Help comes in a multitude of forms. Here is a quick list of the latest funding opportunities making waves and #funding Female Entrepreneurs. While some target companies in particular growth stages, others offer advice and support for women professionals at large.
- AMBER GRANT
Organized by WomensNet in 1998, the Amber Grant Foundation awards $500 to a female entrepreneur each month. One of the 12 grant winners is awarded an additional $1,000 each year. The application is very simple and requires a $7 application fee. The foundation’s advisory board looks for women with passion and a good story. (Heads Up: there is an application fee)
- ASTIA
Astia is a non-profit founded in 1999 that works to identify and invest in high-potential women-owned startups through a review system based on personal referrals. The organization operates globally with locations in SF, London, and NYC.
- EILEEN FISHER WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS GRANT
Clothing retailer Eileen Fisher awards $100,000 to between 5 and 10 women business owners each year. Eligible businesses must be focused on environmental or social change, in operation for at least three years, and not exceed $1 million in annual revenue.
- EY ENTREPRENEURIAL WINNING WOMEN™
Ernst & Young’s program helps women-owned businesses with $2M in revenue or above scale quickly. It is a national competition and executive leadership program that includes year-round education, networking, and events, including two mandatory meetings in California in the fall.
- InnovateHER
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) hosts an annual competition for businesses that benefit women. Finalists in the InnovateHER Challenge win between $10,000 and $40,000.
- MERGELANE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
MergeLane is a startup accelerator for companies with at least one woman in leadership. Headquartered in Boulder, CO, MergeLane’s program runs from February to April and culminates in a final event that showcases participant companies to investors and the community. Applications are open in the fall.
- PLUM ALLEY
Plum Alley Investments is a private membership that offers the opportunity to influence innovation and shape the future by investing in private companies. The goal is simple: get capital to the most promising women entrepreneurs and provide a powerful experience and return to the women and men who invest in them. Plum Alley offers members selected equity and debt opportunities to invest in private companies along with custom experiences both on-line and off-line to collaborate, imagine and transform the world.
- FEMALE FOUNDERS FUND
Female Founders Fund is an early-stage fund investing in companies led by women. Focusing on e-commerce, web-enabled products and services, marketplaces, and platforms, their portfolio companies all share one thing in common: each is led by talented female founders with disruptive and innovative ideas that better serve their consumer.
- WOMEN STARTUP LAB
An unconventional accelerator in Silicon Valley, WSLab was founded by a Japanese entrepreneur in 2013. It offers two-week and two-month programs emphasizing coaching and leadership development in addition to company growth for all-female and mixed-gender startup teams. The on-site programs cost upwards of $10K, but scholarship and matching programs may mitigate the cost.
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.