Community Ventures is a for-profit subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), a non-profit community and economic development organization based in Maine. CEI helped to create legislation that led to the development of a US Small Business Administration program known as the New Markets Venture Capital (NMVC) initiative. Part of SBA's long-standing Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, NMVC funds are co-funded by SBA and are to be invested in targeted, underserved communities across the US. A $10M venture capital fund, Community Ventures was one of only seven organizations to receive conditional approval and the third to receive an SBA license to operate this program. In conjunction with its equity sponsorship, SBA also co-funds a $3M Operational Assistance Program designed to support professional services that aid companies in either becoming 'equity ready' or executing their business plan once Community Ventures has provided venture capital funding. Like the equity program, these OAP resources must be directed to Community Ventures's target communities.