Most community funds raise in the thousands or millions. But housing, climate, and infrastructure challenges require billions. The gap isn’t vision. It’s scale. So how do we unlock capital at the level of the problem?

At Blueprint, we’ve worked with stewards from the People’s Solar Energy Fund to Cooperation Richmond to Indigenous-led venture studios.

Again and again, we see communities with strategies bold enough for billions, but structures built for thousands. Closing that gap means rethinking how capital flows and designing funds that speak the language of scale.

Why scale matters

Buying one building is a project. Building a land trust that permanently secures housing is a system. One loan keeps a business alive. A loan fund multiplies impact across dozens of enterprises.

Scaling requires three shifts

1. From single funds to families of funds
   Grants, loans, equity, and real estate must work together. Richmond’s 40×40 vision combined trusts, loan funds, and field-of-interest funds to attract over $100M.
   
   

2. From projects to portfolios
   Investors want diversification. Funds that bundle housing, renewable energy, and co-ops into a portfolio reduce risk and increase appeal.
   
   

3. From scarcity to catalytic capital
   Stop asking only for what covers costs. Ask for what unlocks others. For example, patient equity or guarantee funds can de-risk entire ecosystems, bringing mainstream investors to the table.

Practice your “billions story.” Even if your first ask is $5M, articulate how it ladders up to $50M or $500M. Investors need to see the roadmap.

At Blueprint, we help funds translate bold community visions into scalable capital strategies — designed for millions, billions, and beyond.

Want to see if your fund structure can scale? Book a Blueprint demo.