# The Southern Appalachian Fund

> The Southern Appalachian Fund is a VC fund backing Medical and Health Care. See 1 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Total investments: 1
- Last investment: Mar 2008
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: http://www.southappfund.com

The Southern Appalachian Fund (SAF) is a $12.5M venture capital fund formed to provide equity capital and operational assistance to qualifying businesses in southern Appalachia. The Fund focuses specifically on companies in Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Appalachian counties of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.The Southern Appalachian Fund isone of six New Markets Venture Capital (NMVC) Companies in the United States. The NMVC Program is a developmental venture capital program designed to promote economic development and the creation of wealth and job opportunities in low-income geographic areas and among individuals living in such areas. To learn more about the New Markets Venture Capital program, go to Click Here. The Fund's investors include a number of institutional investors, and the Fund has access to debt guaranteed by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA).The Fund's mission is to generate market-rate returns for its investors while promoting shared and sustainable business growth and wealth creation throughout its target region. The Fund invests $200,000 - $600,000 in companies with strong management teams, high growth potential, and defensible market positions. The Fund Managers also work to add value to the Fund's portfolio companies through operational assistance, active board participation, and mentoring.Note: The Southern Appalachian Fund is fully invested and is not seeking new investment opportunities.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for The Southern Appalachian Fund. Shizune tracks 3 team members at The Southern Appalachian Fund. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/the-southern-appalachian-fund?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medical | 1 | 100% |
| Health Care | 1 | 100% |
| Biotechnology | 1 | 100% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brenda McDaniel | CFO | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brenda-mcdaniel |
| Melissa Muendel | Director of Operational Assistance | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/melissa-muendel |
| Ray Moncrie | President and Fund Manager | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ray-moncrie |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Protein Discovery | Protein Discovery, Inc., a life sciences company, develops and commercializes sample preparation technologies that enable protein and peptide analysis using mass spectrometry. It provides Gelfree 8100, a fractionation system that partitions complex protein mixtures into liquid-phase molecular weight fractions; Passport 1200, a sample preparationsystem that enriches low molecular weight proteins and peptides, and removes matrix interferences for high-throughput quantification applications; and PPS Silent Surfactant, a protein preparation reagent that solubilizes membrane proteins and cleaves to eliminate detergent interference. The company also provides UPX universal protein extraction kit for detergent extraction of proteins from cells and tissues. It serves life science researchers and drug development scientists. The company markets its products through Agilent Technologies, as well as online in the United States and internationally. Protein Discovery, Inc. was founded as Qgenics Biosciences, Inc. in 2001 and changed its name to Protein Discovery, Inc. in April 2004. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee. | $10M | Series C | Mar 24, 2008 |  |

1 of 1 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [MB Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mb-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Nashville Capital Network](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nashville-capital-network-investment-arm) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Sante Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sante-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Sequoia Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sequoia-capital) — VC Fund
- [New Enterprise Associates](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/new-enterprise-associates) — VC Fund
- [Bessemer Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bessemer-venture-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does The Southern Appalachian Fund invest in?

The Southern Appalachian Fund invests primarily in Medical, Health Care and Biotechnology startups, most often at Series C stage. Most of the 1 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact The Southern Appalachian Fund?

Public channels for The Southern Appalachian Fund include the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at The Southern Appalachian Fund?

The team at The Southern Appalachian Fund includes Brenda McDaniel (CFO), Melissa Muendel (Director of Operational Assistance) and Ray Moncrie (President and Fund Manager). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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