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The Ultimate Grants for African American Women

African-American women open businesses at a higher rate compared to their counterparts. Studies show that about 63% of women funded their businesses using their own savings, according to the reports from the State of Women and Entrepreneurship survey of 279 women entrepreneurs. The findings from the afore-mentioned study show just how challenging finding grants for Black women starting their businesses can be. However, AfricanAmericanGrants.org is committed to changing that.

Though African-American women are the fastest growing entrepreneurs of any ethnic group, funding opportunities within the Black community still leave so much more to be desired. We have therefore decided to source available grants for Black women on the internet that you can apply for in 2023. The first step in applying for any grant is to ensure that you qualify for the grant in question.

Once you have determined that you meet the grant eligibility criteria for the grants you wish to apply for, the next step is to apply without any delays. Whatever your interest may be, whether you are an African American student researching free grants for African American students, or you are an entrepreneur who is starting a Black-owned home business from the comfort of your living room.

African American Business Grants

The Ultimate Grants for African American Women

If you are starting a new business as an African-American in 2023, then you want to stick around to check out all of the options we have for you when it comes to applying for small business grants. One thing to remember when applying for free grants for African American business owners is the fact that you should do your research just so you are familiar with what it takes to find, apply, and be awarded a business grant for African American entrepreneurs.

The Black-owned business grants list below is not in any particular order. However, we have taken our time to research each grant to ensure that these are specific funding programs that are tailored to meet the needs of African American women grants seekers. Grants for Black women’s business come from different sources, particularly third-party grants. These grant sources may include government and non-governmental grants.

1. iFundWomen Women of Color Grant

iFundWomen of Color partnered with American Express for 100 days of resources for 100 Black women-owned businesses program. This funding program was established to help Black women fund their businesses by providing Black women with $25,000 grants and 100 days of business mentorship and resources to these 100 Black women-owned businesses to help them succeed in business. Here’s a list of the past winners that have benefited from the grant program.

iFundWomen has several other grant programs for women, some of these programs run monthly, and others run annually. The iFund Women’s “Pay it Forward” program is a monthly grant award where 20% of the business ideas are reinvested up to 20% of fund women’s crowdfunding fee revenue into live campaigns on the Black women entrepreneurs website.

2. Essence Build Your Legacy Grant

The Ultimate Grants for African American Women

Could you do with a $100,000 grant? Well, here’s your chance to apply for the “Build Your Legacy” grant for $100,000 to help start your business or grow an existing one. Essence recognizes that Black women are the fastest-growing group of business owners and entrepreneurs, and yet, are the most underfunded group.

To combat the challenges of funding that Black women face when starting and growing their own businesses, Essence® and Pine-Sol™ are partnering to offer $100,000 in funding through Legacy Award to help provide Black women the needed financial and business entrepreneurial support that they need in their businesses to thrive. There are rules that one has to abide by to enable entry to the grant program.

Essence grant requires that your business is a registered business. Registration could be as a Limited Liability Company, an S-corp, or a C-corp as the case may be. This also helps to define the structure of your business, so that the funding process is streamlined and made a seamless experience for everyone who enters the grant program.

3. Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) grant program is one that is specifically tailored for minority business owners who are starting their businesses and need support to launch. To apply for MBNA grant, one of the requirements tis that you first register your business with the agency. As soon as your business registration is confirmed, then you can proceed to apply for available grants that you can apply for on their website.

The process of registering and applying for grants on the MBDA has been made quite accessible on their website. Registering your business is the first step toward applying for the available grants and other funding options that the Minority Business Development (MBDA) makes available to minority business owners who are just starting their businesses.

4. The NBMBAA® Scale-Up Pitch Challenge

The Ultimate Grants for African American Women

The National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) runs a yearly funding program — NBMBAA Scale Up Pitch Challenge. The program focuses on supporting small businesses that are established, and making some sort of reveenue. The NBMBAA program has their list of funding opportunities listed so that business owners who are interested in getting grants can apply for them accordingly.

The NBMBAA program awarwds financial support to 3 winners. Their yearly awards include :

  • 1st place award of $50,000
  • 2nd place award of $10,000
  • 3rd place award of $7,500
  • People’s choice award of $1,000

Some of the past winners of the grant program have also been entered for training and mentorship to help them continue to grow their business.es successfully