Visa Offering $10K Grants to Black Women Business Owners

Nationwide (July 2020) Companies owned by Black women represent the largest-growing businesses in the U.S. In addition, there are hundreds of organizations that help Black women in America, doing work that directly benefits them. Many of these organizations offer various types of assistance from education to economic development, health, wellness and social justice.

In an effort to specifically support Black women-owned small businesses, Visa is extending their partnership with IFundWomen through a new series of grants and educational resources. Ten $10,000 grants will go to Black women in the U.S. to help them run and grow their businesses.

Through this program, Visa is committed to providing Black women entrepreneurs with access to the capital, coaching, and connections they need to grow their businesses during this challenging time.

The program criteria are as follows:

• Must be a Black women-owned business
• Must be located in the United States
• Must have a minimum annual revenue of $24K or more
• Must have been in business for 2+ years
• Must be a business that has a product or service in market and generating revenue
• Must be a growing business
• Must be a consumer product or service (B2C)
• Must have a compelling digital presence and supporting media

“The $10,000 is not a random number,” says Suzan Kereere, Visa’s global head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring told Forbes. “For many entrepreneurs, when they look for seed funding or funding to go from proof of concept to launch, the sweet spot is about $10,000. The $8,000 to $14,000 range is the amount of capital you need to get an ordinary small business off the ground. One of the reasons so few businesses make it into the venture capital stage is the majority will need about that much capital to get started. We’ve got to give them the kind of capacity and elasticity they need that works at the scale the majority live in.”

The deadline to apply is July 31, 2020. For more details, visit https://ifundwomen.com/visa

Recently, American Express released a report on the state of women-owned businesses. The report reveals a plethora of information and statistics that revealed that:

The number of businesses owned by women of color has grown 164% between 2007 and 2018
There were 2.4 million African-American women-owned businesses in 2018.

Women in general are pushing through boundaries and creating successful businesses in every field. Most businesses need help, and there’s no shame in that. There are many resources that can help launch or financially aid a business throughout its progression. To give you an idea about what’s out there, here is a quick list of organizations that issue small business grants for Black women—check them out below.

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) MBDA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that works to grow and promote minority-owned businesses through the advancement of public and private programs, policies, and research. They’ve recently teamed up with Broad Agency Announcement to award more than $13 million for 35 projects. MBDA is definitely a good agency to look at when thinking about starting a business.

WomensNet WomensNet offers the Amber Grant. This grant honors the memory of a young woman (Amber) who was unable to fulfill her entrepreneurial goals. At the end of each month, WomensNet awards $1,000 to a different women-owned business. Then, at the end of each year, those women are eligible for the annual $10,000 Amber Grant. WomensNet looks for women with passion and a good story.

To discover more small business grants for Black women, check out Grants.gov. With over 1,000 grants on their database, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from—but not all of them are race specific. Agencies that award grants are going to be a lot more need-based than scholarships and loans, but they’ll recognize the help you need to achieve your business-related dreams.

Here are 10 top organizations that help Black women in America:

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women: This non-profit organization was founded in 1981 to assist black women in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment. They offer programs that help with career needs and also create networks among black women. The organization has more than 60 chapters in 28 states.
The National Council of Negro Women: This organization was founded by Mary McLeod Bethune in 1935. It’s programs for black women include small business initiatives and programs that address national obesity. The non-profit organization reaches nearly 4 million black women.
The Black Women’s Health Imperative: This organization is known as the only national non-profit focused specifically on improving the health and wellness of black women and girls, including health care access, prevention of HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, and obesity.
Black Career Women’s Network: This non profit focuses on helping black women get ahead in their careers. The organization links women with career coaches and mentors, and also sets up opportunities for black women to network with each other to further enhance career development.
The National Black Women’s Justice Institute: The organization is dedicated to reducing racial and gender disparities in justice systems affecting black women, girls, and their families. Their work includes finding advocates to effect policy that promotes equal justice for black women.
SisterLove, Inc.: Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Atlanta, this nonprofit’s work focuses on improving the lives of black women through HIV/AIDS education and prevention, self-help, and safer sex techniques. The organization is the largest one of its kind in Georgia that specifically specializes in addressing the needs of black women.
The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs: The organization is considered the oldest women’s organization in U.S. history, with programs designed towards advancing the moral, economic, social and religious welfare of all black women and their families. It has 245 charter clubs in five regions in the U.S.
The National Congress of Black Women: The well-known non-profit for black women is devoted to the educational, political, and cultural development of black women and youth through training women for leadership positions in government, non-profit, and private sectors.
The Black Women’s Playwright Group: Focuses on supporting and promoting the work of black women playwrights. The member-based organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and provides year-round networking opportunities with directors, producers, designers, and actors.
Black Women’s Blueprint: This social justice organization for black women provides resources for black women who want to participate in grassroots efforts on issues relating to criminal justice, police violence, economic justice, and education. In 2014, the organization launched an initiative to document black women’s stories of surviving sexual violence in an effort to increase prevention efforts.

Organizations that Provide Women Empowerment Grants

Avon Foundation Since 1955, the Avon Foundation has promoted or helped educational, charitable, and humanitarian activities. They emphasize improving the lives of women and their families, by empowering them to move out of the shadows and step into public dialogue. They fund promising work, urge grantees to communicate with one another, and educate the general public to change their behavior toward Avon’s goals.

BackHer
This is a wonderful website that has a plethora of resources for women worldwide. Grants specifically are a wonderful way to get that money needed to kickstart empowering projects. They have specific grants for each continent, and for North America, they provide 13 organizations to look into. One of which is A Room of Her Own Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization working on the behalf of women writers, and has the largest grant of it its kind to give to women. Ms. Foundation for Women supports organizations and women at all levels – grassroots to national organizations.
Global Partnership for Education
A multilateral partnership devoted to getting all children into school so that they receive a quality education. They work to ensure that more girls enroll in school that is in a safe, and supportive environment. Although this is not an individual specific grant, this organization empowers millions of girls with their ability to award grants to countries that need help.
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
These grants aren’t for entrepreneurs, but instead for women who are women’s rights defenders in Asia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America. Activists can apply for grants up to $5000. Although this may not be for a woman trying to go to school, this organization provides important grants for women’s empowerment projects and movements.
The Girlboss Foundation awards nationwide biannual grants exclusively to women business owners, in the design, fashion, music, and arts fields, who are in the beginning business development phase. Grant applicants should demonstrate creativity and innovation in their field, and present a thorough business plan. Grant include $15,000 in project funding, career-building tools, and networking opportunities. Since 2014, the Girlboss Foundation has awarded over $130,000 in grants.

These are just a few of the plethora of women empowerment grants that work to change a static and repressed life that some women live. No matter your location, no matter past mistakes, there are people who want to help and see you thrive.