The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and BeyGOOD, a public charity foundation founded by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, have partnered to identify 800 Black businesses across seven U.S. regions and the United Kingdom to participate in a series of Black Parade Route Luncheons. During each luncheon, 10 business owners will receive a $10,000 grant each.
The partnership involves the following activities:
- In April, NMSDC is recruiting Black businesses from each of the seven regions and the United Kingdom to complete a Black Parade Route Small Business Grant application. The seven regions include the U.S. cities of Chicago, New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and New Orleans. It is reviewing, vetting, and identifying the 100 applicants most impacted by economic inequity, and providing their applications to BeyGOOD for review.
- In May, and on a rolling basis through September, BeyGOOD is inviting the 100 selected Black businesses to the Black Parade Route Luncheon in the city closest to their headquarters and for which they applied. During each luncheon, BeyGOOD is awarding $100,000 in grants to the businesses that have demonstrated the greatest need for additional capital funding and how this relief grant will aid in their business sustainability efforts.
NMSDC’s support of this initiative comes in the wake of its latest Minority Businesses Economic Impact Report. In the report, NMSDC-certified Black minority business enterprises only saw a single-digit percentage increase in total annual revenue (4.6%) compared to double-digit increases for the other communities of color NMSDC serves.
“We continue to see the disparities our Black NMSDC-certified businesses face when starting and growing their businesses, said NMSDC CEO and President Ying McGuire. “From access to capital to systemic racism, we must remove these barriers for Black businesses to flourish. This partnership is one of many steps NMSDC is taking this year to create more equitable economic opportunities for the Black community,” she added.
NMSDC-certified minority business enterprises can apply through April 27, 2023, for the BeyGOOD Black Parade Route Small Business Grant at https://www.nmsdcforms.org/nmsdc/m3izn5qvln/index.
About BeyGOOD
BeyGOOD focuses on economic equity by supporting marginalized and under-resourced programs, committed to serving people through educational scholarships, the advocacy of internships, and access to resources for advancing entrepreneurship and small business sustainability across the country and abroad. BeyGOOD believes in a society where everyone has an opportunity to prosper. Its work helps organizations, institutions, and people work to transform their communities into places of well-being, economic prosperity, generosity, and justice. For more information, please visit beygood.org.
