Sephora Beauty Grant
Sephora / Fifteen Percent Pledge
$100,000
Researched for this program: 5 rejection traps · 5 required documentsWhat decides this award ↓
$100K for underrepresented beauty founders
The Sephora Beauty Grant, administered in partnership with the Fifteen Percent Pledge, awards one $100,000 unrestricted grant annually to a beauty or personal care business owned by an underrepresented founder. Eligible businesses must have annual revenue of at least $100,000, be based in the United States, and have at least 51% ownership by an underrepresented founder. Beyond the cash award, the winner receives pro-bono consulting support and recognition at the Fifteen Percent Pledge Annual Gala. The application window is typically four weeks in October–November.
- Funding type
- Grant
- Level
- Private
- Amount range
- $100,000 – $100,000
- Realistic amount
- $100,000 flat for the single annual winner. The grant is unrestricted — no required use of funds.
- Deadline
- The 2027 Sephora Beauty Grant application is open from October 6 to November 6, 2026
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- lump sum
Who qualifies
- Business must sell a consumer packaged good (beauty or personal care product)
- Annual business revenue of at least $100,000
- Business must be based in the United States
- At least 51% ownership by an underrepresented founder (defined by the Fifteen Percent Pledge criteria — typically BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, disabled)
- For-profit business structure
- Founder must be at least 18 years old
Hard requirements
- Must be incorporated
- Demographic eligibility: underrepresented
- Minimum $100,000 annual revenue
What the Sephora Beauty Grant application asks
The Sephora Beauty Grant application asks three written questions, alongside your contact and business details. There is no entry fee. The deadline is November 6, 2026, and you submit on the funder’s own form at form.typeform.com. These are the questions as they appear on the form:
-
1
Introduce yourself and tell us about your background, and provide a short description of your business and products.
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2
This grant program is designed to support beauty brands. Outline your business plan and explain how this grant will support your growth aspirations?
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3
What makes your brand a strong fit for prestige beauty retail?
What the judges look for
- The founder's background and 'why'
- The problem the product solves and why it beats competitors
- Proof of traction: sales, marketing metrics, retail relationships
- A specific plan for the $100,000 and what it achieves
- Fit for prestige beauty retail: customer, differentiation, positioning
GrantCompass drafts the Sephora Beauty Grant application from your own answers. You answer five short questions about your business and we write all three 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 the Fifteen Percent Pledge. Start a free draft on this page (grantcompass.co/grants/sephora-beauty-grant), or read how the drafting works.
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Any legitimate business expense (grant is unrestricted)
- Product development and formulation
- Marketing and brand building
- Distribution and retail expansion
- Hiring and team building
- Equipment and manufacturing
Ineligible expenses
- Personal expenses unrelated to the business
- Businesses without at least $100,000 in annual revenue
- Non-beauty or non-personal-care businesses
How to apply
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1
Monitor Fifteen Percent Pledge for application opening
The application opens each October at 15percentpledge.org/award/sephora. Subscribe to the Fifteen Percent Pledge newsletter for announcements. The window is brief — approximately 4 weeks.
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2
Submit online application
Complete the application providing: business details and revenue documentation, founder background and underrepresented identity narrative, product description, and explanation of how the $100,000 would be used to grow the business.
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3
Review and finalist selection
The Fifteen Percent Pledge and Sephora review all applications and select a winner. The review process and timeline between close and announcement is not published in detail.
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4
Winner announcement and award at gala
The winner is recognized at the Fifteen Percent Pledge Annual Gala, typically held in Los Angeles in February of the following year. The $100,000 grant and pro-bono consulting package are awarded at or following the gala.
The $100K revenue minimum separates this from early-stage beauty grants. It's designed for established indie brands ready to scale — not pre-revenue or seed-stage founders. The Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala visibility is a meaningful secondary benefit.
Deadline & timing
The application window is typically 4 weeks in October–November each year. The 2025 cycle closed November 28, 2025, and the winner was announced and recognized at the Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala in Los Angeles on February 7, 2026. The 2026 application cycle is expected to open approximately October 2026.
Applications are open — don’t lose the window
GrantCompass tracks Sephora Beauty Grant’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.
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Last updated October 17, 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.