New high-profile investors join Western New York Impact Investment Fund

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Some of Buffalo’s most prominent corporations are rallying around a new age of entrepreneurship in the region.

Five Star Bank, Evans Bank and Jim and Vicki Newman all signed on recently as investors in the WNY Impact Investment Fund. The Fund debuted five years ago to introduce a new investment paradigm in Buffalo, analyzing opportunities for their commercial promise and their strong potential to create positive social impact in our community.

“We see the Fund as an innovative way to support a new generation of changemakers in the Buffalo business community,” said Kevin B. Quinn, Senior Vice President, and Chief Commercial Banking Officer for Five Star Bank. “As a local bank that both embraces technology and understands that people must remain at the heart of everything we do, the Fund’s commitment to investing exclusively in Western New York businesses and entrepreneurs and, in turn, our region’s future, is very important to us.”

Led by CEO Tom Quinn, WNY Impact Investment Fund is currently investing out of Series 2 of The Fund, which is now up to $12.45 million after the recent investments. In total, its funds under management (the sum of its existing cash and that which it has already invested) exceeds $20 million.

“Evans Bank’s investment thesis holds that banks only thrive when they have a stake in the well-being of their community,” said David Nasca, President and CEO of Evans Bank. “This investment is a natural extension of that philosophy, providing critical capital in diverse sectors and generating exciting new growth in our region.”

The Fund is one of the most active investment vehicles in Buffalo, with a portfolio that includes thriving companies such as Viridi Parente, Circuit Clinical and CleanFiber, among others. In all, the Fund has taken part in investment rounds that total more than $200 million. It is actively considering new investments in Western New York and expects to make several deals per year with the cash it has raised.

WNY Impact Investment Fund CEO Tom Quinn said that the contributions from Five Star Bank, Evans Bank and Jim and Vicki Newman will serve as additional beacons for the Fund’s work, helping to validate and enhance the role it’s playing in the community.

“We’re seeing high-quality investment opportunities that showcase the fortitude and innovative mindset of Western New York entrepreneurs,” Tom Quinn said. “We’re coming in to light the match on those ambitions and to play a small part in a much bigger movement.”

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