Local · Student-Run · Flat-Fee

Every Business Deserves The Keys To Grow.

I research and match women-owned businesses with real grants they qualify for — then help make the application easy. One flat fee for my time. Never a percentage of what you receive.

"Women-owned businesses don't get less funding because they deserve less — they get less because finding it takes time most owners don't have. I do the digging, so you can keep running the business."

How It Works

1

I Research

I look through national programs and your local city, county, and Chamber of Commerce listings for grants your business might qualify for.

2

I Match

I check your business against each program's real eligibility rules, so we're not wasting time on grants you don't qualify for.

3

I Help You Apply

I help you organize your story and tighten your application — in your own words, not a template.

See the full grant resources breakdown →

See how pricing works →

1. I Ask About Your Business

Location, industry, how long you've owned it, ownership split, rough revenue, employee count, and your story. This is the intake step — see the Grant Resources page for exactly why each detail matters.

2. I Search — Broadly And Locally

I go through national programs (like the Amber Grant, Hello Alice, and IFundWomen) and also dig into city, county, state, and Chamber of Commerce programs specific to where you're located, since those are often the easiest to actually win.

3. I Check You Against The Real Rules

Every program has fine-print eligibility requirements — minimum time in business, revenue caps, industry restrictions, ownership percentage. I check your details against these before I ever suggest a program, so you're not wasting time on grants you can't get.

4. I Send You A Shortlist, Not A Maze

You get a spreadsheet of the 3–5 grants you're most qualified for, with due dates, funding ranges, and what each one requires — not a giant list of every grant that exists.

5. I Help You Organize And Tighten Your Application

For story-driven grants especially, I help you figure out what to lead with and how to structure your answer — but you write it, in your own words. I'm a second set of eyes, not a ghostwriter.

6. I Track Deadlines So You Don't Have To

Rolling monthly grants, annual deadlines, application windows that open and close — I keep tabs on the ones relevant to you and give you a heads-up before they close.

7. If It Doesn't Work Out, We Try Again

Most applicants don't win the first grant they apply for. If you don't get one, I help you find the next one instead of leaving you at a dead end.

8. I'll Tell You The Truth, Even When It's "No"

If I don't think you qualify for something, or think your odds are genuinely low, I'll say so directly instead of encouraging you to spend hours on a long shot.

For the full picture of what I'm not able to do, see the "What I Don't Do" section on the Grant Resources page.

Hello — I'm Artemis, a high school student based in Irvine. I started The Grant Key because I kept hearing the same thing from women running small businesses near me: there's funding out there, but nobody has time to find it. So I do the research part — matching businesses to grants they're actually eligible for, and helping put a strong application together.

Yes, I'm in high school — and I know that might raise an eyebrow. I'm not a financial advisor or a grant-writing firm. What I bring is time, research, and genuine care about getting this right, and I'll always tell you exactly what I do and don't know.

A Few Programs Worth Knowing

Amber Grant

Monthly grants for women-owned businesses, from $10,000 up to $50,000 in year-end awards. Story-driven application.

Hello Alice

Matches your business profile to a rotating list of grants and accelerators from corporate partners.

IFundWomen

One universal application gets you considered for grants from partners like Visa and American Express.

The best odds are usually local — city, county, and Chamber of Commerce grant funds rarely show up on national "top grants" lists. Reach out and I'll dig into what's specific to your area.

Who Actually Gives Out Grants?

Government & Economic Development

City, county, and state agencies, plus SBA-affiliated Women's Business Centers. Often tied to hiring, storefronts, or sustainability.

Foundations & Nonprofits

Mission-driven organizations like WomensNet (the Amber Grant) that judge applicants mainly on story and impact, not revenue history.

Corporate Partners

Companies like Visa, American Express, and eBay fund grants through platforms like Hello Alice and IFundWomen.

Types Of Grants

Startup / Idea-Stage

For businesses under a year old or with minimal sales — usually judged on the idea and founder story.

Growth Grants

For existing businesses looking to expand, hire, or invest in equipment or inventory.

Industry-Specific

Tied to a sector — beauty, food and beverage, skilled trades, tech, and more.

Microgrants

Smaller awards, often $500–$5,000. Faster and less competitive.

Pitch Competitions

Larger awards, but typically require a live pitch or multi-round application.

Local & Government Funds

Often tied to a civic goal — storefront improvement, hiring, or sustainability.

What Can Grant Money Actually Pay For?

This varies by program, but most grants draw a similar line between funding real growth and covering costs you'd have anyway:

Usually Covered

Equipment & supplies
Marketing & branding
Website & technology
Staff training
Renovations or buildout
Inventory (for some grants)

Usually Not Covered

Paying off personal debt
Rent & utilities (many grants)
Owner salary or back pay
General day-to-day operating costs
Back-office staff
Refinancing existing debt

Every grant sets its own rules for allowable use of funds — this list is a general pattern, not a guarantee. I'll flag each program's actual rules when I share a match.

What You'll Typically Need

Proof of ownership (most programs require 50%+ women ownership) · business registration or EIN · basic revenue or financial info · a written story about you and your business · sometimes a business plan or use-of-funds statement · sometimes a small application fee, which many programs will waive for financial hardship if you ask.

What I'll Actually Ask You For (And Why)

Once you share these details, I can tell you fairly precisely which grants you're eligible for — here's exactly what I ask and why each piece matters:

Business Name & Location (City/State)

Many of the best-odds grants are local — tied to a specific city, county, or state — so location often narrows the list the most.

Industry Or Type Of Business

Some grants only fund specific sectors — food & beverage, beauty, tech, skilled trades — so this rules in or out a whole category fast.

How Long You've Owned The Business

This is a big one: some grants are only for brand-new businesses (under a year), while others require a minimum time in operation, like 6 months or a year, to prove you're established.

Ownership Percentage & Who Owns It

Almost every "women-owned" grant requires at least 50% ownership by a woman or women — this is usually the very first eligibility check.

Roughly How Much Revenue You Bring In

Some grants cap revenue (to target very small businesses), while others want to see a minimum to prove the business is viable.

Number Of Employees

Certain programs are built for solo entrepreneurs, others want to see job creation — knowing your team size points to the right ones.

Business Structure & Registration (LLC, Sole Proprietor, EIN)

Most grants require a formally registered business — this confirms you meet that baseline before we go further.

Any Grants You've Already Received

Some programs exclude repeat winners or ask you to disclose other funding, so I check this to avoid a wasted application.

A Short Story — Why You Started, What You're Working Toward

Story-driven grants like the Amber Grant weigh this heavily. Even for grants that don't ask for it directly, it helps me match you to programs that fit your specific situation.

Scam alert: Real grants don't come find you — you have to seek them out and apply. If anyone contacts you out of the blue by phone, text, email, or social media saying you've been "selected," "pre-approved," or "chosen" for a grant, that's a scam, especially if they ask for a fee, your bank details, or personal information before you've applied anywhere. Me telling you a new grant program exists is fine — but you should always apply directly through the program's own official website, never through a link or contact someone sends you unsolicited.

What I Don't Do

Being Upfront About The Limits Of This Service

I'm a high school student, not a licensed grant writer, financial advisor, or attorney — nothing here is professional or legal advice. I don't write or submit your full application for you; I help you research, match, and organize what you write yourself, in your own words. I can't guarantee funding — no one honestly can — only that we're applying to programs you're genuinely eligible for. I don't handle legal paperwork, taxes, or business registration, and I never take a percentage of anything you receive — just a flat fee for my time, explained on the Pricing page. If something falls outside what I can help with, I'll say so directly and point you toward someone qualified.

$350, Paid Once

Working with me is a flat $350 — not an hourly rate, not a retainer, and not a percentage of any grant you receive. It covers the full process from research through application help, regardless of how long it takes or how many programs we look at. I priced it this way on purpose: I'm being paid for my time and research, not for a cut of your funding, so I have no incentive to push you toward a bigger grant that's a worse fit.

What you get back is a spreadsheet of the 3–5 grants you're most qualified for — not a giant list of everything you might vaguely qualify for. For each one, I include:

Application due date
Realistic funding range (e.g. "$5,000–$15,000," not just the max headline number)
Exactly what the application requires (documents, story, financials, etc.)
Why I matched you to it — which eligibility rules it meets

What's Included

Research across national, state, and local grant programs
Matching against each program's real eligibility rules
A focused spreadsheet of your best matches, not a giant list of everything you might qualify for
Help organizing and tightening your application
Deadline tracking for every program on your list
If you don't win, I help you find the next one — no extra charge

This is different from the scam pattern on the Grant Resources page — my fee is for a research and matching service you're choosing to hire, agreed to upfront, never a "fee" attached to a specific grant program or paid to receive winnings.

If $350 Is A Barrier

Reach out anyway. I'd rather have that conversation than have cost be the reason a business doesn't get help finding funding it's genuinely eligible for.

Tell me a bit about your business and I'll follow up with grants you're likely eligible for — usually within a few days.

Your Name *

Your Email *

Business Name *

Industry / Type Of Business *

City & State *

How Long Have You Owned It? *

What Are You Hoping Grant Funding Helps You Do? *

Rough Annual Revenue

At Least 50% Women-Owned?

Anything Else? (Your Story, Other Details)

Prefer email? Reach me directly at [email protected]

Who runs this site

The Grant Key is a small, student-run service operated by Artemis, based in Irvine, California. Questions about your data can go to [email protected].

What I collect

Only what you type into the contact form: your name, email, business name, industry, city and state, how long you've owned the business, what you're hoping funding helps with, and — optionally — rough revenue, women-owned status, and anything else you choose to share. There are no analytics or advertising trackers on this site.

How the form works

The form is handled by Formspree (formspree.io), a third-party service that receives your submission and emails it to me. Your data passes through and is stored by Formspree under their privacy policy, and is delivered to my email inbox. A hidden anti-spam field and a spam filter are used to block automated abuse.

Hosting and standard logs

The site is hosted on GitHub Pages and served through Cloudflare. Like almost any website, their servers automatically log basic request data (such as IP address and browser type) for security and reliability. Web fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which means Google receives your IP address when the page loads.

How I use your information

To research grants you may be eligible for, to reply to you, and to keep track of our conversation if you decide to work with me. I don't sell it, rent it, or share it with anyone beyond the services named above.

How long I keep it

I keep form submissions and related email only as long as needed to help you or to answer follow-up questions, then delete them. You can ask me to delete your information at any time and I'll do it promptly.

Your choices

Email [email protected] to see what I hold about you, correct it, or have it deleted. If you're in California, you have these rights under the CCPA; I don't sell personal information.

Children

This service is intended for adults running or starting a business. It is not directed at children, and I don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.

Changes

If this policy changes, the "last updated" date above will change with it.