Venmo Small Business Grant

Passion, purpose, resilience. Running a small business requires all those and then some—especially when faced with additional barriers to economic growth.
We started the Venmo Small Business Grant to help level the playing field for small business owners, and to help them make big things happen.

The Grant Program is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who:  

(a) are at least eighteen (18) years old; 

(b) have a U.S. Venmo Account and valid business profile on Venmo in good standing, with a profile photo, background photo and business description at the time of application and through the time of any grant award; and   (c) own a small business; defined, for purposes of this Grant Program, as a business entity that is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its principle place of business (which must be within one of the fifty (50) United States or District of Columbia) that:   

1. can promptly provide all government (i.e., secretary of state) documentation requested by Sponsor or Administrator to show proof of business status;  

2. is active and has sold at least $500 worth of goods or services within the three (3) months prior to the start of the Grant Program Period (defined in Section 4 below); and  

3. employs ten (10) employees or less with less than $50,000 in annual sales.  

 Establishing a U.S. Venmo Account and valid business profile on Venmo is free and conducting any transactions on Venmo is not an eligibility criteria for this Grant Program.  Note, however, that employees of PayPal, Inc, Merkle Inc., Taproot Foundation, Inc., Start Small. Think Big., Inc., and any of their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Grant Program is void where prohibited by law.       

Award size. A fixed cash grant, not a cost-share: "TEN (10) GRANTS: Each grant consists of USD $20,000, to be fulfilled as a check. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $20,000." "Limit: One (1) grant per person. Total ARV of all grants: $200,000." No match, no repayment, no fees.

When you get paid. "Grants will be fulfilled 8 – 10 weeks after all Grant Program grant recipients are confirmed," and only after you return a signed Declaration of Compliance, liability waiver, tax documentation and publicity release within three business days of notification.

Strings attached.

• "Grant recipients must use the grant for the purpose of running and growing the business described in their application... and grant recipients are prohibited from using any portion of the grant for any other purpose, including without limitation for personal or illegal use."

• Venmo "may, at any time within five (5) years of award of the grant, request that any grant recipient provide Sponsor with reasonable documentation evidencing grant recipient's use of the grant" — misuse or failure to document means you "will promptly return to Sponsor the full value of any grant."

• "Grant Program grant recipients are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with grant receipt and/or use."

• You must "provide photos and/or participate in a filmed interview," which Venmo owns and may use in marketing.

Eligibility thresholds that gate the money. Your Venmo business profile must be "active and has sold at least $500 worth of goods or services within the three (3) months prior to the start of the Grant Program Period," and the business "employs ten (10) employees or less with less than $50,000 in annual sales."

Status. The most recent published round awarded ten $20,000 grants ($20k each to 10 businesses, in partnership with Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network). The posted Terms & Conditions describe a round with recipient notification "on or around July 16, 2024"; no later round has been announced.

During the Grant Program Period, visit www.venmo.com/business/small-business-grant (“Grant Site”) and follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the application form, including answering all questions (“Grant Program Questions”) 

Your application and responses to the Grant Program Questions will collectively be referred to as your submission ("Submission"). By uploading your Submission, you agree that it conforms to the guidelines, permissions, and content restrictions below and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may disqualify you if it believes that it fails to conform. Where your Submission meets all requirements, your Submission will be deemed one (1) Grant Program application.