The Fearless Fund will end its Strivers Grant Contest, which provided funds to Black women entrepreneurs, as part of a settlement reached this week with the American Alliance for Equal Rights.

The group, led by conservative activist Edward Blum, sued the investment firm last year, arguing the programme — which awarded $20,000 to successful applicants — was unconstitutional and violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because only Black women are eligible for the award.

In an interview this week with CBS News on Friday, Fearless Fund founding partner and chief executive Arian Simone, called the settlement a “win,” noting that the majority of the allocated funds had already been distributed before the AAER filed suit.

The fund has continued to allocate millions of dollars to women of colour founders, throughout the litigation process, Simone said, and that it would continue to do so.

“We were deploying grants just about two weeks ago … we have been operating, fully functioning,” she said, adding that “our commitment to women of colour is unwavering.”

Since its inception in 2018, Fearless Fund has invested in Black-owned beauty brands Bread Beauty, Brown Girl Jane and The Lip Bar among others.

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US Court Halts Minority Grant Programme at Centre of Legal Challenge

The Fearless Fund must pause its Strivers Grant Contest, which awards funds to Black women entrepreneurs, pending the outcome of a lawsuit from a conservative group alleging such grants are unconstitutional.