Shift Capital. Build Community.

Mobilizing HBCU Alumni + Allies to Fund HBCU founders, & Secure Their Place in Top Deals

HBCUvc Alumni Angels: Invest with Us

The HBCUvc Alumni Angels community is a growing network of HBCU alumni and allies investing in high-potential startups. We believe that capital should flow through communities—not around them. We are building a movement of investors committed to funding the future and creating lasting wealth within our communities

By joining, you’ll gain access to:

  • Curated investment opportunities in HBCU-founded startups and top venture-backed deals.

  • Investor education and resources to help you confidently navigate angel investing.

  • A powerful network of investors, founders, and industry leaders shaping the future of innovation.

We’re in Phase 1: building our founding group of 100 members to activate our first deal. Whether you’re new to investing or ready to lead, there’s a place for you,

Who Can Join?

HBCUvc Alumni Angels is open to:

  • Accredited investors seeking to invest in high-potential startups.

  • Non-accredited investors interested in learning and investing in lower financial minimums.

  • Aspiring investors looking to gain knowledge, build networks, and start their investing journey.

  • Mission-driven professionals committed to closing the capital gap for Black founders.

We welcome HBCU alumni and allies who believe in funding an inclusive and equitable future.

What It Means to Be an Alumni Angel

HBCUvc Alumni Angels is a mission-driven community of investors supporting pre-seed Black and HBCU founders and securing allocation in top deals.

To remain an active member, you commit to

  • investing in at least 1 Black founder over the next 12 months

  • actively sharing investment opportunities, including companies you’re investing in or strong candidates for angel investment

  • adding "Angel Investor” or “Capital Ally” at HBCUvc to your LinkedIn profile, to increase access create and visibility for Black founders

  • reporting back on investments made, so we can measure our collective impact

  • engaging with the community as time allows, by joining diligence calls, attending events, leading as a Champion, or referring new members.

There is no fee to join, but members are required to make at least one investment per year. While there is no set minimum dollar amount, membership is reviewed annually based on meeting all outlined commitments above.

The HBCUvc Alumni Angel program is inspired and modeled after the Alma Angels pledge of investing in women founders. Attendance at an info session is the first step toward joining our angel community.

Are you an Accredited Investor?

We invite accredited investors to lead as Angel Investors—those who have access to the full pipeline, and support deals with larger checks.

📞 Schedule a 15-minute onboarding call with our leadership team to learn more.

You’re likely an accredited investor if you’ve made over $200K/year (or $300K with a partner) for the past two years, or have $1M+ in assets (excluding your home). If not, no worries—you can still join us as a Capital Ally.

Not Accredited? Join as a Capital Ally

You don’t need to be an accredited investor to make a difference.

Capital Ally is an HBCUvc term for community members who are not accredited investors, but who still want to support early-stage Black and HBCU founders.

Capital Allies engage through small-dollar investments (up to $2,500/year), founder feedback, and community-building. It’s our way of expanding who gets to participate—and lead—in the investing space.

Next Steps

  1. Watch our 5-min on-demand info session to learn how you can get involved

  2. Then complete your application

  3. Before your membership is confirmed, we’ll ask you to:

    1. Follow HBCUvc on LinkedIn

    2. Add Capital Ally at HBCUvc to your LinkedIn profile

 FAQs

  • HBCUvc Alumni Angels is a national community of mission-aligned individuals investing in pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups. We prioritize deals led by HBCU founders and Black founders, and will invest in competitive, high-quality opportunities—regardless of institutional affiliation. Our goal is to increase access to capital, build collective wealth, and open the doors of early-stage investing to a more inclusive group of investors. Whether you’re writing your first check or your fiftieth, there’s a place for you here.

  • Nope! We welcome both accredited and non-accredited investors. If you are not accredited, you can join as a Capital Ally—our HBCUvc-specific title for non-accredited members who invest smaller amounts (up to $2,500/year), share feedback, and help us grow the ecosystem.

  • An accredited investor as defined by SEC is someone who meets the financial criteria of:

    • Earning $200K/year individually or $300K with a partner (for the past two years)

    • Or having a net worth of $1 million or more (not including your home)

    Accredited investors in our community are called Angel Investors and have full access to deals.

  • Capital Ally is an HBCUvc term for non-accredited community members who want to support founders through:

    • Small-dollar investments via crowdfunding platforms like Wefunder

    • Founder feedback and referrals

    • Participating in diligence calls and events

  • We ask all members to:

    • Invest in at least one Black founder per year

    • Share deal opportunities with the community

    • Represent the program on LinkedIn

    • Report investments to help us track our collective impact

  • When a founder is ready, we’ll share their deal with the community. If you’re accredited, you can invest directly or through a pooled vehicle.

    If you’re a Capital Ally, and the founder has a crowdfunding campaign, you’ll be invited to invest through a compliant platform like Wefunder.

  • We’re in Phase 1: Community Activation—and our goal is to make investing as accessible as possible. To do that, we need numbers. We’re currently seeking 100 members contributing $500 each to reach our first $50K investment—the minimum required to close a deal on platforms like Wefunder. The more people in our community, the more we can lower investment minimums in future rounds—and the more founders we can fund. This isn’t just about writing checks. It’s about proving that when we pool our resources, we can move capital and create meaningful impact—together.