Support the development of BEACON, a campaign to connect DC’s female entrepreneurs and make Washington DC the most influential and supportive city for women entrepreneurs.
Progress Updates:
October 2019: Building off the success of their one-day events in 2017 and 2018, Beacon has expanded Startup Law 101 into a three-part series empowering women founders with legal tools for their business.
April 2019: Through their directory of 450 businesses, direct-service campaigns and our ecosystem-builder grant program, BEACON has supported over 1,000 women entrepreneurs in the metro-DC are and built a subscriber list of over 3,500. 30 awards totaling $100k have been granted to women-led organizations in alignment with BEACON’s four pillars and with impact across DC’s eight wards.
September 2018: Mayor Bowser and BEACON awarded 11 grants totaling $50,000 to organizations supporting women entrepreneurs in Washington, DC. Read more here.
September 2017: Mayor Bowser and BEACON: The DC Women Founders Initiative awarded 19 grants totaling $50,000 to support women entrepreneurs in Washington, DC. More than 85 organizations and companies applied for the program and 67 advanced to a community voting round that saw over 5,000 votes cast by members of the public. Click here for the full press release.
- Timeline: in-progress (launched November 2016)
- Lead and key partners: external
- Related core sectors: n/a
- Related opportunity areas: n/a
- Related action areas: talent, business environment