Being a woman small business owner comes with its own collection of challenges. Those women who rise above and make their mark in the business world ought to be celebrated, and that’s part of the reason there is such a robust list of grants for women business owners. Going into 2024, there are several great opportunities for grant-based funding specifically set aside for women small business owners.

These grants see the value of female entrepreneurship and want to see what you are capable of. Following this list, start your applications early, as several of the biggest grants this year have already opened for applications.

9 Top Private Business Grants for Women

1. SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant

The SoGal group are a collective with the sole goal of reducing the funding gap that negatively affects women and specifically women in the BIPOC community. Beyond awarding funds, the SoGal group also offers a robust connection network for mentorship and consulting for grant recipients.

Deadline: 2024 TBA

Amount: From $5,000 to $10,000

Where to Apply: Apply for the grant directly from SoGal’s website

Key Requirements: Applicants must self-identify as a Black woman or Black nonbinary entrepreneur, must have a legally registered business, and have a well-thought-out solution or idea worth presenting.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

2. WomensNet Amber Grant for Women

The WomensNet Amber Grants are some of the most well-known and consistently delivered grants for women in the business world. Given out at the end of each month, these grants celebrate the variety of women-owned businesses through maximum giving. At the end of every year, WomensNet gives two $25,000 grants.

Deadline: Rolling Applications

Amount: $10,000 per month and $25,000 at year’s end

Where to Apply: Check out the application form on the Amber Grant website.

Key Requirements: Written personal statement about your business and your plans for the grant money. Also, Amber Grants requires a $15 application fee with your entry.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

3. digitalundivided BREAKTHROUGH Program

Backed by several big-name corporate entities, the BREAKTHROUGH program from digitalundivided is a women’s’ group celebrating the power of community in women’s entrepreneurship. The group is also known for their strong circle of mentors and support group.

Deadline: 2024 TBA

Amount: $5,000

Where to Apply: Apply for the grant from the digitalundivided grant page

Key Requirements: Identify as both a woman and a member of the BIPOC and/or Latina community, be at least 18 years old, have a business registered for at least a year in which you have majority ownership, have a website or mobile app for your business, generate at least $50,000 in revenue annually.

Application Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Tory Burch Fellows Program

Deadline: Expected Q4 2024

Amount: $5,000

Where to Apply: Apply from the Tory Burch webpage

Key Requirements: The applicant must be a woman with at least 51% ownership of the company they are applying on behalf of. The applicant must be 21 years old at the time of the application due date. The applicant must be proficient in English and live in the United States and/or territories.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

5. IFundWomen Grants Series

We have decided to include all IFundWomen grants as one major category since applicants can apply for one of several IFundWomen grants at once. This includes the Jane Walker grant and the Visa Global Hub.

Deadline: Rolling and varied

Amount: $5,000 to $100,000

Where to Apply: Regard the collection of IFW grants at their website

Key Requirements: IFW grants vary requirements slightly but have one major throughline: applicants must identify as a woman and have majority ownership of the company they are applying on behalf of.

Application Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Fearless Fund Strivers Grant Program

The Fearless Fund Strivers Grant offers monthly grants as well as special one-on-one mentorship for chosen grant recipients. The program is open to all Black women business owners.

Deadline: Monthly grants for 2024 TBA

Amount: $10,000

Where to Apply: Apply for the grant from the Fearless Fund’s application page when it goes live. For now, use the Fearless Fund main page.

Key Requirements: Applicants must be Black woman business owner legally residing in the United States. Applicants must also be 18 years old or the “age of majority” for their state of residence. Applying businesses must have an annual revenue less than $3,000,000 for 2021.

Application Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Women Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition

The Women Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition is an in-person pitch competition held in October at UCLA in Los Angeles that allowed women-owned businesses to perfect the best pitch for their business. Winning businesses at the pitch completion cane take home a variety of grant prizes; the highest prize is $25,000.

Deadline: 2024 TBA

Amount: $5,000 – $25,000

Where to Apply: Business owners can apply for selection for the in-person pitch competition on the Women Founders Network website.

Key Requirements: Applicants should address a “real market need,” have a “sizable market opportunity,” and a “sustainable source of differentiation,” according to the Women Founders Network application info page. Further, applying businesses must address a 23-question questionnaire found on the company’s website.

Application Difficulty Level: Hard

8. Boston Women’s Fund

The Boston Women’s Fund is a cooperation of advocates enabling women-owned businesses with community value in the Greater Boston area. The BWF offers several grants year-round with several of which geared toward businesses that support their local community.

Deadline: Accepting at various times for various grants.

Amount: To meet demonstrated need

Where to Apply: The Boston Women’s Fund compiles all their active grants at this list.

Key Requirements: Applicants must be a woman and own a small business operating in the Greater Boston area (everything on the MBTA except the Purple Line!). Further, many of BWF’s grants ask that applicants demonstrate how their business is an aide to their greater community.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

9. The Girlboss Foundation

The Girlboss Foundation is a grant competition highlighting innovative and game changing women business owners in the arts fields. Girlboss grants are awarded bi-annually.

Deadline: 2024 dates TBA

Amount: $15,000

Where to Apply: When applications go live, you can apply directly from the Girlboss Foundation website.

Key Requirements: Applicants must be women small business owners operating in the industries of fashion, design, music, or the arts.

Application Difficulty Level: Easy

A Note on Government Grants

The government offers several thousand grants in one way or another, but most government grants don’t operate in the same way as grants in the private sector. While private grants are usually B2B, government grants tend to be F2S2M2B, or Federal to State to Municipality to Business. And further, applying for a government grant is such a far cry from applying for a private grant that the two ought not be treated as one.
MORE >> Government Grants for Small Businesses

Tips for Making the Best Grant Bid

Making the best bid on a grant is about more than following application instructions and deadlines. Grant issuers want to see their funds go toward a promising business that could make the most of the funds. Here are tips to help you strengthen your grant applications.

Look at Past Grant Winners

It may not be worth applying to grants that aren’t a perfect fit. When researching grants, take a look at past winners to see how your business compares. You may notice a theme among previous winners. If your business fits this theme, then start moving forward with your application. If not, your time and effort might be better used toward another application.

Share Your Experience

Most of the major grants for women want a variety of one thing: they want to hear your new idea and how you are going to make it work. Of course, industry specific grants will have more specific expectations but the root of their wants are all quite similar. Major grants get thousands of applications every year so the grants that stand out and ultimately win are those that do something new or offer to do something extraordinary. Further, those with well thought out plans for how they will spend their grant money are seen as prudent and deserving.

Talk specifically about how being a woman has influenced your SMB life or talk about any women role models who inspired you to take up ownership. None of these grants ask for video applications, but those with in-person elements will also ask for you to command a memorable stage presence.

Choose the Right Grants for Your Business

Choosing the right grant is much more involved than simply choosing the amount of funds your business needs. Applying to grants takes time, and crafting a winning application takes even longer. When looking over the grants you want to apply for, find the organizations who will best resonate with your business’s story. Remember that each grant application is likely read by another business owner or someone especially keen on the struggles of running a small business.

Try to choose grants that give you more than a month to put your application together. Try to choose grants that are specifically geared toward your industry – when this isn’t possible, try to find a way to make your business especially relevant to the organization awarding grants.

Additional Resources for Female Small Business Owners

Grants for Women

Grants for Women is a great resource that compiles grant opportunities for women as they appear. Check this page regularly, as it is updated year-round. Further, subscribing to this page is a great way to stay in tune with SMB trends that may be relevant to your own business.

SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership

This is the SBA’s main page compiling all resources for women small business owners. While this website does show some grant opportunities for women, this is also a great way to get involved in your local community, as the SBA compiles local resources for women SMB owners here as well. There are also several training programs from the SBA available from this page.

Alternatives to Grants

• Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are great places for businesses with style and memorable pitches to get funding. These sites let individuals donate to your cause, usually in exchange for a perk or bonus. The most successful crowdfunding initiatives take advantage of how big the Internet is; even if someone may not be able to visit your business, it’s more than possible to grab their attention and get their donation.
• Financing: If your business plans on using grant money to expand or fund growth, it may pay off to look into financing options viable for your business. Financing gives your business the chance to expedite growth and start new projects with confidence.
• Investors: If you have a sellable idea that has the potential to make big returns, you may want to look at running a circuit of investor funding. Investors who believe in your idea are essentially P2B grant givers. There are several pros and cons to taking on private investors as a small business, namely, investors tend to like explosive and expansive ideas: humble businesses beware!

Women-Owned Business Grants FAQs

Will My Grant Be Taxed?

Usually, yes. In nearly every case possible, the dollar amount attached to a grant is the pretax total for the grant.

Is There a Downside to Applying for As Many Grants as Possible?

The only real downside to applying to grants is lost time. Some grants require a real dedication of time and effort to make a compelling application. A business owner could fill a work week just filling out grant applications, so choosing your battles is key. Another potential downside is entering your secure info on a website that is a façade of a real grant. Double check all pages that you enter personally identifying information on.

Do I Have to Pay to Apply for a Grant?

Most grants are free to enter, but those that have an entry fee won’t let you forget it. There are also several grants that only allow members of their organization to enter; consider those membership fees their own entry fees.