Founders First CDC (Passport, Zebra Leadership, FastPath Accelerator)
Generalist & Demographic · Run by Founders First CDC · San Diego, CA
Every field is checked against a primary source where we can. How we verify.
The facts
All fields verified Jul 22, 2026- Terms model
- Non-dilutiveGives money that does not take equity: grants, prizes, or credits. Your ownership is untouched.
- Investment
- $1,000 + program access (Tadlock Veteran, Kitty Fund Mom, and Pride business grants; $20,000 total per fund, 20 recipients each)
- Equity taken
- Not publishedNo equity taken. Grants are $1,000+ micro-grants, 20 recipients per $20,000 fund, plus free program access (Passport Community or Zebra Leadership). Premium program tier pricing not disclosed. 2026 grant cycles closed; 2027 dates published.
- Program length
- Not published
- Format
- Remote
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Cohorts per year
- Not published
- Cohort size
- Not published
- Stage focus
- revenue-generating small businesses ($250K-$5M focus)
- Sub-vertical
- revenue-focused accelerators for diverse-led service businesses
- Demographic focus
- diverse-led businesses (people of color, women, veterans, LGBTQIA+, military spouses)
- Backers
- Not published
- Notable alumni
- Not published
Terms notes: No equity taken. Grants are $1,000+ micro-grants, 20 recipients per $20,000 fund, plus free program access (Passport Community or Zebra Leadership). Premium program tier pricing not disclosed. 2026 grant cycles closed; 2027 dates published.
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Terms in plain English
Founders First CDC is a nonprofit offering non-dilutive support: it takes no equity. Its programs include the Passport funding-readiness series (On-Demand, Community, and Premium tiers), Zebra Leadership (six online sessions for founders with 2 or more employees and $250K+ revenue), and the FastPath Accelerator for B2B founders at $1M+ revenue. Its national grants (Stephen L. Tadlock Veteran, Kitty Fund Mom, and Pride) each award $1,000-plus micro-grants to 20 recipients from a $20,000 fund, paired with free program access. Costs for premium program tiers are not disclosed, and the 2026 grant cycles are closed, with the next cycles dated for 2027.
Who this is actually for
This fits revenue-generating small businesses rather than idea-stage startups, with a focus on diverse-led companies including people of color, women, veterans, LGBTQIA+ founders, and military spouses. Grant eligibility generally requires an active US business at least one year old, 2 to 100 employees, and annual revenue up to $5M; the accelerator tiers target founders from roughly $250K to $5M in revenue.
Application windows
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Sources
Everything above was checked against these, verified Jul 22, 2026.