Announcing First SoGal Foundation Black Founder Grantees
$10,000 and $5,000 Cash Grants Awarded to 9 Black Women & Black Nonbinary Founders
Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. Yet these founders receive only 0.6% of venture capital funding with an average funding raise of $42,000 (Digital Undivided 2018 Report).
The SoGal Black Founder Grant, as featured in Inc and New York Magazine, is stepping up to be a small part of an overdue industry-wide change.
According to the 2019 State of Women Owned Businesses Report, between 2014 and 2019, women-owned businesses grew 21% while Black women-owned businesses grew 50%. However, systematic oppression is working against Black women founders, which is why they earned on average $24,000 in business revenue during 2019, compared to women overall ($142,900), Asian women ($191,200), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women ($69,500), Native American/Alaskan women ($69,500), and Latinx/Latina women ($50,900). This means despite Black women leading the charge on founding startups and being just as capable as any other group (if not more), their businesses suffer from the greatest revenue gap.
The same data and statistics for nonbinary entrepreneurs, specifically Black nonbinary entrepreneurs, unfortunately does not exist yet.
If the average revenue of Black and all WOC-owned companies matched White-owned business revenue, the U.S. would gain four million jobs and $981 billion in revenue.
Black women and Black nonbinary voices are vital and their unparalleled perspectives are desperately lacking from the current entrepreneurial landscape. As Kelley Henry, the Director of SoGal Foundation says, “Black women and nonbinary folks are best equipped to solve some of the world’s largest unmet needs.” Yet the reality remains: without adequate funding, these companies cannot grow to their full potential.
SoGal Foundation has teamed up with twelveNYC, Winky Lux, bluemercury, Lively, and other sponsors to award $10,000 and $5,000 cash grants to Black women and Black nonbinary entrepreneurs. Awardees also receive tactical help navigating the fundraising environment and lifetime mentorship from SoGal Foundation and SoGal Ventures teams.
This grant is a small step towards closing the funding gap for Black women and Black nonbinary people. We believe in a brighter future where the next world changing business does not go unrealized because of systemic discrimination.
2020 SoGal Black Founder Grant recipients include Un-ruly, Accessible Employment, Soulace, WITH, Cale, Queerly Health, Nova Health Labs, Xeo Air Inc., and Staat.
Un-ruly, Soulace and Queerly Health received $10,000 cash grants.
Un-ruly celebrates and inspires versatility and beauty of Black hair and women.
Soulace is a virtual therapy app for Black people with Black therapists, providing an algorithm for client-therapist matching, in-app scheduling, and access to text and video therapy sessions.
Queerly Health is a NYC-based digital health startup created by and for the LGBTQ+ community.
The three other businesses received $5,000 cash grants.
Accessible Employment creates a more inclusive and accessible world by removing barriers of communication within the community.
WITH is a collective care company that exists to show up for underrepresented talent, offering 1:1 coaching, care packages, and a Collective Care Team.
Cale is a wellness company focusing on alcohol alternatives, with a first release of low and non-alcoholic wines infused with herbs, botanicals, plants, and adaptogens.
Staat is a new kind of analytics solution that allows managers to focus on one priority at a time with peace of mind.
Xeo Air provides seamless drone services and data for commercial industry, improving safety, reduce liability and improve decision making accuracy.
Nova Health Labs is enabling care teams to provide patients with health information closer to the point of need improves clinical outcomes, reduces patient distress, and optimizes practice operations.
To qualify, founders must:
– self-identify as a Black woman or Black nonbinary entrepreneur (inclusive of multiracial Black women and multiracial Black nonbinary folks)
– have a legally registered business
– plan to seek investor financing in order to scale, now or in the future
– have a scalable, high-impact solution or idea with the ambition to be the next billion dollar business.
Applications for the SoGal Black Founder Grant are rolling. Each round of grantees is announced at the end of every month. Applicants can only submit one application per company. Click the link below to apply:
