Happy New Year!
We are excited to share some highlights from the end of last year and share our momentum moving into 2023.Our founding team's inspiration is grounded in personal challenges and fueled by our passion and commitment to ensure no one family deserves better care and support than another. Our approach has been and always will be grounded in humility and putting families first. We are excited to keep moving ahead while also lifting up and supporting those around us. See below for some of our 2022 highlights!
Proud to be selected as a member of the American Sustainable Business Council & Social Venture Circle
To kick off 2022, Family Proud was selected to be part of the American Sustainable Business Council! (ASBC) & Social Venture Circle (SVC).ASBC is the leading business organization which aims to serve the public policy interests of responsible companies as well as their consumers and stakeholders with membership representing over 250,000 businesses in a wide range of industries.Family Proud is excited and humbled to be amongst this dynamic group of businesses, entrepreneurs, impact investors, policy makers, and capacity-builders working to create an economy that works for all!
Google for Startups Founders Academy
As the year progressed, Family Proud learned in early April that we had been selected to the third cohort of Google for Startup Founders Academy!
Designed to help promising founders and their startups grow revenue and obtain access to capital, The Founders Academy is a nationwide, virtual program during which we will attend hands-on workshops covering a wide range of topics to include customer acquisition, hiring and fundraising. We are proud to be one of 47 high-potential startups selected by the Google Startups team to be part of this first nationwide cohort!
Ascent Conference; Spotlight on Startups
In early June, Family Proud learned that we were selected to present at the Ascent Conference’s 2022 Q2 Spotlight on Startups. The Ascent Conference is one of the top networking opportunities for VCs and founders in the country. On June 15th, Family Proud along with 99 Seed and Series A founders pitched their companies to a panel of hundreds of investors.
Towards the end of the month, we were honored to learn that Family Proud was selected as one of the Top 20 Featured Startups as a result of our participation at the Ascent Conference!
$750k to Serve Air Force Families
Another huge highlight of 2022 came when the Air Force AFWERX program awarded a SBIR (small business innovation and research) Phase II grant to Family Proud with the intention of making it simpler for Airmen and their families to care for one another.
After being awarded a Phase I grant in April of 2021, and successfully exceeding expectations and achieving key milestones, Family Proud was awarded a Phase II grant in the amount of $750,000.
Fast-forward to October, Family Proud visited the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho to present the completion of yet another milestone. This represented the completion and funding of three out of five milestones to be completed for the Air Force under this $750,000 SBIR grant.
Google Invests in Family Proud
Latino-led startups are the fastest growing segment of small businesses but contrarily, only receive 2% of total U.S. venture capital funding. In Google’s efforts to address this disparity, the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund was established in 2021, allocating $5M to fund access and opportunity for Latino founders to grow their businesses.
Although we found out in late June, we had to wait a few months for the official announcement from Google to share that Family Proud was selected as a recipient of the Google For Startups Latino Founders Fund award! As part of the inaugural class of recipients, Family Proud has been granted $100,000 as well as hands-on support and mentorship from Googlers across the company, and $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Intentionally Good Summit
Goodie Nation held the Intentionally Good Summit in Atlanta, GA mid-November with a focus on driving relationships for founders, investors, coaches, and partners. Goodie Nation has been partnered with the Google Latino Founders Fund in order to distribute funds and leverage their networks and resources to support us since winning the Latino Founders Fund grant earlier this year.
Attending the summit enabled Family Proud to support Goodie Nation in their mission to eliminate relationship gaps around people of color and women while getting more visibility into upcoming opportunities and connecting with a broader entrepreneurial network.
