Grants for Women Owned Businesses

The Amber Grant

The Amber Grant Foundation, started by WomensNet, is one of the most well-known and accessible grant programs for women-owned businesses. The program awards $10,000 monthly to a woman-owned business selected from that month's applicants. At the end of each year, one of the twelve monthly winners receives an additional $25,000 annual grant. A separate $10,000 monthly grant exists for businesses in the startup stage (less than one year old), with its own $25,000 year-end award.

The application is straightforward: a $15 application fee, basic business information, and a description of your business and how you would use the grant. There is no requirement for a formal business plan, financial statements, or extensive documentation. The simplicity of the application makes this one of the most accessible grants for early-stage women entrepreneurs who may not yet have the extensive documentation that larger programs require. Applications are accepted year-round, and the monthly winner is announced at the start of the following month.

IFundWomen

IFundWomen operates a hybrid model combining crowdfunding, grants, and business coaching for women entrepreneurs. The platform hosts grant programs funded by corporate partners including Visa, Caress, Secret, and other major brands. These corporate-funded grants typically range from $5,000 to $100,000 and target specific industries, demographics, or business stages depending on the sponsoring partner. Grant opportunities rotate regularly as new corporate partners join the platform.

Beyond grants, IFundWomen provides a crowdfunding platform designed specifically for women-owned businesses, offering coaching on how to run effective crowdfunding campaigns. The combination of potential grant funding and crowdfunding capability makes IFundWomen a multi-channel funding source rather than a single grant program.

SBA Women's Business Centers

The SBA funds over 140 Women's Business Centers (WBCs) across all 50 states, providing free and low-cost training, counseling, and access to capital for women entrepreneurs. WBCs do not typically give direct cash grants to individual businesses, but they provide services worth thousands of dollars for free: one-on-one business counseling, business plan development, financial management training, marketing assistance, and help accessing loans and other funding sources.

More importantly, WBC counselors know the local and regional grant landscape for women-owned businesses. They can identify programs you qualify for, help you prepare applications, and connect you with other women business owners who have successfully secured grant funding. Find your nearest WBC through the SBA's website or by calling your local SBA district office. The investment of time in a WBC relationship pays dividends far beyond any single grant application.

InnovateHER Challenge

The SBA's InnovateHER Challenge is an annual pitch competition that awards prizes to products and services that have a positive impact on the lives of women and families. The competition operates in three rounds: local competitions hosted by SBA partners across the country, a semifinal round selecting the top competitors, and a national finale where winners receive cash prizes. Grand prizes have ranged from $40,000 for first place to $10,000 for third place, though award amounts vary by year based on available funding.

InnovateHER is open to all small businesses, not exclusively women-owned, as long as the product or service serves women and families. However, the program's focus naturally attracts women entrepreneurs, and the local competition structure means you compete first against businesses in your region rather than the entire national applicant pool.

Corporate Grant Programs for Women

Several major corporations run grant programs specifically for women-owned businesses as part of their diversity and inclusion initiatives. The Tory Burch Foundation provides grants, loans, and mentorship to women entrepreneurs through its Fellowship Program and its partnership with Bank of America to provide affordable loans. The Cartier Women's Initiative Award provides grants of $100,000 to women entrepreneurs running impact-driven businesses in any country.

The Girlboss Foundation awards biannual grants to women-owned businesses in fashion, music, and the arts. The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest, while not exclusively for women, has frequently awarded grants to women-owned businesses, and the application process is gender-blind. The Visa She's Next program provides grants and mentorship specifically to women-owned small businesses in multiple countries.

Eileen Fisher's Women-Owned Business Grant Program awards $100,000 annually to women-owned businesses that are beyond the startup phase and engaged in social consciousness. The grants range from $10,000 to $40,000 per recipient. The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) also offers grants and business resources through local chapters, and membership provides networking access to other women business owners who can share grant opportunities and application strategies.

Certifications That Open Doors

Getting certified as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) or Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) through the SBA's certification program opens access to federal contracting set-asides. The federal government has a goal of awarding at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses, and certification makes your business eligible for contracts that are restricted to WOSBs. While these are contracts rather than grants, the revenue is guaranteed once you win the contract, and the competitive pool is smaller than open federal procurements.

The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) provides separate certification that opens doors to corporate supplier diversity programs. Many Fortune 500 companies have procurement targets for women-owned suppliers, and WBENC certification makes your business visible to their supplier diversity teams. Our women-owned certification guide covers the application process for both SBA and WBENC certifications.

State and Local Programs

Many states and cities operate grant programs specifically for women entrepreneurs that receive far less publicity than national programs. California, New York, Texas, and Illinois all have state-funded programs supporting women-owned businesses through grants, low-interest loans, and technical assistance. City-level programs in places like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta often provide microgrants of $1,000 to $10,000 with relatively simple application processes and local competition only.

Your state's Women's Business Center can identify these local programs, and your state economic development agency may have a dedicated office or liaison for women-owned business programs. Many local Chambers of Commerce and economic development organizations also run women-focused business programs that include grants, awards, or pitch competitions. Our state grants guide provides the starting point for finding programs in your state, and our local grants guide covers the hyper-local search process.

Building a Multi-Grant Strategy

The most successful approach to grant funding as a woman business owner is applying to multiple programs simultaneously rather than putting all your effort into one application. Apply to the Amber Grant monthly (the $15 fee is minimal), maintain a presence on IFundWomen for corporate-funded grant opportunities, connect with your local WBC for regional grants, and apply to any corporate grant programs where your business fits the criteria. A woman-owned ecommerce business might reasonably apply to eight to twelve different grant programs per year, dramatically increasing the odds of winning at least one.

Maintain a grant tracking spreadsheet with deadlines, requirements, and application status for every program. Many programs recur annually, so even programs you do not win this year become easier to apply for next year because you already have the application materials prepared. And always watch for new programs, because corporate grant funding for women entrepreneurs has been growing steadily as more companies commit to supplier diversity and gender equity initiatives.