When starting a business, there are a variety of ways to raise capital outside of a traditional loan. Grants, angel investors and crowdfunding are a few alternatives many entrepreneurs can explore as funding sources.
With the help of NEXT, the Upstate Business Journal compiled a list of some alternative funding options headquartered in South Carolina.
| Business Name | Headquarters | Year Established | Principal officer(s) | Businesses funded in 2020 | Money given out in 2020 | For more information |
| CommunityWorks | Greenville | 2008 as housing fund; 2011 to CDFI |
Tammie Hoy Hawkins, CEO | 211 | Over $6.5 million | communityworkscarolina.org
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| VentureSouth (formerly Upstate Carolina Angel Network) | Greenville | 2008 | Matt Dunbar, Charlie Banks and Paul Clark, managing directors | 26 | $9.2 million | venturesouth.vc |
| Vicinity Capital | Greenville | June 2020 | John Crawford and Josh Rollins, co-founders | 6 | $130,000 raised by end of 2020; $2.1 million raised by June 2021 | vicinitycapital.com |
| Cultivation Capital | Greenville | 2012 | Cliff Holekamp, managing director and co-founder | 60 | $25 million | cultivationcapital.com |
| SCRA | Columbia | 1983 | Bob Quinn, executive director | 31 | Over $1.2 million | scra.org |
| SC Launch Inc. | Columbia | 2006 | Matt Bell, executive director | 10 | Over $2.2 million | scra.org/sclaunchinc |
