GK Fund Micro Grant Program
Mentorship
Offered through access to our C-Suite network and members of our board of directors who hold leadership roles in private industry, philanthropy and government.
Funding
Seed funding in the amount of $10,000 is awarded to grant winners to support technology upgrades, marketing services, downpayment costs for office or retail space and other growth oriented investments.
Marketing
GK Fund has longstanding partnerships with print, digital and television media outlets, who will leverage their platform to elevate coverage of GK Fund grant winners.
Networking
Direct access to Berkshire Bank Futures Fund loan pool, Sweet Financing, and products from the Boston Loan Development Corporation.
Our Investment Process
The GK Fund has a thoughtful and structured investment process to remove implicit bias, reduce reliance on metrics and focus on alignment between the companies and our investment thesis.
01
SCREENING
Reviewing alignment with Micro Grant Criteria
02
EVALUATION/DUE DILIGENCE
Grant Evaluation Committee conducts a review of the company application and its materials.
03
INVESTMENT
MEETING
Grant Evaluation Committee deliberates, identifies and prepares recommendations to the board for grant dispersement
04
CAPITAL
DEPLOYMENT
GK Fund sends the grant funding to the winning companies and issues public announcement.
Micro Grant Award Winners
The 2021 Micro Grant Program awarded a total of $60,000 to six innovative companies across the Commonwealth who continue to grow and scale across their respective industries.
Black Owned Bos
Jae'da Turner, Founder & Managing Director
Black Owned Bos. officially launched in March 2019 as a platform and resource to highlight and lift Black owned businesses, places, spaces and the people moving the culture forward. As a business services and consulting agency, Black Owned Bos. creates spaces to amplify, incubate, and support.
B. Royal Boutique
Tonya Smith Winston, Founder and CEO
B.Royal Boutique is currently working with Berkshire Bank Futures Fund to receive a loan to supplement their current brand expansion. Their e-commerce activity has been exceptional during the pandemic, giving customers a seamless virtual purchasing experience. At the same time, B.Royal has opened a new location in Newton Centre.
Must Watch
Chelinde Edouard, CEO
Must Watch lets you know who is watching what and what you should be watching next. Must Watch is an app that brings your friends and favorite shows together all in one place. The app makes it easy to find new shows on every platform, see what your friends are watching, and recommend great shows.
Our Village Initiative
Denisha McDonald \| Founder and Change Agent
Our Village Initiative's mission is to increase the rate of homeownership in communities of color by creating and curating solutions to help residents learn how to save, invest and own their legacy. We host monthly financial literacy seminars addressing various barriers to wealth creation, we launched our official homebuyer program and are expanding our savings challenge footprint.
So Zen Box
Sarah Fox, CEO
So Zen Box is a mission-driven company focused on supporting the ecosystem of black business ownership by introducing customers to new black owned brands through our subscription box and marketplace. Our business offers a marketplace for purchasing from black owned businesses and a corresponding subscription box to make it easy for consumers to try products before they buy.
sySTEMic Flow
Jessica Sanon, CEO
sySTEMic Flow emerged from the dedication to inspire and support young Black girls and women in furthering their love for Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM). Established in 2017, the organization saw that there was a need to support the number of Black women who are invested in acquiring a STEM-related degree.