September 22, 2021

Black Lawyer Launches Legal Fund To Support Black-Owned Start-Ups Using Crowdfunding to Raise Capital

Elizabeth L. Carter, Esq., LLC, a Black-owned securities law firm, has just launched a legal fund to support Black businesses that plan to raise capital through crowdfunding campaigns and other means.

Ms. Carter, whose firm created the #BlackCapitalMatters Gift Legal Fund, is seeking corporate and individual contributions to the fund, which will help subsidize securities legal services for Black-owned businesses.

It will also allow the firm to provide legal support at below-market-rate so that more Black-owned businesses can combat the disparities in investing that they often face.

Black-owned entities, including businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, and investment funds, looking to raise capital in 2021-2022 and needing affordable securities legal services can apply immediately.

Since 2015, Black and Latinx founders have received only 2.4 percent of the total venture capital raised, according to the 2020 Crunchbase Diversity Report.

These disparities have meant that more and more Black-owned businesses are turning to crowdfund to raise the capital needed to launch or expand their business entirely.

“The racial bias in financing from banks and private investors, including angel investors and venture capital firms, has caused many Black-owned businesses to turn to the general public to get the capital that they need for their businesses. “Oftentimes, these businesses don’t have adequate funding to pay for legal support as they launch crowdfunding campaigns. This puts them at risk of criminal and civil penalties at disproportionate rates.”

Elizabeth L. Carter to Black News

The economic hardships caused by the recent pandemic have only exacerbated the need for funding among minority-owned businesses

According to recent data, 41 percent of Black companies and 32 percent of Latinx-owned companies permanently closed. But Ms. Carter’s firm is on a mission to help the “many” underserved businesses.

Abbianca Makoni

Abbianca Makoni is a content executive and writer at POCIT! She has years of experience reporting on critical issues affecting diverse communities around the globe.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.