We are pleased to announce this new grant opportunity. Could your organization be a good fit? Do you know of an organization that could align with our funding criteria and might be interested in applying?
A little about us at WE:
Women’s Empowerment International (WE) is a nonprofit organization (based in San Diego, CA, United States) with a mission to empower women with tools to work their way out of poverty, care for their families, and strengthen their communities. We do this through grantmaking for economic empowerment programs for women experiencing poverty—locally (in San Diego County and our border region) and internationally. We envision a world without poverty in which women are empowered, uplifted, and equal partners in society. Since 2004, we have raised money for and distributed over $2.8M in grant funding for 15 partner organizations in nine countries. Current grant partners operate programs including microloans, women’s entrepreneurship and small business development support, training, education, and other income-generating and barrier-breaking initiatives.
We have implemented some exciting additions to our grantmaking, and we currently have an open Letter of Inquiry (LOI) for three types of grant funding: https://form.jotform.com/251608843588065. Submitting an LOI is the first part of the application process. If our Grants Committee sees a good fit, an organization will be invited to complete our full grant application.
Please read through our general Funding & Selection Criteria to assess overall eligibility and alignment: https://womenempowerment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WE-Funding-Selection-Criteria.pdf. An applying organization should be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (or fiscally sponsored by one) if registered in the U.S., or under a related certification if registered in another country. Funded programs and services should align with WE mission, vision, and guiding principles, as well as criteria on the document linked above. WE funds must be used to support the economic empowerment of women and girls only (inclusive of all those identifying as such), specifically those who are living at or below the local poverty line. Grants are not awarded for fundraising events or campaigns, endowments, or for any religious or political activities.
Prospective new grant partners are eligible to apply for three of WE’s four grant types:
I. Seed/Innovation Grants
II. Scale-up Grants
III. One-time/Micro Grants
Please read through details on each of these grant types, including funding request ranges, examples for funding, and key evaluation criteria for each: https://womenempowerment.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WE-Grant-Types_-New-Partners.pdf
Deadlines/Timeline:
- The LOI is open until July 24; however, submissions will be evaluated on a rolling basis. The sooner you are able to submit your LOI, the sooner we can provide feedback and a potential invitation to the complete grant application. We encourage you to complete the LOI as soon as possible.
- Grant applications will build on the LOI and will be due by August 8.
- August 25 – September 5 – we expect to hold video meetings with 3-5 selected applicants for follow-up conversations to better understand your proposed grant program, organization, and operations.
- Grant awards will be announced by September 28.
- Funding will be distributed at the end of 2025 or early 2026 depending on grant size.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or referrals for our open LOI to Sarah Adams, WE Executive Director, at SarahAdams@womenempowerment.org.
