I Asked Women Entrepreneurs If They Would Pay $25 to Apply for a $5,000 Grant. Here’s What They Told Me.

Grant Journey continues …..Yesterday, I shared that I’m applying for the Women Founders Grant, a $5,000 grant opportunity with a $25 application fee.

Then I asked a simple question in a Facebook group for women entrepreneurs:

Would you pay $25 to apply for a $5,000 grant?

I thought I’d get a few comments. I was wrong.

The responses started coming in quickly, and before I knew it, entrepreneurs, grant recipients, board members, a former grant manager, and even a professional grant writer had joined the conversation.

And honestly, I appreciated every perspective.

👉🏽 Some women said they would never pay to apply for a grant.

👉🏽 Others questioned where the $25 was going and whether application fees were being used to help fund the grants themselves.

👉🏽 Several women shared that they’ve received grants before and had never paid an application fee.

👉🏽 One professional grant writer responded with two words: Absolutely not.

And then there were the women who landed somewhere in the middle. One response really stood out to me: Research first. Then look at the ROI.

That comment stopped me for a minute, because I’m a financial educator who teach people to ask questions, do their research, and make informed financial decisions. So it hit me, why wouldn’t I apply that same mindset to a grant application?

As I continued reading through the comments, I realized something. Maybe this conversation isn’t really about $25. Maybe it’s about how we evaluate opportunities.

👉🏽 Do we automatically say yes?

👉🏽 Do we automatically say no?

👉🏽 Or do we slow down, gather information, ask questions, and make the best decision we can with the information we have?

That’s exactly what I’m doing just like I would with other financial or business decision. In regards to this decision, I have landed on, I am still applying.

This conversation really reinforced something I’ve always believed, research and transparency matters. Also, understanding where your money is going matters.

I’m glad I asked the question because the responses challenged me to think even more deeply about my decision and that’s one of the reasons I’m documenting this journey in real time. I also know I am not the only entrepreneur grappling with paying for a grant opportunity or not.

Grant Journey Status

Application responses: In progress ✅

Community feedback: Collected ✅

Grant writer draft: Coming 👀

The journey continues….

Your business bestie,

Patrina

Elite subscribers: I’m taking everything I’ve learned from this conversation and turning it into a practical framework for evaluating grant opportunities, including the exact questions I’m now asking before paying an application fee. Stay tuned.