Many founders are losing money to fake grants, misleading fees, and programs designed to exploit women of color. This guide breaks down exactly how to spot scams, what fees are actually legitimate, and how GrantED will finally give you a trustworthy funding pipeline.
Let’s tell the truth: women of color founders are being preyed on in the grant space. Every week, someone DMs us asking if a “guaranteed grant” is legit. Every week, we see creators selling lists that are outdated, mislabeled, or completely fabricated. And every week, founders lose money, time, and hope because no one ever taught them how grants actually work.
But here’s the twist most people don’t know:
Not every application fee is a scam.
Some funding programs are operated by nonprofits where the administrative team actually needs to be paid. The fee doesn’t mean it’s illegitimate — it means someone had to build the infrastructure to evaluate thousands of applications.
At the same time, there are real scams circulating right now and even more “almost scams” posing as grants when they’re really contests, sweepstakes, or lead-generation traps.
Today’s INSIDER report breaks down the truth so you can protect your money, your data, and your peace. And at the end, we’re announcing something you’ve been waiting for: GrantED, OVIDIA.’s new vetted grants index built to cut through the chaos completely.
