Group dedicated to supporting women and minority-led startups will provide $1.5 million in pro bono services
In an effort to help offset systemic racial and gender-based inequality for diverse founders, public relations agency SourceCode Communications, employee experience agency Cheer Partners, influencer agency Social Studies, and performance marketing agency Superbolt are uniting to form the Diversity Marketing Consortium. In partnership with Harlem Capital (HCP), an early-stage venture capital firm committed to investing in underrepresented founders, the group commits to providing $1.5 million in marketing services to women and minority-led startups over the course of two years.
The Diversity Marketing Consortium was formed with a mutual recognition that women and minorities do not have equal access to opportunities, a structural reality in our country that has been highlighted by continued racial injustices. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated such inequities, disproportionately impacting women and minority-owned businesses. Between February and April 2020, the number of women-owned businesses declined by 25% while the number of Black and Latinx owned businesses decreased by 41% and 32%, respectively. While our country works to repair such systemic inequities, the Diversity Marketing Consortium aims to provide support to underrepresented businesses immediately. The time for change is now, and long overdue.
“As a Black-led investment firm focused on economically empowering women and minority founders, we are driven by our charge to help underrepresented startup teams thrive. We are excited to partner with the Diversity Marketing Consortium to help accelerate diverse founders in our portfolio and in the startup ecosystem,” said Harlem Capital Managing Partner, Henri Pierre-Jacques.
The Diversity Marketing Consortium commits to providing $1.5 million in marketing services to diverse founders over the course of two years in partnership with Harlem Capital. The recipient companies will include those in HCP's portfolio as well as other startups via an open call for applicants and HCP's pitch competition.
“It’s our duty to do better and be a part of the change to narrow the race and gender gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. While there is still a lot of work to do as a society to ensure that diverse founders are given more opportunities, the Diversity Marketing Consortium is committed to using our skills and resources to help level the playing field,” said Greg Mondshein, founder of the Diversity Marketing Consortium and Managing Partner of SourceCode Communications. “We’re honored and humbled to partner with Harlem Capital, Cheer Partners, Social Studies, and Superbolt to further empower women and minority founders.”
For more information, please visit diversitymarketingconsortium.com.
ABOUT THE DIVERSITY MARKETING CONSORTIUM
Founded in 2020, the Diversity Marketing Consortium was formed in an effort to help offset systemic racial and gender-based inequity for women and minority founders. The Diversity Marketing Consortium’s mission is to help level the playing field for underrepresented founders by providing pro bono marketing services. For more information, please visit diversitymarketingconsortium.com.
ABOUT HARLEM CAPITAL
Harlem Capital (HCP) is a New York based early-stage venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years. Please reach out if you are a founder seeking capital, and subscribe to the Road to 1,000 newsletter for monthly industry news and firm updates.
ABOUT SOURCECODE COMMUNICATIONS
SourceCode Communications is an award-winning communications marketing agency launched in 2017 by technology PR industry veterans Greg Mondshein and Rebecca Honeyman. Based in New York, the agency is focused on delivering measurable business impact to brands in five major sectors - Consumer & Lifestyle Technology, Financial Technology, Mobile, Cloud & Telecoms, Insights & Engagement, and Enterprise Technology. Recently shortlisted for PRWeek's 2020 U.S. Awards shortlist for Outstanding Boutique Agency, SourceCode is the Holmes Report 2019 New Agency of the Year and PRNews’ Best Place to Work and Small Agency of the Year. For more information, please visit sourcecodecommunications.com.
ABOUT CHEER PARTNERS
Cheer Partners is a full-service employee experience agency providing customized solutions for attracting, engaging, and inspiring people with their three practice areas: Talent, HR Advisory and Employee Communications. Together, they create a powerful employee experience. Cheer Partners fosters an inclusive, diverse and remote workplace while promoting a connected culture. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
ABOUT SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies is a five year old, Madison Avenue-based micro-influencer agency and proprietary technology created to inspire authentic conversations between the world’s best brands and emerging social content creators at scale, fostering next-generation partnerships that deliver meaningful results.
ABOUT SUPERBOLT
Superbolt partners with disruptive consumer brands to drive long-term growth. Based in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, our multinational team offers strategic and executional expertise to startups and established brands. We run paid social, paid search, display and email, in addition to offline channels like direct mail. Going beyond customer acquisition strategy, we also offer full-funnel services to help our clients optimize their sites, revamp their lifestyle marketing & more.