pull up for change impact fund
The PUFC Small Business Impact Fund is dedicated to supporting early-stage Black founders who are yet to secure investment from institutional capital sources. In 2020 less than 1% of available capital went to Black-owned businesses. The focus of this fund is to issue grants to founders who are yet to raise any outside investment (Founders still in Friends & Family Stage). The fund will not be taking any equity in these businesses and will not require the companies to pay it back. Grantees are selected via a Pitch Competition (Pitch Please!), and grants of $10,000 - $100,000 are deployed to each winner in addition to mentorship and business access. The PUFC Impact Fund is powered by the Make it Black initiative, where we partner with leading brands to convert their most iconic products to Black packaging, and all of the net proceeds are donated to the PUFC impact fund. Applications open once a year in May, and Pitch contests are held in June/July every year.
