The Doonie Fund

Kathryn Finney (you’ve heard of her? Echoing Green Global Fellow, Eisenhower Fellow, raised over $100 million in investments?) was inspired to become an entrepreneur by her grandmother Kathryn Hale, known as “Doonie.” The time Kathryn spent with Doonie gave her firsthand experience of a woman running her own enterprise, giving her the confidence and basic skills to start her own first business.

In honor of her grandmother’s example, Kathryn is giving microgrants to US-based Black women entrepreneurs (administered by volunteers from her company’s staff).

The application is super-simple. Kathryn doesn’t want people to have to jump through time-consuming hoops for the cash — she describes the process as “frictionless.” Identify as a Black woman working full time on your company, and have an online presence, like a website or an Instagram account. That’s it.

Kathryn wants Black women entrepreneurs to feel seen during these uncertain times, to know that others are cheering them on and investing in their ability to stay in the arena.

This Awesome Without Borders award is a mini-grant that will fund ten of Kathryn’s micros.

The Doonie Fund is much like us! Both of us trust our applicants (and check out their web presence), we make it easy to apply, and we know that the recognition of being chosen for the honor is sometimes more important than the money.

You can read all about The Doonie Fund here, including a list of the dozens of people who’ve already received their microgrants.

Here’s to all the women who help us become our best selves, to the mothering energy, wherever we find it.