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Hero Fund to aid

PNW businesses
and investors

The Hero Fund, a product of Meriwether Group
Capital, officially launched on April 1 to bring in-
vestors and borrowers together to make loans to
growing businesses in the Pacific Northwest.
MWGC is owned and operated by two seasoned
bankers, Jamie Shulman and Mike Ferguson, to-
gether with general partners
Meriwether Group and First
Northwest Bancorp.
About seven years ago,
Shulman helped launch the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Portland’s Jewish Free Loan Sisters Nadine Menashe,
“to help with life’s ups and and Natasha Astrakhan,
downs and in between.” He right, were among 16
currently serves on Federa- Russian-speaking young
tion’s Allocations Commit- adults who shared expe-
Jamie Shulman tee. The family belongs to riences and feelings in
Congregation Beth Israel, San Francisco.
where he helps with finances. This fall, his son, Jack,
Shulman has spent nearly 27 years in commercial Young adults explore with JDC
will begin middle school at Portland Jewish Academy.
banking.
“I have seen many small-to-medium businesses in BY NADINE MENASHE
those years that because of regulatory restrictions on Two Portlanders were among 16 Jewish young adults from around the country
commercial banks could not find financing,” says who traveled to San Francisco March 24-27 for JDC Entwine’s first U.S.-based
Shulman. “They were good companies and making Insider trip. My sister, Natasha Astrakhan, and I were the two participants from
money, but they needed loans.” Portland.
With the launch of Meriwether’s Hero Fund, those An initiative of the JDC, the largest Jewish humanitarian organization in the
companies will have to opportunity to borrow the world, Entwine offers global service and travel experiences, educational pro-
funds they need to grow. Investors will be able par- grams and leadership development opportunities, through which young people
ticipate in an income fund offering above market-rate can explore, find meaning and take action.
returns in a risk-adjusted scenario. The fund’s target The goal of the March trip was to connect Russian-speaking Jews to the immi-
is a 10% annual return to investors. grant cultures of San Francisco and to the work that JDC and its partner orga-
While the Hero Fund has been in the works for nizations do in the Bay area. The trip was funded by the Genesis Philanthropy
some time, the pandemic and resulting cultural Group and was designed for young professionals from a Russian-speaking Jew-
changes have sped up its creation. ish (RSJ) background with at least one parent born in the former Soviet Union.
A presentation for investors notes that as the market I participated on a JDC Entwine virtual trip to Odessa, Ukraine, in 2020 and
experiences a surge in entrepreneurship, demand for was very excited to experience a real trip with the organization. It was an ac-
solutions is growing rapidly: 5.4 million new busi- tion-packed four days: we toured Little Russia, biked across the Golden Gate
ness applications were filed in 2021, surpassing the Bridge, made borscht in a Russian cooking class and ate our way through Chi-
record-breaking 4.4 million filed in 2020 (data from natown. We also met with some amazing organizations including Jewish Fam-
NPR & HBR, 2022). The great resignation, fueled ily and Children’s Services, Urban Adamah, Repair the World, the RSJ Moishe
by the desire for purpose-driven work, is a primary House and the new RSJ community center opening later this year. I would have
driver of this new generation of founders. loved to spend more time with each organization – especially Urban Adamah,
The investor presentation also notes MWGC will where we helped garden while learning about their commitment to Jewish learn-
have access to an insider’s look at a range of growing ing, sustainability and social action. Somehow, we even got some free time to
businesses that are generally invisible to the market just hang out with our new friends.
and are willing to pay higher rates in the interest of The trip occurred during the war in Ukraine, which provided an opportunity
preserving equity. These are secured loans with a lev- for RSJs to share their feelings. Some of us have family still living in the region;
el of sophisticated underwriting that minimizes risk. others held deep emotions about the atrocities happening in their homeland. We
“I am beyond excited in terms of the ability to help held space for these feelings and talked candidly about the crisis. However, we
businesses in the Pacific Northwest reach their de- also knew we deserved to experience joy and belonging, and we made this a
fining moment more quickly and to provide an at- theme throughout our trip.
tractive return to those who want to invest,” he says. The program gave opportunities to set kavannah (intentions) for each day of
“We’ve seen a lot of good quality companies … and the trip: creation, fusion and legacy. These intentions were woven throughout
are raising investment dollars to make loans more our activities, and we debriefed on them at the end of each day. The fusion theme
quickly.” was my personal favorite, as it was centered around honoring multiple parts of
For more information, contact Shulman at our identities and exploring how they come together.
jamie@meriwethergroupcapital.com. Continued on next page
10 Jewish Review April 13, 2022