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Meet the recipients of the Caress • IFWOC COVID-19 Grant Program

BY OLIVIA OWENS, GM OF IFWOC, IFUNDWOMEN

September 9, 2020

IFundWomen of Color was created with our founding partner Caress to help diverse entrepreneurs bring their dreams into reality through raising capital via crowdfunding and providing grants, coaching, and the connections needed to launch and grow successful businesses.

Caress is saddened by the severe impact that COVID-19 is wreaking on communities and on small businesses and entrepreneurs. They recognize that in this critical time, small businesses are struggling immensely and the disadvantages that women of color entrepreneurs face are only growing.  As a founding partner of IFundWomen of Color, Caress is proud to be supporting 200 women of color owned small businesses with $500,000 in grants for COVID-19 relief.

Meet this week's Caress • IFundWomen of Color COVID-19 grant recipients:

Ferriss Mason

Come Up LA is a monthly marketplace that amplifies Black entrepreneurs by creating a safe space to mature, build and flourish. While scaling into a national platform to encourage entrepreneurs in opportunity zones, and ascending into a global platform with the incorporation of an interactive online marketplace for Black entrepreneurs.

Brianna Hairlson

Bri's Dance Place is a dance studio for all ages and all stages: teaching pregnancy and new mom dance classes, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern & Hip Hop to youth, and focusing on keeping our clients happy, healthy, and safe.

Carina Santoyo
Founder of CEREMONIA

CEREMONIA offers unique handcrafted goods inspired by travel + nature, creating a collection in partnership with artisans who rely on natural materials and ancient traditions to make every in small batches with great care for our environment.

Christina Choi

Christina Choi Cosmetics specializes in Asian-American beauty, WOC Beauty and underrepresented communities. Our passion is to empower women through our products and makeup education to "Celebrate your unique beauty."

Cindy Lai

Our passion is in helping people learn how to live pain free by training smarter and improving their movement quality in life. When you feel your best, you can unlock your best potential.

Morrisa Jenkins
Founder of Freedom Apothecary

Freedom Apothecary is a clean beauty retail x wellness space that creates physical space for black women and women of color to find community, to find support, and most importantly find ourselves

Kim Baker

Glamazon Beauty Cosmetics is a multicultural skin conscious cosmetics brand focused on redefining society's standards of beauty.

Aimiende Negbenebor Sela
Founder of Sela Films

Sela Films is an indie production company created to push boundaries in the filmmaking industry in terms of innovation, inclusion, diversity, and creativity with a strong focus on humanism. 

Dainelle Riley
Founder of HBCU Culture Shop

HBCU, (historically black colleges & universities), alumnae & students are fed up with being unable to find a large assortment of apparel that represent the significance and importance of who we are and the rich heritage that we share. The HBCU Culture Shop is changing the industry, by making apparel that is accessible & fashionable that provides an outlet for black alumnae & HBCU supporters to deliver a statement of pride!

Dionne McCray

Iva Jewell creates bespoke accessories made in the Bay Area for the daring, brave and beautiful woman.

Kenyatta Scott

The Violet Book Series builds self esteem in children of color while focusing on life lessons. Every book works to combat the stereotype that Fathers are not present in communities of children of color by having Violet and Derek learn all of their life lessons from their Dad

Nadine Fonseca
Founder of Mighty Kind

Mighty Kind magazine aims to support culturally-curious, globally-minded kids because we believe that being familiar with the world and its people is a great way to foster understanding and kindness.

Esther Wallace
Founder of Playa Society

Playa society uses sportswear as a platform to elevate women’s sports, and change the narrative for female athletes, so that more girls do not hesitate to follow in our footsteps.

Angela Ivana
Founder of CosmoSafe

CosmoSafe develops digital training programs in previously ignored content areas (not offered by beauty schools) to address wealth, skills, diversity & inclusion gaps that exist in beauty education. 

Chrishella Carter

Vibez Creative Arts Space provides a safe space for black & brown people to explore their creativity without having to worry about how they are perceived in white spaces. By exploring multiple art mediums we also provide art knowledge which is missing in most schools due to the cutting of art education from the school budgets.

Blessing Adesiyan
Founder of Mother Honestly

Mother Honestly provide the modern woman tools, resources and community she needs to thrive in and beyond motherhood.

Nicole Morales-Sancho
Founder of Wolfe Agency

Wolfe Agency is a female-led multidisciplinary creative studio servicing organizations who target millennial women buyers. 

JaVonnie Bryant
Founder of Zevelyn Jean

Zevelyn Jean is a doorway to self discovery, a brush with consciousness and a place for you to loose and find yourself. Their mission is to create adornments for individuals who embrace authenticity and live abundantly while exuding freedom, self-expression, and confidence.

Lori Spicer Robertson
Founder of Wundher

Wundher is a digital media and experiential production platform designed to connect women and mothers to their joy.

Maacah Davis

Belladonna is a creative playground that publishes and prints diversity on-the-page while empowering women of color to define our narratives behind-the-lens.

Yudhisty Saridjo & Juanita Dharmazi
Founder of Kadoo LLC

KADOO reconnects people while apart and stay in touch with loved ones by sending our ready-to-ship gift boxes with thoughtful touch and feel good missions.

Claudia Robles Arias

BilingualKid Language Immersion School is a family owned and operated language immersion school offering a Spanish program. Their program establishes a measurable range of skills and knowledge essential for children to be successful in kindergarten and creates a high-quality Preschool Learning Environment. 

Sonia Smith-Kang
Founder of Mixed Up Clothing

Mixed Up Clothing is a children's clothing line that sources fabric from around the world and turns them into apparel kids love to wear. A social impact brand, Mixed Up Clothing celebrates diversity and inclusion by being representative of the multicultural world in which we live.

Christin Birckhead
Founder of Conceptual Beauty

Conceptual Beauty is a hair and makeup team that provides on site hair and makeup services to all ages, races and sexes.