As you can imagine, getting this kind of funding is such a coveted opportunity implying a keener process in selecting the beneficiaries.
So far, a team of cross-functional Square employees is tasked to hand pick among small-owned businesses and pick a winner. The $100m allocated towards the cause has so far been distributed as follows,
$25M – Black Economic Development Fund, led by LISC and Netflix
$25M – CDFIs and MDIs, through deposits, equity investments, and/or CDLFs, with $14 million left to deploy
$25 – the Keeper’s Fund, sponsored by the National Bankers Association
$10M – Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, led by LISC
$10M – international projects focused on minority and underserved communities
$5M – the Square, Inc. Bitcoin Endowment grants, Square has selected Black Bitcoin Billionaire as the first recipient
Throughout all these efforts, Square wishes to proactively increase its revenue now that millions of Cash App users are embracing Bitcoin.