In conjunction with the HALL Group's 50th anniversary, its founder Craig Hall has committed to provide $1 million in grants from the Craig and Kathryn Hall Foundation to help nonprofit partners invest in and support entrepreneurs who are most impacted by the opportunity gap in the United States.
In October 1968, Craig Hall -- an entrepreneur, philanthropist, vintner, art collector, and New York Times bestselling author -- founded HALL Group at age 18 with $4,000 he had saved from small ventures since he was 10 that he used to purchase a rooming house.
Now, Hall is the chairman of a group of diversified businesses that include active operations in commercial real estate ownership, development and management, structured financial lending, winemaking and early-stage investments in promising start-ups.
Also a philanthropist, he and his wife Kathryn Hall seeks to help people through their foundation. The most recent program he launched is their first grant program that will provide underserved entrepreneurs with critical access to capital, mentorship and other resources through the selected nonprofits, which HALL Group will source.
In a statement, he said that while the technology and innovation in the U.S. are booming, the opportunity gap between big corporations and traditional entrepreneurs, especially women and people of color, have also been widening. He said, "This $1 million grant is just the starting point for what our foundation intends to do with entrepreneurial non-profit partnerships long-term."
"The more we put roadblocks and increased regulations in people's way, the more we put the future of our country at risk," Hall added. "My hope is that by increasing awareness of these issues and encouraging policy changes and increased investment in startups, we can reverse these trends and safeguard the future of American entrepreneurship."
For more information about HALL Group, visit www.hallgroup.com and the Craig and Kathryn Hall Foundation, visit www.ckhallfoundation.org.
