The Black Founder Matters (BFM) Fund, a $10 million venture capital fund based in Portland, has announced it will receive a significant investment from the Oregon Community Foundation.

The undisclosed investment comes just a month after the Bank of America announced a similar move as part of its $1.25 billion plan to advance racial equity and Black business owners in the state.

The funding is also expected to help the organization gain access to federal funding and contracts from Oregon’s Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Program, worth $83.5 million.

“This investment opens up so many doors for us,” Himalaya Rao-Potlapally, managing director of The BFM Fund, said in a statement. “By earmarking OCF's investment to match prospective SSBCI funds, we're actively paving the way for other private investors and organizations who are interested in this program to partner with our fund. Our main goal is to invest in and nurture early-stage Black and innovative founders and start-ups. OCF's support for The BFM Fund's application to the SSBCI program underscores their unwavering commitment to Oregon's entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The first-time partnership with OCF is another step up on the journey for The BFM Fund, which has been raising private capital over the last several months to support Black entrepreneurship.

The BFM Fund has invested in Saysh, a footwear brand owned by Olympian Allyson Felix, Hued, a Black-owned health care startup, and Glow Up Games, a woman-owned gaming studio.

Meanwhile, OCF distributed over $180 million in 2022, supporting 3,500 grantees and awarding more than 3,000 scholarships, a statement reads.

“I'm incredibly proud of the work that The BFM Fund is doing. The recent investments from Bank of America and OCF are a testament to the current and potential impacts of the Fund,” Chris Magana, president of IMS Capital Management and Limited Partner Advisory Committee (LPAC) member for The BFM Fund, said in a statement. "I have no doubt that with this additional support, The BFM Fund will achieve its goal to transform venture capital into a more inclusive space. Diversifying VC benefits us all, period.”