Update (October 2, 2023): The Fearless Fund, which focuses on pre-seed, seed level or series A financing for businesses run by women of color, has been blocked by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals "from considering applications for grants only from businesses led by Black women," per Reuters.
This puts the fund's current crop of grant proposal reviews on hold.
"[T]he appeals court's majority, comprised of two appointees of Republican former President Donald Trump, said the First Amendment 'does not give the defendants the right to exclude persons from a contractual regime based on race,'" per Reuters.
Previously, the fund had prevailed in the case, brought against the group by "anti-affirmative activist" Edward Blum and his so-called American Alliance for Equal Rights, per Reuters.
The fund has been active in beauty, supporting Bread Beauty Supply, Kushae, Thirteen Lune and Live Tinted, among other investments.
Blum, who has attacked equity programs in academia and, now, corporate America, had hoped to use the courts to declare the fund's work as discriminatory.
However, a federal judge in Atlanta "denied a request by for a preliminary injunction blocking Fearless Fund from considering applications for grants only from businesses led by Black women."
Blum had hoped to get the court to intervene ahead of the Fearless Fund's Saturday grant application deadline.
Unfortunately for the activist, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to prevent the group from selecting a grant winner. That has now been reversed.
