Comparison · 14 material differences
BLCK VC vs Commonwealth Club World Affairs
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 BLCK VC
Black venture capital investors, plus Black operators and recent graduates seeking to move into investing roles
Networking organization
Commonwealth Club World Affairs
The general public in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through broadcast and podcast distribution, a national audience; membership is open to anyone
What the records say
- Annual dues — BLCK VC: Not publicly disclosed — no membership dues are published; BLCK VC is funded by corporate sponsors and donations; Commonwealth Club World Affairs: $135 a year.
Side by side
| BLCK VC | Commonwealth Club World Affairs | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 2018 (Founded in 2018 by Sydney Sykes, then at New Enterprise Associates, and Frederik Groce, then at Storm Ventures; both now serve as board co-chairs) | 1903 (Founded on 3 February 1903 by San Francisco Chronicle agriculture editor Edward F. Adams, per the Club's own history.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | San Francisco, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Eight chapters across North America: Atlanta, Boston, the DMV (Washington DC area), Los Angeles, the Midwest, New York City, San Francisco and Toronto | San Francisco Bay Area — headquarters at 110 The Embarcadero plus volunteer-run regional chapters in the East Bay, Marin County, Napa Valley and the Peninsula, and a Silicon Valley programme; national reach through radio, television and podcasts |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed — BLCK VC does not publish a community or member count on its public pages | 20,000as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 8 | Not published as a number. The Club names volunteer-run regional chapters in the East Bay, Marin County, Napa Valley and the Peninsula alongside its San Francisco headquarters and Silicon Valley programming, but gives no total. |
| Primary audience | Black venture capital investors, plus Black operators and recent graduates seeking to move into investing roles | The general public in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through broadcast and podcast distribution, a national audience; membership is open to anyone |
| Typical member | Members are Black investors working in venture capital, alongside participants in the organisation's pipeline programmes: operators training to become angel, scout or venture investors, and candidates preparing for entry-level analyst, associate and senior associate roles. | Members are the general public rather than a screened cohort. The published tiers accommodate individuals, two people at one address, small groups, students and educators, single-issue supporters through the Climate One programme, and companies buying access for employees. A Leadership Circle from $1,000 upwards functions as a donor programme with escalating access to speakers. |
| Qualification | ||
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | No |
| Application process | Applicants complete an online form linked from the Get Involved page and, once accepted, join the community's Slack portal. The three programmes — Black Venture Institute, Breaking into Venture and the Scout Network — have separate intakes. No sponsorship, interview or committee review is described publicly. | Membership is bought online by selecting a plan; auto-renewal on the annual renewal date is an option at signup. Student and educator applicants apply through a separate form. There is no sponsorship, interview or committee review. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed — no eligibility criteria or acceptance data are published | Not selective. Membership is open to all and most events are also open to non-members who buy tickets. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed — no membership dues are published; BLCK VC is funded by corporate sponsors and donationsverified September 2026 · source ↗ | $135 a yearIndividual membership, annual plan ($13 a month monthly, cancel anytime). Includes one 30 percent discounted ticket per event, excluding special events.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed. BLCK VC is a 501(c)(3) funded by sponsors and donations, and publishes no price for membership or programmes. | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed — no fees are published for the Black Venture Institute, Breaking into Venture or the Scout Networkverified September 2026 | All membership levels are described by the Club as fully tax deductible. Annual plans carry a stated saving over the monthly equivalents, and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. |
| Membership term | Not documented | Annual or monthly; annual memberships can be set to auto-renew and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Chapter events run by volunteer leads in eight cities and regions, plus programme cohorts and community activity on Slack | Hundreds of events a year, in person and online, at the San Francisco headquarters, the regional chapters and Silicon Valley |
| Peer forums | Slack-based member portal plus city and regional chapters; cohort-based programmes run separately | Member-led forums organised by subject, plus volunteer-run regional chapters; no confidential facilitated peer forum |
| Confidentiality | Could not be independently verified — no published confidentiality policy was found | None; programmes are public and are broadcast on radio and television and distributed as podcasts |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Virtual, Cohort-based, Event-focused | Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Not documented | No |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | Yes |
| Family programming | No | Partial |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Partial |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Yes | No |
| Investment opportunities | Partial | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Yes |
| Networking emphasis | High | Low |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: BLCK VC · Commonwealth Club World Affairs