We're Fifth Star Funds — a nonprofit organization serving as the first Friends & Family fund in America.

Our philanthropic "evergreen" model welcomes anyone to join in supporting Black and other discrimated-against founders, introducing them to the venture capital ecosystem. Watch the video above to see how we're fighting to solve the racial wealth gap in America.
The wealth gap between white and Black American families is 8x.
However, when considering the “liquid” wealth gap which excludes home equity, there is an even more alarming 22x wealth gap in America, with median liquid Black family wealth of $3,630.
“F&F are typically the first to support businesses with capital. Unfortunately, for many Black founders, that’s not always the case—simply due to a lack of funds. Because of historical financial inequity, the traditional friends-and-family model is not a viable equalizer for Black founders. A new pre-seed stage (F&F) model is needed.”
-- Accenture

For the American Dream to become a reality for all founders, we need a new national solution to reform the F&F round.

After two years of investing, our success speaks for itself.

When we go National, our impact will be unforgettable.

$25k

Check size

$150M

Fund 6,000 Black founders

$5.2B

Black wealth created

34.8x

Wealth gap return

Join Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, and Chicago’s leading philanthropists in supporting Black founders.

Our Partners

Our stars brighten the entrepreneurial sky

The more we invest in untapped talent, the stronger our community grows

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