Women-Owned Business Resources
Supporting Women-Owned Businesses
We are committed to elevating the success of Women-owned businesses. Below is a curated list of funding, programs, and resources offered by various organizations who support Women-owned businesses. If you have any resources that should be added to this list, please reach out to AARP@publicprivatestrategies.com.
Check out our additional resources and tipsheets here!
Funding Opportunities
| Name | Type | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hivers and Strivers Angel Fund | Investment | Hivers & Strivers has invested exclusively in companies led by military veterans. Many of their entrepreneurs are Service Academy Graduates. Hivers & Strivers Fund 1 and Fund 1B were the first early stage funds to invest in the top 1% of entrepreneurs from this elite group. | https://hiversandstrivers.com/ |
| Streetshares Foundation | Grant | The StreetShares Foundation is committed to creating access to capital opportunities for military veteran and military spouses entrepreneurs who are looking to start or grow a business venture. This award is designed to boost small business owners who are creating a social impact in their community. | https://streetsharesfoundation.org/militaryentrepreneurchallenge |
| TFX Capital | Investment | We are a Veteran-led venture capital firm uniquely focused on investing in high performing, accomplished, and commercially-tested former military leaders building early stage technology (B2B) and technology enabled businesses. | https://tfxcap.com/about/ |
Business Expertise
| Name | Type | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boots to Business | Training Program | Boots to Business (B2B) is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The course provides an overview of entrepreneurship and applicable business ownership fundamentals. Active Duty Service members (including National Guard and Reserve), Veterans of all eras, and spouses are eligible to participate. | https://sbavets.force.com/s/ |
| Bunker Lab | Support Organization | Bunker Labs provides community, programs, and courses to help military veterans and military spouses start and grow successful businesses and startups. | https://bunkerlabs.org/ |
| Coalition for Veteran-Owned Business | Support Organization | The Coalition for Veteran Owned Business (CVOB) is a group comprised of industry leaders committed to providing opportunities and growth for veteran and military spouse-owned businesses. This first-of-its-kind national initiative supports the success of veteran, service member, and military spouse-owned businesses by connecting them with entrepreneurial education and training, small business resources and solutions, and commerce and supplier opportunities to help connect and educate both sides on doing business together. | https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/programs/entrepreneurship/resources/cvob/ |
| Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) | Training Program | The EBV opens the door to economic opportunity for veterans by developing their competencies in the many steps and activities associated with creating and sustaining an entrepreneurial venture. Founded at Syracuse University in 2007, the program has since expanded to additional universities across the U.S., including Texas A&M, UCLA, the University of Connecticut, Louisiana State University, The Florida State University, Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Missouri –with Syracuse University serving as national host of the consortium of schools. | https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/programs/entrepreneurship/start-up/ebv/ |
| Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (VA) | Government Support | To support the Secretary’s priorities by enabling Veterans to gain access to economic opportunities by developing policies and programs, informed by customer feedback, that improve market research, increase direct access, and maximize the participation of procurement ready Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses in federal contracting. | https://www.va.gov/osdbu/ |
| Patriot Boot Camp (PBC) | Training Program | Since 2012, Patriot Boot Camp has been on a mission to assemble and activate an inclusive community that advances military members, veterans, military spouses in their mission to become creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs leading the new economy. | https://patriotbootcamp.org/ |
| SCORE | Support Organization | SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. Our network of more than 10,000 mentors can meet with you via phone, video, or email to answer your business questions. Some of our mentors also served in the military. They understand your challenges because they’ve faced them, too. They can help you translate military skills into business success by navigating available services, funding opportunities, government contracts and more. | https://www.score.org/resources-veteran-entrepreneurs |
| The National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC) | Membership Organization | The National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC) is the largest non-profit trade association in the country representing veteran- and service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (VOSB and SDVOSB) in the Federal marketplace. NVSBC works to ensure that veteran small businesses are given first consideration for federal prime and subcontract procurement opportunities. | https://nvsbc.org/ |
| The National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) | Support Organization | NaVOBA provides a direct link for contracting between corporate America and Certified Veteran’s Business Enterprises™ (VBE) and Certified Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises™ (SDVBE). | https://navoba.org/ |
| The Rosie Network | Training Program | Our mission is to build stronger military families by developing entrepreneurial programs and support services that empower active-duty, veterans and military spouses to realize the American Dream of small business ownership, increasing financial stability and self-sufficiency of those who have served our country. | https://therosienetwork.org/ |
| The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses program | Government Support | The federal government aims to award at least 3% of all federal contracting dollars to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) each year. Competition is limited for certain federal contract opportunities to businesses that participate in the SDVOSB program. Joining the SDVOSB program makes your business eligible to compete for the program’s set-aside contracts. You can still compete for contract awards under other socio-economic programs you qualify for. | https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/veteran-assistance-programs#section-header-11 |
| Veteran Business Outreach Centers | Government Support | The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) program is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling, and resource partner referrals to transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard & Reserve members, and military spouses interested in starting or growing a small business. SBA has 22 organizations participating in this cooperative agreement and serving as Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC). | https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/veterans-business-outreach-center-vboc-program#section-header-3 |
| Veteran Business Project | Support Organization | The Veteran Business Project promotes military, veterans, and spouses small business ownership opportunities. We do this by proudly offering our unique “vharmony™️” business match-making service, connecting veterans/spouses seeking to acquire established businesses with business owners wanting to divest. Our “vharmony™️” service includes a caseworker to facilitate the often challenging road to purchase, as well as a seasoned business mentor after the completed transaction. | https://veteranbusinessproject.org/ |
| Veteran Institute for Procurement | Training Program | Taught by subject matter experts from industry and government, VIP offers five (5) accelerator training programs for owners, principals, and C‐level executives of VOSB/SDVOSBs that specifically address the complexities of federal procurement. | https://nationalvip.org/ |
| Veteran Women's Enterprise Center | Support Organization | To position Entrepreneur Women Associated with the Military (EWAM) inclusive of veterans, Active Duty, Reservist and/or military spouses as our nation’s leading small business revenue generators and employers. | https://veteranwomensec.org/ |
| Veterans Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) | Training Program | Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) is a premier training program in entrepreneurship and small business management. V-WISE helps women veterans and female military spouses/partners find their passion and learn the business savvy skills necessary to turn an idea or start-up into a growing venture. V-WISE is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the generous philanthropic support of corporate and foundation partners nationwide. | https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/programs/entrepreneurship/start-up/v-wise/ |
| VetFran | Membership Organization | Over 600 franchise companies are members of VetFran, leading their industries in making a tangible commitment to recruiting veterans. For VetFran member companies, veterans are a part of their corporate culture and empowering veterans to become small business owners within a franchise brand is both a calling and a smart business decision. Many of these companies have found that veteran franchisees are some of their strongest performers, and they want more of the same. We're proud to introduce you, the veteran opportunity seeker, to these companies. | https://www.vetfran.org/opportunities-portal/ |
| VETRN | Training Program | Our mission is to provide veteran small business owners and family members an opportunity, free of tuition, to attend a program in entrepreneurship that is being put on exclusively for veterans in order to provide them with the skills, resources, mentoring and networking necessary to grow their own small business. This program is a six month VETRN program based on a course in strategic business planning, business cash flow and financial management. | https://vetrn.org/ |
| Vets First Verification Program (VA) | Government Support | The Vets First Verification Program affords verified firms owned and controlled by Veterans and Service-disabled Veterans the opportunity to compete for VA set asides. During Verification, the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) verifies SDVOSBs/VOSBs according to the tenets found in Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 74 and 13 CFR Part 125 that address Veteran eligibility, ownership, and control. In order to qualify for participation in the Veterans First Contracting Program, eligible SDVOSBs/VOSBs must first be verified. | https://www.va.gov/osdbu/verification/ |
| VETtoCEO | Training Program | The VETtoCEO core program is a free virtual program that runs for 7 weeks, one night each week, from 7-9 PM EST. Our next program runs from December 14th through February 1st - enrollment is open! You'll join a group of fellow qualified veterans and Active, Guard, and Reserve military who are either exploring entrepreneurship as a career path choice or aggressively completing their business plan. | https://www.vettoceo.org/ |
| Warrior Rising | Support Organization | Warrior Rising empowers u.s. military veterans and their immediate family members by providing them opportunities to create sustainable businesses, perpetuate the hiring of fellow american veterans, and earn their future. | https://www.warriorrising.org/ |
| Women Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (WVET) | Training Program | The Women Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (WVET) Program offers a multitude of in-person and online training opportunities, as well as one-on-one advising for women veterans aspiring or actively operating small businesses in the State of Texas. Women that are transitioning service member or spouses of active duty military or veterans are also encouraged to take advantage of our services. | https://www.liftfund.com/wvet/ |
| WOVEN – Women Veteran Entrepreneurs Network | Support Organization | WOVEN fuels economic independence among military-connected women by facilitating professional alliances, entrepreneurial guidance and informal mentoring. | https://cameonetwork.org/programs/woven-women-veteran-entrepreneurs-network/ |
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