Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, & Dwyane Wade’s Social Change Fund United Teams Up with LISC

12.15.2022 - Press Releases

LOS ANGELES (December 15, 2022) – Social Change Fund United (SCFU), created by philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade, in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) announced today $55,000 in grants to empower small Black-owned businesses in six U.S. cities to help spark economic growth and celebrate diversity in ownership this holiday season.

This initiative is a part of SCFU’s ongoing commitment to advancing economic growth of minority-owned businesses and LISC’s Project 10X, a $1 billion effort to upend the racial health, wealth and opportunity gaps that keep tens of millions of people from sharing in our country’s prosperity. The featured cities – Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Winston-Salem, New York City, and Milwaukee – are part of SCFU key impact areas where the organization has led targeted programs since its inception in 2020. 

“Vibrant small businesses are the backbone of local economies,” said Lisa Glover, LISC CEO. “But, too often, Black-owned firms have faced steep barriers to investing in growth. These grants directly address those disparities by helping owners hire and expand—which also fuels economic opportunity in the communities where they live and work." 

“We’re beyond excited to launch this initiative with LISC,” said Chris Paul, SCFU Co-Founder and 12x NBA All-Star. “Our partnership allows us to intentionally invest in Black-owned small businesses and further economic growth in their communities. These grants are just a small step in addressing the inequity and lack of resources that Black entrepreneurs face too often.”

The funding responds to longstanding inequities in capital access for Black entrepreneurs. For example, Black small businesses are half as likely to be approved for financing as white-owned firms, even with good credit, according to the Federal Reserve. The pandemic exacerbated those historical challenges, with Black businesses failing at nearly twice the rate of white-owned firms, falling by an estimated 41%. 

“My mother taught me to cook when I was younger, and I opened Straightlaw’s earlier this year because I want to feed the community where I’ve lived almost my whole life,” said Lawrence Wilford, owner of Straightlaw’s Cooking and Catering in Chicago, one of the grant recipients. “The grant will help me get a new sign for my business and maybe a new hood and menu board too.”

Businesses to receive grants through the partnership include: 

• Know Dat Grow Dat based in New Orleans, LA is owned and operated by retired pharmacist turned gardener, Michael Beauchamp, Sr. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Beauchamp established a community garden to help rebuild the community. This experience inspired him to launch a business, Know Dat Grow Dat, to grow seasonal fruits, vegetables and micro greens for sale at local farmers markets. Beauchamp employs sustainable agricultural techniques and believes good nutrition is disease prevention. Beauchamp will utilize grant funding to upgrade equipment and improve marketing. 
• Straightlaw's Cooking & Catering is anchored in the historic Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago – located in a disinvested corridor that is a target area for city investment. Hand selected by SCFU Executive Council member and Chicago native, Candace Parker, a WNBA all-star, Straightlaw’s is a soul food restaurant and catering company serving Southern-style home cooked meals from generational recipes. Straightlaw’s is owned and operated by Lawrence Wilford and will utilize funds to purchase new signage and equipment. 
• The JUGO Bar in Winston-Salem, NC, is a healthy juice company selling products at the local farmers' markets, grocers, hotels and restaurants. The juices are infused with the exotic flavors and taste profiles that owner William Fulton developed while traveling the world. The Jugo Bar will use the grant as growth capital to expand its sales market into other parts of North Carolina. 
• Founded in 2016, Milwaukee-based One 5 Olive rehabs blighted, foreclosed homes to help revitalize underinvested communities and create affordable homeownership opportunities for families. Owners and founders and brothers, David Griggs and Greg Davis are graduates of LISC’s Associates in Commercial Real Estate program, an industry-supported initiative that recruits and retains people of color for careers in real estate. 
• Good Works Consulting is a Los Angeles-based consulting company, founded by Monique Cadle, that transforms and disrupts systems, organizations and individuals to help create workplaces that center diversity, equity and inclusion. Good Works offers human resources strategy, learning resources, leadership coaching and talent recruitment services to clients across a range of sectors. Good Works is 100% queer- and woman-owned, and majority Black-owned. The consulting company will use the grant to hire additional staff. 
• In a community with a lack of healthy food options, Juiceade is a juice bar and health food restaurant in New York’s South Bronx. Juiceade was established in 2019 after owner, Will Bryant, adopted a vegan lifestyle due to late nights as a nightclub DJ. Bryant has forged strong connections with the surrounding community by supporting and promoting neighborhood activities and employing local youth.

In addition to administering grants, LISC connects small business owners like these to coaching and resources linking them to other capital access opportunities, marketing tips, back-office support, and commercial real-estate solutions. The initiative with LISC is part of a collective effort of impact SCFU will lead throughout the holiday season. 

About Social Change Fund United

Social Change Fund United, founded by Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade, was established to invest in and support organizations focused on empowering communities of color and advocating for the human rights of all Black lives through the lens of policy solutions, community representation and narrative change. Since launch, Social Change Fund United has supported critical and timely issues impacting the Black community including ending police brutality and championing criminal justice reform, economic equity, and voting and civic engagement. All donations are tax-deductible through Social Change Fund United’s 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). EIF is a Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity that meets all 20 Better Business Bureau charity standards and carries the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. For more information, visit https://www.thesocialchangefund.org. View SCFU’s 2021 Impact Report Here.

About LISC

LISC is one of the country’s largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. We work with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive. Since our founding in 1979, LISC has invested $26.7 billion to create more than 463,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 78.5 million square feet of retail, community and educational space and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances.