REI Oklahoma To Support Women Business Owners With New Grant

An Oklahoma nonprofit wants to empower women in business. They have a new grant to help. The money will help single women and single mothers.   

Leaders at REI Oklahoma said women face so many barriers when starting a business. Their goal is to build a support system and help women realize what’s possible. Sometimes people don’t know what they can do until they try.   

“It’s exhilarating, it’s fun,” Melissa Wedman, a small Oklahoma City business owner, said. 

Wedman tried, and now the candy shop Mollycoddled Hash Slinger was built from the ground up. 

“We started this business six years ago with a thousand dollars out of our own checking account,” Wedman said.  

Her dad was her inspiration.  

“He passed away in 2011 and loved all things caramel,” Wedman said.  

Wedman’s family owned the old Palace Confectionery in downtown Yukon.  

“We had a candy shop in the family and didn’t even realize it,” Wedman said. 

Wedman didn’t do this alone. She had the support of her husband and REI Oklahoma.  

“Funding specifically is not as available to women or other minority groups,” Melanie Anthony, senior director of development at REI Oklahoma, said. 

A report from the Status of Women in Oklahoma found the pay gap between men and women likely wouldn’t be solved until the year 2076 without change. Women who are business owners close that gap much faster. REI Oklahoma provides grants to help women overcome barriers.   

“That could actually allow them to purchase something that can then be used for equity,” Anthony said. 

A new grant will help single women and single-mother business owners trying to do the same.   

“All of us are rooting for them,” Jennifer Edwards, inter-program manager for the Women’s Business Center at REI Oklahoma, said. “All of us want to see them win.”  

One could argue the Oklahoma City economy is built on those who try.   

“It’s absolutely worth it,” Wedman said. 

REI Oklahoma will host three information sessions in January for single women households. For more information and how to apply, click here.