Blk Grvty’s Equipped Initiative Receives $1 Million Investment From The Surdna Foundation
Blk Grvty awarded $100,000 to Collide Capital as part of the Equipped Initiative
Black, Asian, and Latinx people and white women manage just 1.4% of the over $82 trillion in assets, according to the Knight Foundation. Persistent disinvestment in these groups causes trillions of dollars in lost GDP to our economy.
To help capture these lost trillions, the Surdna Foundation has made a $1 million catalytic investment in Blk Grvty’s Equipped initiative, toward a total raise of $25 million. The Equipped initiative will provide low-cost working capital loans and grants to support co-investment obligations for fund managers.
“The flow of capital does not match the diversity of our country and its needs,” said Blk Grvty CEO and co-founder JaNay Queen Nazaire. “Our Equipped initiative seeks to support diverse fund managers to maximize their ownership stake, save time getting to first close, and raise larger funds, ultimately unlocking trillions of dollars of wealth in our economy.”
Blk Grvty announced a $100,000 grant to Collide Capital, one of the largest Black-owned first-time funds, at Miami Art Basel last month. This grant will catalyze growth ahead of the firm’s Fund 2 fundraise and is the second Equipped distribution, following one to Cake Ventures in June.
“This pivotal investment marks the transition of Collide Capital from just a fund to an institutional firm. The injection of this capital is more than funding—it’s the keystone in expanding our capacity to build a platform that can withstand the turbulence of our industry,” said Collide Capital Founder & Managing Partner, Brian Hollins.
“Right now, our investment ecosystem is failing our economy,” said Patrice R. Green, Vice President of Programs at the Surdna Foundation. “We have so much untapped potential. Blk Grvty’s work to support diverse fund managers will help to break down the barriers for fund managers like Collide and Cake Ventures to access the capital flows they need.”
About Blk Grvty
Blk Grvty exists to make it normal for Black and New Majority people to be wealthy and well. We conduct research to produce actionable insights, advise institutional leaders on inclusion and community wealth, and facilitate and deploy capital to mobilize the markets so they are inclusive by default.
About Collide Capital
Collide Capital believes that great founders are intersectional in nature and will demand that their investors be equivalently so. The firm is led by Aaron Samuels and Brian Hollins, two Black GPs from the founding teams of AfroTech and BLCK VC, and who have institutional training from Goldman Sachs, Bain & Co, Harvard Business School, and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Collide Capital Fund 1 is a $66M vehicle that is anchored by the University of California Endowment and is the first emerging VC fund to be simultaneously backed by Amazon, Alphabet, and Bank of America. To date, Collide Capital has made over 50 investments, of which 80%+ are led by Black, Latinx, or Female Founders.
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Blk Grvty Media Contact:
JaNay Queen Nazaire
202-997-6717