Women are the fasted growing group of entrepreneurs and searching for funding can prove difficult for many early stage entrepreneurs. There is so much data that shows that black women are leading in the world of startups yet so many don’t succeed due to the lack of funding.
As we prepare to bring back our own Rise Grant for women we wanted to provide our readers with a list of funding options that specifically target us. Â Here are grants, venture capitalist and crowdfunding sources for women of color seeking funding opportunities.
GRANTS FUNDING WOMEN
The Girlboss Foundation is a semi-annual grant awarded to female entrepreneurs pursuing creative endeavors. Each grant beneficiary will receive $15,000 in project funding, plus exposure through the Girlboss platform and community.
The Amber Grant is a small business grant for women in honor of a young woman named Amber who lost her life before fulfilling her dreams of being an entrepreneur. In 2020, the Amber Grant has been doubled to $4,000. Earn any Amber Grant through November, 2020, and you’ll be eligible for an additional $25,000 grant at the end of this year.
Fedex Opportunity Small Business Grant
Now in its 8th year, the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest awards more than $250,000 annually to twelve small businesses. It’s open to U.S.-based for-profit small businesses that have fewer than 99 employees and have been in operation selling a product or service for not less than six (6) months at the start of the contest.
VENTURE CAPTIALS FUNDING WOMEN
Less than 10% of all venture capital deals go to women, People of Color, and LGBTQ founders. Backstage Capital has invested over $7M in more than 120 companies led by underrepresented founders.
Fearless Fund invests in women of color led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.
BBG Ventures is an early stage fund focused on consumer internet and mobile startups with at least one female founder.
OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
Founding starts with funding! fundBLACKfounders is your destination for supporting Black founders & Black innovation. Create or back a campaign, share your ideas & feedback with the founders, join the movement in creating Black generational wealth. Our mission is to help Black founders jump start & scale their entrepreneurial ventures.
IFundWomen is a startup funding platform providing access to capital through crowdfunding and grants, expert business coaching on all the topics entrepreneurs need to know about, and a network of women business owners that sparks confidence, accelerates knowledge, and ignites action.
-Marsha
Marsha Guerrier is a bestselling author, speaker, trainer, business analyst and coach, and CEO of HerSuiteSpot®, a WMBE Certified small business coaching agency that provides online and in-person support to diverse women that are early stage entrepreneurs looking to accelerate their business.
