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.
Apply for the January Micro Grant!
For further questions, please contact mwang@jmc.fsu.edu.
Eligibility
Applicants must be enrolled at Florida State University as a degree-seeking student (including certificate) and can be from any discipline across campus. This gift is to be awarded as a one-time opportunity—student businesses are not eligible to receive more than one grant. Students involved with the business must have a total minimum of 51% ownership in the business.
Application Process
Applicants will submit an application (links below) that includes a slide deck on the business or idea, the student’s plan to use the grant in the form of a budget, along with an income statement (for operating businesses) or financial projection (for businesses yet to launch).
The slide deck should not exceed 10 pages excluding any cover page or appendix and should include the following components:
- Introduction/overview of business
- Main products/services
- Major sources of revenue
- Major sources of cost
- Customer validation (examples incl. sales to date, market research, competitive analysis, survey, etc.)
- The asking and a breakdown of the budget
- Current status and goal(s) of the business
- How can the grant funding support your goals.
The budget should include the details of how the grant funding will be used to validate the market or scale a student business that has already been launched. The budget should contain a detailed breakdown of the needed funding and any other information the applicant deems necessary to finding success in their startup or growth.
A template is provided in the application for either an income statement or financial projection submission. Businesses that have generated revenue should submit an income statement, while businesses yet to launch can submit a financial projection.
Recipient Selection Criteria
Micro Grants up to $5,000 shall be awarded based on the Committee’s assessment of the potential of the business proposed, the merits of the ideas, and the spirit of entrepreneurship displayed by the student business owner(s). Up to 5 student businesses will be selected to pitch for each application cycle. The grant money is to be used for a specific need for growth or improvement of an existing student business or to validate the market of a new business concept with the exception of payroll, travel expenses, or inventory in most cases. Applicants will be selected to pitch to the Committee on a monthly basis based on pre-set application deadlines. The Committee makes final recommendations on the award decisions, which are subject to the approval of the Dean of the College
Dates and Deadlines
Major dates and deadlines are listed in the table below. Online applications need to be turned in by 11:59pm EST. Decisions to pitch to the Committee will be emailed approximately 7 days after the application deadline .
Applicants who are selected will meet with the Committee virtually via Zoom to pitch their business and answer any questions.. Applicants should come prepared with a 5-minute pitch, the slide deck, and their financial needs statement. More details and instructions will be emailed to students that are selected.
If selected to move forward, students need to be available for the virtual Committee Meeting time and date listed below. If awarded grant funding after your presentation, students have one year from the date of the award letter to access the funds.
*All dates and deadlines listed below are subject to change. This page will be updated if there are any changes.*
For questions regarding Jim Moran Micro Grant schedules and procedures, please reach out to Holly Galotti at hgalotti@jmc.fsu.edu
For questions or mentoring on your business idea, application, pitch deck, or presentation, please reach out to May Wang at mwang@jmc.fsu.edu
Spring 2026 Jim Moran Micro Grant Deadlines & Meeting Dates
| Application Links (Open at 8 AM) |
Application Deadlines (11:59PM EST) |
Emails Sent to Applicants |
Committee Meeting (Invite Only, on Zoom) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 Application |
Thursday, January 15 |
Friday, 1/23/26 By 5:00pm, EST | Friday, January 30th 2:30pm - 5:00pm |
| February 2026 Application | Thursday, February 12 | Friday, 2/20/26 By 5:00pm, EST | Friday, February 27th, 2:30-5:00pm |
| March 2026 Application | Thursday, March 12 | Friday, 3/20/26 11:59pm, EST | Friday, March 27th, 2:30-5:00pm |
| April 2026 Application | Thursday, April 09 | Friday 4/17/26 11:59pm, EST | Friday, April 24th, 2:30-5:00pm |
Recipient Reporting Criteria
Grant recipients will be required to submit a report detailing the progress made in the business venture. Specific attention will be paid to how Jim Moran Micro Grant funds impacted your business venture. The report will also include short-term (i.e., 6-month) projections for the venture. More information on your report will be emailed to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.