Editor's note — 2026
The Girlboss Foundation grant program ran from 2014 to 2019, awarding over $130,000 to women entrepreneurs in fashion, design, music, and the arts. The Foundation is no longer accepting applications.
This article is preserved as part of the Girlboss archive; a record of the women and ideas the Foundation believed in first.
Back in August 2014, Sophia Amoruso announced the launch of the Girlboss Foundation: an initiative founded to celebrate young women who embody the Girlboss philosophy of taking risks, rewriting the rules, and defining success on their own terms. The Foundation launched with a simple call to action: send us your best, most Girlbossy business ideas, and you might just receive a financial grant to help realize them.
Five months and hundreds of incredible applications later, the first round of Girlboss Foundation grant recipients were announced. After much deliberation, Sophia and the Foundation committee selected the four enterprising women below based on their ingenuity, creativity, and outright hustle.
Congratulations, then and always.
The First Round Recipients
Deena Drewis
Nouvella Books — Los Angeles, CA
An independent publisher dedicated to novellas: works of fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. Nouvella went on to win a National Jewish Book Award, be named an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and helped launch the careers of New York Times bestselling novelists Emma Straub and Edan Lepucki. Deena later joined Girlboss as an editor and continues to write and work in Los Angeles. Nouvella is currently on hiatus.
April Melchior
Urban Works Textiles — Philadelphia, PA
A small, handmade home décor business producing original illustrations by April, digitally printed on fabric and handmade into various home décor applications. All products derived from April's original artwork.
Christin Chang
Chrisu — Connecticut
Hand-illustrated silk scarves with a narrative. Each piece combines original illustration with storytelling in a wearable format.
Sholayide Otugalu
Joséphine Cosmetics — Brooklyn, NY
Natural beauty products redefining luxury in organic beauty. One of the early recipients working at the intersection of clean beauty and accessible luxury.
About the Girlboss Foundation
The Girlboss Foundation was established in 2014 by Sophia Amoruso with the goal of awarding grants to the next generation of women entrepreneurs in fashion, design, music, and the arts. Each quarter, the Foundation awarded three to five grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. Between 2014 and 2019, the Foundation distributed over $130,000 to women-owned businesses across multiple cohorts.
The program is no longer active. Its legacy lives in the businesses it helped launch and the founders it believed in before anyone else did.
Looking for current funding? Our 2026 guide to small business grants for women covers every active program, with amounts and deadlines verified.
