Here's Millions In Funding Opportunities For Black Women Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs thrive when they are able to work freely and truly focus in on their gifts in building their brands and businesses. But that focus can be tough when the finances are tight, dwindling, or just not available for key parts of the journey like expansion. Well, we've got all our xoNecole entrepreneurs and budding businesswomen covered with millions in funding opportunities that you can literally apply for from the comfort of your computer screen.
Check out a few awesome options to get your business off the ground, finance a new phase, or just invest in bettering the process of offering your best product or service to the world.
(Oh, and all application information and websites can be accessed by clicking each title. Get your money sis!)
LIFEWTR's #LifeUnseenContest
This one is targeted toward creatives, and anyone interested in the $10,000 in funds, as well as a mentoring session with Issa Rae, will need to follow LIFEWTR's Instagram, shoot their shot via a pitch presented on the platform, tag them, and use the hashtag. There will be five winners chosen and the deadline is July 30.
National Black MBA Association's Scale Up Pitch Challenge
If you have a big idea for a business that you can scale to succeed over time, you could win $50,000 with this one. You'll get to connect with investors and venture capitalists as well. The deadline is July 26.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund
There are 25 $10,000 grants up for grabs for small business owners via SIA Scotch's partnership with Hello Alice, an online entrepreneurship resource for funding and more. The deadline is August 10.
Eat Me Guilt Free's You Glow Girl Grant
Eat Me Guilt Free, a maker of protein-filled baked treats, is offering $10,000 to finance a lucky woman's entrepreneurial dreams. They're also offering a one-year supply of their products, a Peloton bike, and a one-year mentorship with founder Cristie Besu. The deadline is August 1.
Halstead Grant
This is a unique opportunity for jewelry entrepreneurs that includes a $7,500 cash grant and other resources, and it's presented by Halstead Bead Inc., a family-owned company with more than 40 years in the business. The deadline is August 1.
Comcast Rise
This multimedia giant is offering marketing, creative, media and technology services and resources to minority-owned businesses, much of which is almost priceless but clearly worth thousands of dollars. The deadline is July 31.
National Association for the Self-Employed Growth Grants
National Association for the Self-Employed Growth Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis and there's up to $4,000 available to each recipient. Applicants must be members of the organization, and there are rolling deadlines.
Featured image via Getty Images
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images