Business Start-up & Growth

The Outcomes We Seek

  • Increased Access to Capital

    We aim to influence the flow of financial capital to better meet the business growth needs within communities of color.

  • Reformed Procurement Practices

    We aim to accelerate the growth of existing and established businesses owned by people of color by making opportunities to attain contracts with public agencies, anchor institutions and other large entities more accessible.

  • Improved Business Support Systems

    We aim to strengthen the effectiveness, accessibility, and capacity of support networks available for business owners and entrepreneurs of color.

We believe that increasing the number and percent of stable and established firms owned by people of color will lead to the longer-term outcomes of greater income, stronger influence, and wealth creation for these communities, enabling them to more fully participate in the economy.

To achieve these outcomes, we aim to increase the amount of capital that people of color-owned firms can access, as well as explore opportunities to change the racial and gender dynamic of investors. This aspect of our strategy is critical, because despite founders of color having high-potential business models, they are commonly overlooked for growth capital often due to implicit biases and a lack of cultural understanding of their products and potential markets.

We will target anchor institution strategies, corporate initiatives and shifts in government policy that create more opportunities for firms owned by people of color to generate revenue and scale operations. Additionally, we continue to value targeted support systems for people of color that nurture entrepreneurs’ growth through mentors, capital, skill development and information.

Selection Criteria

Improvements to Investing

We will support efforts that change the lens through which investment decisions are made and will explore opportunities to change the racial and gender dynamic of investors by supporting early-stage fund managers of color and funding leadership development opportunities designed to diversify the finance sector.

Inclusive Institutional Change

We will support initiatives that aim to shift the policies that guide procurement within large institutions to be more inclusive.

Professional Development Programs

We will support projects that build professional networks and organizations that help people of color scale their businesses and more fully participate in high-growth sectors.

Business Start-up & Growth

You can see recent Business Start-up & Growth grants below.

And browse all of our Inclusive Economies grants in our database.

 

No Results Found

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You can see recent Business Start-up & Growth grants below.

And browse all of our Inclusive Economies grants in our database.

 

No Results Found