Facebook is making $40 million in grants available to Black-owned businesses that have 50 or fewer employees, the social media giant announced Wednesday.
In a blog post, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, said the grants are part of the firm’s efforts to support Black-owned businesses.
“Black-owned businesses have faced systemic barriers for generations – and the huge amount of interest we received from these businesses confirmed just how enormous the challenges they continue to face really are. That is why we doubled down on investing in and building tools to help this community – and today I am excited to share an update on our efforts,” she wrote.
Sandberg also noted Facebook’s recently launched Business Resource Hub.
As of Wednesday, she added, “any majority Black-owned business with 50 or fewer employees can apply for a grant. We know every day counts, so we’re partnering with Accenture and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) to get these grants to Black-owned businesses quickly. Businesses can visit facebook.com/BlackBusinessGrants for more details about the program and how to apply.”
Other offerings include:
- “$25 million to support the next generation of Black voices on Facebook and Instagram in the US. The program will provide them with access to funding, education, development resources and local activities to help them grow their community and establish a business across our apps. Creators who are interested can apply at facebook.com/creators/bcp#apply.”
- And making “it possible for people to identify their Page as a Black or minority-owned business on Facebook, so anyone who wants to support them can do so easily. Diverse business categories will be associated with business Pages, not people. The best way to find Black-owned businesses is in the Businesses Nearby tool, where you can browse offerings and click through to message them directly. Self-designation is completely voluntary – Page admins can choose to skip, edit or remove diverse-owned business information at any time.”
