Giving Joy Grants STRENGTHEN, INSPIRE and propel WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP WORLDWIDE
Apply Today
Support Our Work
THe Challenge Women Face
In 2025, the world has closed only 68.8% of the overall gender gap, but just 61 % of the economic gap (World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2025). At today’s pace, it will take over 150 years for women to achieve equal participation and pay in the global economy (WEF 2025 Report, Economic Participation & Opportunity Index). Women hold only 27% of managerial roles and about 20% of board seats worldwide. Unpaid care work continues to keep millions of women out of the formal labor force. Even in countries with near-parity in education, female workforce participation has stalled or declined.
Giving Joy exists to change this trajectory. By funding women entrepreneurs and helping them build sustainable businesses, we tackle the economic gap directly, because financial independence is the foundation of lasting equality.
Our solution—MICRO GRANTS, MACRO IMPACT, GLOBAL REACH
Micro Grants. We believe that all women should have the opportunity to sustain themselves and achieve gender equality. Giving Joy awards one-time, micro grants of up to $500.00 (five hundred US Dollars) to women-led initiatives - giving women entrepreneurs critical resources to start businesses, acquire skills, sustain operations, improve ideas, and advance gender equality worldwide.
“The Giving Joy grant is more than a financial contribution—it’s a catalyst for systemic change. It enables women to lead, girls to dream bigger, and communities to reimagine what’s possible when inclusion, education, and joy come together.”
— Giving Joy Grant Winner Sally Hassona, Founder Impact Academy Egypt
Macro Impact. The benefits of these micro-grants cascade through communities. They strengthen skills, expand access to resources, create jobs and income, and raise awareness to women’s issues. Grant activities translate into increased opportunities and services for everyone touched by the recipient’s endeavor.
Known as the “multiplier effect,” it means that every dollar you donate to Giving Joy has an exponentially positive impact that goes beyond the individual grant recipient and overflows across women and communities.
After the award, grantees join an exclusive online community where they can share resources, seek advice, and offer support—embodying the true spirit of Giving Joy, where women uplift and empower one another.
In 2025, Giving Joy reached its 100th microgrant, supporting women entrepreneurs across 35 countries and benefiting nearly 7,000 people directly and approximately 70,000 indirectly*. Each microgrant shows how small, well-placed resources can create powerful, community-wide change.
* The figures presented in the graphic are estimates based on the mid-term and final program reports submitted by grant winners during the grant period. Additionally, we gather input through surveys of past winners and feedback from our Giving Joy alumni network on WhatsApp.
Global Reach. Since our founding in late 2018, Giving Joy has funded 102 women entrepreneurs across the globe. What began as a small initiative has grown into a vibrant international network, reaching 35 countries and continuing to expand each year. The map below shows how Giving Joy’s global reach has grown each year, with colors representing the year each grant was awarded.
Thank you to Our Corporate Sponsors
