Natural Capital Investment Fund

News Releases

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund), a mission-driven small business lender to locally-owned enterprises in the Southeast and central Appalachia, recently partnered with The Positec Group to award $50,000 in grants to help four North Carolina small businesses weather the COVID-19 crisis. 

West Virginia State Capitol
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V. — The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) recently received a $300,000 loan from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation in Charleston, WV. The loan will be used to expand NCIFund’s small business loan program which provides financing for equipment, working capital and real estate acquisition to start-up and early-stage small businesses in underserved communities in the Foundation’s service area.

Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund), Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), and Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA) committed to recovery of local farmers and sustainable, healthy food systems

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) has launched the RESEED Recovery Fund, a $250,000 program that will provide low-interest, easily accessible loans to North Carolina and South Carolina farmers and value-added producers who sustained damages from Hurricanes Florence or Michael.

Mainstreet Fairmont, West Virginia. Photo by Sam Levitan.

Natural Capital Investment Fund and Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center to Support Diverse Economies and Job Creation


SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.— The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) was awarded $1.7 million in funding to cultivate healthy downtown commercial districts in West Virginia, working alongside for-profit developers, independent building owners, nonprofit development groups and commercial tenants. 

United Bank_NCIF Loan

Natural Capital Investment Fund Receives Funding from United Bank to Support Small Businesses in 26 Underserved West Virginia Counties


SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.— The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund), a small business lender that supports locally-owned enterprises throughout central Appalachia and the Southeast, recently announced that it has received more than $500,000 in investment and grant support from United Bank, to increase its lending and support services to small businesses in underserved West Virginia counties.

E-Mun-Talee_NCIF_PLC_Loan

Natural Capital Investment Fund Loan Enables Herbal Medicine School to Purchase 500-acre Property from Piedmont Land Conservancy

LOWGAP, N.C.—Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund) and the Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) announced today the purchase of the historic Camp E-Mun-Talee by Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine and Wellspring Mountain, Inc. The 500-acre property, located in western Surry County and previously home to the Eckerd Youth Alternatives program for troubled youth, includes a 40-acre campsite with 18 structures for lodging and activities. The remainder of the property is under a conservation easement held by PLC.

United Bank_NCIF loan
This release was distributed by United Bank and published here with permission. To view the original posting, click here. 

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V.—United Bank, Inc., a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc., the largest bank holding company headquartered in West Virginia, recently announced the investment of $500,000 in the Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund). NCIFund, a small business lender that supports locally-owned enterprises in Central Appalachia and the Southeast, will use the funds to support its small business lending to underserved communities throughout the state. NCIFund is based in Shepherdstown.

Hatfield-McCoy_NCIF_Southern West Virginia Tourism Initiative

Natural Capital Investment Fund and Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority to Support Diverse Economies and Job Creation

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V. —The Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund)—a green business lender and an affiliate of the national nonprofit Conservation Fund—and the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority (Hatfield-McCoy) announced their partnership focused on creating jobs and improving quality of life in coal-impacted communities in southern West Virginia. Using a total of $2.6 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) the two organizations will expand access to capital and business advisory services for tourism-related businesses and help diversify the region’s economy. 

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NCIFund is a Maryland nonstock corporation that is a 501(c)(3) organization and a certified Community Development Financial Institution. It is recognized as a supporting organization to The Conservation Fund under the Internal Revenue Code.