RUNWAY is a social enterprise that invests in Black entrepreneurs and strengthens the financial ecosystem and infrastructure that supports their businesses. Building on its successful pilot in Oakland, RUNWAY has launched its program in Boston and Chicago and recently expanded to the Southern United States where RUNWAY has established relationships. Its model provides community-centered, non-extractive capital with culturally relevant education to ensure investees’ success. RUNWAY is essential infrastructure in an economy that works for everyone. It provides replicable funding models for Black creatives and their businesses, tools, and processes to financial institutions committed to changing their practices and policies to reflect equitable lending and capacity-building programs, and partnerships to strengthen and support local entrepreneurial networks. In May 2024, RUNWAY announced its first in-house investment fund, ROOTED, which will invest $50 MM into businesses, cooperatives, and grassroots organizations building wealth in Black communities. It offers integrated capital, combining grants, non-extractive investments (forgivable loans and low-interest-rate loans), strategic advice, and technical assistance. AmbitioUS provided $50,000 in renewed general operating support to RUNWAY.