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

Check out BEACON's latest report:
Building Inclusive Ecosystems with Intentionality: A Strategy to Enhance Support for DC's Women Founders

Becoming Beacon

Our goal is to make Washington, DC a model city to demonstrate how investors, companies, mentors and government can work together to ensure women entrepreneurs have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Are you an ecosystem builder?
Apply for the BEACON Grant Program!

Click Here to Apply

Help Us Build DC's Most Complete Directory of

Women-Owned Businesses

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.

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..

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.

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.

I design clothing, organize snowboard/surf camps/skateboarding events for women (to empower women through action sports), support women artists/enterpreneurs/activists/advocates, and recently launched my first flag ship store in Adams Morgan DC called sPACYcLOUd Lounge.

We help startups and small businesses solve their marketing problems with custom apps. A custom designed app can help your business ACQUIRE more customers, RETAIN existing customers, BUILD deeper relationships with customers, and keep customers ENGAGED. These customers will SHARE their experience leading to more customers via word of mouth marketing.

Events

For Women, By Women, We All Belong Here

iFundWomen 4-Week Crowdfunding Boot Camp

Want to do a crowdfunding campaign, but overwhelmed by what needs to be done to be successful? Want to learn from someone who had a successful and professional campaign?
Join IFundWomen Certified Coach, Deborah Owens, at Hera Hub DC for a 4-week boot camp to help you build your campaign, produce your video and so much more! Seating is limited since it is very hands-on, so register early.

Mentorship Roadshow #2: Master your Sales

With the support of a BEACON grant, Julia Westfall, Liz Whitehead and Monica Kang present this free workshop for women business owners who want to increase their sales revenue. From building your sales funnel to closing a sale, our experts will share their tips and advice. It will also be a great time to network with other women in the BEACON community.

Til Death Do Us Part

The Experts in Mystery Entertainment are now performing live public and private interactive murder mystery dinner shows in Baltimore and surrounding areas throughout Maryland. Join us for a night of intrigue, deception, and delicious food in this comedic thriller!

Community