Haircare and beauty brand SheaMoisture has just announced a $1 million relief fund to help support women entrepreneurs and small business owners of color.
According to a post on the brand official Instagram account, the funds will be distributed via a long-established program called Community Commerce. They will support business owners in need have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Dear Community, Our #SheaMoisture family sends love from our homes to yours! We stand ready to help. While much has changed in the world, we will continue to show up for our community, women of color, and small minority businesses during this time,” the post reads. “Stay tuned for more details around our Community Commerce Fund we have developed to assist small businesses and the communities that they serve. #SheaFam, tag a business that could use a stimulus fund. With love, The #SheaMoisture Family.”
Cara Sabin is the CEO of Sundial Brands. She took on the role after founder Richelieu Dennis stepped away from his position after selling the company to Unilever. Dennis created the fund three decades ago.
“When we created the Community Commerce business model almost 30 years ago, my family and I did so with a belief that we could build a successful business that also contributed to and invested in the building of other businesses and the sustainable economic empowerment of underserved people and communities,” said Dennis in December 2019. “Different from charity or philanthropy, Community Commerce was our mission and our passion long before concepts like ‘purpose-driven’ became popular, and it continues to be the cornerstone of everything we do.”
Dennis went on to purchase Essence magazine, making it one of the few, truly Black-owned media publications in the mainstream.
