Ed Briscoe

Knotty Tie Co. was founded in 2013 with a mission to revolutionize neckties and apparel by letting the customer create a design that they are excited to wear. All our ties, pocket squares and scarves are made by hand, on-demand in Denver, Colorado, USA. As a social enterprise since our start, we're passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities for skilled resettled refugees. Their professional skills, combined with our advanced printing and production technology, results in the highest quality products possible in an environmentally responsible way. Our personalized design experience and innovative, on-demand manufacturing practices allows us to make one-of-a-kind products on any schedule. Perfect for weddings, company events, fun gifts, or anything else you can imagine on a tie.

Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute creates the space for communities and people of all backgrounds to realize their unique potential through the power of entrepreneurship. We invest in entrepreneurs’ personal and business development through a proven mix of classroom, coaching, capital, and community. In 14 years, RMMFI is proud to have: • Graduated 55 classes of Business Launch Boot Camp with an 85% graduation rate, which resulted in the launch or expansion of 436 businesses in Denver, Aurora, and the San Luis Valley • Distributed ​$1,088,548 in 357 loans to low-income entrepreneurs with a 94% repayment rate • Become a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with the U.S. Treasury • Won the 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2022 Right on the Money Award from CUA • Won the 2021 Ian Helms Award from the Dakota Foundation • Received the 2021 Member’s Choice Award with Good Business Colorado • Been selected as a member of the 2020 Catalyst Program cohort • Won the 2019 Colorado Google.org Impact Challenge (one of five winners) • Won the 2019 National Innovation Award from American Enterprise Institute (AEI) • Been named a 2013, 2018, & 2019 Top Company Finalist (Nonprofit) by COBiz Magazine • Received the 2016 Small Nonprofit of the Year award from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce • Won the 2011 Colorado Innovation in Philanthropy Award from Bank of the West

Colorado Housing Accelerator Initiative (CHAI) was founded in 2021 to simplify and scale the delivery of mission-driven capital to affordable housing projects. CHAI offers two strategies – debt and equity – geared toward filling affordable housing funding gaps and delivering risk-adjusted returns to mission-aligned partners, and is building a Tenant Equity Vehicle (TEV) to support tenants' path to financial well-being and homeownership.

Founded in 1976, Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) is an award-winning nonprofit small business lender and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides loans up to $1,000,000 to Colorado-based small businesses and startups unable to secure traditional bank financing. With a mission to accelerate community prosperity by supporting small businesses and economic development, CEF has disbursed over $315 million in capital to more than 8,400 businesses to help create and retain over 32,500 jobs in Colorado. CEF offers many different loan solutions to meet our borrowers needs. CEF provides flexible, low-barrier loans to be used for working capital, equipment, inventory, business purchase, property improvements, and more. CEF is more than just an SBA microlender, providing loans for business debt consolidation, gap financing, commercial real estate and more. CEF also provides free Business Navigation Services (coaching) to our borrowers. This can include business planning, marketing & sales, finance & accounting, and much more. CEF has provided over 53,000 hours of educational/coaching services to our borrowers.

As a philanthropic capital intermediary, we bridge funders and communities, designing responsive pathways that unlock and accelerate capital to both nonprofit and for-profit ventures, projects, and funds. We help DAFs make direct investments, we help Foundations make PRIs, and we host Special Purpose Funds that aggregate capital bringing people together to move more money. We’re able to move money at accelerating speeds year over year because of our flexibility, creativity, and responsiveness, always looking for ways to say yes to impact. We recognize that there are gaps between traditional investing and traditional philanthropy and the solutions needed to solve complex problem so were dedicated to helping fill these capital gaps by collaborating with public and private funders who want to mobilize their assets into communities in creative and impactful ways. As a nonprofit and donor-advised funds provider, we offer a suite of philanthropic tools and capital-ready investment opportunities, but we specialize in partnering with funders who are looking to meet an unmet need with a creative—even unconventional—tool. For over a decade, we’ve been innovating how we invest in our community, looking across sectors and investment types for deep impact. To learn more information, visit www.impactcharitable.org.

Knotty Tie Co. was founded in 2013 with a mission to revolutionize neckties and apparel by letting the customer create a design that they are excited to wear. All our ties, pocket squares and scarves are made by hand, on-demand in Denver, Colorado, USA. As a social enterprise since our start, we're passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities for skilled resettled refugees. Their professional skills, combined with our advanced printing and production technology, results in the highest quality products possible in an environmentally responsible way. Our personalized design experience and innovative, on-demand manufacturing practices allows us to make one-of-a-kind products on any schedule. Perfect for weddings, company events, fun gifts, or anything else you can imagine on a tie.