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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fearless Fund’s Strivers Grant Contest was permanently closed under a settlement announced on September 11, 2024, by the Fund and the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER). The settlement came after an appeals court ruled that AAER was substantially likely to succeed in its challenge to the contest’s race-based eligibility rules—but that was a preliminary ruling, not a final judgment after trial.
What the Strivers Grant offered
The contest was designed for Black women entrepreneurs. The Eleventh Circuit’s 2024 opinion describes four winners receiving $20,000 each, along with digital tools intended to support business growth and mentorship. To qualify, a business had to be at least 51% Black woman-owned; eligible applicants also had to be Black women and legal U.S. residents. Judges evaluated business viability and strength, the planned use of the grant, and growth potential. Read the Eleventh Circuit opinion.
The court’s description establishes the contest’s terms, not its broader impact. The sources cited here do not provide an attributable study or population-level measure of the program’s outcomes.
Why AAER sued
AAER filed its federal challenge on August 2, 2023, arguing that limiting eligibility by race violated 42 U.S.C. §1981. That federal law protects equal rights to make and enforce contracts without racial discrimination. Fearless Fund defended the contest, including with arguments involving contract rights, remedial programs, and the First Amendment. AAER’s settlement announcement gives the filing date; the court opinion sets out the legal dispute.
What the appeals court decided—and what it did not
On June 3, 2024, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that AAER had standing, reversed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction, and sent the case back with instructions to enter one. The majority concluded that AAER had established a substantial likelihood of success on its §1981 claim and that the contest was substantially unlikely to be protected by the First Amendment. Judge Kevin C. Newsom wrote that “the Alliance has established a substantial likelihood that it will succeed on the merits of its claim.”
This was a decision about preliminary relief while litigation was ongoing. It did not finally adjudicate the merits after a trial or establish that a final judgment had found the contest unlawful. Judge Rosenbaum dissented on standing, a disagreement about whether AAER was entitled to bring the case.
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Why the program closed
On September 11, 2024, AAER announced that it and Fearless Fund had settled and that the contest was permanently closed and would not reopen. AAER said it would not disclose information about legal fees. The settlement announcement records the parties’ resolution and closure; it is not a final merits judgment by a court.
AAER president Edward Blum said the organization had encouraged Fearless Fund to open the contest to Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and white women, and that Fearless instead decided to end it. That is AAER’s description of its position, not a finding by the court.
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What Fearless Fund said it would do next
Fearless Fund CEO Arian Simone told TechCrunch that the Fund and Fearless Foundation were pleased to end the case and would continue focusing on helping under-resourced entrepreneurs underserved by traditional capital markets. TechCrunch separately reported that a representative said Simone planned a $200 million debt fund. That report describes a plan; it does not establish that the fund launched or document its current terms. TechCrunch’s September 11, 2024 report includes Simone’s statement and the reported plan.
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