Fearless Fund and the Tory Burch Foundation opened applications for the third cohort of the Women of Color Grant Program which will award 75 women of color-owned small businesses with $10,000 and $20,000 grants, access to a self-paced learning portal, and peer-to-peer community networking. Applications are open until Friday, April 28.
While the number of women-owned businesses in the United States continues to rise, due to funding disparities, only 2 per cent of women-owned startups generate $1 million in revenue; men are 3.5 times more likely to achieve this number.
The Woman of Color Grant Program was created to help women of color entrepreneurs gain access to much-needed capital, and this year’s grant program marks another significant step in advancing women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and reducing racial inequalities.
Launched in 2019, Fearless Fund invests in WOC-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level, or series A financing. Its mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for female founders of color building scalable, growth-aggressive companies.
The Fearless Fund team also runs The Fearless Foundation, a 501c3 organization with a goal to educate entrepreneurs through training, reduce racial inequities, and empower African-Americans to gain access to capital, as well as the Get Ready Venture Program. This is a 12- month training program for WOC business owners to acquire the needed training, mentorship, knowledge, and skills needed to gain access to capital.
The Tory Burch Foundation empowers women and women entrepreneurs in the United States by providing access to capital, education and digital resources. The Fellows Program has provided over $1,200,000 in grants to help women grow their businesses. The Tory Burch Capital Program, powered by Bank of America has distributed over $95 million dollars in loans to nearly 5,500 women entrepreneurs; and each month, the Foundation’s Women of Color Grant program has deployed $2.2M funding in partnership with Fearless Fund.
The Foundation provides online tools and digital education to more than 600,000 women and more than 12,000 women have created their business plans on the digital destination ToryBurchFoundation.org.
To learn more about the program and how to apply, visit the Fearless Fund’s website at https://www.fearless.fund/tory-burch-foundation. Accepted grantees will be notified in July 2023.
