HBCUvc and PledgeLA offer $5,000 grants to founders from HBCUs

On July 31, 2020, PledgeLA announced it has partnered with HBCUvu, a non-profit increasing racial diversity in venture capital to provide $5,000 grants to startup founders from historically Black colleges and universities. The program, dubbed the The Summer Lab Fund, is now accepting applications through August 6.

Supported by Crosscut Ventures, the fund will award equity-free grants to technology and tech-enabled startups founded by HBCU students and alumni. Selected startups will also receive mentorship and support from participating sponsors as well as access to HBCUvc and PlegeLA networks.

The funding opportunity launched in late July is managed and operated by the current cohort of PledgeLA VC interns who were matched at firms across Los Angeles in a 10-week program.

Created by the Annenberg Foundation and Mayor Eric Garcetti, PledgeLA is a cohort of tech companies and VC firms that recently released results from its annual survey on diversity in tech across Los Angeles.

“What I really hope for, as a result of this, is to encourage that pipeline of investors to go to HBCUs to find interesting entrepreneurial talents…Five thousand dollars is a nominal amount of money, but what it does is give someone that ability to say, 'I am an entrepreneur, I have been funded,’” said current intern Evan Hamilton.

Applications will close on August 6 and winners of the fund will be announced on August 14.

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