#WNCRecovery Fund: Mad Genius Foundation Social Impact Investing Initiative

Mad Genius Foundation, a 501(c)3 as of May 2024, is dedicated to raising funds for the Western North Carolina small business recovery after Hurricane Helene. We are focused on social impact investing--specifically to support the women entrepreneurs struck by this natural disaster--and are turning to venture capital firms to come together to make a big dent in the $52 Billion recovery estimate to rebuild our devastated communities and economy.

We know that "women invest 90% of their assets and earnings back into their families…creat{ing] more sustainability not only within the family unit, but within the community and society at large," according to the Forbes article, "How Women Can Change The World With Their Money Choices" published in September 2020. Wealthier women equal healthier economies, and we want to change the statistic that women only receive 2% of venture capital funding and help rebuild WNC faster and stronger. JA Westernman adds, "The cruel irony is that women-led startups tend to produce better returns than their male-led counterparts. Startups with at least one female co-founder generate 10% more revenue over a five-year period. Women-led tech companies achieve 35% higher ROI and 12% higher revenue than male-led businesses when venture-backed. Boston Consulting Group found that for every dollar of funding, female-founded startups generated 78 cents in revenue, compared to just 31 cents for male-founded companies."

We will be hosting an exclusive screening on December 4 of Show Her The Money, a documentary that was just named by U.S. News & World Report in October 2024 as one of the top 11 finance films of the last decade. We are looking for VC firms to pledge $10,000 by December 4 so we can make an announcement at the screening about how many of the 3,417+ VC firms in the USA are part of the #WNCRecovery Fund and our long road to regeneration. Estimates say it will take us 5-10 years to recover, but with big ideas and big support, we can cut that time down AND help more businesses avoid becoming part of the horrible 60% statistic of closing due to a natural disaster.

Will you be one of the 3,417 venture capital firms to make this $10,000 pledge? If so, reach out to hello@madgeniusstudios.com.