Our Impact

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

– Jane Goodall

Our Impact

Boundless Futures Foundation empowers, embraces, and elevates female entrepreneurs through grants to new businesses and to likeminded nonprofits.

Boundless Futures Foundation’s grants to businesses are awarded directly to female entrepreneurs who put social impact front and center in their business products or practices. We look at a society’s biggest issues and believe in the power of entrepreneurs to provide solutions by going above and beyond “business as usual” to create impact through profit and purpose — to solve a problem, improve on the status quo, or give back in an intentional way.

Grant-eligible entrepreneurs demonstrate clear and consistent commitment to creating positive change through businesses with ambitious and effective social reach. These businesses address issues related to:

Poverty & Hunger
Sustainability & the Environment
Strong Communities

Past grantees illustrate the kinds of powerful businesses and visionary entrepreneurs Boundless Futures Foundation supports.

Grants are also awarded to mission-aligned nonprofits that provide women with skills and resources to start and sustain businesses through entrepreneurship-focused programs or services.

We’ve seen the statistics, and we are proud to join the effort to reduce barriers for women to thrive as entrepreneurs. We have also been a part of those statistics: we know, firsthand, that female entrepreneurs benefit from capital, expertise, and education. Our grants reflect our commitment to meeting those needs. We amplify our impact by supporting female-founded business that do good by doing well.

All prospective applicants are encouraged to confirm eligibility before beginning the grant application process.

EmpowHer Grants

Eligible Applicants: Female entrepreneurs 22 years of age and older with businesses registered and operating solely in the United States. An applicant’s business must address a social issue directly or through its business model, and must not be more than 3 years old. To be awarded grant funding, applicants must self-report a credit score and agree to a third-party background check.

Grants: Applicants may request up to $25,000 in business support. Grant funding is remitted as reimbursement (following proof of payment) for business-related expenses. Applications must include business plans and detailed budgets. Funding is paid to grantees after business-expense receipts are submitted to Boundless Futures Foundation.

Grants For Individuals

Details: EmpowHer grants support women who need early-stage business capital, a network of business advisors, or both. Grantees will have access to financial, marketing, leadership, and sector professionals who can advise on business focus, next steps, and longer-range planning. As an entrepreneur, you’re not alone: our network is full of people who have been in your shoes.

Apply

Her Village Grants

Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that support female entrepreneurs through education, mentorship, financing, and/or other mission-aligned programming.

Grants: Applicant organizations may request up to $30,000 in support.

Grants For Nonprofits

Details: Her Village grants awarded to qualifying nonprofit organizations support work that advances and strengthens entrepreneurial skills, resources, ecosystems, and educational opportunities for girls and women. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $30,000. Our grantmaking to nonprofits is founded in the belief that, equipped with support, skills, and capital, female entrepreneurs can have a boundless impact in society.

Apply

Our Community

Empowher Grantees

View All

Anna Huynh

VietFive

Anna Huynh, co-founder and co-owner of VietFive, recognizes the beauty and opportunity that comes with intertwining entrepreneurship, education, and access. VietFive Coffee, located on the west side of Chicago, imports 100% Robusta bean coffee directly from the owners’ family’s coffee farm in Vietnam that uses vertically integrated, sustainable farming practices. Anna is a lifelong and award-winning educator focused on accessible and inclusive learning: VietFive strives to ensure that the company’s systems and structures not only share its coffee with the world but also provide wildly accessible customer experiences and employment opportunities.

Julia Yan and Sarah Beth Gleeson

Baleena

Baleena, based in Philadelphia, PA, is a materials engineering startup dedicated to eradicating microplastic pollution in the fashion industry, starting with individuals. Founded by University of Pennsylvania engineers Julia Yan and Sarah Beth Gleeson, Baleena’s cutting-edge filters, inspired by nature’s sea sponges, seamlessly integrate into washing machines to capture harmful microplastic fibers during laundry. What began as a senior capstone project has grown into a pioneering effort led by an all-female team committed to environmental sustainability.

Kate Jaworski and Angela Smith

Recycle Read Repeat

Kate Jaworski and Angela Smith are former Philadelphia educators whose friendship started 20 years ago over books and a shared passion for educational equity, environmental sustainability, and the importance of literacy. Their boutique bookstore, located in a book desert, offers affordable books for their diverse community in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Their mission is more than retail. Recycle Read Repeat has quickly become a community hub for literacy, arts and connection.

Emily Molstad

Valis Insights

Company co-founder and CEO Emily Molstad combined her love of material science and metals processing with her passion for sustainability when she led the research to create the technology that turned into Valis Insights, a software tool that interfaces with recycling equipment to recover recyclable material and process data that is otherwise lost. Valis is dedicated to the long-term profitability, stability and sustainability of metal recycling, which is an industry critical to delivering a sustainable supply chain and reducing emissions associated with metal production.

Amanda Garrett

Evie Co

Amanda Garrett, founder of Evie Olive Oil, was inspired by her great-grandmother, Eva “Evie” Fields, who was known for her exceptional cooking using fresh, homegrown ingredients from her backyard garden. Committed to continuing this legacy, Colorado-based Evie Olive Oil works with small California farmers to offer high quality, fresh, homegrown EVOO. Dedicated to promoting the idea that quality and sustainability can coexist, the company supports environmental initiatives by donating 1% of all sales to 1% for the Planet, aiming to create a better food ecosystem for future generations.

Kimberle Lau

Bake Me Healthy

Kimberle Lau, a former beauty executive, launched Bake Me Healthy in 2023 in New York with a line of easy-to-make, plant-based baking mixes. Each mix is gluten-free, vegan, and free of the top nine allergens (wheat/gluten, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, sesame, shellfish, crustacean fish). Bake Me Healthy ingredients are not only clean, but they also tackle the problem of food waste by including upcycled ingredients – food that typically goes to waste, creating greenhouse gases – such as ugly bananas and flour created from the byproduct of sunflower oil production.

Her Village Grantees

Boundless Futures Foundation awarded the Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) a $30,000 Her Village grant to fund their female entrepreneurship programming. For more than 25 years, CWE has been helping aspiring female entrepreneurs and women business-owners in New England launch, build, and grow their businesses by providing greater access to the resources, tools, and support they need to succeed.  

Traverse Connect, the lead economic development organization for Michigan’s Grand Traverse region, provides programming developed to support women at each stage of their careers – to grow as emerging leaders, develop their businesses, and gain the skills needed to grow as community entrepreneurs and leaders. Boundless Futures Foundation’s $30,000 grant over two years supports scholarships for women participating in three of Traverse Connect’s programs that equip and support female entrepreneurs and business leaders.  

The Women’s Impact Alliance is a California-based organization that supports women leading social and environmental change. Through the organization’s programs and global network of vetted coaches, emerging and established female leaders worldwide can access the Women’s Impact Alliance’s leadership development coaching resources. Boundless Futures Foundation granted the Women’s Impact Alliance $30,000 to support program scholarships for social-impact entrepreneurs.

Grant Applicant FAQ

Boundless Futures Foundation awards grants to women starting businesses and to nonprofit organizations that support female entrepreneurs. This section provides more detail about our funding, the process, and requirements. Additional questions can be directed to info@boundlessfutures.org.

How do I apply for a Boundless Futures Foundation grant?

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.

Will Boundless Futures Foundation keep application materials confidential?

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

What are the criteria for individual business grants? Does any business qualify?

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 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 one of three general categories – poverty and hunger, sustainability and the environment, or strong communities. We ask entrepreneurs to define their social purpose or mission within a society-wide picture of problems and solutions.

If basic 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.

What are the criteria for grants to nonprofits?

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.

How much funding is a grantee awarded?

Each EmpowHer applicant can request up to $25,000; Her Village applicants can request up to $30,000. Grant amounts are based on demonstrated need, financial positions, and potential impact

What is the deadline for applications?

EmpowHer Grant applications are reviewed quarterly. There are two cycles per year for Her Village Grants to nonprofits: these applications open in January and July and grants are awarded in the spring and fall.

Does grant funding need used in a particular way?

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.

Will the Foundation require reports from grantees?

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.

Boundless Futures Foundation grants to individuals support businesses that have been in operation for three years or less – why?

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.

Does Boundless Futures Foundation fund for-profit organizations doing mission-aligned work?

No, grants are only made to individuals and nonprofit organizations.

apply For Support

Start your application here.

Apply