The Allston Venture Fund is structured as a student-led investment collaborative for Harvard students rather than a conventional GP/LP fund, and operates with formal independence from Harvard University in its investment decision-making, with no Harvard employees, faculty, or students sitting on the investment committee. AVF uniquely combines pre-seed equity investments with the ability to award equity-free grants from the same umbrella initiative, giving early founders a choice between dilutive and non-dilutive capital backed by a syndicate of top-tier venture firms including Bain Capital Ventures, General Catalyst, and Highland Capital.