The Minority Business Boom: Mr. Grant Money & The Black-Owned Business That Won Big
🎩 Summary Notes
This post follows Devin Carter, third-generation craftsman and owner of Carter & Sons Custom Woodworks in Atlanta. For years, Devin kept the lights on with sweat, savings, and sheer commitment to legacy—refusing to cut corners or compromise quality. But passion couldn’t pay the bills. Just as he was about to sell the van that delivered heirlooms, a customer handed him a lifeline: “You need to talk to Mr. Grant Money.”
What followed wasn’t a pitch. It was a blueprint—one that took Devin from survival mode to scale, with funding aligned not just to business goals, but to generational legacy.
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⚜️ Key Themes
🔹 Legacy ≠ Liquidity
Devin inherited:
🛠️ A multi-generational craft
🏠 A shop built on Black pride and precision
🤝 Community trust
But he was denied:
❌ Bank loans
❌ Pandemic relief
❌ Minority grants that didn’t match the nuance of his situation
His story wasn’t rare. It was invisible—until someone translated it for funders.
🔹 The Funding Strategy No One Teaches in Business School
Mr. Grant Money laid out:
📈 MBDA Capital Readiness Grant – $75K for growth + tech adoption
💪 SOAR Fund – $35K + 6 months of coaching
🛒 Retail Supplier Diversification Grant – Open door to corporate partnerships
He didn’t just find funds.
He aligned them to Devin’s mission and milestones.
🔹 From Workshop to Workforce Hub
With capital in place, Carter & Sons:
🪚 Hired new apprentices
🎓 Launched a woodworking skills program
💻 Converted the backroom into a tech-forward design space
🏬 Attracted national retail attention through a grant press release, not a cold pitch
They didn’t pivot. They fortified.
🔹 Mr. Grant Money Funds Power, Not Pity
This wasn’t charity.
This was infrastructure funding—the kind that sees Black business as anchor, not afterthought.
⚜️ Discussion Questions
💬 Why are so many Black entrepreneurs boxed out of traditional funding—and what tools can flip that script?
💬 How can legacy businesses translate community trust into measurable impact for funders?
💬 What does “equity in funding” look like beyond loan eligibility?
💬 How can cultural relevance and storytelling make a grant proposal stand out—without relying on tropes?
💬 What policy changes would help grant programs truly reach businesses like Carter & Sons—before it’s too late?
⚜️ Action Steps for Funders, Policymakers & Allies
✅ Invest in outreach programs that bring grant strategists into neighborhoods
✅ Build toolkits for legacy business owners on storytelling + structure
✅ Expand MBDA-style grants to regional + rural ecosystems
✅ Elevate grant-funded success stories to normalize non-dilutive capital
✅ Pair funding with mentorship, technical assistance, and policy access
⚜️ Reflection
Devin Carter wasn’t chasing viral moments.
He was preserving a family legacy—one rocking chair, barbershop bench, and communion table at a time.
Mr. Grant Money didn’t offer a loan.
He offered a pathway—one that respected history while designing the future.
Because funding Black businesses isn’t about favors.
It’s about fixing the pipeline—and finally building a system that sees craft as capital.
