How can a woman get money to start a business?
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How can a woman get money to start a business
Grants for Women Business Owners: Get Free Money
Many businesses need to raise money in order to succeed. But women-owned businesses face different problems than men-owned businesses when it comes to getting business loans and investments. Even though more than 40% of businesses in the U.S. were owned by women by 2019, almost 98% of venture capital for new startups went to men.
Compared to their male counterparts, women business owners have a harder time getting business loans than men do. The Federal Reserve's 2021 Small Business Credit Survey found that only 12% of women business owners said they got the full amount of financing they asked for from lenders in 2021. This is compared to 14% of male-owned businesses. It's also important to know that 80% of women business owners and 82% of men business owners used the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that year to get help from Covid-19.
When it's hard to get a loan or invest in a business, women entrepreneurs can also look into business grants for women. Business grants can be hard to get, but if you do, you can get a cash boost for your business that you don't have to pay back.
How can a woman get money to start a business
Here are 11 popular grants for women-owned businesses.
1. Grants.gov
Grants.gov is one of the first places you might want to look if you want to find business grants for women. On the website, you can find a list of grants that the federal government is giving to both women and men. You can also use the database's search function to look for grants made just for women business owners.
Getting an application
First, you need to create an account on Grants.gov Workspace. Once you have done this, you and other members of your team will be able to edit and finish individual grant applications through the database.
Before you start the process of applying for a grant, make sure that you or your business are eligible. In the Grants.gov database, there is detailed information about who is eligible for each funding opportunity.
How can a woman get money to start a business
2. A grant from the Girlboss Foundation
The Girlboss Foundation gives grants to creative women who want to start their own businesses. To be eligible for the grant, your business must be owned by women and work in the arts, design, music, or fashion industries.
The winners of the grant get $15,000 to put toward their projects. They can also use the newsletter and social media features on Girlboss.com to help with their marketing.
Getting an application
Girlboss gives grants to creative women business owners twice a year. Since the organization started in 2014, it has given out \$130,000 in grants. Girlboss.com has more information about how to apply.
3. Amber Grant
Amber Wigdahl died when she was only 19 years old, so she never got to follow her dreams about business. In 1998, WomensNet started the Amber Grant program to honor the young woman who wanted to start her own business.
Later, WomenNet added grants to its program for:
How can a woman get money to start a business
Marketing
Different types of business
Grants of $10,000 per month and $25,000 at the end of the year.
Every month, the group gives out at least $35,000 in grants. The money is available to women-owned businesses that meet the requirements and have applications that stand out to the committee.
Getting an application
Applications for Amber Grants can be sent in online. You can apply for all grants you and your business are eligible for with just one application. Each month, the organization looks over the grant applications it gets and announces the new grant winners by the 23rd of the following month.
4. Cartier Award for the Women's Initiative, How can a woman get money to start a business
In 2006, Cartier Women's Initiative started an annual program to help women who want to start their own businesses. Businesses that are run by women or are owned by women can apply for the awards.
Awards will be given in 10 areas. Three grants are given out in each region, for a total of 30 grants. Each winner of first place gets $100,000, each winner of second place gets $60,000, and each winner of third place gets $30,000.
Pioneer Award in Science and Technology. The amounts of the awards are the same as the amounts of the regional awards.
The award was for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Cartier Women's Initiative hasn't said how much this grant will be worth yet, but the next deadline for applications is May 16, 2022. On the website for the Cartier Women's Initiative, you can sign up for a newsletter to learn more about this award.
Getting an application
The application for the Cartier Women's Initiative regional awards can be found online and can be downloaded. To be eligible, you'll need to show that your business is owned or run by a woman and that its goal is to make a positive and long-lasting change in society or the environment. Grant applications for 2023 will be open from May 16 to July 15, 2022.
How can a woman get money to start a business
Those who are eligible for grants also need to:
Own or run businesses that make money
Be in the beginning stages of growth (between one to five years)
Show that it has been selling goods or services and making money for at least one year.
Have collected at least $2 million in funding.
Meet at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN.
5. GrantsforWomen.org
GrantsforWomen.org is an online platform that has been around since 2000. It helps women who own businesses find and research different grant and scholarship opportunities. The goal of the platform is to help women all over the world reach their business goals.
Getting an application
The way to apply for a grant is different for each program. GrantsforWomen.org can help you find grants that could help your business. From there, when you're ready to fill out an application, you'll need to follow the instructions that each organization gives you.
6. Eileen Fisher Women-owned Business Grant
The Eileen Fisher organization is a women's clothing brand that has been around for more than 30 years. Each year, it gives \$200,000 in grants to women-owned businesses that qualify. Each grant can be anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000.
Grants may be given to women entrepreneurs who work in the following areas.
Helping women get involved in making decisions (especially those with positive environmental results)
Getting more women to work is important for a sustainable economy.
Women and girls should be taught how to deal with climate change and/or how to improve the policies that are already in place.
Getting an application
Even though the program is temporarily on hold, you can still use an online application when it is running. To be eligible, your business must also be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered with the IRS (or have a fiscal sponsor) and be able to show that it provides direct services to its customers. You also need to be able to use English to fill out your application and for any follow-up interviews.
Grant money can't be given to businesses that support certain political parties or religions. Academic institutions, capital campaigns, event sponsorships, and organizations run by people who don't identify as women are not either.
7. Tory Burch
Another well-known fashion brand that gives grants to women entrepreneurs is the Tory Burch Foundation. In addition to giving out \$5,000 grants for business education, the foundation tries to help women-owned businesses in their early stages by:
How can a woman get money to start a business
Getting money for a business
Workshops led by experts (live and on-demand)
Peer-to-peer (P2P) network (with the chance to collaborate with other female founders)
The Women of Color Grant Program is for women of color who own their own businesses. It is supported by both the Tory Burch Foundation and the Fearless Fund. Businesses that qualify for this program can get grants worth between \$10,000 and \$20,000 to help them grow.
Getting an application
In its annual program, the Tory Burch Foundation picks 50 women entrepreneurs from the pool of applicants. These women are called Fellows. To get a grant, you must be a woman who owns at least 51% of her business. On the foundation's website, you can fill out and send in your application.
8. The grant to Halstead
If you make silver jewelry, the Halstead Grant might be something you want to look into. The Halstead Grant was started in 2006, and it gives new silver jewelry artists, both men and women, the chance to apply for a \$7,500 start-up grant and other benefits that can help them grow their business. Semi-finalists (up to five in total) may get smaller grants of \$250 or \$500 in cash and help from experts with marketing their businesses.
How can a woman get money to start a business 2023
Getting an application
You can get a Halstead Grant application online and save it to your computer. The application has 15 questions about business that you need to answer. If you want to be considered for this year's award, you must send in your application and design portfolio pictures by August 1.
9. SoGal Startup Award
The SoGal Startup Grant is a program that helps Black women who want to start their own business. Even though this group is the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs (at any time in history), less than 0.5% of venture capital funding goes to Black women founders. woman get money to start a business 2023
Finalists of the SoGal Startup Grant get either $5,000 or $10,000 in cash to help them get their business off the ground. They also get help from professionals in figuring out how to raise money. This benefit is meant to level the playing field in business, giving black women who start their own businesses a better chance to grow them.
Getting an application
You must be a Black woman or nonbinary entrepreneur to be eligible for a SoGal Startup Grant (multiracial individuals in these categories may also apply). Also, you must have a legally registered business, show that you have a plan to get money from investors, and share your business idea—one that could grow into a billion-dollar business.
10. Grants for the growth of the National Association for the Self-Employed
Since 2006, members of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) have been able to get Growth Grants. Small business owners, both men and women, can get cash grants of \$4,000. Grant money can be used for any of the following by the winners:
Advertising and marketing
Adding on to buildings
Getting workers
Other costs for a business
Getting an application
You must join the National Association for the Self-Employed before you can apply for a NASE Growth Grant. Depending on the type of membership you choose (Annual Members, Veteran Participants, Silver Members Paying Annual Fees, and Gold Members), you can apply right away or you have to wait 90 days
How can a woman get money to start a business
Once every three months, the grant committee looks at the applications.
11. The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest
FedEx made the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest to help small businesses in the United States that were hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic. Grant winners get checks for up to \$7,500 and up to \$50,000 (for the grand prize winner), which they can use to print business materials at FedEx Office.
Getting an application
Small businesses in the U.S. that want to apply must be for-profit, make less than $5 million in sales per year, and have shipped goods in the past 12 months. Until February 28, 2022, businesses that are eligible can set up a FedEx account and enter the 2022 grant contest. From March 22 to March 31, 2022, people can vote and FedEx will announce the top 100 winners. On May 4, 2022, the winners will be named.
How to Choose the Right Grant for Your Business
Small business owners can get two main types of grants: government grants and corporate grants. On the business grant side, the requirements are usually easier to meet. But because the selection criteria are less strict, you may have to compete with more people.
When applying for a government grant, the process can sometimes be a pain. As a trade-off, there may not be as many people applying, which could make your chances of getting the cash award better.
With either kind of grant, it's important to look over all of the requirements for eligibility right away. You don't want to waste your time or the time of the people who choose who gets the grant by applying for grants you can't get. You would be better off spending your time looking for grants that you can get.
How can a woman get money to start a business
Other ways for women-owned businesses to get money
Aside from grants, women-owned businesses can get business financing to help them reach their goals in other ways, such as: