Sustainable Snacks is proudly a woman owned business -- and we feel fortunate to have connected with and learned from many wonderful women team members, mentors and fellow entrepreneurs along our journey.
Continuing to empower and uplift women - as Sustainable Snacks grows - is one of our top priorities. We strive to do this through job creation, collaborations with other women owned brands, and as partners on Taste of The Bronx.
We are also fortunate to have benefited from resources specifically geared towards women business owners -- and we’re committed to sharing this information to support our peers’ paths forward.
Below is a list of organizations that are doing phenomenal work to support women and underrepresented founders. We have personally benefited from their thoughtful support and encourage women business owners to reach out:
WEALF - The Women’s Enterprise Action Loan Fund empowers women to realize their dreams and become financially self-sufficient, credit worthy business owners. They provide zero interest micro-loans of up to $10,000, along with one-on-one mentorship and business programming that spans across financial planning, e-commerce and beyond. One of the most special aspects of WEALF is their lifetime support. A founder’s relationship to WEALF does not end with their last loan payment; lovingly called the “WEALF Family”, entrepreneurs remain connected to the community and continue to receive mentorship and education access.
Envolve Entrepreneurship - Envolve USA works with underrepresented founders to build a community and platform that advances equity and access in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. They specifically support underrepresented founders in underserved communities. Starting in The Bronx, New York and Miami-Dade, FL, the program has now expanded to 8 cities across the country (and beyond; they also have a program in Greece!). Envolve is a champion of underrepresented founders on so many levels: they provide annual grants, community programming -- including business training and social events, such as entrepreneur happy hours -- and resource sharing. If there is a relevant opportunity available to their founders, Envolve is the first to locate and share it! When one of their entrepreneurs achieves a milestone, Envolve is the first to disseminate the news far and wide! They are extremely thoughtful, and again, long term partners that make a huge impact on both their founders and the communities in which they work.
BOC Women’s Business Center - From their offices in Brooklyn, Staten Island and The Bronx, the BOC Women’s Business Center offers business training, one-on-one counseling and financing resources to help women entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. BOC is a champion of women and underrepresented founders across New York City. In addition to providing low interest loans and affordable co-working space, their one-on-one business counseling is absolutely stellar. They provide expert, hands-on business and financial planning support that empowers their clients to access funding and grow. BOC also offers many useful workshops that span across all areas of business. While BOC is local to NYC, each state has its own comparable program in partnership with the SBA.
Amber Grant - The Amber Grant was created to honor the legacy of a young woman, Amber, who passed away at just 19. The funding organization, WomensNet, has distributed $4,000-$10,000 grants to one woman entrepreneur each month since 1998. The WomensNet team also awards an annual $25,000 grant -- and they have expanded their offerings during COVID. WomensNet sends out a useful monthly newsletter including business resources, as well; and they offer a very active facebook community for applicants (not just grant winners).
We hope the above information is useful -- and be sure to reach out to hello@SustainableSnacks.co with any questions.
Cheers to a phenomenal month celebrating phenomenal women!
-Team Sustainable Snacks