Zions Bank is accepting applications for its 2016 Smart Women Grants, open to anyone whose proposal promotes the empowerment of women or directly benefits women or low-income and underserved populations in Utah and Idaho.
Six $3,000 micro-grants will be awarded, one in each of the following categories:
- Small business start-up and expansion
- Community development
- Continuing education and teacher support
- Child and/or elder care
- Health and human services
- Arts and culture
Visit www.zionsbank.com/smartwomen or call 1-800-737-6586 for more information or to obtain an application. Applications must be received or postmarked by Monday, July 11. Grant recipients will be announced in September.
Applicants need not be clients of Zions Bank nor are they required to be residents of Utah or Idaho. Employees and immediate family members of Zions Bank and its affiliates are not eligible.
“Our goal is to offer these grants to everyday women who are doing extraordinary things,” said said Lori Chillingworth, Executive Vice President of Zions Bank’s Small Business Division. “We’re so impressed with the drive and selflessness that our grant winners have demonstrated with their endeavors — they are certainly an inspiration to us all.”
Since the program began in 2005, Zions Bank has awarded $217,000 through the Smart Women Grants. Priority consideration for funding will be given to proposals that promote the empowerment of women, emphasize collaboration between women entrepreneurs or non-profit entities supporting women, directly benefit women or low-income and underserved populations, support endeavors that immediately benefit communities in which Zions Bank has a presence, and for proposals that provide a sound plan for measuring performance and results.
Zions Bank, a division of ZB, N.A., operates 124 full-service financial centers throughout Utah and Idaho. In addition to offering a wide range of traditional banking services, Zions Bank is also a leader in small business lending and has consistently ranked as the No. 1 lender of U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loans in Utah for the past 22 years and Idaho’s Boise District for the past 14 years. Founded in 1873, Zions Bank has been serving the communities of the Intermountain West for more than 140 years. Additional information is available at www.zionsbank.com.