Women'S Business Development Center
ActiveCommunity ImprovementMakes PRIs
About Women'S Business Development Center
To support and accelerate business development and growth, targeting women and serving all business owners, in order to strengthen their participation in, and impact on, the economy.
Focus Areas
Women’s entrepreneurshipSmall business developmentAccess to capital and lendingBusiness advising and trainingGovernment contractingCertification (WBE/WOSB/WBENC)Childcare business supportInternational trade support (exporting)Microloan facilitation (Kiva)
Who They Fund
entrepreneurssmall business ownersmicroenterprises
About Women'S Business Development Center
A defining feature of Women’s Business Development Center grantmaking is the repeated support for Chicago-area organizations that provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs. The largest recent award in the data is $461,579 to Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for business support services, and the same pattern appears across a range of local intermediary partners. That points to a funder that works through organizations already serving women business owners and broader small-business communities, rather than through individual awards. The foundation’s recent portfolio also shows a mix of capacity-building grants and specialized business-support programs. Allies for Community Business Fka Accion Chicago Inc received $332,917 in 2024 and $309,667 in 2025 for technical assistance to entrepreneurs, while Berwyn Development Corporation received $380,613 in 2024 and $293,567 in 2025 for the same purpose. Chicago-based groups such as Illinois Restaurant Association, Southland Development Authority, Chicago Urban League, and Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council Inc also appear in the recent grants list, reinforcing a consistent intermediary model focused on business development and growth. Programmatically, the foundation’s stated work centers on supporting and accelerating business development and growth, targeting women and serving all business owners. Its active programs include lending, certification fee support, micro-lending facilitation, environmental upgrade support, and entrepreneurship training, which together show a broad toolkit for helping small firms build capacity.
What Women'S Business Development Center Funds
Business support organizations are a major part of the foundation’s grantmaking. Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce received $211,570 in 2025 and $74,622 in 2023 for technical assistance to entrepreneurs, showing continued support for intermediary providers. The foundation also backs business-development groups serving neighborhood economies. Southland Development Authority received $260,328 in 2025 and $204,452 in 2024 for technical assistance to entrepreneurs, while Rogers Park Business Alliance received $49,997 in 2025 for the same kind of support. Smaller business-assistance grants appear as well. In 2023, Waubonsee Community College received $75,311 for small business assistance grants, and The Joseph Center received $50,620 in 2024 for technical assistance to entrepreneurs. Its active programs extend beyond general advising into certification and capital access. The WBE Certification Scholarship Fund covers half of the WBENC/WBDC certification application fee for first-time applicants with gross annual revenues under $500,000, and the WBDC Direct Lending Program provides loan capital to small businesses in Illinois and the Midwest.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5.5M
Total Assets
$8.9M
Total Revenue
$15.2M
Total Expenses
$16.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $20K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$20K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
ERICA KUHLMANN
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