How to get Grants From Amber Grant Foundation – Women-owned businesses in the United States of America are making great progress. As per the National Women’s Business Council, there are 37.6% of American enterprises represented, owned and managed by women as of 2023. Despite the increasing figure women or minority-owned enterprises receive less funding than their male counterparts.
Fortunately, grants and foundations have assisted women entrepreneurs in their businesses over the years. One such organization is the Amber Grant Foundation which established the Amber Grant program in 1998. The foundation offers several types of grants to women entrepreneurs. This guide will throw light on how you can qualify for different grants from the Amber Grant Foundation.
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Highlights of this Post
What Is Amber Grant Foundation?
The Amber Grant Foundation was established in 1998. The foundation aimed to honor a special woman named Amber. Amber passed away at the age of 19 but she always wanted to fulfill her dream to become a top entrepreneur.
The Amber Foundation offers grants up to $2,000 to the female business owners. Apart from that there is another grant that offers $25,000. When you are the winner of the $2,000 grant you will be automatically selected for the $25,000 grand at the end of year. So, you get the chance to get around $27,000 from the foundation.
The foundation not only funds business grants but also helps out the women with resources to find suitable scholarships and also on how to write a scholarship application. They also help with online blogs where women can share their set of unique ideas and information on how to run a female-led small business.
Why Should You Apply For Grants From Amber Grant Foundation?
Every year WomensNet provides numerous business grants to eligible women-owned businesses for up to $50,000 including the monthly Amber Grant Program. The grant funding may be small however it helps startup companies and does not require candidates to go through stringent eligibility criteria and complex paperwork.
Women entrepreneurs can easily secure a grant program from the foundation by narrating an inspiring and compelling story. You’re also not required to fulfill any complicated forms, unlike other business grants.
The Amber Grant Foundation was established in the honor of Amber who died without achieving her dreams. The foundation seeks applications from female entrepreneurs every month who need assistance to achieve their dreams.
At the end of each month, the Advisory Board members will pick an eligible recipient and provide them with the deserving grant award. The foundation looks for qualities among female entrepreneurs to receive the grant such as passion, business savvy attitude and vision.
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The grants from the Amber Grant Foundation will help you to use the funds for the following purposes
- Purchase office equipment
- Website design
- Cover the cost of starting a new company or business
WomensNet also known as Amber Grant Foundation provides funding every quarter to eligible women recipients without the need to repay back. Besides, the organization also provides important resources to women entrepreneurs so that they can learn about suitable small business grants and how to write a grant proposal through online blogs.
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What Are The Eligibility Criteria To Qualify For Grants From Amber Grant Foundation?
The eligibility criteria and application procedure for the Amber Grant are relatively simple. Becoming eligible for the Amber Grant program will make you automatically qualify for the rest of the grants funded by WomensNet. Let’s take note of the following eligibility criteria that you need to fulfill.
- Business should be at least 51% owned or controlled by women
- The business must be located in the United States or Canada
- Applicant should be at least 18 years of age
- Applicants must pay an application fee of $15
- The Advisory Board of the Amber Grant Foundation selects a winner with a compelling and compassionate business story.
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Application Procedure For Grants From Amber Grant Foundation
The Amber Foundation awards Amber Grants for women that are mainly owned by WomensNet. It is an online network that has been mainly designed for the women who are looking to start a business.
The foundation charges a small fee of $15 for the application process that helps you to get access to the website to get approved. If you own more than one company then you apply for the grants more than once in a month. During the application procedure you will be asked for some detailed information about your company.
The application procedure to receive a grant from the foundation requires submission of a single application. One obligation will enable you to be eligible for all grants that are funded by the organization.
You must tell the foundation a compelling story and the decisions will be made according to your answers. You can explain what your company is all about and the current challenges you are facing. They might also ask you what you are going to do with the scholarship amount. So, it is important for you to be prepared with all your answers.
You can submit the application for grants from the foundation online by visiting the official website. The board members of the organization will review the application every month and will announce monthly grant winners by the 23rd of each month.
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What Are The Different Types Of Grants From The Amber Grant Foundation?
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Monthly $10,000 Amber Grant
WomensNet assesses application requests of business owners every month and selects the top five candidates. One of these top contenders gets an opportunity to receive an Amber grant worth $10,000.
The remaining four candidates receive a grant award of $1000. Besides getting assistance with $10,000 the lucky Amber grant winner gets an opportunity to receive an additional $25,000 year-end grant from the foundation.
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Monthly $10,000 Startup Grant
Women-owned businesses that are in the idea phase can receive grant opportunities from the WomensNet Startup Grant Program. As per the organization, a startup is referred to as a business that is in the idea phase or one that is making minimal sales up to $10,000 or less. Startup companies are eligible to receive monthly Amber Grants as well.
Eligible women-owned startups will receive a grant of up to $10,000 for their business. By applying for the monthly Amber Grant you automatically become eligible for the $10,000 WomensNet Startup Grant. A single application will make you eligible for all the grants provided by the Amber Grant Foundation.
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$25,000 Year-End Amber Grants
The organization awards three individual $25,000 Annual Amber Grants at the end of every year to eligible three women-owned businesses. The additional grant is provided to one of the top 12 monthly winners of the following categories:
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Monthly Amber Grant
The first $25,000 annual grant goes to one of the previous $10,000 monthly immigrant winners.
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Business Category Grant
The second $25,000 grant goes to one of the previous $10,000 monthly business category grant winners.
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Startup Grant
The third $20,000 grant goes to one of the previous $10,000 monthly startup grant winners.
In other words, individuals can qualify for a $25,000 grant in three different ways. The good news is that individuals can qualify for three Amber Grants with just one qualification.
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The Marketing Grant
The Amber Grant Foundation provides hands-on marketing support to women-owned businesses twice a year. Selected women-owned organizations get an opportunity to meet the following group of people
- Associates of WomensNet Advisory Board and other partners of WomensNet
- Expert agency that provides assistance and support in designing as well as delivering a robust marketing plan.
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Nonprofit $10,000 Grant
Amber Grant Foundation provides assistance to a nonprofit organization or company with a $10,000 grant every quarter. The eligibility criteria require the organization or company to have 75% of women workers within the organization.
Nonetheless, the nonprofit grant of $10,000 is for you if you intend to use your organization or company to offer an item or service that will be useful to your community.
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Monthly Business Category Grants Of $10,000
Women entrepreneurs who apply for the Amber Grant program can be eligible for the Amber Grant award of $10,000 for the month in which they have submitted the application. However, WomensNet also provides a supplementary business category grant of $10,000 to the winner of the Amber Grant Program every month.
The organization addresses the difficulty of under-representative business groups in securing grant funding for their business. This is the reason why candidates who fall into the key business categories will be automatically eligible for the $10,000 monthly business category grant.
Your application will be active for the category grant until the month of your category and one of the 12 category winners gets selected for a year-end grant of $25,000. Following are the categories and months for a $10,000 business-specific category grant:
- January: Skilled trades
- February: Health Fitness and Wellness
- March: Food and beverage
- April: Sustainability
- May: Mental and emotional support
- June: Business support services like consulting and accounting
- July: Animal Services
- August: Healthcare and skin care
- September: Education and childcare
- October: Creative arts
- November: STEM
- December: Fashion interior design.
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Mini Grants Up To $2000
Every participant of the WomensNet Advisory Board gets an opportunity to receive a $2000 award through the Mini-Grants Program throughout the year. The organization occasionally selects female entrepreneurs who seem to have a small but significant requirement for funding. The mini-grant fund pool is capped at $48,000.
Besides the Amber Grant Foundation, many other private organizations and foundations extend support to women entrepreneurs and help them secure business financing and investments. Even though the number of women-owned businesses is increasing in the United States of America, most of them struggle to qualify for business loans or funding opportunities compared to their male counterparts. You can learn about different Small-Business Grants for Women owned businesses on our website.
Conclusion
The Amber Grant Foundation or WomensNet began in 1998 to support the entrepreneurial community for women. The foundation was set up to honor a young woman named Amber who died at the age of 19 without fulfilling her entrepreneurial dreams. The foundation assisted women to start businesses or grow their existing ones. The best thing about applying for business grants through this foundation is that you need not go through lengthy complicated forms and file only one application to be eligible for different grant programs.
Learn more about the Amber grants for women Owned Small Business and other small business grants for women in our next guide at Get Government Grants‘ blog section today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any grants for women to support their business?
Yes, there are grants from Amber Grant Foundation that offer support to the women that own a small business. The grant money can be used to start a business of your own or can also be used to expand your existing business.
Does Amber Grant Foundation charge any fee for the application?
Yes, Amber Grant Foundation charges a fee of $15 for the application process that helps you to get access to the website to get approval for a business grant.
Whom does the Amber Grant Foundation help?
The grants from Amber Grant Foundation are mainly offered to women who own a small business in Canada or the United States. If you have a business outside these two countries then you are not eligible for the grants from Amber Grant Foundation.
How much does the Amber Grant Foundation’s Mini Grants provide?
The Mini Grants from the Amber Grant foundation offers $2,000 every year to eligible women entrepreneurs who need to support their business.
