As a demonstration of their generosity and commitment to the excellent academic mission of Florida State University’s entrepreneurship program, Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation have provided an annual gift to establish the Jim Moran Student Business Micro Grants program to support outstanding Florida State University undergraduate and graduate student businesses or nonprofit organizations.
For further questions, please contact mwang@jmc.fsu.edu.
Q. How do I get the money my company was awarded from the Jim Moran Micro Grants?
A. Your company will be paid $1,000 at a time. After you have spent $1,000, you must produce receipts and/or invoices of how you spent that money on business expenses before being given the next $1,000. . These steps continue until the full-awarded amount has been given. All receipts must have an itemized list of what was purchased. A proper receipt includes the vendor or company name paid, address, date of purchase, the last four numbers of the card used to pay, and signature of person purchasing. Justifiable business purchases include costs for filing as a legal entity, market research, surveys, validating business ideas through customer interactions, building a website, and other items related to the company. In cases that a business cost is over $1000, appropriate documentation or proof of payment can be shown to receive the exact amount to cover the cost. Anticipated expenses more than $1,000 should be approved in advance by the Director of Student Engagement. If a vendor will accept direct payment, submit their invoice and W-9 form after receiving the approval of the Director..
Q. What sort of things can I use the money for?
A. You can use the money for legitimate business purchases. For example, you can use the money toward creating a legal entity, validating a business idea through potential customer interactions, surveys, market research, filing a copyright or trademark, building a website or developing an app after the idea has been validated. The priority should be customer discovery and validation if this was not done prior to receiving the grant.
Q. How do I set up a legal entity?
A. Go to http://www.sunbiz.org/ , choose E-Filing Services, and fill out the form you need for the kind of entity you want your company to be. If you need help knowing which type of legal entity you should be, please contact the Student Engagement team at the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship.
Q. What forms do I need to fill out before I can receive funding?
A. A. You need to fill out an FSU Vendor Authorization and an FSU Vendor Direct Deposit Authorization form for your company through FSU's vendor onboarding process. Further instructions will be provided to you when you are notified that you are awarded a Micro Grant. You will need a Federal Tax ID (EIN) number for your company to complete both forms. EIN information can be found here:Employer ID Number. DO NOT use your personal Social Security Number on either form. DO NOT send us your business bank account information.
Q. How long do I have to spend the money that was awarded?
A. A. You have until one year after graduation to spend the money that you were awarded.