The not-for-profit National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC) has signed on to a virtual summit on crowdfunding small businesses. The foundation joins other leading organizations for veteran, minority, and women-owned small businesses partnering with Microsoft on the “virtual crowdfunding event.”

The NVBDC said they “understand success in this new normal era is not just about growth but for survival.”

The “crowdfunding” solution for small businesses owners may seem attractive at a time of unprecedented business closures. As the event puts it, “the world's economy has entered uncharted waters,” with sales and federal relief “drying up,” imperiling small businesses. 

It’s difficult to say how Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB), and various state-certified veteran businesses have been affected by the coronavirus crisis and shutdowns. The issue simply has not been discussed in any federal agency reports. So it’s difficult to say how much veteran-owned small businesses are getting in Payment Protection Program loans, for example.

Meanwhile, the federal government may set aside three percent of contract spending for SD/VOSBs, but a lot of that money is not going to veteran business owners. The program is frequently abused by scammers and drying up funds for actual veterans. One Government Accountability Office report at the end of 2019 found that "service-disabled veterans may be in jeopardy of not receiving contract awards intended for them, and the DoD will be at risk of misreporting the amounts for SDVOSB participation.” 

Screenshot: U.S. Small Business Adminsitration

More recently, the Pentagon’s Inspector General found that the Department of Defense awarded. "awarded $876.8 million in contracts to ineligible contractors and did not implement procedures to ensure compliance with the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) subcontracting requirements after the contracts were awarded."

Veteran small business owners find themselves in the coronavirus crisis with very little reporting on their well-being as a category, and potentially billions of dollars meant for them going to con artists instead. Now more than ever may be the time to seek out new revenue sources.

Veteran small business owners are known for their adaptability, and the crowdfunding option may help VOSB “Survive & Thrive” -- as the event is called. The event even promises, “if done correctly [crowdfunding] can be a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of businesses that are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

"The focus of our virtual event will be to introduce the many ways of Crowdfunding: rewards, equity, and donation, that have the ability to bring a new pool of billions of dollars to minority, women, veterans, and LGBTQ-owned businesses and startups,” said Ruth E. Hedges, an expert on crowdfunding  whose company is hosting the event.

Head on over to https://www.crowdfundingroadmap.com/ if you are a veteran, women, or minority small business owner to register for the August 6 event if you are interested in exploring the option of crowdfunding.