A venture capital firm has ended its small business grant contest for Black women following a settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit launched last year by a conservative nonprofit.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) initiated federal court proceedings in 2023, claiming the Fearless Fund’s Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, a $20,000 grant only for businesses where a Black female entrepreneur has at least a 51 percent stake, violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
