StartHER Grant

Grant will open 09/01/2026. Guidelines will be updated then.

Read about our latest StartHER Grant winners

Update to video: Business must be formed as a legal entity.

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Looking for help to get your startup off the ground and the resources to succeed?

The CWE’s StartHER Grant Program supports women-owned startups in launching new initiatives and driving early-stage growth through innovative projects.

• Learn more in our Grant Guidelines and FAQ

Please review the application process below & prepare the company background/project information/quotes in a pdf before applying.

Application process

• There’s no rush to submit your application as soon as the grant opens. You can revisit and update your application as often as needed before submission. However, once submitted, no further revisions are allowed. Applications close automatically at 5:00:00 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2025. If you haven’t completed your application you won’t be able to submit it.
• We require legal entity formation documentation that clearly shows business ownership and control, and that the business was formed after 9/25/2020.
  We will only accept one or more of the following:
• LLC/LLC Formation Documents – Certificate of Formation and all pages listing members/managers. If there are multiple owners, including at least one male, you must submit the complete articles of organization, including percentage ownership, with the LLC Certification of Formation showing woman-owned before the grant opening date of 8/26/2025.
• Corporation Documents – Articles of Incorporation and bylaws showing shareholders/owners
• Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) – Filed with your local county clerk – if just you, nothing else needs to be submitted with it.
• Partnership Agreement – Must show names and ownership percentages
• Any valid third-party Woman-Owned Certification – Must clearly state woman-owned
• All required information and documentation must be uploaded including proposals from a vendor, quotes or estimates, preliminary invoices, etc. of what the grant will fund.   Incomplete applications will be automatically rejected.
• You MUST have every question from the Company background & Project information answered.  Please copy and paste the form found in the guidelines into your application. If the answers to these questions are buried in a proposal and the judges can’t find them your application will be rejected.
• Learn how to combine multiple documents into one pdf.

Page last updated 4:01 PM, November 19, 2025