Dallas, TX, Sept. 21, 2021─ Impact Ventures today announced it received a milestone grant from the Truist Foundation. The gift of $150,000 will support Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, and low- to moderate-income (LMI) entrepreneurs from North Texas through Impact Ventures Accelerator Cohort Programs. Impact Ventures’ flagship 10-week Accelerator program has supported over 100 entrepreneurs, collectively raised $3.5 million, deployed $125,000 in grants and investments, created 100 jobs and facilitated over 3,500 expert-level training, mentorship and coaching hours. The grant, in part, will support the launch of the Dallas Inclusive Capital Fund, Texas’ first integrated capital fund providing flexible debt and patient equity capital to BIPOC-led enterprises to achieve economic justice and build community wealth.
“We are excited to continue garnering support from partners such as Truist Foundation that align with our efforts to tackle the racial wealth gap in our region through inclusive entrepreneurship and access to capital,” said Benjamin J. Vann, Impact Ventures founder and CEO. “Entrepreneurs of color have shown how resilient they can be throughout the pandemic, and efforts like this help ensure the pre-existing inequities within our economy are addressed as we seek to recover and rebuild our economy.”
Black entrepreneurs are twice as likely to be denied a small business loan (1), less than 3% of venture capital goes to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs (2) and less than 1% for Black women, the fastest rising demographic for entrepreneurship (3). Impact Ventures seeks to change this by addressing the systemic and structural barriers of access to the critical knowledge, social and financial capital to unlock opportunities for economic mobility to grow community wealth. The Truist Foundation grant will help sustain and increase Impact Ventures’ impact and support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led enterprises in North Texas and beyond. Impact Ventures believes genius is distributed evenly across ZIP codes; however, access and opportunity are not. Efforts like this help unlock genius and unleash opportunities.
“We are proud to support Impact Ventures and empower diverse entrepreneurs throughout North Texas,” said Christian Corts, North Texas regional president for Truist, speaking on behalf of the Truist Foundation. “Truist is a purpose-driven company committed to inspire and build better lives and communities. We are confident this gift will help businesses across our region thrive while also bringing our purpose to life.”
To learn more about Impact Ventures, visit https://impact-ventures.co for more information.
About Impact Ventures
Impact Ventures is a 501c3 organization and start-up accelerator with a mission to empower talented, yet under-estimated Women and Communities of Color to create generational wealth through inclusive entrepreneurship and integrated capital. The Dallas Inclusive Capital Fund is a place-based integrated capital fund investing flexible debt and patient equity in Women and BIPOC-led enterprises to build economic power and create community wealth.
About Truist Foundation
The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at Truist.com/Purpose/Truist-Foundation.
