June 26, 2026 (Brunswick, ME) – CEI Ventures, Inc., the Brunswick, Maine-based impact venture capital firm, announced the addition of a new Board Member, Grady Vanderhoofven.

Mr. Vanderhoofven is the Founder, President and CEO of Three Roots Capital, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Community Development Entity (CDE), which makes debt and equity investments in companies and projects in predominantly low-income areas of East Tennessee and the broader Appalachian region. In 2018, Mr. Vanderhoofven and his partners launched the TennesSeed Fund as an evergreen, seed-stage, investment fund focused on proof-of-concept opportunities in Tennessee-based companies. Mr. Vanderhoofven has deep experience supporting startups, serving as a mentor for the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator from 2022 – 2024, as a member of the Innovation Crossroads Leadership Council at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since the inception of the program in 2017, and as a founding member of the Innov865 Alliance. He currently serves as member of the Board of Directors of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA).

 He has co-founded and invested multiple private investment funds, including Meritus Ventures, the first Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) in the United States, and Southern Appalachian Fund (SAF), a New Markets Venture Capital Company (NMVCC). Together, these funds raised approximately $53 million and invested equity and debt in 16 companies, which attracted more than $300 million of aggregate investment and created more than 600 jobs in rural and/or low-income areas throughout central and southern Appalachia to date. “CEI Ventures sought to add to the board a new member with expertise in supporting start-ups in rural areas and other overlooked communities,” said Nat Henshaw, Managing Director of CEI Ventures. “Grady’s career path from directly developing technology and starting companies himself, to investing and mentoring the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, particularly those who have been overlooked or underestimated by traditional capital funders, will strengthen our fund management and investment process. His community investment experience aligns with our mission to grow good jobs and environmentally sustainable enterprises, and we look forward to working closely with and learning from him.”

Since 1996, CEI Ventures has raised over $70 million and invested in 76 companies across six funds, helping to create 2,800 new jobs in geographic regions and with populations often overlooked by traditional venture capital investors.

“I am humbled and honored to join the CEI Ventures board,” said Grady Vanderhoofven.  “Like Three Roots Capital, CEI Ventures is committed to creating good jobs and investing in places where capital is scarce, but the opportunity for innovation and impact is abundant.”

Since its founding, Three Roots Capital has raised more than $232 million to date and has deployed and committed more than $200 million to companies and projects in Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia. In addition, Three Roots Capital has been awarded and has deployed $180 million in three allocations of New Markets Tax Credits. Prior to founding Three Roots Capital, Mr. Vanderhoofven worked for more than a decade at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he participated in the creation of 12 start-up companies based on technology developed at ORNL. He previously served on the Advisory Council of the Yale University School of Engineering and Applied Science. He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University and has completed an Executive Education Program in private equity and corporate governance at Harvard Business School.

ABOUT CEI VENTURES

CEI Ventures Inc. (CVI) is a 32-year-old impact venture capital firm offering investment opportunities in entrepreneurs who are building resilient businesses and communities. CVI focuses its investments on companies located primarily in small cities and rural areas in the Northeast and nationally that are committed to providing good jobs for their employees while also generating a positive financial returns and environmental & social returns for its investors. CVI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises, Inc., a Maine-based Community Development Financial Institution that has deployed over $1.6 billion since 1977.

Learn more at www.ceiventures.com.

ABOUT THREE ROOTS CAPITAL

Three Roots Capital is an innovative finance company that provides loans and equity investments to small businesses and real estate projects in Tennessee and Appalachia. 3Roots was established to address the chronic need for investment capital in central and southern Appalachia. 3Roots supports small businesses, entrepreneurs, real estate projects, and communities in economically challenged areas throughout the region. 3Roots is certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and as a Community Development Entity (CDE).  As a CDE, 3Roots is eligible to receive federal New Markets Tax Credits, which can be allocated to high-impact projects to help them attract capital that might not otherwise be available to fuel commercial development in economically distressed areas.  For more information, visit www.3rootscapital.org.