On May 30, Glossier, a beauty company worth over $1.2 billion, recognized its privilege in being able to secure funding, and made a pledge to support the Black community by donating $1 million across non-profit organizations and initiatives.
This included giving $500,000 to Black Lives Matter, while the other $500,000 was used to create grants for Black-owned beauty brands at various stages in business and development.
"When Glossier launched in 2014, we were fortunate to be one of the rare female-founded businesses to successfully raise venture capital; that year, only 3.1% of venture dollars raised by US-based companies went to women," wrote Glossier founder Emily Weiss in her statement on the company's website. "We are also keenly aware that a Black woman with the very same vision likely would not have received the same support. Black consumers wield an enormous amount of purchasing power, yet Black women have received only .0006 percent of the $424.7 billion raised in venture capital since 2009."
The company opened applications to US-based Black-owned brands that make "physical beauty products: cosmetics, skincare; products or tools for face, body and hair." Grant eligibility was based on the brand itself, the company's message, and its plan for growth. The applicants could apply for three tiers of funding and those selected also receive mentorship from the Glossier team as they work to expand their business.
Now, after reviewing nearly 10,000 applications, Glossier has finally revealed the recipients of its Grant Initiative for Black-Owned Beauty Businesses. You can read the entire announcement on the company's blog.
Some of the brands selected for the grants include Golde, a superfood-infused wellness and beauty brand, epi.logic, a results-driven, plastic surgeon-created skincare line, Hanahana Beauty, clean, hand-crafted skincare products, and Melanji hair, a line of textured hair extensions, to name a few. Grants have also been awarded to soon-to-launch brands such as Pound Cake, a line of lipsticks.
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Check out the complete list of Glossier grant recipients below.
- Dr. Anne Beal (AbsoluteJOI)
- Dr. Isfahan Chambers-Harris (Alodia Hair Care)
- Mabel and Shaira Frías (Luna Magic)
- Cameron Alexis Moore (Flaunt Body)
- Marie Kouadio Amouzame (Eadem)
- Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton (epi.logic)
- Brittany Kirkland & Devin McGhee (DEON LIBRA)
- Malaika Jones Kebede (Brown Girl Jane)
- Keamone F. and Alisha Ricki (Kanti)
- Abena Boamah-Acheampong (Hanahana Beauty)
- Trinity Mouzon Wofford (Golde)
- Whitney & Nikki (Melanj Hair)
- Asia Grant (Redoux)
- Cameron Maple & McKervin Ceme (Wavy Blue)
- Dawn Myers (THE MOST)
- Camille Bell (Pound Cake)
Glossier created this initiative in response to the national reckoning on racial injustice that came to a boil this past spring. However, Black-owned businesses should continue to be supported 24/7, 365 days a year.
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