFI fund, IV Capital. [Image: Screenshot / The Shearer Group video]
Dallas’ Impact Ventures Launches Texas’ First Integrated Capital Fund Backing Women- and BIPOC-Led Enterprises
by Maddie Preston | Oct 24, 2025
At a kickoff event held at JPMorgan Chase ahead of the 2025 Inclusive Capital Summit, the announcement of Impact Ventures' new CDFI fund set the tone for a two-day gathering focused on the future of capital, inclusion, and community-driven growth.
by Glenn Hunter |
Aug 12, 2025
With startups facing a more unforgiving fundraising landscape, experts at the Future of Venture Forum presented alternative capital paths including venture studios, government grants, revenue-based financing—plus why the Texas Stock Exchange positions IPOs as growth capital, not just exits.
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Dallas-Based Comerica Bank Marks Small Business Week With $250K in Grants to Community Organizations
by Lance Murray |
May 7, 2025
Five nonprofit organizations—including Dallas-based Impact Ventures—will each receive a $50,000 contribution from Comerica Bank during National Small Business Week, which runs through Saturday.
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by Lance Murray |
Apr 1, 2025
The HerGenius Pitch Competiton provided a platform for women founders to pitch their businesses to a panel of judges, investors, and industry leaders. The prize-winning pitches ranged from compression technology to a plant-based energy juice to eco-friendly footwear to a women-only strength training gym.
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Benjamin Vann, founder and CEO of Impact Ventures [Photo: Impact Ventures]
The Last Word: Benjamin Vann on Impact Ventures Becoming the Second CDVC Firm in Texas
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report | Jun 18, 2024
Vann's news: Impact Ventures "will be considered 1 of 74 [Community Development Venture Capital] firms in the U.S."—and the second in Texas—"providing more small businesses access to equity and equity-like capital, especially in times like today where interest rates are higher and traditional debt is considered to be expensive."
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by Lance Murray |
Jun 14, 2023
Hailing from Dallas to Houston to Atlanta, founders from 10 diverse businesses will unite in the Summer 2023 Impact Growth Accelerator. Participating companies—tech or tech-enabled, consumer goods, or growth-oriented service-based—must be in business for at least two years with $50,000 to $250,000 in revenue.
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by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Apr 28, 2023
The inaugeral Inclusive Capital Summit will kick off with a VIP event on May 3rd, followed by two days of inspiring keynotes from national leaders, solution-based conversations, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Check out the lineup.
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Comerica Bank Is Creating a ‘BusinessHQ’ Collaborative Space for Small Businesses in Southern Dallas
by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Dec 9, 2022
Southern Dallas small business owners are about to get a new space to connect, collaborate, and help grow their companies.
Comerica Bank is transforming the first floor of its R.L. Thornton location into Comerica BusinessHQ—an 8,000-SF collaborative space offering a mix of coworking spaces, incubation fellowships, and technical assistance. The center will address three big needs: "capital, cultivation, and connectivity."
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Aaron Pierce, Ross Perot Jr., and Anurag Jain at the kickoff event for the 2022 Venture Dallas conference.
Tech Talk and ‘Meaningful Connections’: 10 Takeaways From Venture Dallas 2022
by Kevin Cummings | Nov 7, 2022
At last week's Venture Dallas conference, more than 400 VCs, angel investors, startups, and business leaders gathered for a showcase of North Texas' entrepreneurial and venture ecosystem. Here's a look at the highlights—from Troy Aikman saying "There are no shortcuts" to Alto Founder Will Coleman on the power of doing "the opposite" to Mark Cuban's "ready, fire, aim" approach.
“Regions like Texas and Dallas-Fort Worth, we’re the model for the rest of the nation on how to get things done," Ross Perot Jr. said at the conference kickoff.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Oct 4, 2022
Venture Dallas 2022—a full-day conference to be held Nov. 3 at the George W. Bush Presidential Center—will connect investors from all over the U.S with the “best founders in our region” with the goal of sparking “collisions” and “meaningful connections," co-founder Aaron Pierce says. He adds that those could potentially lead to fundings—and successful exits.
Here's a look at why the North Texas startup and VC scene is hopping, and what Venture Dallas 2022 could mean for you.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Sep 8, 2022
The nonprofit Founders First CDC has announced the Texas-based recipients of its latest round of Job Creators Quest Grants. Nearly half of the 30 businesses are based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Meet the locals here.
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by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Aug 30, 2022
From a literacy organization to a farm and neighbor space to a nonprofit startup accelerator, the 25 first-ever recipients of The Dallas Foundation's Racial Equity Fund grants are working to make Dallas a more equitable and thriving city. The fund, launched in late 2021, seeks to address the ongoing disparities that directly impact Dallas’ Black and Hispanic residents.
The Dallas Foundation's president and CEO says he's confident the investments "will propel true, tangible change in the community."
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[Image: mel-nik/istockphoto]
Follow the Money: D.R. Horton Acquires Public Water Resources Firm, Critical Start Raises $215M, Fort Worth Biotech VC Raises New Funds, and More
by Kevin Cummings | Apr 15, 2022
What companies are finding funding or having a big exit? From startup investments to grants and acquisitions, Dallas Innovates tracks what’s happening in North Texas money.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Apr 14, 2022
“Entrepreneurs of color are over-mentored and undercapitalized. While others are saying, ‘Here’s a program or mentorship,’ we’ve been one of the first groups to say, ‘Here’s that, plus capital, to get you there,’” says Benjamin Vann, founder and CEO at Impact Ventures.
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by Kevin Cummings |
Apr 4, 2022
Dallas-based nonprofit accelerator Impact Ventures has unveiled the lineup of its latest cohort, made up of nearly 20 companies that span from Nepalese dumpling makers to virtual reality job-training platforms.
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by Dallas Innovates | Staff Report |
Oct 26, 2021
Now in its third year, the program from Dallas Innovates and D CEO honors 78 disruptors and trailblazers driving a new vision for innovation in North Texas.
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