If you’re a western Wisconsin woman with a small-business dream, the Red Letter Grant is for you. The program will be awarding four $2,000 grants this fall to female-fronted start-up businesses.

Previous winners run the gamut from a sustainable flower shop (Hive & Hollow in Menomonie) to a bookstore (Dotters Books in Eau Claire) to a home for seniors (Legacy Pines Assisted Living in New Richmond). If you are among – as the grant’s website puts it – the “risk takers, movers and shakers,” your idea could be next on that list.

The Red Letter Grant is open to residents of Buffalo, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, and Trempealeau counties. “We will consider applications from existing women-owned businesses looking to expand, but preference is given to applicants in the start-up phase,” the website states. “We consider the start-up phase to be three years old or younger. If you have already received a Red Letter Grant, you cannot re-apply for the same business, but you may apply for a new start-up.”

The applications deadline is Monday, Oct. 4, at 11pm. Applicants chosen to proceed to the interview round will be contacted by Oct. 27, and interviews will be conducted Nov. 1-4. The grants will be awarded Thursday, Nov. 11.

For further details and to download a application, visit redlettergrant.org.