Grant Terms and Conditions
Eligibility: To be eligible to receive an enhancement grant (a "Grant") from the BizConnect: San Antonio Program (the “Grant Program”), an Applicant (or their business) must meet all of the original eligibility criteria:
- Be a business that employs between three (3) and twenty (20) individuals, including the owner, full, or part time, or those working for the business under a 1099 agreement. Business exclusively means a:
- Sole proprietorship
- General Partnership (GP)
- Limited Partnership (LP)
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- C-Corporation
- S-Corporation
- Have at least one physical or online business location within the greater San Antonio metropolitan area
- Not be part of a franchise brand with more than twenty-five (25) corporate-owned stores, or more than two hundred and fifty (250) stores in total
- Have its principal physical location in a community in danger of deterioration (“Distressed Community”), defined as any zip code not in the top 20% of zip codes in the current iteration of the Economic Innovation Groups’ Distressed Communities Index
- Each company must have a valid employee identification number (EIN)
- Not be in an ineligible business category (as defined below)
- Agree to all Grant Program Rules
Ineligible Business Categories:
- Any government agency, public administration, political organization, non-profit or tax exempt organization, or any type businesses engaged in any illegal activity
- Gas Stations, or located on the same premises as a gas station
- Shopping Property Management companies
- Direct Sellers
- Any business that is primarily in the business of manufacturing, promoting or selling diet aids, cannabis, gambling, tobacco (including tobacco-related equipment, such as e-cigarettes), firearms or other weapons
- Private clubs and businesses which limit the number of memberships for reasons other than capacity
- Businesses principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs, whether in a religious or secular setting
- Businesses which derive directly or indirectly more than de minimis gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of a sexual nature
- Businesses owned by employees, officers and directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (“Chamber Foundation”), Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce (“Greater San Antonio Chamber”), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (“Gates Foundation”), or any current Grant Program funder and any affiliated entities, and their respective immediate families (parents, spouse, children, siblings) or individuals residing in their household (whether or not related) are not eligible to receive Grants
- Entities listed on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Sanctions List
In addition, the Applicant must attend six of the eight group coaching sessions, complete all Grant-related surveys, and develop a business plan during the Grant Program.
Grant Process
Grant Applicants are required to complete an online Grant Program application (the “Application”) and a completed IRS form W-9 as part of that Application by 11:59 PM CDT on Friday, September 29, 2023.
A panel of judges provided by the Greater San Antonio Chamber and the Chamber Foundation will evaluate the businesses based the quality of responses provided in the Application.
Each Applicant that meets all eligibility requirements and is selected as an awardee will be notified if the Applicant has been chosen for a $3,500 Grant award (the "Program Award”) within two (2) weeks after the end of the Application period. Anyone awarded the Program Award that does not respond will be replaced immediately by a waitlisted awardee.
The Grant funding will be awarded in two phases: 1) After the awardee’s attendance at the required orientation meeting and 2) At the completion of the Grant Program, assuming all requirements for participation have been met.
General Rules
All Applications must be submitted online through the Typeform platform and completed by 11:59 PM CDT on Friday, September 29, 2023. Only those Applications submitted through that platform will be accepted. Applications received by any other means will not be considered. The Greater San Antonio Chamber, Chamber Foundation, Gates Foundation, and any affiliated entities or agents of each organization, shall not be responsible for any illegible, lost, stolen, late, damaged, incomplete, mutilated, or misdirected Applications or other documents. Applicants are responsible for ensuring proper contact information has been submitted and is maintained throughout the Grant Program Process to allow communications about the Grant Program. Erroneous or false information provided in the Application will result in immediate disqualification of the Applicant. The Chamber Foundation otherwise retains the right to disqualify any Applicant in its sole discretion.
If, for any reason, the Grant Program is not capable of running as planned, the Greater San Antonio Chamber and Chamber Foundation reserve the right in their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Grant Program at any time. By submitting an Application, or by being an Applicant, you understand that there is no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship between you and the Greater San Antonio Chamber, Chamber Foundation, Gates Foundation, or other partners arising from any Application or Grant Award. Once notified about receiving an Award and receiving an Award, a Recipient has two weeks to submit payment information for processing to the Chamber Foundation and Greater San Antonio Chamber, including appropriate business incorporation forms. Not meeting that deadline will result in a forfeiture of the Award.
All Applicants grant permission to the Greater San Antonio Chamber, Chamber Foundation, Gates Foundation, and their agents or representatives to use anonymized data pertaining to location, industry, and other Application information (except for anything that would be identifying to the Applicant) to prepare public-facing impact reports.
Award Recipients grant permission to the Greater San Antonio Chamber, Chamber Foundation, the Gates Foundation and their partners to use the business name, logo, statements, including city and state of primary physical location, and the submitted Application information in perpetuity, worldwide, royalty-free in any and all media now known or which may be developed in the future to promote the Grant Program and the objectives the Grant Program seeks to further.
The decisions of the Chamber Foundation and the Greater San Antonio Chamber regarding the Grant Program and awardees thereof are final, and Applicants specifically agree that such decisions are not subject to review or appeal in any forum whatsoever, including courts of law. NO WARRANTY OF ANY TYPE IS PROVIDED FOR ANY AWARD. NO AWARD MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO ANY PARTY. Any information provided as part of this Grant Program is provided according to the Application website Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, as they may be amended from time to time, and as otherwise provided for in these Rules. By submitting your email address and/or an Application, you consent to our processing of the included personal data in order to take action on the Application and to contact you about other programs you may be interested in.
By completing an Application or being an Applicant, you agree on behalf of yourself and each of your respective heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, agents, successors, and assigns (“Releasing Party”) to the Grant Program Rules and the decisions of the Grant Program, as applicable, and any affiliated entities or persons, and by completing an Application or being an Applicant, you release, defend and hold harmless the Chamber Foundation, Gates Foundation, the Greater San Antonio Chamber, and any other Grant Program funders, and their affiliates, advisors, agents, licensees, and any social or other media used for the Grant Program, and any of their respective officers, directors, and employees as applicable (“Released Parties”), from any and all causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, bills, covenants, contracts, controversies, promises, lost profits, indirect or direct damages, consequential damage, incidental damages, punitive or exemplary damages, judgments, claims, and demands whosoever, in law, or equity, whether known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, which any Releasing Party has or may ever had, now or hereafter, arising from or related to the Grant Program, these Official Rules, any Application materials, including but not limited to any use or non-use of any Application materials, delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, attendance at, travel related to, misuse, and/or use of or inability to use, any Grant, or technical or other failures of any kind.
