Grants for Breaking Barriers to Women’s Economic Independence in Iowa

The Iowa Women’s Foundation awards Core Grants to organizations that tackles barriers to women’s economic self-sufficiency.

Donor Name: Iowa Women’s Foundation

State: Iowa

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 05/16/2025

Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000

Grant Duration: 1 Year

Details:

Grant Priorities

Housing
- Examples may include emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, and life-skills programs to maintain stable housing.
Transportation
- IWF funds initiatives that help women obtain safe and quality means of transportation. Examples may include assistance with finding and securing a vehicle, financial-lending and credit-building education, vehicle maintenance skill-building, and financial support for registration and title fees.
Education & Training
- IWF funds initiatives that prepares women and girls to enter the workforce or advance within their field. Examples may include job-specific training, apprenticeship programs, financial literacy education, and employment readiness programs.
Employment
- IWF funds initiatives that supports women in seeking or maintaining employment. Examples may include resume-writing and job-application assistance, employment retention curriculum, and career advancement programs.
Childcare
- IWF funds initiatives that increase access to quality and affordable childcare. Examples may include center expansion, furniture and equipment purchasing, training curricula for new providers, before/after-school programming, and efforts to increase options for second/third-shift workers.
Mentorship
- IWF funds initiatives that encourage women to share their talents to inspire a new generation of female leaders. Examples may include professional networking programs, career exploration programs, role model pairing programs, and leadership skills and self-esteem building programs.

Funding Information

Emergency Grants
- Up to $1,000 awarded to cover unexpected and unbudgeted expenses that make it difficult or impossible to serve clients.
Core Grants
- Up to $50,000 awarded to initiatives that tackle at least one of the six barriers to women’s economic self-sufficiency.

Grant Period

October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026.

Eligibility Criteria

Core Grants are awarded to:

501(c)3 organizations or licensed childcare facilities
- Registered in-home providers included.
Serving women and/or girls in Iowa
- Don’t need to exclusively serve women or girls.
Tackling at least one of the six barriers listed above.

For more information, visit IWF.