HerRise MicroGrant
HerSuiteSpot / Yva Jourdan Foundation
$1,000 per month
Researched for this program: 4 rejection traps · 3 required documentsWhat decides this award ↓
Monthly microgrant for women of color founders
The Yva Jourdan Foundation — the nonprofit arm of HerSuiteSpot — awards a $1,000 microgrant monthly to under-resourced women entrepreneurs, prioritizing women of color. Applications close on the last day of each month, winners are selected by committee, and funds are unrestricted. A $15 non-refundable administrative fee applies. Business must be US-registered and under $1M in revenue.
- Funding type
- Grant
- Level
- Foundation
- Amount
- $1,000
- Realistic amount
- $1,000 — single fixed monthly award. One winner per month; no additional prize tiers.
- Deadline
- Rolling monthly — applications due 11:59 PM on the last day of each month
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- lump sum
Who qualifies
- Business must be 51% women-owned
- Currently registered in the United States
- Gross annual revenue under $1,000,000
- Priority given to under-resourced women, including women of color
- Any industry or business stage
- Applicants who did not win may reapply in subsequent months
Hard requirements
- Must be incorporated
- Demographic eligibility: women-owned
- Women ownership required
Is the HerRise MicroGrant legit?
Yes. HerSuiteSpot's foundation has funded women entrepreneurs since 2017 and lists past recipients. It charges a $15 fee that is not refunded, and only winners are notified.
- Who runs it: HerSuiteSpot, through the Yva Jourdan Foundation
- Cost to apply: $15, not refundable
- What winners get: One $1,000 winner each month, revealed at a monthly mixer
- If you don't win: Only winners are notified
Sources: hersuitespot.com. Last checked at the funder on October 18, 2026.
Past HerRise MicroGrant winners
Past recipients listed on the HerRise page (undated):
- Sunita Maharaj, AntiquiTEAs
- Courtnee Donald, Rico Beauty Essentials
- Jasmine Paul, The Wealth Playground
- Shana Pistilli
- Brandy Ige, Pukalani Floral
- Tina Tang, DEBTLESS
Names as published by HerSuiteSpot (source). GrantCompass is not affiliated with HerSuiteSpot.
New grants like this every week: see this week's list or get it by email on Mondays.
What the HerRise MicroGrant application asks
The HerRise MicroGrant application asks two written questions, alongside your contact and business details. The entry fee is $15. The deadline is the last day of each month, 11:59pm, and you submit on the funder’s own form at hersuitespot.com. These are the questions as they appear on the form:
-
1
What problem does your business solve and how do you solve it?
Form limit: 250 characters
-
2
How will you use the money if awarded a grant?
Form limit: 250 characters
What the judges look for
- The essence of your business story
- A specific use for the $1,000
GrantCompass drafts the HerRise MicroGrant application from your own answers. You answer four short questions about your business and we write both answers around what the judges look for, to fit the form. We use only what you tell us: nothing is invented, and anything a stronger answer needs is left as a marked blank for you to fill. The preview is free with no card. The full draft is $9, refunded in full within 7 days if it doesn’t make your application stronger. You review it and submit it yourself; GrantCompass is independent and not affiliated with HerSuiteSpot / Yva Jourdan Foundation. Start a free draft on this page (grantcompass.co/grants/herrise-microgrant), or read how the drafting works.
How to answer the HerRise MicroGrant application questions (with examples)
The business questions on the HerRise application form are two short text boxes, and both are required. Each box stops at 250 characters, which is roughly 40 words, so every word has to do work. HerSuiteSpot’s program page asks you to share the essence of your business story, and the application page asks for your business pitch and plan. Both examples below are under 250 characters, with the count shown on each.
Question 1: “What problem does your business solve and how do you solve it?”
The box holds one or two sentences, so a strong answer does three things:
- 1
Names who has the problem. A specific group of customers, in plain words.
- 2
Says what you do about it. The product or service, and how it works in a few words.
- 3
Shows a result you can picture. What the customer is able to do afterwards.
“Families with food allergies struggle to find baking mixes that taste good. I make small-batch gluten-free mixes in a licensed kitchen and ship them with a recipe card, so a family can bake a safe birthday cake in under an hour.”
Why it works: it names the customer, the fix and the outcome, and it leaves out history and adjectives that would use up the characters.
Question 2: “How will you use the money if awarded a grant?”
Each month’s winner gets $1,000. HerSuiteSpot says past recipients used their grants for computers, equipment, marketing materials, software and websites. A strong answer does this:
- 1
Names the purchases. One or two specific items with their costs, adding up to no more than $1,000.
- 2
Ties them to a result. What the purchase lets you sell, ship or finish that you cannot today.
“I would buy a used commercial stand mixer ($650) and 200 reusable pouches with printed labels ($340), so I can fill the three wholesale orders I turned down this year and ship twice as many online orders each week.”
Why it works: two priced items, a total inside the award, and a stated reason the business grows because of them.
Want both answers written from your own details? Start your free draft preview. You see the preview before you pay anything.
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Equipment and technology (computers, tools, point-of-sale systems)
- Marketing materials, photography, and advertising
- Website creation or redesign
- Software subscriptions
- Inventory
- Business licenses or professional development
- Any legitimate business expense — funds are unrestricted
Ineligible expenses
- Personal expenses unrelated to the business
How to apply
-
1
Pay the $15 administrative fee
A non-refundable $15 administrative fee is required to submit your application. This covers committee processing costs.
~5 min
-
2
Complete the application form
Provide your name, business name, business description, and information about how you would use the grant funds. The form is short — designed to be completed in 10–15 minutes.
~15 min
-
3
Submit before month-end deadline
Submit by 11:59 PM on the last day of the month. Late applications are not accepted. You'll receive an email confirmation that your application was received.
~5 min
-
4
Await winner announcement
A committee selects one winner monthly. Due to high application volume, only selected winners are notified. Winners are announced at the HerSuiteSpot First Friday Mixer the following month — attendance is not required.
The $15 fee is real — don't overlook it. Due to high volume, non-winners get no notification. Reapplication is allowed each month, so persistence matters more than a perfect first application.
Deadline & timing
A new application window opens each month. Deadline is 11:59 PM on the final day of the month. Winners are announced at the following month's HerSuiteSpot First Friday Mixer — attendance is not required to win. Applicants not selected may reapply in subsequent months.
Applications are open — don’t lose the window
GrantCompass tracks HerRise MicroGrant’s application windows in the live catalog. Leave an email and we’ll warn you before this window closes — and tell you when the next round opens.
Free. One email when the window moves, deadline warnings on your watchlist, and the monthly closing-soon digest. Unsubscribe anytime.
Programs that stack well
HerRise MicroGrant compared with 9 other microgrants women founders apply to
Business Freedom Grant, Coach K Legacy Grant and IFundWomen grants cost $0 to enter. Amber Grant, HerRise MicroGrant, Hey Helen Grant, SecretSoS Grant, The Hustle Grant and YippityDoo Big Idea Grant each charge $15 and Freed Fellowship charges $19 per entry. Amber Grant pays the largest monthly award, $15,000; Coach K Legacy Grant is the only monthly award in this table with no entry fee.
| Program | Award | Entry fee | Cadence | Next close | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coach K Legacy Grant · review | $1,000 | $0 | Monthly | Aspiring and existing business owners | |
| Amber Grant · review | $15,000 (3 a month) + $75,000 year-end | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned businesses, US and Canada | |
| Freed Fellowship · review | $500 + $2,500 year-end | $19 | Monthly | Any US small business; women encouraged | |
| HerRise MicroGrant (this page) · review | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, under $1M revenue | |
| Hey Helen Grant | $10,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, under $1M revenue | |
| YippityDoo Big Idea Grant | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Women-owned, idea stage welcome | |
| Business Freedom Grant | $1,000 | $0 | Review rounds | Any founder, any stage | |
| SecretSoS Grant · review | $2,500 | $15 | Quarterly | Women/veteran/minority-owned or loan-denied, 21+ | |
| IFundWomen grants · review | $10,000–$25,000 (by sponsor) | $0 | Rolling | Rolling, by sponsor | Women-owned for-profit businesses |
| The Hustle Grant | $1,000 | $15 | Monthly | Monthly; cutoff by newsletter | Women-owned businesses and ideas |
Table updated November 6, 2026 from the GrantCompass catalog. Entry fees are verified against each funder’s published rules; confirm the date on the funder’s own page before you apply.
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Last updated November 5, 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.