In this instructional video, Stacy Chin of KeepYourEquity.co walks startups and science‑tech founders through the budgeting requirements for NSF SBIR and STTR Phase I and Phase II awards in 2024. She first outlines the three primary budget categories—direct costs, indirect costs, and the small‑business fee (profit)—explaining what each includes and how to calculate them. For indirect costs she stresses the cap of 50 % of total direct costs and provides a simple equation. She then details the allowable small‑business fee percentages (7 % of total direct + indirect for Phase I, 10 % for Phase II) and clarifies which expenses are eligible versus ineligible. The video presents the 2024 NSF budget limits: up to $275,000 for a 6‑12‑month Phase I and up to $1,000,000 for a 24‑month Phase II. Throughout, she promotes budgeting templates and additional resources available on keepyourequity.co, and encourages viewers to consult NSF guidelines or program directors for clarification. The video concludes with calls to action (like, subscribe, explore related NIH videos) and a reminder of the non‑dilutive funding mission.
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So in today's video, I'm going to help you tackle the NSF SBIR and STTR Phase 1 and Phase 2 budget limits for 2024. So join me today as we explore the best strategies for budget planning, as we dive into the intricacies of NSF SBIR funding to revolutionize your startup's non-dilutive fundraising approach. So no matter if you're an experienced business owner or taking your first entrepreneurial steps, this video will be filled with tips and guidance to help you fully leverage the NSF SBIR funding opportunity this year. Trust me, you don't want to miss out. Hey guys, welcome to the channel. I'm Stacy Chin from KeepYourEquity.co, and our mission is to help startups secure non-dilutive funding. We specialize in science and tech startups to help them secure non-dilutive funding from federal programs such as that from the SBIR and the STTR. If you're interested in learning more about those funding opportunities, I'll leave a link in the description to another video below. We also advise other public and private businesses as well as NGOs to help them secure federal grants and contracting opportunities as well. All right, so now let's jump into the key component of your NSF SBIR or STTR application: the Many founders find this aspect intimidating, seeing it as a complex and daunting challenge. However, it is not as overwhelming as you think it may be. So I'm going to guide you through a simplified step-by-step approach of how you can tackle your NSF SBIR budget into easy, manageable steps. And to even help make your SBIR budget planning a little bit easier, we have lots of excellent templates to help you budget for an NSF Phase I or Phase II SBIR application on our website at keepyourequity.co. So make sure to check those out. And in those templates, we also guide you step-by-step of how you can go about your budget which is a mandatory component of your SBIR application when you submit that to the NSF. So before we expose the 2024 budget limits, let's talk about the 3 big categories that you'll have to consider when preparing for your NSF SBIR or STTR budget. And those are the direct costs, the indirect costs, and the small business fee, or otherwise known as the profit. Now let's tackle the first category, which are the direct costs. And these costs are vital for carrying out your proposed R&D research that you mentioned in your SBIR application. In my experience assisting clients, we want to first start off by identifying what we want to propose if we were to get the funding from the NSF. Once we have an implementation strategy, next thing is to pinpoint what are all the direct costs necessary to bring that strategy to completion. So basically, the direct costs are the concrete resources you and your startup need to carry out your research demands, and this includes salaries for key roles like the principal investigator or the PI, senior key personnel like engineers and scientists, and other similar roles to carry out the proposed research. Additionally, direct costs also encompasses materials and supplies, essential travel like to the NSF workshop for Phase 1 awardees, expenses for publishing and documentation, consultant fees, subawards, amongst other stuff. So essentially, you can think about the direct costs as the fundamental elements that will drive your research forward. So once you've outlined your direct costs, the next step is to calculate your indirect costs. And the indirect costs are the broader expenses essential for the everyday functioning of your business that is distinct or separate from what you're proposing to do in your SBIR application. So consider the indirect costs as the support structure for your general and administrative expenses throughout your project period. And indirect costs might encompass things such as office rent, utilities, postage, office supplies, and intermittent legal consultation. For startups, when preparing the budget and calculating indirect costs, make sure that your total indirect cost rate is no greater than 50% of your total direct costs. In other words, you can also think about calculating your indirect costs using this equation here that we're going to put on the screen. Finally, let's chat about what I find is the most intriguing part of the budget, which is the small business fee or the profit. But what is it actually? So the fee is intended to reflect the typical profit margins that a for-profit entity would receive from R&D work. And this unique aspect of the fee is its classification. It is not a direct or indirect cost, and this distinction gives startups the flexibility to use these funds accordingly to whatever ways they see fit. And this might include additional R&D activities under the award, or calls I usually labeled as ineligible or prohibited in the award terms. And these expenses might be specific equipment purchases, foreign travel, or patent application fees. If there's any confusion about what qualifies as an eligible versus ineligible cost within the SBIR/SST solicitation, make sure to check out the guidelines or to consult with a program director to help you figure this out. So if you are pursuing an NSF SBIR Phase I application, you can request 7% of the total direct and indirect cost for your small business fee or profit. However, for a Phase II application, you can request up to 10% of the total direct and indirect costs of your Phase II application as a small business fee or profit. Great news, right? Now, I know you're begging me to answer the question: Stacy Chin, what are the 2024 NSF Phase I and Phase II SBIR budget limits? Now, let's answer that burning question. So for Phase I applications, you're looking at a maximum request of $275,000 for Phase I, project timeline between 6 to 12 months. And now for a Phase II budget, you're allowed to request up to $1 million for a project timeline up to 24 months. I'll leave several more links about the NSF budget and the solicitation in case you're interested to read more. And so with that, thank you so much for watching to the end of this video. I hope you found these tips helpful to learn how to best navigate NSF SBIR and STTR budget requirements for 2024. Also, make sure to check out our NIH SBIR and STTR budget limit videos, which I'll leave a link to in the description below. And of course, if you haven't done so, I would greatly appreciate if you can like, subscribe, and comment below. It truly does help us out a lot. And also, don't forget to check out our website at keepyourequity.co where you find lots of other templates, resources, and eventually courses to help you secure non-diluted funding throughout your fundraising journey. Thank you so much for joining me today, and I'll see you in a video very soon.
