Melanin Money providing crowdfunding stakes in Black-owned businesses

A financial advisor's online community for "aspiring melanin millionaires" is teaching members about private investing by giving them crowdfunding stakes in Black-owned businesses.

George Acheampong

Melanin Money is a financial coaching and education subscription service launched in 2021 by advisor George Acheampong, planner Jaqueline Schadeck and accountant Carter Cofield. In March, its 2,300 members will receive private shares in a wine company as part of the first edition of a new quarterly membership box that will also include merchandise and exclusive content. The company refers to the subscriber gifts as its "millionaire membership box," which is a reference to its goal of helping 100,000 people of color build $1 million in net worth.

As an outgrowth of the movement to align clients' portfolios with their social values, more Black-owned startups are focusing on reducing the racial wealth gap and driving change through alternative products, including private equity funds and real estate vehicles. With growing concern that online "finfluencers" could lead investors of any background astray, many advisors have embraced the role of serving as reliable sources of online financial education.

"We want to expose our audience to private investment opportunities through crowdfunding," said Acheampong, who's the founder of Charlotte, North Carolina-based registered investment advisor CapitalWize in addition to teaming up with the other Melanin Money "coaches" on a podcast and a YouTube series with more than 10,000 subscribers.

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Crowdfunding enables private firms to raise capital through regulated investments by members of the public who are subject to certain limits in the amount based on their net worths and income levels, according to the SEC. 

Acheampong's idea of distributing shares in private firms is tapping into the "immense growth" of such investments that have picked up in recent years as younger investors increasingly view their portfolios "as a better change agent than charity," said DealMaker CEO Rebecca Kacaba, whose firm is a capital-raising platform that has facilitated over $1.7 billion in capital raises since 2018. 

The National Football League's Green Bay Packers raised $65 million from 200,000 investors through DealMaker last year. Crowdfunding has especially caught on among companies engaging with specific communities and among impact investors, Kacaba said in an interview.

"It's really emerged as a new pillar of the capital markets where companies can interact with their communities directly — maybe not necessarily with a bunch of intermediaries — and capitalize their businesses that way," she said.

Melanin Money costs $49 a month, which entitles members to weekly classes, a live financial coach called its "pocket advisor," a social network for users, access to a "close friends" account on Instagram, discounts on its merchandise and hundreds of tools and guides. In the fall, it will give out its first "melanin millionaire awards" to users who have reached their goals.

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The regular mailings of the membership boxes with stakes in Black-owned startups will "really make it all full circle" to members who have learned about personal finance through the program, Acheampong said.  

Between running an RIA and upcoming plans such as a six-city tour of live podcast recordings, he said he knows the businesses "might seem like a lot of work," but he's often reminded that "people are relying on me and my platform." 

"I live by the motto that, if God gave you a vision and He gave you the seeds to plant, my job is to get it all out of me while I'm here," Acheampong said. "It's not for me to get the recognition. It's for me to use my desire to help people to make it happen."