Fearless Fund is claiming victory following a settlement that dissolved one of its grant programs.
What Happened
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund had been in a legal battle with legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group over the firm’s Strivers Grant program — a Blum-led group had earlier challenged race-based affirmative action policies and won in the Supreme Court. The grant program, backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard, supported Black-owned women businesses with $20,000 in funding, per information shared by “CBS Mornings.”
The lawsuit, filed August 2023 in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, argued it was in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to launch a grant program “open only to Black females,” labeling the move as “explicit racial exclusion.”
As a result, several rulings and appeals have been issued. First, the grant program was permitted to continue operating under U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash on Sept. 6, 2023.
Blum followed up with the filing of a temporary injunction to block Fearless Fund from awarding the grant. It was approved by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Sept. 30, 2023.
Fearless Fund responded on Dec. 6, 2023, filing an appeal for the injunction to be lifted with the goal of having the grant program reinstated. However, the injunction was upheld in a ruling on June 3, 2024, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
“The US federal court of appeals stopped the fearless strivers grant program for Black women on June 3rd ruling suggesting we were in violation of the law. This program has not been operating since it entered the appeals process back in September 2023 and it was at its conclusion of the grant program when the court case began August 2023, it was designed to award 6 people in one year and it was at its end when the case began,” Fearless Fund said in a statement to AFROTECH™ on Instagram.
Remaining In Business In Midst Of Litigation
In the midst of the case, Fearless Fund had remained in operations although the single grant program had been shut down, Arian Simone, founding partner and CEO of Fearless Fund, explained on “CBS Mornings.”
“We’ve been in busy the entire time during the litigation. Now don’t get me wrong, being in business during litigation definitely has its bumps and bruises, but we have invested during this whole process,” Simone said to the outlet. “We’ve been deploying grants this whole process. We were deploying grants just about two weeks ago… We have been operating fully functional.”
Settlement Details
Fearless Fund and the American Alliance for Equal Rights group have now settled the matter, which has resulted in the closure of the Strivers Grant program.
Why Fearless Fund Labels Settlement As Victory
Fearless Fund labels the outcome as a victory as it will still be carrying out its mission to support underrepresented founders, and in the process the firm has avoided the case being taken to the Supreme Court, which could have had consequences for Black founders seeking funding.
Fearless Fund shared with AFROTECH™ that four judges appointed by Donald Trump ruled against Fearless Fund, while two appointed by Bill Clinton and one by Barack Obama ruled in the firm’s favor.
“This is a WIN and positive outcome for the Fearless Fund and our community,” Fearless Fund stated on AFROTECH™’s Instagram. “We strategically avoided a Supreme Court ruling (the deadline to appeal our appeal has passed) because a ruling not in our favor at the Supreme Court would’ve ended minority based funding across the country and that would not be wise, we have already seen the Supreme Court ruling for the colleges end affirmative action for all colleges in schools and admissions.”
Fearless Fund’s attorney Ben Crump commented on his website:
Simone also revealed the grant program had already been at its conclusion when the firm was sued. There was only one $20,000 grant left to be awarded.
“So if we have to forgo that one grant to stay in business to deploy millions, that is definitely a win,” she emphasized to “CBS Mornings.”
$200M Debt Loan Program
Moving forward, Fearless Fund is launching a $200 million debt loan program to empower under-resourced entrepreneurs.
“Any false narrative floating that anyone is claiming we are not moving forward at the Fearless Fund is not true, what is true is that we are proud to announce our new debt fund for under resourced entrepreneurs- male and female,” Fearless Fund stated on AFROTECH™’s Instagram. “The one grant program the US appeals courts stopped was funding 6 entrepreneurs, this new program will touch over 3000 entrepreneurs, sounds like a WIN to us. WE ARE STILL FUNDING WE ARE STILL FEARLESS!”
