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Fearless Fund is a venture capital firm based in Atlanta, GA that raises capital for minority women founders in pre-seed, seed or series A funding.
Fearless Fund shut down the grant program for minority women business after a year-long lawsuit brought by American Alliance for Equal Rights founded by Edward Blum.
“The American Alliance for Equal Rights encouraged the Fearless Fund to open its grant contest to Hispanic, Asian, Native American and white women, but Fearless has decided instead to end it entirely,” according to a statement by American Alliance for Equal Rights.
American Alliance for Equal Rights
Mr. Blum successfully challenged DEI admission programs at collages and universities when he was handed a victory by the US SUPREME Court. The US Supreme Court ruled against DEI admission programs at collages and universities because they violate equal treatment under the law.
The Court held that affirmative action violates the Equal Protection Clause in the US Constitution (and, by extension, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).
The organization has several other lawsuits against companies and organizations.
According to Crunchbase, only 0.48% percent of all the VC funding in 2023 went to Black founders. To put it in perspective,0.48% is about $661 million out of $136 billion.
Women-founded teams received 1.9% of VC funds, and only 0.1% of VC funds went to Black and Latino women founders. 20% of VC capital goes to firms with at least one woman as a cofounder.
Common reasons for the dismal funding can be attributed to: • Affinity bias by majority culture that hold the cards • Lack of mentorship and networks among minorities and women
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