Still have questions? No sweat, we've answered some of the most commonly asked questions here.
Founded in 2020 in partnership with Harlem Capital Partners, the Diversity Marketing Consortium (DMC) is a group of award-winning PR and marketing agencies that provides pro bono services in an effort to change the face of corporate America and accelerate brand growth for under-represented founders. To date, the organization has supported more than 35 startups and provided more than $1.4M of pro bono services. In 2021, The Diversity Marketing Consortium™ was officially registered as a NY-state charitable organization and was certified by the IRS as a 501c3.
The DMC is currently made up of eight agencies that offer a variety of marketing and communications services. They are: SourceCode Communications, Superbolt, Racepoint Global, Max Borges Agency, Peppercomm, Clarity, Praytell, and No. 29.
Harlem Capital (HCP) is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in people of color and women. The firm writes checks from $1-2.5mm in seed, seed+ and Series A rounds. HCP manages $174 million AUM, after most recently raising a $134MM Fund II in 2021. 95% of HCP’s 39 portfolio companies are founded by diverse founders and they have invested across 13 industries, with the top 5 being e-commerce, wellness, enterprise software, fintech, and Web3.
The DMC offers a wide range of marketing and communications services including public relations, paid social, performance marketing, strategic counsel, thought leadership, content, and more.
DMC client applications open on a quarterly basis. Once applications are received, they are reviewed and vetted by the DMC team to confirm eligibility and best agency fit. From there, the DMC agency best suited to provide service (based on industry expertise, availability and services offered) is introduced to the applicant for an in-depth discovery call. Should both parties agree to move forward, a customized three-month scope is developed. Once engaged, the applicant will receive one full quarter of pro bono services from their agency match.
To date, the DMC has serviced more than 35 different organizations across a variety of sectors – from non-profits, fintech, gaming, insurance, health and wellness, and much more. You can see our work and some case studies here.
Pro bono services from the DMC are reserved for companies that are majority owned by women or POC founders and do not otherwise have ample budget to support a partnership with a PR or marketing agency. The complete list of criteria is outlined here, as well as the link to apply for service.
We are actively looking for additional agencies to join the DMC so that we can continue to further our impact. Since we are committed to providing top-notch service to all DMC clients, there are a number of criteria that agencies must meet in order to get accepted as a DMC service provider. All criteria and the link to apply can be found here.