Washington Center for Women in Business

Investing in Her Future: Creating Opportunities for Women

The Washington Center for Women in Business (WCWB), a program of the Thurston Economic Development Council’s Center for Business & Innovation, equips women to build businesses, advance their careers, and create new opportunities for themselves and their communities.

Named a 2026 National Women’s Business Center of Excellence, WCWB has provided more than 8,480 free business advising sessions since 2014, trained more than 4,030 participants, and helped start more than 300 new businesses.

Whether a woman is exploring her first business idea, launching a new venture, growing an established business, or sharpening skills to advance professionally, WCWB delivers the education, guidance, and connections she needs to move forward.

When women gain access to the right resources and opportunities, they strengthen their own futures and fuel the economic vitality of the communities around them.

Where Your Donation Goes: Supporting Women, Businesses, and Economic Opportunity

Your gift will remove barriers to education and professional development and open pathways for women to grow their careers, become leaders, launch businesses, and achieve their goals.

Advance Careers and Leadership
Leadership isn’t limited to business owners. You’ll help women build the skills and confidence to step into leadership roles, whether they own a business or are growing within their current career, and expand opportunities for women pursuing professional growth, re-entering the workforce, or charting new career directions.

Launch New Businesses
Every business starts with an idea. Through introductory training, business planning, financial education, and programs such as Intro to Business and Business Enterprise Startup Training (BEST), your support helps women turn those ideas into thriving businesses.

Expand Access Through Scholarships
Cost shouldn’t stand between a woman and her goals. Donations fund scholarships that open business training, professional development, and skill-building to women facing financial barriers, and recipients master practical skills in business management, digital marketing, technology, and leadership.

Grow Businesses Through Mentorship
Through advising, mentorship, and programs such as Growth Enterprise Training (GET) and HER-Commerce, you’ll strengthen women-owned businesses as their owners explore new markets, streamline operations, and build businesses that last.

Build Community and Connection
No one builds a business alone. Your gift brings women together through the INSPIRE Women’s Business Conference, INSPIRE Pop-Up Markets, networking opportunities, and educational events that forge relationships, amplify visibility, and spark collaboration.

Your Support Creates Lasting Impact

Every gift will help a woman take her next step, whether she’s opening her first business, mastering new skills, strengthening an existing company, stepping into leadership, or pursuing a new professional opportunity.

Invest in her education. Fuel her ambition. Build her future.

Together, we will build a stronger community where more women grow, succeed, and thrive.