Zonta Club of Hilo opens $10,000 microgrants for women businesses
Women on Hawaii Island can apply for up to $2,000 each from Zonta Club of Hilo, with $10,000 total available before the July 5 midnight HST deadline.
A $10,000 pool of microgrants is now open to women-owned small businesses on Hawaii Island, giving local entrepreneurs a chance to cover the kinds of costs that can stall a startup or slow an expansion. The Zonta Club of Hilo is accepting online applications for grants of up to $2,000 each, with a deadline of midnight HST on July 5.
The Pay It Forward program was launched in 2014 with an initial donation from Nancy Cabral, a Zonta member and owner of Day-Lum Realty, Inc. Since then, additional donors have helped keep the fund alive, and the club says the program is designed to help women start up or grow businesses while encouraging recipients to pay it forward when they are financially able.
For a small island economy, the scale matters. A $2,000 grant can help cover inventory, equipment, startup costs, rent, packaging, website development or training, expenses that often make the difference between an idea staying on paper and a business opening its doors in Hilo, lower Puna, Volcano or Kailua-Kona.
The Zonta Club of Hilo said the application process is online, and applicant email addresses will be added to its mailing list, with an unsubscribe option. The club, chartered on August 15, 1950, is part of Zonta International, whose mission is to build a better world for women and girls.
The microgrant program has become a recurring piece of local business support. In 2025, Zonta presented US$10,000 in Pay It Forward microgrants to six women entrepreneurs, and the club said that was the fourth straight year it saw a record number of applicants. The 2025 recipients included Leslie Carroll of Lava Meats, Amanda Fox of I Ka Ua Farm LLC, Monica Pezze of Alchemy Farm Hawaii LLC, Melina Castro of Melina Castro Jewelry, Stephanie Hao of Maluhia x Malie and Delilah Perreira of Abundant Beauty.
In 2023, the club awarded $6,000 to Michelle Reynolds of Hawaii Detection Dogs LLC, Adrean Floro of Ho‘onani Harvests LLC and Jamie Robertson of Hana Lima Cleaning Services LLC, showing how the grants have reached businesses in farming, conservation work and cleaning services. The club also said its Pay It Forward grants are funded annually through the Zonta Club of Hilo Foundation, and donations to the foundation are tax-deductible.
Zonta Club of Hilo said the broader 2025 fundraising and awards effort provided $20,000 in cash assistance on Hawaii Island across scholarships and awards. The new microgrant round extends that pipeline, putting relatively small but flexible capital directly into women-led businesses that can keep money moving in the local economy.
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