How to get Business grants for Black women – Business grants and resources provide free monetary assistance that enables black women founders to grow or start a new business venture. Even though these small business grants may sound appealing they come with intense competition and stringent eligibility criteria. Business grants are funded by government, private foundations, corporations and other nonprofit organizations. This guide will throw light on a list of business grants available for black women entrepreneurs.
Highlights of this Post
What Are The Eligibility Criteria And Documents Required To Apply For Business Grants For Black Women?
The eligibility criteria to qualify for business grants for black women are as follows.
- Business must be 51% women-of-color-owned. You must fulfill the identification criteria of the grant and give proof that you are a Black women founder or owner of the business
- Must fulfill the program criteria on the specified number of employees and annual business revenue
- Business owners should be 18 years or above in age
- Business owners must demonstrate their ability as qualified business owners by providing government photo IDs, business licenses, or valid paperwork
- Must fulfill the intention of the grant funding program including the size and nature of the business
- The business owner should be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident with valid documents
- Must operate a business within the United States of America. To qualify for a black woman-owned business grant you need to make sure your business is engaged with commercial activities within the United States and selling goods or services within America
- Must fulfill the age limitation of the business. Generally businesses should be in operation between one to five years
- Business must agree to use the grant program for the particular purpose stated by the grant-giving authority and also demonstrate a robust need for the grant
- Must prove your business is active and is currently operating
- The business taxes should be correct and in good standing. The business must not have any outstanding tax liens or legal judgments.
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To qualify for black women-owned business grants you need to provide the following relevant documents.
- Tax ID or EIN IRS letter for reference
- Electronic payment or voided check
- Detailed budget showing how you’re planning to use the grant funding
- The completed application or CV
- Information about the business owner and the business
- Financial documents like bank statements, tax return forms and pay stubs
- Personal identification documents like government photo ID, business license, Social Security card, passport etc.
- A business plan as well as an identifier for your business.
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What Are The Available Business Grants For Black Women?
A program available through the Texas Woman’s University Center For Women Entrepreneurship is known as a StartHer Grant. The program assists Texas-based women entrepreneurs in funding initiatives and projects.
Around 25 emerging and new business owners receive a grant award of $5000. Black women entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for this program. The application procedure of the program will seek questions about the project and details about your business.
The Fearless Strivers Grant Contest provides a lot of business grants, particularly for women entrepreneurs. The winners of the grant contest receive an award of $20,000 along with digital tools and mentorship programs that can help black women-owned companies to grow and scale.
The application states that a business must have an annual revenue of more than $50,000 to receive this grant program.
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The YVA Jourdan Foundation created the HerRise Micro Grant program to raise money through sponsorship and donation. The objective of the grant is to provide community, capital and coaching to women of color who own the business.
A female business owner of color gets a micro-grant worth $500 each month that helps them to strengthen their business and attain the goal of impacting black communities positively.
Hello Alice has partnered with the Global Entrepreneurship Network to fund the Small Business Growth Fund. A grant from this fund may range between $5000 to $25,000 respectively. Black women entrepreneurs are eligible to apply for this grant by fulfilling the eligibility criteria.
The criteria require entrepreneurs to operate a domestic for-profit business, have a robust plan to use the fund for growing their company, have gross revenue of less than $1 million and demonstrate a strong commitment to their customers and community.
The objective of the Wish Local Empowerment Program Grant is to fight against systemic racism and its significant impact on black-owned businesses.
The grant program assists up to $2 million every year in the form of grants ranging between $500 to $2000 for stores and shops owned by black entrepreneurs. The shops and stores must have less than 20 employees, a United States brick-and-mortar location with less than $1 million in annual average revenue.
FedEx started a program where you can share your small-business story and win a prize of $25,000. The process involves the general public voting for the finalists. This is a great opportunity for Black business owners people who are looking for a funding opportunity to start their business.
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Girlboss Foundation Grant
What makes the Girl boss Foundation unique is the fact that they uniquely cater to and support women entrepreneurs. This foundation has given away over $130,000 grants since the beginning.
The Girl Boss is also very helpful in the provision of mentoring opportunities that women can apply to. They help women navigate the everyday challenges of starting a business and give them the tools to succeed.
The National Association Of Self Employed (NASE) offers $4,000 business development grants to many of its members each year.
The only eligibility requirement for these grants is to be a member in good standing. NASE grants also cover the expenses incurred throughout the hiring process of part-time help, and other marketing materials. This is a great program for both beginners who are looking to start their business and those who are trying to expand their business ventures.
The New Voices Fund is a funding program established by the Shea Moisture hair care and skincare products’ founder Richelieu Dennis which is worth about $100 million.
The fund is geared for women entrepreneurs of color at the annual Essence Festival. The funding was established to help bridge the gap of female entrepreneurs and create funding opportunities for minority women.
The Coalition To Back Black Business was formed with the collaboration of many foundations and organizations to support black business owners.
Eligible black-owned women entrepreneurs can receive 14 grants worth $25,000 each every year. The awards help in providing training and mentorship to businesses owned by black entrepreneurs having 3 to 20 employees in distressed or economically vulnerable communities.
A part of the initiative launched by Bacardi and NAACP known as Backing the B.A.R Grant supports black-owned businesses in the hospitality, sales and beverage alcohol service industry.
The grant covers bars, restaurants, lounges, nightclubs and liquor stores owned by women. Black-owned businesses having a liquor license or plans to get a liquor license are eligible to receive a grant award of over $10,000 including mentorship and educational support.
The Beyond Open Small Business Grant Program by the Corridors Of Opportunity provides grants of up to $15 million every year for 2-3 rounds of application.
The focus of the grant is to provide support to diverse-owned small businesses, particularly black women-owned businesses. You need to have a business in one of the six designated Corridors Of Opportunity in Charlotte and fulfill the other criteria.
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A program named as Boss Impact Fund was created by Sage and Boss Network to invest in black women-owned businesses. The Invest in Progress grant is available through this fund and provides resources to women-owned founders and owners to build as well as grow their companies.
Every recipient receives a one-year scholarship of up to $10,000 to Boss Business University. The program promises to provide a grant award worth $1.5 million over the next three years to all women-owned black business owners across the country.
Businesses owned by mothers are eligible to receive financial assistance through the Kitty Fund Grant Program. For instruction to be eligible you need to show your business has 2 to 50 employees and generates less than $5 million in annual revenue.
SoGal Foundation is a global platform that states that its mission is to “close the diversity gap in entrepreneurship and venture capital.” A part of their mission involves awarding black women a grant to make it possible to see their dreams of starting a business become a reality. SoGal’s Black Founder Startup Grant offers grant awards of $5000 and $10,000.
The Halstead Grant is especially for the women who are in love with jewelry and have plans to start a business in the same field. Every year a winner who is selected will be receiving $7500 and another $1000 in supplies.
The program also offers other perks for minority women. The finalists will be receiving $250 for the top ten placements and $500 for the top-five placements.
The Amber Grant was created to help minority women achieve their dreams to start entrepreneurship. At the end of the year, one of the twelve monthly winners will be given $10,000. The application only demands an introduction of the business idea you have in your mind and a fee of $15.
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Around five grants of about $5000 are provided to women of color business entrepreneurs through the Corporate Counsel Women Of Color Grants.
To be eligible for the program you need to run a USA based business and prove you are a woman of color. The business should be generating less than $25,000 in revenue since its inception.
The TL Effect grant program by ThirdLove supports women entrepreneurs to create and scale their businesses. This program awards a $20,000 grant every year along with a mentorship program to eligible black-owned women entrepreneurs. The grants are available to businesses owned by women of color (at least 51%) and based in the United States.
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The Women Of Color Grant Program is a partnership between the Tory Burch Foundation and Fearless Foundation that awards grants ranging between $10,000 to $20,000 to 75 businesses operated by women of color. To be eligible business should be 51% women of color owned and operated.
The Black Ambition Prize is open to all Hispanic and Black entrepreneurs who are about to create early-stage ventures in these categories: healthcare, consumer products and services, technology, media and entertainment, and web 3.0.
A grant prize winner of the program receives an award of $10,00,000 while fifteen additional teams win assistance between $15,000 to $250,000.
Black business entrepreneurs can create a professional selling account with the Amazon to be eligible for the Amazon Black Business Accelerator Program.
Businesses should be owned by black entrepreneurs to receive assistance of up to $500 for startup and operational costs and $3000 in advertising credits.
Comcast Rise Investment Fund targets different cities in each funding cycle. The program awards grants of up to $5000 in each new city. To be eligible you need to have less than 100 employees in your business.
The grant program was open exclusively to people of color and women originally but now it has expanded to other small business owners as well.
The Scale-Up Pitch Challenge established in 2017 and represented by the National Black MBA Association invites around 10 finalists each year to complete a pitch challenge. The grant prize winner gets awarded with $50,000 while the second prize winner gets an award up to $10,000 and the third prize winner gets an award up to $7500.
The eligibility criteria require businesses to have at least one black founder with an equal stake in the company and at least one member of the Pitch Challenge team should be a member of the National Black MBA Association.
Black women or non-binary business owners are eligible to apply for the Pepper Startup Grant Program. The eligibility criteria require candidates to be a US resident, be at least 18 years old and have less than $500,000 in equity financing since its inception. The program offers resistance up to $5000 to eligible black women-owned businesses.
Black Girl Ventures (BGV) is another great platform that provides grants to Black women entrepreneurs. The platform also provides mentorship, program development, and community resources, and other business tools and resources for Black and minority women-identified entrepreneurs.
Cartier Women Initiative Grant empowers women with access to funding for their business and other projects. This funding opportunity creates a path for training for women who are looking to start their businesses, nonprofits and other ventures.
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The National Council Of Negro Women Grant
The National Council of Negro Women is committed to the advancement of Black women in business. They provide funding opportunities for women who are interested in starting their own business. The NCNWG also creates a very progressive mentorship program for new members. To apply visit https://nanbpwc.org/
Additional Resources For Black Women Entrepreneurs
A portal called Grants.gov is a place where federal departments provide grant programs including minority-owned businesses and black female-owned businesses. The portal provides information about the program, the eligibility criteria, the application deadlines and the founding amount.
A federal agency known as the Minority Business Development Agency supports the establishment as well as the growth of minority-owned small businesses in the United States.
Similar to the Small Business Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency has locations throughout the United States where minority entrepreneurs and black female-owned businesses can seek support and consulting opportunities.
The IFund Woman assists female founders of any ethnicity or race to find capital with the help of crowdfunding initiatives and also helps them with networking, grant opportunities and coaching. The organization provides grant opportunities for females with up-to-date applications, and eligibility criterion deadlines.
There are around 100 Women’s Business Centers by SBA that help female entrepreneurs including female black-owned businesses with classes, coaching and financial capital.
An assistance program known as SBA 8 (a) Business Development Program helps socially and economically disadvantaged business owners including black female-owned businesses to secure government contracts.
The federal government provides 5% of its annual contracting budget every year to small businesses owned and operated by under-representative business owners with the help of the SBA 8 (a) federal contracting program.
Alternatives To Business Grants For Black Women
While grants from public and private sources can be an excellent funding source for black women entrepreneurs there are other useful resources as well. Following are the alternatives that offer financial support for entrepreneurial ventures or business startups.
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Small Business Loans
One of the suitable alternatives for enterprises and businesses is to qualify for small business loans. Business loans are an effective way to finance the growth and operation of sole proprietorship.
Recommended: Where can I get a loan for women with their own businesses?
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Special Purpose Credit Program
Few corporations or foundations provide low-interest loans, credit cards or lines of credit for black women entrepreneurs.
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Business Credit Card
Similar to personal credit cards there are business credit cards that provide a revolving line of credit and enable people to access quick cash for their business operation.
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Business Lines Of Credit
Black women entrepreneurs can opt for a business line of credit that will provide them funds on demand up to a predetermined amount. This structure of payment offers much-needed flexibility in case your business has a predetermined cash flow.
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Crowdfunding
Black women entrepreneurs who are unable to apply for assistance from other sources can reach out to large groups of people through online crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo, Kickstarter etc. and request small contributions towards their business project.
Recommended: Native American Small Business Start Up Grants
Conclusion
Business grants for black women are excellent funding opportunities that promote gender and racial equity in business as well as other sectors. They support entrepreneurship, education, research, arts and other fields. Securing business grants for black women-owned businesses involves identifying a program that aligns with your needs, meeting all the criteria and submitting a compelling application with relevant paperwork. You can apply for the aforementioned financial resources that are designed particularly for black women entrepreneurs.
You can also learn about how to Get Business Grants for women from minority groups at our Get Government Grants’ blog section today. We will help you in times of your need and provide you the right guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I qualify for business grants for black women?
To qualify for business grants for black women, you have to check the requirements of the grants. Many grant competitions will ask you to answer a few pertinent questions about your business goals. You must be a female belonging to the Black community and fulfill income and business criteria as required by the program.
How is a grant different from loans?
Loans and grants both are different from one another. A loan is given to someone with security, while grants are given to make someone secure. Loans need to be repaid while grants, on the other hand, are not required to be repaid.
