Expect Sevetri Wilson to be in the news a lot more in the near future — the African-American entrepreneur’s nonprofit formation and compliance platform Resilia just announced a completed Series A funding round of $8 million, making it one of the biggest investment hauls from a woman of color in the South (and beyond) this year.
An enterprise software platform headquartered in New Orleans, Resilia works two ways: it helps nonprofits get legally set up and staying on the right side of regulations, and also helps foundations and grantors (corporations, cities, private donors, etc.) enhance the impact of their financial gifts toward goodwill and philanthropic objectives, in a quick and efficient manor. two-sided market enabling grantors like cities, private foundations, and corporations to deploy capital quickly and efficiently, while giving nonprofits expanded tools for compliance, management, training, and funding.
Formerly known as Exempt Me Now, Resilia also serves nonprofit organizations with training services, documentation management, and alerts to changes in local and federal policy to ensure compliance, in addition to funding.
The $8M raise isn’t just significant because Wilson is a black woman. It’s also currently the highest VC raise of any woman-founded tech company in Louisiana, according to a statement from Resilia. It’s also worth noting that we’re in the middle of a jittery investment market due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding round was led by Mucker Capital and Callais Capital Management. There was also participation by Cultivation Capital, The JumpFund, Next Wave Impact, and Atlanta-based VC Engage.
“Resilia has made a tremendous impact by building an innovative platform for both early-stage non-profits and some of the world’s largest foundations, and we look forward to helping them continue to scale,” Callais Capital Management CIO and managing partner Hal Callais said in a statement.
“Their platform is particularly necessary during times of crises to ensure oversight, management, and transparency. We’ve already seen tremendous opportunity in the last several weeks with the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent deployment of funding specifically earmarked for such relief.”
And Monique Villa, lead investor at Mucker Capital’s Nashville office, agrees. “We are beyond proud of the work Resilia is doing to modernize non-profits across the value chain, from inception through funding and compliance. Their software is addressing real pain points in scaling impact, and we are grateful to play a role in supporting their journey.”
Wilson isn’t new to being in the news (Hypepotamus profiled her in 2017). A winner of the 2010 National Nobel Prize for Public Service, she’s been recognized by local and national Louisiana government leaders, including former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu and former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu.
“We plan to continue to build our teams in both New Orleans and New York, and use this time to iterate on the best ways we can continue to serve our customers, and advance our technology,” Wilson said in a public statement on LinkedIn.
“COVID-19 represents trying times for us all but an opportunity for us to really show how our software is solving for barriers to accessing and deploying capital, and showcasing the tools we’ve built to mitigate risks and increase capacity and thus, impact.”