GK Fund

What GK Fund does

GK Fund is a Boston-based nonprofit organization founded in 2020 to address the estimated $300M gap in capital investment for businesses of color in Massachusetts — a market where businesses owned by people of color represent 18% of all MA businesses but typically receive only 10% of loan dollars. The organization operates as a grant-making entity, awarding $10,000 per company to culturally diverse entrepreneurs (BIPOC, women, and veteran-owned) and small businesses located across Greater Boston and 12 Massachusetts gateway cities. As of the latest data, the portfolio includes 39 business grantees spanning food and confectionery, food service consulting, beverage, and retail/grocery verticals.

The organization's product surface centers on the GK Fund Grant Support Program, which bundles flexible capital with mentorship, business planning tools, marketing support, networking, referrals, and pro bono legal services. Beyond grants, GK Fund offers technical assistance aimed at helping recipients stabilize, scale, renovate, or pivot digitally. Distribution is community-led and event-driven: applications are collected through a Typeform online funnel (100+ applicants per cycle), and outreach flows through 23 partnering organizations plus co-branded community events such as the Holiday Makers Market at Faneuil Hall Marketplace (December 19-21, 2025). The model is reinforced by deep integration with the Get Konnected! networking platform founded by GK Fund's President Colette Phillips, and a strategic partnership with MassDevelopment that channels state-level economic development resources to grantees.

GK Fund is governed by a Board chaired by Evelyn Murphy and led by Founder, President & CEO Colette Phillips, Co-Founder Andre Porter, and newly appointed Executive Director Liz Cheng. Funding comes from charitable donations processed via Givebutter and PayPal rather than commercial sales or institutional investment rounds. Revenue, donor concentration, and budget figures are not publicly disclosed. Leadership and structural signals — including the recent executive director hire, a consultant bench covering Development, Finance, and Chief of Staff functions, and continued ecosystem buildout — indicate an organization professionalizing from founder-led origins toward a more scalable operating model, while remaining sub-scale by traditional nonprofit standards.

Name

GK Fund

Legal name

GK Fund

Website

https://thegkfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nonprofit grant-making organization founded in 2020 that provides $10,000 grants, mentorship, and technical assistance to BIPOC, women, and veteran-owned small businesses across Greater Boston and 12 gateway cities in Massachusetts, funded through charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Grant Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Small business grants
• Nonprofit funding
• Entrepreneurship support
• Minority business assistance
• Community development grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: GK Fund operates as a nonprofit grant-making organization that receives donations from supporters and distributes grants to qualifying small businesses. Revenue is generated through charitable donations rather than commercial operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GK Fund is a nonprofit grant-making organization that awards $10,000 grants to culturally diverse entrepreneurs and small businesses in Greater Boston and 12 Gateway cities across Massachusetts. Grants are bundled with mentorship, marketing support, business planning tools, networking, referrals, and pro bono legal services to help recipients stabilize, scale, and grow. The fund is funded by charitable donations and operates an online Typeform application process alongside community-based outreach.

Product overview

GK Fund operates as a grant-making organization rather than a traditional product company. Its primary offering is the GK Fund Grant Support Program, which provides $10,000 awards, mentorship, marketing support, networking opportunities, referrals, and pro bono legal services to culturally diverse entrepreneurs and small businesses in Greater Boston and Gateway cities across Massachusetts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GK Fund Grant Support Program A grant support program that provides $10,000 in funding per company to culturally diverse entrepreneurs and small businesses in Greater Boston and 12 Gateway cities across Massachusetts. The program bundles the grant with mentorship, marketing support, networking, referrals, and technical assistance to help businesses stabilize, scale, and grow.
• Pro Bono Legal Services Pro bono legal services provided to small business grantees that need guidance and support, intended to ensure every entrepreneur has access to quality legal advice regardless of budget.

Quantifiable outcome

• 39 business grantees supported since 2020 across 12 gateway cities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Faneuil Hall MarketplaceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 December 2025Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston hosts the Holiday Makers Market from December 19-21, 2025, featuring local artisans and small businesses supported by GK Fund and Get Konnected!. The event promotes community involvement and economic empowerment.
• Get Konnected!flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGet Konnected! is the groundbreaking platform created by GK Fund President Colette Phillips. The organizations are deeply integrated, with GK Fund supporting entrepreneurs connected through the Get Konnected! ecosystem. They co-host events like the Holiday Makers Market at Faneuil Hall Marketplace to promote community involvement and economic empowerment.
• MassDevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassDevelopment is a state economic development agency that partners with GK Fund to expand services for small businesses. GK Fund grantees like Manka Food Service Consulting have expanded to Massachusetts Gateway cities via MassDevelopment programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Justine Petersen: St. Louis-based CDFI providing capital and business development services to underbanked entrepreneurs, including minorities; comparable mission-driven small-business financing model.
• Foundation for Business Equity: Nonprofit that provides grants and resources to BIPOC-owned small businesses, closely mirroring GK Fund's grant-plus-mentorship model targeting structural capital gaps.
• Kiva: Global crowdfunding microfinance platform focused on financial access for underserved entrepreneurs; overlaps with GK Fund on catalytic capital for excluded business owners.
• Accion: Nonprofit small business lender serving entrepreneurs of color, women, and immigrants with capital and advisory services — a comparable capital-plus-support model.
• IFundWomen: Funding and coaching platform explicitly targeting women of color entrepreneurs; provides grants, coaching, and a community comparable to GK Fund's value proposition.
• Grameen America: Microfinance nonprofit providing small loans and support to low-income women entrepreneurs, including women of color — overlapping mission and target demographics.
• New Voices Foundation: Philanthropic initiative providing grants and resources to women of color entrepreneurs and small business owners; comparable grantmaking-plus-mentorship approach.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Large national CDFI with small business and economic development programs serving BIPOC-owned firms; broader portfolio but overlapping target beneficiaries and geographies including Massachusetts.
• Opportunity Finance Network: National network of CDFIs financing underserved communities and small businesses; comparable funding ecosystem that GK Fund could tap into as a partner or peer.

Regional players

• The Boston Foundation: Massachusetts' largest community foundation funding racial and economic equity initiatives; same geography and overlapping BIPOC small-business focus, though operating at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GK Fund