The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, known as the Entrepreneur Fund, is a Minnesota-based nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides funding to small businesses and startups in specific countries in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The group also covers several Native American tribes in its service area. The fund has partnered with state and federal governments and has employed racial equity and diversity as criteria in some of its funding decisions, including in its Rural Equity Grant program which is operated in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and backed with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ^{1 2}

The fund received a $9 million donation from MacKenzie Scott in 2024 as part of her support of the CDFI sector. ³

Background

The Entrepreneur Fund was formed in 1989 as the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund. The fund raised between $2 million and $4 million for most of its history before generating over $10 million in 2020. In 2023, the group reported $12.7 million in revenue and $7.7 million in expenses. ⁴

The group is a community development financial institution, or CDFI, a certification given by the U.S. Treasury to financial institutions that serve economically disadvantaged communities. ²

The group’s service region covers 29 counties and 12 Native American tribes in Minnesota and Wisconsin. ²

Activity

According to tax filings, in 2022, the Entrepreneur Fund’s total program expenses of $5,711,590 were directed to provide services to 1,617 entrepreneurs. The group also reported that 327 loans were disbursed to those clients to start, stabilize, or expand their businesses. A total of $24.5 million in loans were approved with most “disbursed to low-income individuals or in low-income communities” including “underserved and disadvantaged business owners and communities with specialized services for women-owned business.” ⁵

The group’s funding areas include SBA Microloans, Working Capital Loans, the Healthy Food Fund, Gap Financing, the Wisconsin Down Payment Assistance Grant, and the Wisconsin Rural Equity Grant. The group’s Wisconsin Rural Equity Grant is funded with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. ¹

The group also operates the Women’s Business Alliance which is a certified Women’s Business Center of the U.S. Small Business Administration and provides funding to women-owned businesses as well as programs and conferences. ⁶

In 2024, the Entrepreneurship Fund received a $9 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as part of her support for community development financial institutions. The gift was part of a batch of gifts to 14 different organizations that provided $300 million to CDFI or similar groups through Yield Giving, Scott’s philanthropic organization. ³

1. “Lending + Advising.” Entrepreneur Fund. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.efund.org/what-we-do/lending-advising
2. “Who We Are.” Entrepreneur Fund. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.efund.org/who-we-are
3. Tremaybe-Pengelly, Alexandra. “MacKenzie Scott Has Quietly Given Away Over $17B Since 2020: Her Latest Donations.” Observer. November 22, 2024. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://observer.com/2024/11/billionaire-philanthropist-mackenzie-scott-quietly-donates-300m/
4. “Northeast Entrepreneur Fund Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/363566632
5.  Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (form 990). Entrepreneur Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/363566632/202343119349302744/full
6. “Women’s Business Alliance.” Entrepreneur Fund. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.efund.org/what-we-do/womens-business-alliance