• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI

2

The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns

3

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

1

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI

2

The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns

3

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
MPWTory Burch

Tory Burch is Offering Big Money to Women Business Owners

By
Gwen Moran
Gwen Moran
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Gwen Moran
Gwen Moran
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 18, 2015, 4:06 PM ET
Tory Burch
Agency Neil HarrisPhotograph by D Dipasupil—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

 

Tory Burch wants female entrepreneurs to embrace ambition and grow their businesses. And she’s offering more than just words of encouragement: Her foundation will provide one lucky business owner $100,000.

Wednesday, as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Tory Burch Foundation announced its new fellowship program, focused on helping existing businesses grow. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 12, 2016. Thirty semi-finalists will be vetted and then public voting will be open to help choose ten fellows whose businesses show promise. The 10 chosen businesses will each receive:

  • A $10,000 education grant
  • An assigned mentor and one year of mentoring, networking and business guidance from the Tory Burch Foundation
  • A three-day trip Tory Burch’s New York City headquarters to participate in a pitch competition

From the 10 fellows, one will be chosen to receive $100,000 in “grant investment.” The investment will be distributed as a $50,000 grant and a $50,000 recoverable grant, to be paid back with zero interest within a timeline to be determined.

To qualify, companies must be five years old or younger and have annual revenues of no more than $500,000 per year. Also, the company must be at least 51% female owned.

Growing women’s businesses

This isn’t a competition for businesses that are still in the idea stage, Burch tells Fortune. And while you don’t have to be the next Facebook, says Burch, entries will be rewarded for scalability.

Growth potential is a particular issue for women’s businesses. According to a 2015 American Express report, women-owned firms make up 30% of all enterprises and are growing faster in number and employment than other sectors, yet women-owned firms employ just 6% of U.S. workers.

Burch says she hopes that her foundation will help create a community where female entrepreneurs can share their experiences and help one another with business challenges—including issues of scalability. “Even if you’re in very different businesses, you’re probably facing the same types of challenges,” she says.

Giving back

Social responsibility is also a focus for Burch and will make up 20% of evaluation criteria. She was raised in a household that literally lived its philanthropy. “When I came home, I was never quite sure who would be living with us, because my parents took in so many people,” she laughs.

She hopes to encourage companies to integrate their social responsibility from the start, rather than waiting until they’re well established. Burch says her company’s social commitment has helped with employee recruitment and retention and also has appeal for customers, “which are bottom-line benefits I never thought of when we started,” she says.

Burch says it was part of the Tory Burch business plan from the start to help give women entrepreneurs access to mentoring, networking, and money, which is why she launched the foundation in 2009. Through partnerships with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, the foundation has beefed up its ability to help women get business education and access to capital. Burch says the Bank of America affiliation has helped facilitate more than $10 million in financing to women-owned businesses through its community lender program. In 2016, Burch expects that to grow to $1 million per month. Altogether, the foundation has helped more than 600 women-owned businesses through its capital program with Bank of America as well as education and networking programs.

Sowing seeds of success

The foundation is funded through a variety of revenue streams, including donations and a store. For the 2015 holiday season, Burch and the foundation created the Seed Box, which includes six products by women-owned companies. All Seed Box proceeds benefit the Tory Burch Foundation to further develop its programs to help women entrepreneurs succeed.

And it seems like Burch takes that success seriously. Her voice gets more animated when she discusses women and ambition and the possibilities that lie in helping women gain more access to education, mentors and capital.

“Why is it okay for men to be ambitious and that’s a great thing, but when women are ambitious, it’s a negative,” she says. “Putting yourself out there was a challenge for me. How do you help women get have the confidence to believe in themselves—that if you work tremendously hard and have an idea that’s viable, great things can happen?,” she says. “That’s part of what we want to do.”

About the Author
By Gwen Moran
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

Indra Nooyi sitting in a chair behind a red background.
SuccessCareers
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
By Preston ForeJuly 6, 2026
6 hours ago
p
PoliticsPope
Pope Leo marks July 4 at migrant graves, not U.S. celebrations
By Nicole Winfield, Andrea Rosa and The Associated PressJuly 4, 2026
2 days ago
How a third-generation Texas oilman transformed an organic farming company into a leading advanced nuclear startup at a small Christian college
EnergyNuclear
How a third-generation Texas oilman transformed an organic farming company into a leading advanced nuclear startup at a small Christian college
By Jordan BlumJuly 4, 2026
3 days ago
JPMorgan built a pipeline of female CEO candidates that was the envy of Wall Street. How did it fall apart?
MPWMost Powerful Women
JPMorgan built a pipeline of female CEO candidates that was the envy of Wall Street. How did it fall apart?
By Emma HinchliffeJuly 4, 2026
3 days ago
Most cancer philanthropy funds research. This winery cofounder is paying for the caregivers and chair lifts families can’t afford
Successphilanthropy
Most cancer philanthropy funds research. This winery cofounder is paying for the caregivers and chair lifts families can’t afford
By Sydney LakeJuly 3, 2026
4 days ago
ice
PoliticsImmigration
ICE arrested a woman in a habit walking to mass, then released her after realizing she was a nun
By Valerie Gonzalez and The Associated PressJune 30, 2026
6 days ago

Most Popular

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
AI
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 5, 2026
1 day ago
The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns
Investing
The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns
By Jason MaJuly 5, 2026
1 day ago
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
Success
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
3 days ago
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
4 days ago
Gen Z was 'jaded about employment before we ever entered the workforce'—now psychologists say the stare has hardened into something worse
Economy
Gen Z was 'jaded about employment before we ever entered the workforce'—now psychologists say the stare has hardened into something worse
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 6, 2026
14 hours ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
4 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.