Entrepreneurs of Color Fund

The lack of cost-benefit analyses specifically examining business finance programs for minorities makes it difficult to surmise the potential impact of this set of policies. However, the available research does point to insights regarding how these policies might perform. For instance, a 2014 study demonstrated that entrepreneurship is a mobility enhancer for African Americans as they are more likely to move into higher income brackets as compared to African American non-entrepreneurs and show the similar likelihood of upward mobility as white entrepreneurs (Bradford 2014).  Moreover, studies suggest that the US could add 9 million additional jobs to the economy and boost national income by $3 billion if minority firms were to achieve growth rates and hire at the same rate as white firms (Austin, 2016).  It is well known that small- to medium-sized businesses are the engine of growth for the American economy. The influence of people of color on the direction of consumer tastes and in major segments of many consumer markets further speaks to the untapped growth potential for the entire economy. 

The overwhelming majority of the research in this field focuses on the barriers to entrepreneurship for people of color. As such, we have a lot of knowledge about what hampers the founding and growth of minority business ventures, principal among them access to capital. However, very little is known about the efficacy of strategies aimed at addressing those barriers because that is a much smaller field of research. There is an established area of research the examines the role of minority set-asides, which confirms the efficacy of this strategy in addressing wage gaps and business success (see Chatterji et al 2014). Attention has recently turned to examine the role of venture capital in addressing the needs of minority entrepreneurs, but there remain large gaps in this space as well. Case studies form a significant portion of the available research, but there is a need for more research that is quasi-experimental or experimental in nature (e.g., randomized control trials). 

The New Jersey Forty Acres and a Mule Fund (NJ FAM Fund) is a first of its kind private investment vehicle focused on making equity and debt investments in Black and Latinx businesses located or doing business within the State of New Jersey and also transforming real estate projects within New Jersey’s Black and Latinx communities. This private investment vehicle seeks to raise $100M to combat and reduce social and economic inequalities resulting from systemic racism.

Public-Private Partnerships: The NJ FAM Fund was created by a partnership of eight mayors from cities in New Jersey, with assistance from New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) and from an advisory board. The new initiative, the NJ FAM Fund, will operate with collaboration from Newark, Orange, East Orange, Paterson, Camden, Trenton, Irvington, and Atlantic City.

The Oregon Cares Fund is a targeted investment in the Black community from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund. This fund was designed to provide the Black community with the resources it needs to weather the global health pandemic and consequent recession. The Oregon Cares Fund is for Black people, Black-owned businesses, and Black community-based organizations.