Disadvantaged Small Business Grant

DSBG Prescreen Eligibility

1. Applicant/Business Owner must not be related to the volunteer philanthropist 2. Applicant/Business Owner must be classified as a member of the disadvantaged community 3. Applicant/Business Owner products and/or services must be aligned with the social cause the volunteer philanthropist is passionate about

All DSBG Applicant Requirements:

  • Must operate out of an underserved community
  • Must be a for-profit small business
  • Must not be part of a national chain
  • Must have a physical address (No PO Box will be accepted)
  • Home-based businesses can apply
  • Products and/or Services must be aligned with the social cause
  • Must have a business license or have applied for one
  • Must have a working phone number, email address, website, or Facebook business page

Fund My Honorarium, Inc. (FMH) at its sole and absolute discretion may accept, deny, or request additional criteria to establish the validity and legality of the owner and business.

Terms and Conditions of DSBG

When an applicant applies for the small business grant and is approved; the recipient will receive a letter via an email informing them that they have been awarded the amount requested on the application or an amount the Volunteer Philanthropist was able to financially assist with.

Pay-It-Forward. In that same email will be an invitation (link/button) asking the small business owner and/or staff to join FMH and become a Volunteer Philanthropist to do likewise and help others in the same manner. 

The Volunteer Philanthropist honorarium will not be used to fund small business’s entire operational expenses. The Volunteer Philanthropist honorariums are only used to assist disadvantaged small business startups with startup cost or with provisional financial support.

If the recipient decides not to join FMH then they will be blocked from applying to other Volunteer Philanthropists honorarium for financial support. Small business recipients are not allowed to seek financial assistance from other Volunteer Philanthropists honorarium unless the small business owner and/or staff has joined FMH as a Volunteer Philanthropist and begin doing likewise by volunteering at local, statewide, or national events, or create an event using their skills and experience to help others at no cost to attendees at event, and any funds raised will go directly into their honorarium to provide financial assistance to other disadvantaged small businesses and/or students. 

If small business recipients have done likewise by joining FMH to become a Volunteer Philanthropist and begin helping others, then that small business recipient is able to unlock continuous opportunities to apply and receive financial support from different Volunteer Philanthropist honorariums.

All small business applicant’s products and/or services must align with the social cause(s) the Volunteer Philanthropist is passionate about. Small business applicants whose products and/or services is not the same as the Volunteer Philanthropists, then that small business applicant may not receive financial support but will be recommended to apply to a Volunteer Philanthropist whose social causes are aligned. Volunteer Philanthropists are empowered with the authority and autonomy to approve or deny an application or the amount of the grant request.

FMH at its sole and absolute discretion will evaluate all situations before a decision is made to override a Volunteer Philanthropists decision to approve or deny an application or the amount of the grant request.

Reasons Volunteer Philanthropist can and will approve a disadvantaged small business applicant:

1.       Small business applicants whose products and/or services aligns with the social cause the volunteer philanthropist is passionate about addressing

2.       Small business applicant is not a family member to the volunteer philanthropist

3.       Small business applicant is a representative of the underserved community

Reasons volunteer philanthropist can and will deny a disadvantage small business applicant:

1.       Small business applicant products and/or services does not align with the social causes the volunteer philanthropist is passionate about addressing

2.       Small business applicant is a family member of the volunteer philanthropist

3.       Small business applicant is not a member of the underserved community

Reasons FMH will override a VPs decision:

1.       Volunteer Philanthropist is found to have committed misconduct

2.       Volunteer Philanthropist is found to have collaborated to commit misconduct

3.       Volunteer Philanthropist is found to have inappropriate misuse of FMH site

4.       Volunteer Philanthropist is found to have approved a Grant above the Award CAP

5.       And any other misconduct that FMH at its sole and absolute discretion finds that anyone has violated FMH Terms of Service, Data and Private Policy agreement or Terms of DSBG policy.

Otherwise, Volunteer Philanthropists has the full support of FMH family behind their decisions. 

FMH Grant CAP

Grant Awards will have a maximum cap of $2,000.00 dollars. Volunteer Philanthropist can award grants from $100 up to $2,000.00 dollars. 

Block Grants

Block grant awards will have a maximum cap of $5,000.00 dollars. Block grants are when two or more volunteer philanthropists use their honorariums to support a startup or minority business to provide financial aid during an emergency (e.g. disaster relief, environmental catastrophe, or social upheaval etc.) 

Block grants will be considered an emergency and funds can be disbursed within 24-72 hours after the application has been vetted and approved.  

FMH Donor Management Fund (DMF)

All donations made to a volunteer philanthropist honorarium are deposited into FMH Donor Management Fund (DMF). The DMF will function as a financial repository that permits volunteer philanthropist, donors, parents, educators, friends, and any interested persons to view the volunteer philanthropist honorarium goal, total amount earned to date, grants awarded, and any remaining available funds.  

Volunteer Philanthropists must keep in mind that donors who fund their honorariums are doing so with the understanding that 100% of their funds (after fees are deducted) will go towards their intended purpose i.e., the social cause in the form of a financial grant.

Volunteer Philanthropists must also understand and know that funds donated to their honorariums are not for their personal use, nor can the monies be withdrawn from their honorariums for any personal use, nor can the monies be withdrawn - period. All funds are to be used toward its intended purpose.

Volunteer Philanthropists must understand and know that signing up as a Volunteer Philanthropist, FMH has empowered Volunteer Philanthropists to act as humanitarian agents on behalf of FMH with the authority and autonomy to award grants to disadvantaged small businesses who operate in underserved communities for the intended purpose that their products and/or services address social causes.

At no time will Volunteer Philanthropists have access either directly or indirectly to funds donors have donated into FMH donor management fund. If a volunteer philanthropist for any reason decides to delete their account or leave their account inactive for more than one year all available donations that remain in honorarium will revert to the DMF and used at FMH sole and absolute discretion to be applied to the donors intended use i.e., will go towards the social cause or will be applied towards an FMH program fund that helps volunteer philanthropists. 

FMH at its sole and absolute discretion can and will alter, modify, or update the Terms of Disadvantaged Small Business Grant, its Eligibility & Requirements to accommodate social, economic, and industry changes current and for the future and best interest of FMH organization. 

By using https://www.fundmyhonorarium.org as a volunteer philanthropist, you are therefore consenting to the donations collection procedures expressed in this Policy. This Policy applies to Fund My Honorarium, Inc. and it governs all donations collected into FMH donor management fund (also known as Honorarium). FMH gives permission to volunteer philanthropists to award grants on behalf of FMH to disadvantaged small business startups who have been vetted and found legally qualified. It is at FMH sole and absolute discretion that permission to award grants on behalf of FMH can and will be revoked at will by FMH leadership sole and absolute discretion.