Since launch in November, BEACON DC has been striving to be the umbrella organization for all of the District's women-led groups and startups. Need to find a women-led small business to work with? BEACON has a directory for that. Need an outlet to share a story about being a women entrepreneur? BEACON has an event series for that.
Today, BEACON, a group backed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and including board members like Revolution's Anna Mason and Crowdskout's Shana Glenzer, announced the recipients of its inaugural grant program. The new program was announced at SXSW 2017, and it supports groups and projects providing resources, support and training for D.C.'s women entrepreneurs.
According to a press release, more than 85 organizations and companies applied for the program, and 67 of those advanced to a community voting round where more than 5,000 votes were cast.
Recipients range from a one-day, all-women hackathon to a free online platform to connect women entrepreneurs with job opportunities.
Below is a list of all 19 recipients, including descriptions of their projects pulled from BEACON's website—
- Black Female Founders: "To support women of color entrepreneurs in an eight-week pre-accelerator program that aims to build confidence, social capital, and community."
- Black Girl Vision: "To support a crowd-funded pitch competition connecting women of color entrepreneurs to capital, investors, and business development support."
- Byte Back: "To complement Byte Back’s technical training programs with new programming focused on entrepreneurship for women entrepreneurs in underserved areas of D.C."
- Canady Foundation of the Arts: "To support the Miss Media Conference, a one-day conference educating and empowering young women of color to develop critical skills in media arts and connecting them to local women of color media entrepreneurs."
- Cee Smith Media Group: "To support 'Hustle Camp,' a weekend-long training for LGBTQ entrepreneurs who operate within the creative arts sectors, innovate beyond the status quo and serve the queer community."
- Design Choice: "To create a 'skills first' directory connecting D.C.’s women freelancers to job opportunities, helping create business opportunities and address the gender-pay gap."
- District Mugs: "To help improve the lives of homeless women in D.C. by increasing opportunities for consumers to purchase coffee mugs made by homeless women."
- FranciePants LLC: "To support a workforce development program that offers free sewing classes and contracting opportunities in support of women’s financial independence."
- Global Empowerment Solutions: "To support 'Holiday Hustle,' a full-service training and retail program that turns a six-week business development curriculum into a unique retail showroom that increases new business opportunities for women entrepreneurs."
- HeraHub: "To support a mentorship roadshow responding to women entrepreneurs’ challenges with time constraints, access to seasoned mentors, and the need for directly applicable advice."
- MET Community: "To support a cross-cultural program that inspires, connects and supports aspiring Latina women entrepreneurs in D.C. and connects them to African-American and Asian-American women-owned businesses in the area."
- Nubian Hueman: "To support an eight-week course teaching young girls in Wards 7 and 8 how to manufacture, market, merchandise and manage a fashion-related business."
- Springboard Enterprises: "To support a special series of “Dolphin Tank” pitch competitions that will partner with other diverse D.C.-based, women-serving organizations to expand the impact and reach of the pitch competition series."
- Tech Lady Hackathon: "To support a one-day event providing training, workshops and civic-hacking opportunities specific to women in tech."
- TechMoxie: "To support low-income women in geographic areas underrepresented by women-owned businesses for a six-class course in digital and social media literacy."
- The Black UpStart: "To support low-income women in geographic areas underrepresented by women-owned businesses for a six-class course in digital and social media literacy."
- The Mentor Method: "To create an online video and curriculum-based resource featuring local experts that will empower non-technical women founders to create products and navigate the entrepreneurship landscape."
- Walker’s Legacy: "To ensure women entrepreneurs have childcare while attending a mom-focused entrepreneurship training program."
- Zora & Amelia: "To support pop-up retail opportunities for women-owned businesses in D.C."
