Disruptor Award - 2026

Welcome to the Disruptor Award Application Portal. 

Pave HER Way’s Disruptor Award sponsors U.S.-based women who have transformational projects and ideas with a clear public benefit for women and girls. It funds courageous and innovative women by removing barriers and accelerating work with the potential to advance women or girls in a variety of charitable areas including: the arts, community development, education, economic mobility, employment development, finance, health, media, science and/or technology.

Please read these program guidelines carefully before submitting your application. 

To be eligible to apply for the Disruptor Award, applicants must meet all of the following requirements at the time of submission. 

• Identify as a woman 
• Be at least 18 years old 
• Be a U.S. legal citizen or permanent resident of the United States
• Not be a relative of an officer, employee, or member of the Pave HER Way Board of Directors 

Selected applicants will advance to the next stage of the selection process, which will include an interview with the Selection Committee. Please note that interviews will be held virtually the week of November 16-20. Please plan accordingly. To the extent you are unable to interview during this window, unfortunately your application will be disqualified. Applicants who subsequently advance to the semifinalist stage will be required to provide one of the following documents to verify eligibility:

• U.S. passport or passport card
• U.S. birth certificate
• Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570)
• Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561)
• Permanent Resident Card/Green Card (I-551)

Failure to provide acceptable documentation will result in disqualification.

If an applicant is selected to become a recipient of the Disruptor Award, the grant will be awarded as follows:

• If your project is sponsored by an existing U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity, the grant will be paid to that organization. 
• If your project is not sponsored by an eligible U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity, the grant will be paid directly to you as the individual recipient. Grants paid directly to individuals are taxable to the recipient.

Applicants seeking support for a project or organization outside the United States should apply as individuals, who must meet all of the eligibility requirements. If selected, the award would be made directly to the individual recipient rather than to the foreign organization.

For our 2026 inaugural cycle, up to 5 grants will be awarded for up to $90,000 per award. Applicants will be notified of decisions no later than December 31, 2026.

The Selection Committee will perform a closed review process for the Disruptor Award. The Selection Committee has access to all the information applicants submit in their application, but are prohibited from conducting independent research on any applicant, outside of the information the applicant has provided.

The individual submitting the application will be considered the primary award recipient if selected and is required to personally participate in Pave HER Way programming throughout the 24-month award period. This includes an estimated commitment of 5 hours per month for mentorship support, with additional hours as needed for providing progress updates and participating in networking and other program activities. This commitment applies even if grant funds are ultimately awarded to an eligible organization sponsoring the applicant’s project.

All submissions will be considered final. Applications submitted with incomplete or incorrect materials will be automatically disqualified. For 2026, you may apply for either the Disruptor Award or the Financial Aid Award, but not both. If you submit an application for both the Disruptor Award and Financial Aid Award, both applications will be automatically disqualified. Please review your application carefully before submitting. 

Specific requirements and timelines will be outlined in the grant agreement provided to award recipients. Acceptance of the award will be contingent upon execution of the grant agreement and compliance with its terms.

If you experience technical difficulties with the application platform, please contact Submittable Support directly.

Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

For further grant-specific questions regarding eligibility, requirements, or funding, please contact Pave HER Way at apply@paveherway.org.