Our Impact

Please create an application account using one of the APPLY buttons on this page. Grants can only be completed and submitted through your account; we do not accept other application formats. Please read eligibility requirements and grant descriptions carefully before beginning an application.

Yes, all grant materials will be treated as confidential information.

Businesses must be registered in the U.S., and grantees must live and work in the U.S., too. We support female founders whose businesses are legal in all states and do not promote political or doctrinal causes or figures, discord, divisiveness, or exclusion.

We ask applicants to explain how their product or business model addresses a social issue and creates positive change. A business’s social impact must fit into the general categories defined in the ‘Our Impact’ section of this website. Grants are awarded to support businesses that go beyond ‘business as usual.’ We ask entrepreneurs to define their social purpose or mission within a society-wide picture of problems and solutions.

If grant eligibility criteria are met, we evaluate an application based on its business plan, whether we think the business concept will be well received in its business community or sector, and the founder’s commitment to the concept and its impact.

Eligible nonprofits support female entrepreneurs. That support can take the form of direct funding, financing, networking, business resources, training, skill-building, incubators and accelerators, or leadership development.

Up-to-date information about grant amounts is included in the description of our grant programs in the ‘Grants’ section of this website. Please note that grants are awarded in sums up to the maximum possible grant amount: the dollar amount of each grant awarded is determined by demonstrated need, financial position, scope of work, and potential impact.

EmpowHer Grant applications are accepted and reviewed within multiple grant cycles per year. Our application page has current information about upcoming EmpowHer grant cycles, including application deadlines. Her Village Grants are awarded annually early in the calendar year. Our application page indicates whether the Her Village application is open.

Funding to individual entrepreneur grantees is distributed as reimbursement for business expenses: in exchange for proof of payment or receipts, the Foundation will remit grant funds. Funding to nonprofit grantees must be used according to terms described in their grant proposals. For nonprofits we prefer to fund programming or direct support; capacity-building, facilities, and other organizational needs will be considered but they are not a priority for Boundless Futures Foundation.

Yes, the Foundation requires a final report and a wrap-up conversation at the end of the grant period. Grant periods are determined on a case-by-case basis but will not exceed 12 months for individuals or 18 months for nonprofits. We measure our impact through grantee impact; we are especially interested in hearing about the people and markets served by our grantees.

Through our own experience, we understand the difficulty of access to capital and resources for women starting a new business and sustaining it through the start-up phase. That’s where we come in: our goal is to provide support and mentorship to smooth the start-up bumps, answer questions, and use our know-how to make the process easier.

Applicants often contact us to ask why they cannot get past the eligibility quiz section of our application. We recommend that all prospective applicants read eligibility requirements thoroughly before beginning. If you choose to apply, and if you receive a message letting you know that you are not eligible to continue with the application, please go back to the eligibility information on this website and our application page to determine why. We do not make exceptions to our eligibility requirements. 

For eligible applicants, here are some tips: 

• Take the time to provide a complete and detailed financial picture in your application. Your social impact and operating costs must all be in your budget. 
• Respond in detail about how you will use the grant. Be as specific as possible and provide an itemized list of where each dollar will go. 
• We stand by our philosophy that advice offered by our Advisory Circle is just as valuable as the grant funding we provide. Tell us how you plan to access our Advisors to tackle your business challenges. 
• Note that grant deadlines are on Eastern Time if you are based in other time zones. 
• If you don’t have time to do a good, thorough job on the application, plan to wait for the next grant cycle.
• If you qualify, keep applying. Some of our grantees applied two or three times before they were selected. Be sure to show progress toward your goals with each new application. For example, if you said in your first application that you would start a give-back program or launch a new product, in your second application show us that you’ve hit those goals (or that you’re making progress). 
• What makes an application grab our attention? An applicant who can clearly explain her business and its social purpose/impact in her pitch. Put your social impact front and center alongside your to-the-point business description. Social impact can’t be an afterthought; it must be part of the business description, and your branding and PR should shout it loud and clear, too.
• Planning to use AI to write your application? We know how handy it is, but AI text needs the human touch to capture individual purpose and passion. We highly recommend that you edit AI-generated text to make sure your voice and story are authentically yours.