CFG Bank Commits $500,000 to Novella Center for Entrepreneurship to Expand Conscious Venture Lab in Baltimore
Four-year partnership powers the launch of a new Pre-Accelerator and continued growth of one of Baltimore’s leading mission-driven startup programs
Novella Center for Entrepreneurship announced a four-year, $500,000 partnership with CFG Bank to support its Conscious Venture Lab (CVL) Accelerator Program and the launch of a new CVL Pre-Accelerator in Baltimore this fall. The commitment is one of the largest corporate investments Novella Center has received to date.
The funding will help sustain Novella Center’s flagship CVL Accelerator Program and seed the new Pre-Accelerator, designed to prepare earlier-stage Baltimore founders for the rigor of a full accelerator and for outside capital. CFG Bank’s commitment will help the CVL Accelerator Program continue its 13-year record of providing world-class support to Baltimore entrepreneurs.
“CFG Bank thinks like an entrepreneur and invests like a community partner,” said Jeff Cherry, Founder and CEO of Novella Center for Entrepreneurship. “Their support lets us do the high-touch, important work of preparing Baltimore founders not only for capital, but also to expose them to the theories of stakeholder capitalism, and how practicing business differently generates more durable value. This will continue to help us build a pipeline into the future of Baltimore’s economy.”
Cherry serves on CFG Bank’s board of directors, where ongoing conversations about expanding capital access for Baltimore’s diverse founders helped shape the partnership.
“Capital access is one of the clearest predictors of whether a founder builds a lasting business or walks away from a great idea. Novella Center does the hard work of preparing Baltimore’s diverse founders for that capital, and the results speak for themselves. Backing Novella Center is a natural extension of CFG Bank’s commitment to widening capital access across the communities we call home,” said Erik Howard, President, CFG Bank.
The commitment reflects a shared focus on widening capital access in underserved Baltimore communities. CFG Bank has publicly committed to expanding capital access for affordable housing, small businesses, and community services, with priorities around creating jobs, supporting diverse small business ownership, and revitalizing neighborhoods across the city. The founders that come through Novella Center’s Conscious Venture Lab are building exactly the kinds of businesses CFG Bank wants to see take root in Baltimore.
Since its founding, Novella Center has supported more than 200 early-stage companies through its accelerator programs. Its alumni companies have raised more than $220 million in funding and created over 600 jobs in underserved communities. Founders have come from 20 states and 16 countries, with a strong concentration of women, minority, and immigrant entrepreneurs. In the past two years alone, more than 600 founders applied to Novella Center’s programs.
In 2025, Novella Center expanded outside Baltimore for the first time, launching a Trenton, New Jersey, accelerator with support from local partners including the City of Trenton, NJEDA, and the African American Chamber of Commerce.
The new Pre-Accelerator, launching this fall in Baltimore, builds on a successful pilot Novella ran in Trenton this spring. The program gives early-stage local founders structured preparation, mentorship, and business fundamentals before they apply to the full CVL cohort. Program leadership expects it to broaden the pool of Baltimore-based founders ready for investment and strengthen the pipeline into the full accelerator.
About Novella Center for Entrepreneurship
Novella Center for Entrepreneurship is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that uses entrepreneurship and Conscious Capitalism as a pathway to economic mobility, community resilience, and shared prosperity. Through its Conscious Venture Lab accelerator, Novella Center has supported more than 200 early-stage companies, helping them raise more than $220 million and create more than 600 jobs. Its programs prioritize diverse founders and cities often overlooked by traditional venture capital. In 2025, Novella Center expanded into Trenton, New Jersey, marking its first program outside Baltimore. Learn more at novellacenter.org.
About CFG
CFG, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, provides flexible financing and online banking solutions nationwide, with a specialized focus on the healthcare and multifamily industries, as well as the Mid-Atlantic commercial banking market. CFG is the largest bank headquartered in Baltimore with assets over $6.0 billion as of December 2025. With more than 30 years of experience, CFG is among the most established healthcare bridge-to-HUD lenders in the United States. The company combines institutional scale capabilities with relationship-driven, boutique service to structure tailored financing solutions that support long-term client success. Through its Bridge, HUD, and Agency division, CFG delivers comprehensive financing solutions to healthcare operators and owners across the country, offering expertise in HUD-insured loans, bridge lending, mezzanine financing, working capital solutions, and commercial banking services. CFG is a national leader in the FHA-insured mortgage industry, having provided more than $7.1 billion in Section 232 mortgages nationwide. For more information, visit www.CFG.bank and follow CFG Bank and Capital Funding Group on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
###