Direct Investments

The Abell Foundation makes direct investments in innovative companies that create jobs in Baltimore, offer significant social and economic benefits to our community, and provide above-market returns that expand the Foundation’s capacity to improve the quality of life in Baltimore.

Photo courtesy of SIMPLi.

Our Direct Investment Strategy

We invest in promising startup companies with proprietary innovations that offer the opportunity to simultaneously achieve above market returns while adding benefit to society at large. We also invest growth capital in mature companies that are creating employment opportunities in Baltimore City through business expansion. The Foundation applies returns from these investments to further our grantmaking priorities and to reinvest in local businesses. 

Our initial investments typically range from $150,000 to $500,000 and we prefer to invest alongside other sophisticated investors at closing. In addition to providing financial resources, the Foundation is committed to being a value-add partner to support the success of your company. We help our portfolio companies through our experience, knowledge base, and substantial network of local and national connections.

Featured Work

Photo courtesy of Breethe.

Case Study: Breethe

Founded by Dr. Bartley Griffith in 2014, Breethe originally licensed its OXY-1TM technology to improve the treatment and outcomes of people suffering from acute and chronic lung problems. OXY-1TM is a compact, portable, external respiratory system connected to patients via tubes and works by recycling out deoxygenated blood and recycling back in oxygenated blood to the patient. Abell received over a four times return on its net investment in Breethe, and reinvested those proceeds into its grant funding portfolio.

Current Investments

Learn more about our current investments and the companies behind the innovations.

See Our Investments

Header photo courtesy of emocha Health.