Contacts: 
Kim Johnson Roberts, Halcyon, k.roberts@halcyonhouse.org
Kristen Fraser, Truist, media@truist.com 

Washington, DC (Jan. 9, 2025) – Halcyon is proud to announce it has received a grant to advance its Future Builders program in 2025. The grant comes from Truist Foundation and will address systemic barriers many entrepreneurs face in building and sustaining successful ventures, offering them critical tools and support to thrive in competitive markets. 

“The entrepreneurs we serve at Halcyon bring extraordinary ideas to the table because they’re most proximate to the problems they’re trying to solve. Despite this, they often face structural challenges that make accessing funding, resources, and professional networks far too difficult,” said Kim Johnson Roberts, Executive Vice President at Halcyon. “This grant allows us to double down on our efforts to remove those barriers, providing our founders with the support they need to lead innovative, impactful businesses.” 

The program will prioritize equipping founders working in Climate, Health, and EquityTech with resources to navigate the unique challenges of securing capital, scaling their businesses, and accessing mentorship networks—barriers that can often disproportionately hinder entrepreneurial journeys. Success for this program will be measured in terms of how much funding they raise for their ventures, how much revenue is generated, how many jobs are created and finally, how many lives are positively impacted by the ventures. 

Halcyon welcomes applications from all entrepreneurs, regardless of background or experience. We are deeply committed to fostering equity in entrepreneurship, recognizing the systemic barriers that many founders from underrepresented communities face.  For example, less than 3% of venture capital funding goes to Black and Latine founders, and women founders receive just 2% annually. At Halcyon, we are proud to be part of the solution: 84% of Halcyon ventures are led or co-led by a founder of color, and 63% are led or co-led by a woman or non-binary founder. We encourage all eligible entrepreneurs to apply to our Future Builders program as we continue to build a diverse and inclusive community of innovators. 

“Halcyon’s Future Builders program is empowering founders who are poised to make a difference in fields that are vital to the future of our local communities,” said Lynette Bell, president of Truist Foundation. “At Truist Foundation, part of our mission is to strengthen the small business ecosystem, so we’re proud to help under-resourced entrepreneurs gain access to the tools and support they need to thrive and drive impact.” 

About Halcyon 

Halcyon accelerates the impact-driven future of business. Since 2014, Halcyon’s fellowships for early-stage social entrepreneurs have provided space, community, and access—infusing support at a critical juncture where many impact-driven startups fail. Halcyon is focused on serving social entrepreneurs with ventures in Health, Climate, and EquityTech— three verticals that drive equity and inclusivity in society. Halcyon’s support includes tailored business training for leadership, product-market fit, and investment readiness, leadership coaching, and additional resources to help Halcyon founders scale their ventures. Learn more at www.halcyonhouse.org.   

About Truist Foundation 

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Foundation, an endowed private foundation established in 2020 whose operating budget is independent of Truist Financial Corporation, makes strategic investments in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations centered around two focus areas: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses to ensure all communities have an equal opportunity to thrive. Embodying these focus areas are the Foundation’s leading initiatives – the Inspire Awards and Where It Starts. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation. 

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