As the year draws to a close, a wealth of funding opportunities emerge, offering the potential to propel your innovative ideas and transformative endeavours into reality. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a dedicated researcher, or a non-profit organisation seeking to make a positive impact, securing funding can be a catalyst for achieving your goals.
This comprehensive guide unveils a carefully curated selection of funding opportunities tailored to various initiatives and aspirations. Explore a spectrum of funding avenues, encompassing grants, scholarships, fellowships, awards, and other financial support mechanisms.
Please note: Divas Of Colour is not affiliated with any of these companies. If you have any questions regarding the opportunities please contact the organisations directly.
About Her Culture Microgrant
Micro grants of $500 are open to women of Caribbean and African descent, who are entrepreneurs, creatives and non-profit founders, based in their home countries or anywhere around the world. Applicants must demonstrate that their projects are positively impacting culture and community.
Antler Global Startup Program
Antler is a global early-stage VC that runs multiple programs for business startups around the world. See the website for more info about the program and application dates. Apply here
AWS Startup Loft Accelerator
AWS Startup Loft Accelerator equips your technical team with tech resources, guidance and a community of peers. From technical deep dives to round tables on day-to-day CTO challenges, including recruiting, managing an engineering team, building a minimum viable product, and design principles for cloud architecture. Provides $25,000 in AWS credits. Apply here:
Because Accelerator
Because Accelerator is a business accelerator program designed to help entrepreneurs take their innovative products to the next level. Apply by 1/26/2024
Emergent Ventures Grant/Fellowship Application (through Mercatus Center at George Mason University)
Emergent Ventures, a fellowship and grant program from the Mercatus Center, seeks to support entrepreneurs with highly scalable, “zero to one” ideas for meaningfully improving society. Projects will either be fellowships or grants: fellowships involve time in residence at the Mercatus Center in Northern Virginia; grants are one-time or slightly staggered payments to support a project. Apply here:
FINCA Ventures Prize
FINCA Ventures Prize to support social entrepreneurs who share FINCA’s steadfast commitment to ending global poverty. The FINCA Ventures Prize will culminate in an event in March 2024 in Washington DC. The event will feature in-person pitch presentations by the finalists to a jury and a celebration of the top winners in the categories of environment and health. Awards up to $70,000. Apply by 12/15/2023
Ford Fund Fellowship (via Watson Institute)
An impact fellowship supported by the Ford Motor Company Fund is a venture and leadership development program designed for entrepreneurs addressing various social issues to enhance their ventures. The fellowship is open to applicants located in or making an impact in the following locations: China, Germany, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, the United Kingdom, United States. Within the US, entrepreneurs should be based in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Louisville, or Memphis. Apply by 1/15/2024
Roddenberry Catalyst Fund
The Catalyst Fund offers grants to Nonprofits and social Enterprises to fund ideas or early-stage projects that have a high potential for large-scale impact and sustainable change. You can be a seasoned social entrepreneur or a first-time changemaker. Eligible candidates for the Catalyst Fund may be individuals, teams of individuals, non-profit organizations, or social enterprises. Funding up to $15,000. Apply here
Commercial Space Rehabilitation Grant Program – Toronto
The Commercial Space Rehabilitation Grant Program is available to owners and tenants of vacant properties or the risk of being vacant properties at street level, or properties at risk of becoming vacant (that have received funding from the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program) within the city of Toronto, that are used for commercial purposes at street level, and that are locally owned and operated. A minimum of three eligible improvements must be made. Funding up to $24,000 – Applications open in December 2023.
GoodSparks Grants
Each successful applicant will receive a $20,000 grant to fund initiatives focused on any one of the following areas: sustainable development, health and wellbeing, innovation and community impact. The grant is open to local enterprises operating in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan. Must have less than 50 employees. Apply by 12/3/2023
Main Street Innovation Fund – Toronto
The Main Street Innovation Fund is a grant that provides funding to Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and not-for-profit organizations with ties to the business community to test innovative and creative solutions to local challenges and share their findings/results with others in the city of Toronto. Funding up to $100,000. Apply by 12/14/2023
RAISE Business Grant
Racialised and Indigenous Supports for Entrepreneurs (RAISE) is a grant program that will provide access to business development training, culturally responsive and tailored business coaching, networking opportunities, and a one-time grant of $10,000 to support Indigenous, Black and other racialised entrepreneurs. Must be in Ontario. Apply by 12/8/2023
Rethink Ireland Entrepreneurship Impact Fund
The goal of the fund is to support mid-stage and mature social innovations to achieve higher levels of impact by scaling their innovations and reaching the next stage of growth. Funding up to 200,000 Euros. Apply by 1/11/2024
Sephora Beauty Grant
Sephora Beauty Grant will be awarding one black business owner within the beauty industry a $100,000 grant to unlock the next level of growth and potential for their brand. Apply by 12/18/2023
Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Grant
Small businesses can access, for free, personalised learning through over 40 courses, mentorship, peer networking, 1:1 expert coaching and incentives such as grant funding. Grants for $10,000.