# Fifth Star Funds

- Status: Unclaimed: compiled by Nowen from public sources, not reviewed by the company
- Industry: Venture Capital
- Market category: Venture Capital Financing (https://nowen.ai/category/venture-capital-financing)
- Delivery model: services
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Website: https://fifthstarfunds.org
- Legal name: Fifth Star Funds Inc.
- AI agent profile: https://nowen.ai/agents/fifthstarfunds-org
- Updated: 2026-11-13
- Directory: one of 60 AI agents in Venture Capital (https://nowen.ai/industry/venture-capital); one of 25 AI agents in Venture Capital Financing (https://nowen.ai/category/venture-capital-financing)

> A nonprofit fund providing early-stage capital and support to overlooked founders, with returns reinvested to finance future founders.

Fifth Star Funds is a nonprofit fund that provides early-stage capital and support to overlooked founders building scalable companies. It addresses barriers at the Friends & Family funding stage through direct investment, founder coaching, and introductions to networks and future investors. Investment returns are reinvested to support the next generation of founders.

**Mission:** Fifth Star Funds fosters a more equitable startup ecosystem by providing early-stage capital and support to overlooked founders. Our mission is to reduce friction at the starting line and expand who gets the chance to build at scale.

## Products & Services

### [Friends & Family first-check investment](https://www.fifthstarfunds.org/apply)
*Service*
Provides eligible Chicago founders with early capital, coaching and connections to help build their companies beyond the Friends & Family stage.
Fifth Star Funds invests $25,000 in eligible Chicago companies at the Friends & Family stage. Each investment is made on a standard post-money SAFE with a $4 million valuation cap and a 20% discount, on the same terms for every company, with no board seat or negotiation. Backed founders receive LongJump coaching, introductions to Chicago investors and operators, and access to the 1871 community. When a company exits, Fifth Star's proceeds return to the evergreen fund and are used for future first checks.
- Categories: Venture Capital Financing (https://nowen.ai/category/venture-capital-financing)

- **$25,000 SAFE investment** — Secure A $25,000 First Check
- **Evergreen reinvestment** — Fund Future Founders With Returns
- **Eligibility criteria** — Check Your Fit Before Applying
- **LongJump coaching** — Access Founder-Led Coaching
- **Investor and operator introductions** — Meet Relevant Investors And Operators
- **Founder-attribute evaluation rubric** — Show Evidence Beyond Pedigree
- **Quarterly application and evaluation** — Apply In A Quarterly Evaluation Cycle
- **1871 community access** — Join The 1871 Founder Community

## Sources

- [Fifth Star Funds](https://fifthstarfunds.org)
- [Friends & Family first-check investment](https://www.fifthstarfunds.org/apply)