The NAACP has launched a new impact investing fund that will provide capital to fund managers and startups that are focused on closing gaps facing communities of color. NAACP Capital hopes to raise $200 million in the fund, which is a partnership with Kapor Capital and Kapor Center, along with a team of nine venture fund managers.
The NAACP, the largest civil rights organization in the U.S., said many of the issues it has long fought for, from education to health care to financial access, are growing markets for startup innovation. By investing in fund managers focusing on these markets and startups directly, NAACP Capital will take the NAACP into the technology and venture capital ecosystem.
“Right now, deeply entrenched systemic barriers are curtailing the innovative progress necessary to breed healthy competition in a global economy. We’re seeking to change that,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO in a press release announcing the creation of the fund.
“Impact investing has the power to drive historic financial returns and uplift overlooked communities. Investment is the backbone of impact, and impact investing will shape socioeconomics for generations to come. It’s time to invest in fund managers who share a forward-looking vision that invests in innovation and technology, ensuring the economy works for everybody, not just a select few,” he said.
Johnson said the creation of NAACP Capital is a extension of the organization’s heritage in the fight for social justice and a more inclusive economy. He said the impact fund is a natural fit with the 115-year-old group’s current #KeepAdvancing campaign, a modernized approach to civic engagement.
“Through this fund, we have an opportunity to invest and capitalize the next generation of managers and founders who will work to bring technology and innovation into our communities,” said Jay Lundy, the newly appointed managing director of NAACP Capital.
“Our investment strategy will target the intersection of generational impact and tech innovation and we believe that this holistic approach will allow us to drive both impact at scale and generate top returns on investment,” he said.
NAACP Capital will operate as a standard fund of funds and co-investing strategy that will seek to make the venture ecosystem more equitable. In addition to capital, NAACP Capital will provide additional resources and support to the managers and founders it invests in to close racial equity gaps and increase the representation of people of color across the tech ecosystem.
