Short Film: Black Wealth Cannot Wait

Dearfield fund | bY gary Ventures, inc.

In 1910, Oliver “O.T.” Jackson, joined by his wife and seven other Black families, set out to establish Colorado’s first Black homestead – Dearfield. The land was harsh and the future unknown, but this small group of pioneers was in search of life, liberty and happiness. O.T. was a businessman turned farmer who believed that in order for Black people to own their future, they must own land and property.

Visiting the historic site of Dearfield today – where just three structures remain of a town that once boasted 300 families, a school, two churches and a restaurant – we can’t help but imagine the ingenuity, innovation, hope and determination embedded in the hearts of people who traversed uncharted territory for the opportunity to own a piece of the American dream.

More than a century later, at a time when the median Black family in the U.S. has amassed only 10% of the wealth of the median white family, the Dearfield name and O.T.’s vision live on in the Dearfield Fund. As a private equity impact fund, they are catalyzing a movement to build Black wealth and close the wealth gap through homeownership.

Acknowledging that existing federal policy interventions, race-neutral solutions and charitable donations alone will not close the racial wealth gap, and channeling the ingenuity of Dearfield’s first homesteaders, the Dearfield Fund, a concessionary private equity fund by Gary Ventures, Inc. quietly launched in July 2021 with a single loan for $40,000 in down-payment assistance. In the last two years, the community behind this movement – impact investors, philanthropists, asset allocators and allies – have helped invest $9 million in homeowners from communities that have faced systemic barriers to opportunity, allowing Dearfield to help first-time Black homebuyers close on more than 175 homes.

How it Works

In addition to borrowers’ personal down payment contribution, (at least 3% of the home’s price), the Dearfield Fund provides interest-free down payment assistance of up to $40,000 to first-time, homebuyers from communities facing systemic barriers to opportunity in Metro Denver.

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Early Impact of the Dearfield Fund

When investors activate their balance sheets and invest in communities that have faced systemic barriers to home ownership, they see a financial return and meaningful social impact. The Dearfield Fund was founded by Gary Ventures, Inc. as a testament to that ideal.

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How Dearfield is Helping Black Women

After helping 150 families with down-payment assistance in the Denver Metro area, The Dearfield Fund has expanded its strategy to better serve Black women, who make up 60% of the fund’s borrowers so far.