Kevin Hart Pays It Forward With A $500K Grant For Black Businesses

Comedian and entrepreneur Kevin Hart and his tequila brand have joined forces with a national nonprofit organization to provide small businesses with a grant to help support their dreams and goals.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has teamed up with Hart and his Gran Coramino Tequila partner, Juan Domingo Beckmann, as well as Global Brand Equities, to launch The Coramino Fund. The fund is an initiative formed to help uplift and support small, Black- and Latinx-owned businesses. Specifically, those that have been marginalized and prevented from gaining access to necessary capital and resources to help with their business growth.

The Coramino Fund gave Black and Latinx entrepreneurs and businesses a $10,000 grant to facilitate in providing the tools to help bolster their businesses.

This year, The Coramino Fund has already awarded half a million dollars to 50 entrepreneurs across the country. Each was given a grant of $10,000. The numbers across the board show that 50% of the companies are Black-owned, while 36% are Latinx-owned, and the remaining 14% are Black and Latinx-owned. More than 67% of the companies are women-owned businesses.

In a written statement to VegNews, Hart said, “[Beckmann] and I always knew we wanted Gran Coramino to have a give-back component that focused on providing Black and Latinx entrepreneurs with resources to pursue their small business dreams. Teaming up with LISC last year to launch The Coramino Fund in the US was the start of that journey.”

In an Instagram post, the tequila company highlighted some of the entrepreneurs who received grants from The Coramino Fund.

In May 2023, The Man From Toronto actor opened the third location of his plant-based fast food eatery, Hart House. The new site serves as the vegan quick-service restaurant’s first-ever drive-thru location.

Two of the recipients of the grant, Black Leaf Vegan and Mama Roots are vegan locations.