Nike Inc. Announces Black Girl Ventures Partnership

Last summer, Nike Inc. pledged to donate $40 million over the next four years to support the Black community in America and continuing its commitment, the sportswear giant announced its latest contribution.

Today, Nike Inc. confirmed its $500,000 investment to Black Girl Ventures, a Washington DC-based organization whose mission is to provide Black/Brown woman entrepreneurs with access to capital in order to help their businesses grow through pitch competitions, boot camps, and other social events.

“Nike’s funding will help us grow our reach through new chapter development, increase our technology infrastructure to better serve Black and Brown leaders through our proprietary crowdfunding platform and increase our brand visibility through storytelling campaigns curated by Black and Brown women,” says Shelly Bell, founder and CEO of Black Girl Ventures.

In addition to its partnership with Black Girl Ventures, Nike Inc. will also invest more in local Black communities this year by donating a series of grants of up to $1.75 million to organizations working in support of Black communities in seven U.S. cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Memphis, New York City, Portland, and St. Louis.

Nike Inc. announced it would be sharing additional actions the company is taking to eliminate opportunity gaps for Black Americans in the coming weeks.