Glass jar of coins with a green seedling growing from it beside an open ledger

Women and minorities historically have faced obstacles when searching for financing for their business ventures. However, there are several grants that are specifically designed and created to help Women and Minorities start or develop businesses. A grant is a sum of money that is given to you for a specific purpose that you do not have to pay back. Grant money can come from two main types of grants, government grants (federal or state) or private grants (corporations, nonprofits, etc.). With these types of grants that are specifically intended for women and minorities, there is less competition amongst the applicants, therefore increasing the likelihood of an applicant being awarded the grant. The following article will discuss some business grants that women and minorities can take advantage of to help start or develop their businesses.

  • First Nations Development Institute

    The First Nations Development Institute was founded in 1980 and is an organization that was created to help develop Native American economies and help support and develop Native American communities. It began its national grantmaking program in 1993. By the end of 2021, First Nations Development Institute has managed 2,611 grants that account for $51.6 million given to Native American projects and organizations. These grants have supported projects in 44 states, Washington D.C. as well as the U.S. Territory of American Samoa. The First Nations Development Institute's grantmaking program provides financial resources and technical assistance to help develop Native American projects.

  • Coalition to Back Black Businesses

    The Coalition to Back Black Businesses is a grant program that was created to provide immediate financial assistance and long-term support for African American-owned small businesses in the United States. The Coalition to Back Black Businesses started as a response to help provide relief for African American-owned businesses suffering the economic challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic. From 2020 through 2023, The Coalition to Back Black Businesses is set to distribute $14 million worth of grants, training programs, and other resources. Selected businesses will receive a $5,000 grant, and a chosen few will also receive an additional $25,000 enhancement grant. In order to qualify, the business must be African American-owned, must have between 3 and 20 employees, must be located within an economically vulnerable community, and must have been financially harmed by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Amber Grant

    WomensNet founded the Amber Grant in 1998 in honor of Amber Wigdahl, who was a 19-year-old woman who passed away before being able to pursue her business dreams. The Amber Grant was created to help develop women-owned businesses and gives away $30,000 each month to different grant winners, including two $10,000 Amber Grants. In addition, the Amber Grant also gives out additional "Marketing Grants," "Business Category Grants," and two $25,000 "Year-End Grants." In order to qualify, businesses must be at least 50% women-owned, and there is also a $15 application fee.

  • SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant

    The SoGal Black Founder Startup Grant was created to help African American women and African American nonbinary entrepreneurs gain more access to business startup funds. Grantees will receive grants between $5,000 and $10,000 and will have access to mentorship on fundraising. To be eligible for this grant, applicants must self-identify as an African American woman or African American nonbinary person, must already have a legally registered business, must plan to search for investor financing in order to scale up the business, and must have a scalable and solution-oriented and impactful business idea with aspirations to become a billion-dollar business.

  • IFundWomen Grants

    The IFundWomen Grants were created to help women entrepreneurs gain more access to funding for their startup businesses. IFundWomen offers a multitude of various business grants available for women to apply for at any one time. The ability to apply for different grants increases the likelihood of being able to receive a grant. They work with a variety of partners to offer these grants, so the grant amounts will be different depending on the grant type and sponsor.

  • National Black MBA Association Scale-up Pitch Challenge

    The National Black MBA Association hosts its Scale-up Pitch Challenge for African American-owned startups and young businesses. The idea of the challenge is for business owners to participate by pitching their scalable business startup ideas. The contest awards cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $50,000.

  • SBA 8(a) Business Development Program

    The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program is a federal program that aims to assign at least 5% of all federal contracting funds to small, disadvantaged businesses each year. In this program, businesses will compete for government contracts that are set aside and only open to the program participants. Businesses in this program will have access to consultants who will help them understand and navigate the often-confusing realm of federal contracts. In addition to this, they will also receive business training, counseling, and leadership development. In order to qualify for the SBA 8(a) Business Development program, the business must be small, must not have participated in the program before, must be owned and controlled by at least 51% of legal U.S. citizens that are socially and economically disadvantaged, and must have a net worth of less than $750,000 among other requirements.

  • Cartier Women's Initiative Award

    The Cartier Women's Initiative is an international entrepreneurship program designed to help empower women entrepreneurs to reach their goals and help bring about positive change in the world. The program is open to women-owned and women-operated businesses worldwide that are focused on creating a meaningful impact on the world in the areas of social issues or environmental issues. They have a variety of regional and themed awards, and financial awards are given to the winning applicants. In addition, some of the winners also receive one on one business mentoring. Winners are announced once per year.

Recap

Because these grants are meant specifically for women and minorities, fewer applicants will compete for these grants than for grants that are open to everyone. This factor increases the chances of being chosen to receive a grant. In addition, applying for multiple grants at once will also increase the chances of receiving a grant and can help build experience in applying for grants and presenting one's business model.

The following list leads to more information about the grants available for women and minorities described above.

Resources

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