Angel Investment Group to Launch in Oxford for Ole Miss Supporters

By Ellie Price

IMC Student

One of the largest angel investor networks in the country, VentureSouth, is coming to Oxford. 

A launch and learn meeting for VentureSouth Oxford will be held on Friday, April 22, at the Cabin 82 restaurant in the Graduate Hotel from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Charlie Banks, VentureSouth’s co-founder and managing director, will lead an information presentation and answer questions for those interested.

To register for the event, visit this link. 

Anyone with Ole Miss ties can gain membership with an annual fee of $2,500, which grants access to invest in any deal offered through the VentureSouth networks.

VentureSouth Oxford has partnered with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation to benefit Ole Miss. The foundation has partnerships with 70 colleges and universities throughout the south.

“Our mission focuses on sparking a commitment to problem solving and serving others in college communities,” said Steve McDavid, president of the Sullivan Foundation, “We do programming in service, leadership, community engagement and service to others. 

“We also put on retreats for college students. These retreats are focused on values of our mission. We also do study abroad, workshops,and faculty training in these skills.”

This pairing of the two organizations will help fund the Chancellor’s Servant Leadership Fellowship program on Ole Miss campus, as well as other programming to strengthen students’ skills of service and leadership.

“VentureSouth was  founded by a Sullivan Award recipient,” McDavid said, referring to Matt Dunbar, founder and managing director of VentureSouth. 

Because of the relationship between Dunbar and the Sullivan foundation, McDavid added, half of all the revenues from membership fees will go to the Sullivan Foundation for funding programming at Ole Miss. 

“We are kicking it off the ground this next year,”he said, “and the foundation will be hosting a retreat on campus next year.”

Dunbar says, “Joining the VentureSouth Oxford group allows Ole Miss alumni and supporters to invest in early-stage companies with major growth potential while making a positive impact on the American South’s economy.”

To learn more about VentureSouth Oxford and membership, visit sullivanfdn.org/venturesouth or contact McDavid at 662 236-6335 or by email at steve.mcdavid@sullivanfdn.org.