We aim to influence the flow of financial capital to better meet the business growth needs within communities of color.
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.
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.
You can see recent Business Start-up & Growth grants below.
And browse all of our Inclusive Economies grants in our database.
|
Year Approved
|
Organization
|
Status
|
Amount
|
Duration
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to support BIPOC fund managers (infrastructure & commit). |
Active | $1,020,600 | 18 months |
| 2022 |
Hillman Accelerator
The purpose of this grant is to support underrepresented markets and entrepreneurs who are building sustainable early and growth-stage businesses positioned to be market makers or dominators. Lightship provides remarkable founders the resources and direction their businesses need to scale. |
Active | $600,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Pacific Community Ventures, Inc.
The purpose of this grant is to support PCV’s integrated model of lending and advising to BIPOC entrepreneurs toward wealth-building outcomes, including the launch of the Good Jobs Innovation Lab – which centers the voice of the communities PCV serves to drive evidence-based, field-building restorative products and services, and powerful impact measurement. |
Closed | $200,000 | 18 months |
| 2022 |
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation
The purpose of this grant is to build capacity to support a breakthrough CDFI fund, while beta testing for expansion of mergers and acquisitions to create larger-scale MBEs, as well as the potential multi-city replication of Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation’s core business model. |
Active | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership
The purpose of this grant is to provide general operating support to build IFEL’s capacity to launch the Women of Color Connecting Capital Access Accelerator and raise a pool of friendly capital to fund women of color entrepreneurs. |
Active | $100,000 | 12 months |
| 2022 |
Washington Area Community Investment Fund
The purpose of the grant is general operating support. |
Active | $250,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to provide general program support to Black Gravity. |
Active | $50,000 | 12 months |
| 2022 |
Latino Business Action Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $440,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
Opportunity Finance Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $250,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
MORTAR Cincinnati
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $200,000 | 32 months |
| 2022 |
NYC Small Business Funder Collective
The purpose of this grant is to assemble and activate New York City Metro funders to join the NY Small Business Funders Collective and fund strategies that increase business starts for entrepreneurs of color, increase revenue for businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color, and strengthen the business support ecosystem for the region’s BIPOC entrepreneurs. |
Active | $450,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Chicago United Inc.
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $100,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
CapEQ
The purpose of this grant is to support Path to 15|55 efforts to grow Black businesses and increase wealth in the Black community. |
Closed | $75,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Association for Enterprise Opportunity
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Boston Ujima Project
The purpose of the grant is to support the hire of a Director of Investment and Fund Analyst, to increase the research capacity of the Ujima Fund as well as an emergency fund that will provide relief for businesses and individuals in Ujima’s network . |
Active | $300,000 | 36 months |
| 2021 |
Boston Impact Initiative Fund
General operating support |
Closed | $20,000 | 6 months |
| 2021 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to provide seed money to launch Black Gravity. Black Gravity’s mission is to close the racial wealth gap by 2060. |
Closed | $50,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Didtechnology, Inc.
General operating support. |
Active | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Racial Equity Asset Lab
The purpose of this grant is to support The Racial Equity Asset Lab in advancing racial equity in impact investing by (1)driving narrative change (2) creating tools for operationalizing equity (3)building a peer network and community of practice for race lens investing. |
Active | $400,000 | 26 months |
| 2021 |
Inclusive Capital Collective
The purpose of the grant is to advance the strategic objectives of the Inclusive Capital Collective (ICC), a growing, national group of over 100 mostly BIPOC operators of loan, debt, and real estate funds, and of entrepreneur support organizations. |
Active | $500,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Just Capital Foundation
The purpose of this grant is to support JUST Capital’s work focusing on racial and economic inequity. We are defining corporate leadership on these issues through narrative, partnerships, research, disclosure, and equity metrics. |
Active | $350,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Latino Business Action Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $190,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Mission Driven Finance
The purpose of this grant is to hire a Chief Legal Officer and make investment strategies for inclusive economies accessible at a community scale. |
Closed | $300,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Greater Milwaukee Committee for Community Development
To advance the Greater Milwaukee Committee for Community Development’s efforts to increase wealth, access to capital, revenue growth and opportunities in communities of color by providing the tools, knowledge, and networked ecosystem to support ambitious growth and generational wealth for minority business owners. |
Closed | $430,000 | 32 months |
| 2021 |
Community LIFT
To build River City Capital’s internal capacity to meet current opportunities and the great challenges of the COVID economy, by fueling Memphis’ small business owners of color with affordable, patient capital. |
Active | $540,000 | 39 months |
Rooted in shared values of racial equity, webinar series to support historically under-served entrepreneurs on journeys to start and grow their businesses The Surdna Foundation’s Inclusive Economies Program and U.S. Small Business…
NY Small Business Funders Collective will award $500,000 to local organizations New York, NY (September 7, 2022) - On the heels of layered crises and big challenges for small businesses in the New York City region, JPMorgan Chase, M&T…
There's a lot of talk in philanthropy about racial justice, trusting and centering grantees, sharing power, and enabling the risks necessary for innovative ideas to launch, succeed, or fail. But what does this look like in practice? In this…
How can philanthropists learn from protesters and reimagine the formula for making change on racial justice? In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, Mekaelia Davis, director of Surdna’s Inclusive Economies program, examines…
Eighteen of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions have re-committed to work together for another three years within Living Cities, a long-standing collaborative. This marks the tenth time that these institutions have…
San Francisco – along with Albuquerque and New Orleans – are a part of a Living Cities’ cohort intended to tackle entrepreneurial barriers for people of color. The initiative–named Start Up, Stay Up, Scale Up –is designed…
Albuquerque – along with San Francisco and New Orleans – are a part of a Living Cities’ cohort intended to tackle entrepreneurial barriers for people of color. The initiative–named Start Up, Stay Up, Scale Up –is designed to connect…
New Orleans – along with Albuquerque and San Francisco–are a part of a new Living Cities’ cohort intended to tackle entrepreneurial barriers for people of color. The initiative–named Start Up, Stay Up, Scale Up –is designed to connect…
Woodstock Institute’s recently released report, "Patterns of Disparity: Small Business Lending in the Chicago and Los Angeles-San Diego Regions," examines the effects of disparate access to traditional bank small business loans in Chicago as…
You can see recent Business Start-up & Growth grants below.
And browse all of our Inclusive Economies grants in our database.
|
Year Approved
|
Organization
|
Status
|
Amount
|
Duration
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to support BIPOC fund managers (infrastructure & commit). |
Active | $1,020,600 | 18 months |
| 2022 |
Hillman Accelerator
The purpose of this grant is to support underrepresented markets and entrepreneurs who are building sustainable early and growth-stage businesses positioned to be market makers or dominators. Lightship provides remarkable founders the resources and direction their businesses need to scale. |
Active | $600,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Pacific Community Ventures, Inc.
The purpose of this grant is to support PCV’s integrated model of lending and advising to BIPOC entrepreneurs toward wealth-building outcomes, including the launch of the Good Jobs Innovation Lab – which centers the voice of the communities PCV serves to drive evidence-based, field-building restorative products and services, and powerful impact measurement. |
Closed | $200,000 | 18 months |
| 2022 |
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation
The purpose of this grant is to build capacity to support a breakthrough CDFI fund, while beta testing for expansion of mergers and acquisitions to create larger-scale MBEs, as well as the potential multi-city replication of Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation’s core business model. |
Active | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership
The purpose of this grant is to provide general operating support to build IFEL’s capacity to launch the Women of Color Connecting Capital Access Accelerator and raise a pool of friendly capital to fund women of color entrepreneurs. |
Active | $100,000 | 12 months |
| 2022 |
Washington Area Community Investment Fund
The purpose of the grant is general operating support. |
Active | $250,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to provide general program support to Black Gravity. |
Active | $50,000 | 12 months |
| 2022 |
Latino Business Action Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $440,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
Opportunity Finance Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $250,000 | 24 months |
| 2022 |
MORTAR Cincinnati
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $200,000 | 32 months |
| 2022 |
NYC Small Business Funder Collective
The purpose of this grant is to assemble and activate New York City Metro funders to join the NY Small Business Funders Collective and fund strategies that increase business starts for entrepreneurs of color, increase revenue for businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color, and strengthen the business support ecosystem for the region’s BIPOC entrepreneurs. |
Active | $450,000 | 36 months |
| 2022 |
Chicago United Inc.
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Active | $100,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
CapEQ
The purpose of this grant is to support Path to 15|55 efforts to grow Black businesses and increase wealth in the Black community. |
Closed | $75,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Association for Enterprise Opportunity
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Boston Ujima Project
The purpose of the grant is to support the hire of a Director of Investment and Fund Analyst, to increase the research capacity of the Ujima Fund as well as an emergency fund that will provide relief for businesses and individuals in Ujima’s network . |
Active | $300,000 | 36 months |
| 2021 |
Boston Impact Initiative Fund
General operating support |
Closed | $20,000 | 6 months |
| 2021 |
Black Gravity
The purpose of this grant is to provide seed money to launch Black Gravity. Black Gravity’s mission is to close the racial wealth gap by 2060. |
Closed | $50,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Didtechnology, Inc.
General operating support. |
Active | $400,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Racial Equity Asset Lab
The purpose of this grant is to support The Racial Equity Asset Lab in advancing racial equity in impact investing by (1)driving narrative change (2) creating tools for operationalizing equity (3)building a peer network and community of practice for race lens investing. |
Active | $400,000 | 26 months |
| 2021 |
Inclusive Capital Collective
The purpose of the grant is to advance the strategic objectives of the Inclusive Capital Collective (ICC), a growing, national group of over 100 mostly BIPOC operators of loan, debt, and real estate funds, and of entrepreneur support organizations. |
Active | $500,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Just Capital Foundation
The purpose of this grant is to support JUST Capital’s work focusing on racial and economic inequity. We are defining corporate leadership on these issues through narrative, partnerships, research, disclosure, and equity metrics. |
Active | $350,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Latino Business Action Network
The purpose of this grant is general operating support. |
Closed | $190,000 | 12 months |
| 2021 |
Mission Driven Finance
The purpose of this grant is to hire a Chief Legal Officer and make investment strategies for inclusive economies accessible at a community scale. |
Closed | $300,000 | 24 months |
| 2021 |
Greater Milwaukee Committee for Community Development
To advance the Greater Milwaukee Committee for Community Development’s efforts to increase wealth, access to capital, revenue growth and opportunities in communities of color by providing the tools, knowledge, and networked ecosystem to support ambitious growth and generational wealth for minority business owners. |
Closed | $430,000 | 32 months |
| 2021 |
Community LIFT
To build River City Capital’s internal capacity to meet current opportunities and the great challenges of the COVID economy, by fueling Memphis’ small business owners of color with affordable, patient capital. |
Active | $540,000 | 39 months |