Race, Social Justice, and Civil Rights

Grants, funding and low-cost loans that are intended to help minority-owned businesses grow.

Investment firms and institutions giving grants to founders of color.

This article provides links to many VC funds.

Backstage Capital has invested more than 170 companies led by underrepresented founders, including women, people of color, and members of the LGBT+ community.

The Business Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation is designed to address longstanding barriers to growth financing and technical assistance that have historically limited opportunity for entrepreneurs of color.

9 programs that are allocating grants for small businesses, some of which include mentorship opportunities as well.

digitalundivided serves as a catalyst for Black and Latine women entrepreneurs, leading the development of programming that takes you from "start" to success.

The primary remedial goal and objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for federally funded transportation contracts.

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) developed Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) to focus on the fast-expanding minority women entrepreneur population as a revenue generator for families, communities, and the nation.

The Foundation for Business Equity was created to help address the widening income and wealth gap in Greater Boston experienced by Black and Latine communities.

10 venture capital firms dedicated to providing funding for female entrepreneurs.

A database for women to find funds that are actively looking to invest in them, regardless of their location or funding stage.

The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF) is a coalition of Black and Brown executives in Massachusetts who have come together to leverage their individual and collective power to work with community organizations and coalitions to address and eliminate systemic racism and racial inequity in the Commonwealth.

Provides funding through its fellows program for women-owned businesses.

10 programs, agencies, and organizations that are addressing underrepresentation of women as American business owners.

Through a virtual-first fellowship program, Visible Hands provides company-building services and investments of up to $200k to underrepresented talent across the U.S. This includes women, non-binary people, and Black, Latine, and Indigenous American people.

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant helps to expand pathways for women to enter and lead in all industries.

The federal government's goal is to award at least five percent of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year.

A national think tank that builds evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families.

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is the voice of more than 10 million women-owned businesses in the United States representing the fastest growing segment of the economy.

A non-partisan federal advisory committee serving as a source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress, and to the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration on issues of importance to women business owners.

OWIT’s goal is to foster international trade and the advancement of women in business.

The SBA helps women entrepreneurs launch new businesses and compete in the marketplace. Find SBA Women's Business Centers here.

The Women's Bureau aims to ensure an equitable recovery for women, women of color and workers with the least power on the job, informed by data, and driven by the voices of and outcomes for historically excluded communities.

GNEMSDC advances business opportunities for certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business enterprises and connects them to corporate members.

Black and Brown Founders provides community, education, and access to Black and Latine entrepreneurs, allowing them to launch and build tech businesses with modest resources.

The mission of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (BECMA) is to advance the economic well-being of Black businesses, organizations that serve the Black community, and Black residents of Massachusetts.
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MBDA is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises.

The National Minority Supplier Development Council advances business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises and connects them to corporate members.

The federal government provides opportunities in contracting, business development, and other programs for Native American small business owners.

The Office of Minority Programs (OMP) executes Department of Energy (DOE) policies that strengthen diversity goals affecting minority businesses, minority serving institutions, and historically underrepresented communities.

America’s largest Hispanic business organization, representing over 4.7 million Hispanic-owned businesses.