Giving Joy Grants
Giving Joy grants are one-time micro grants (maximum $500.00 USD). Women ages 18 and up from any country in the world are eligible to apply.
Why Giving Joy?
Why Giving Joy?
Giving Joy stands out as an organization that consistently transforms your contributions into a multiplied impact on women, families, and communities worldwide.
What distinguishes us from the rest?
Giving Joy takes a hands-on approach to philanthropy. We directly engage with our grant recipients, fostering personal connections through regular communication. These relationships enable us to monitor use of funds and tailored coaching and mentorship throughout and beyond the grant period.
In contrast to larger organizations, our small and nimble structure ensures that every dollar donated goes directly to funding grants rather than getting lost in bureaucratic overhead.
Our international board members, each possessing deep experience in international development, synergize with Giving Joy's agile structure to ensure a rapid turnaround of grants. A testament to this efficiency is our accomplishment of awarding grants to Afghan women entrepreneurs within an impressive 2-month timeframe after the Taliban assumed control of the country in 2021.
Every application round sees Giving Joy receiving approximately 8000 applications from 70 different countries. This influx is a clear indicator of the unmet demand for micro grants, which serve as catalysts for initiating or expanding businesses, fostering business skills, and raising awareness about women's issues on a global scale.
What are Giving Joy past winners saying:
“This was our very first grant at Shades of Us, and it was the boost we needed to feel validated, but most importantly, to grow. We have received other grants, and we know it is in part because we mentioned that we were one of the Giving Joy winners. Thank you for opening the door for us.
We have changed our model to a social enterprise as we move toward sustainability, and the project you funded, Mobile Cinema for FLOW, has expanded to include teaching young women and girls how to make reusable pads to address period poverty.
We would also like to commend the fact that you stayed in touch by commenting on our social media posts, giving us a little like here and there, and encouraging us. They may seem like small acts, but they showed that you cared beyond the grant. It is the real epitome of 'Giving Joy'. We also love reading your newsletters and are happy when we see other women benefit from the Giving Joy Foundation.”
What are Giving Joy past winners saying:
“Wow! Where does one even begin? The journey was great, life learning, connections and definitely growth. Not just any growth, personal, spiritual and professional. For myself it was more person and spiritual growth and for the organisation, it was growing professionally and being capacitated enough to make much more impact especially in marginalized communities.”
What are Giving Joy past winners saying:
“The grant arrived when Womenasticco was growing into a working women-led circular-economy enterprise, and the belief behind it mattered as much as the funds — it was one of the early moments someone outside our immediate circle backed the vision, which gave us confidence to keep building.
The journey has accelerated since. Our CEO, Uma Sharma, was selected as one of 26 Grassroots Innovators nationally by the Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog, Government of India) and recognised by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in July 2026, and we've been selected into incubators including NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore. Our biggest ongoing challenge is scaling deployment while keeping the model genuinely women-owned and women-led.”
What are Giving Joy past winners saying:
“The Giving Joy grant gave us the opportunity to launch a pilot program on career guidance and women’s empowerment in Kharkiv. It served as a starting point that allowed us to test our approach, build confidence, and engage participants. Thanks to Giving Joy, we were able to scale our work and successfully implement two additional projects supported by international donors.”
What are Giving Joy past winners saying:
“Giving Joy has not only opened the doors for Eco - Innovation and Creation, it has elevated its standards. Since receiving the grant, I have been recommending Giving Joy to other like minded organisations. That's to tell you what the one time grant did for ECIC. It's so nice and easy working or core partnering with a funder like Giving Joy. I would term Giving Joy " An entrepreneurship promoter and environmental saviour".
Unlock Funding Opportunities with Giving Joy's Expert Services
Are you looking to strengthen your grant writing or business development skills? Giving Joy is here to help!
Leveraging over 20 years of expertise from our founder, Joy Kolin, and the invaluable insights of our esteemed board, we are proud to offer tailored, one-on-one consulting services designed to help individuals and organizations thrive.
Whether you're seeking guidance on:
Identifying and researching potential donors,
Crafting compelling funding proposals, or
Reviewing and refining grant applications,
we're here to augment your capacity with actionable tools and hands-on support.
Our approach is flexible and entirely tailored to your needs. Choose from a single session for quick insights or embark on a series of sessions over several months for deeper engagement.
The Giving Joy Advantage
Proven Expertise: Benefit from decades of international development experience and funding success.
Practical Tools & Examples: Walk away with skills you can immediately put to use.
Women Helping Women: Your fee doubles as a donation to Giving Joy, directly supporting women entrepreneurs worldwide.
This is more than consulting—it’s a collaboration to help you succeed while empowering women globally.
Together, let’s unlock opportunities and create lasting impact. For more information or to get started email us by clicking the button below:
