2018 Grant Program

BEACON is a community-led
campaign to make Washington, DC
the most influential and supportive
city for women entrepreneurs in the
United States.

Donate to support our business directory and flagship programs

Resource Providers, see what you can do to support DC's women founders:
Building Inclusive Ecosystems with Intentionality: A Strategy to Enhance Support for DC's Women Founders

What is BEACON?

BEACON is a community-led initiative to make D.C. the most influential and supportive city in the nation for women entrepreneurs. With partners across the public and private sectors, BEACON amplifies opportunities and connects women entrepreneurs to each other, and to the resources they need.

Entrepreneurs can:

Sign-up for the BEACON Newsletter.

Register for the BEACON Directory as a woman-identifying business owner (it's free!).

Submit an event that supports women entrepreneurs.

Find a resource to support your needs

Identify and connect with women entrepreneurs

Ecosystem Builders can:

Sign-up for the BEACON Newsletter.

Add a resource to the BEACON Resource Index.

Submit an event that supports women entrepreneurs.

Help Us Build DC's Most Complete Directory of

Women-Owned Businesses

Just Rock Enterprises

Just Rock offers music, dance and pe instruction via private, group and workshop experiences throughout the DMV.

Vanessa Ferragut

Greenease is a mobile app that connects consumers with restaurants, cafes and grocers that buy from local and/or sustainable farms.

Founder, Owner, Designer

Meaning “smile/laughter” in Swahili, Kicheko Goods is a socially conscious company that designs distinctive pieces which invest in education. Founded in 2014, Kicheko is an emerging brand made in DC. Concepts for the brand’s small batch collections are inspired by geometry, nature, and travel. Kicheko's aesthetic shares an unrefined boldness, sophisticated earthiness and playful simplicity..

Krystin Hargrove

Empowomant is a for-profit social impact organization, empowering women to live with intention. We explore 3 core areas: self, family, and career applying our 3 step method of vision, work, and follow through to support women seeking personal and professional alignment. Through collaboration, we work to empower women around the world.

Find the support for your women-owned business

Resources

Young African Professionals Network (YAP)

The Young African Professionals (YAP DC) Network is the premier conveners of events and opportunities for young African diaspora professionals ages 21-40. We provide timely and relevant resources, we facilitate innovative professional development experiences, we foster inspirational networking, and we encourage impactful community building.

Advancement Strategist

Halcyon is a creativity incubator for both social entrepreneurs and socially-conscious artists. Halcyon Incubator, our flagship program, is a competitive, 13-month fellowship program, which includes a 5-month residency, to support the most promising early-stage social entrepreneurs in the world. Incubator accepts 2 cohorts of 8 social enterprises each year and has worked more than 60 ventures.

Erica Soultanian

Mission Collaborative LLC

Mission Collaborative is a DC-based organization that helps people design careers they love. We offer nights-and-weekends programs for professionals who want to make a career change but need help figuring out what comes next.

WOE (Women Own Excellence ) Magazin

WOE( Women Own Excellence) is the go-to guide designed to create a culture and lifestyle of excellence for women. Our focus is inspiration, style, self-empowerment and all around empowerment.

We are committed to delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles about women sharing failures, celebrating successes, and embracing moments of growth across the globe.

Events

For Women, By Women, We All Belong Here

Startup Social: Amplify Your Brand Panel & Pitch Competition

Office Evolution Tysons

Learn how to "Amplify Your Brand” and take your digital marketing to the next level at Startup Social Wed., Feb. 26 6-9pm. Join us to hear lessons learned from experts on digital marketing tactics to engage your audience, get more eyes on your brand, and grow your presence. The agenda includes an expertly moderated panel discussion, Q&A, startup pitch contest and networking.

Meet DCfempreneur: Interest Meeting Montgomery County

Shulman Rogers Potomac Conference Room

If you're a female professional business owner in Montgomery County we invite you to join this meeting to learn about the DCfempreneur community! By becoming a part of our community, you can expect energetic support, inspiration, and feedback in a positive community/comfortable setting. Join us!

Startup Summit DC presented by Capital One Cafe and Next Gen HQ

Capital One Cafe, Georgetown

Next Gen HQ has partnered with Capital One® Café to bring an exclusive, free event to Washington, DC! Join us for Startup Summit DC at the Georgetown Café on Feb. 28th for the invite-only event for top entrepreneurs, leaders, and creators. Learn from executives in 1:1 mentoring sessions, hear from industry leaders on stage, and pitch to investors!

Community