The Breakthrough Grant is an independent business grant that provides early-stage marketing and creative consultants with $25,000 in tools, resources, and training to break through barriers and accelerate their growth.

There are two rounds of the program in 2024 with 10 winners in each round.

The Breakthrough Grant is powered by HoneyBook, the leading clientflow management platform trusted by over 100,000 independent businesses in the U.S. and Canada. 

The Breakthrough Grant is for early-stage marketing and creative consultants. These are independent business owners who are selling their skills and expertise as a consultative service, have an established digital presence (website or social media), have not been in business for more than three years, do not have more than three employees, and are not making more than $100,000 in annual revenue. Eligible businesses must be based in the U.S. or Canada, excluding Quebec, and cannot be existing HoneyBook members. Winners will be announced in early August by email followed by an announcement on select HoneyBook marketing channels.

The Breakthrough Grant is a prize package valued at $25,000. This includes a 3-year subscription to the HoneyBook Premium Plan, expert systems set up services provided by the HoneyBook Pros, and $18,000 in cash to invest at the winner's discretion. 

Interested business owners must first complete the form on the Breakthrough Grant landing page. Thereafter they will receive an email from HoneyBook with additional information and a link to the complete formal application. Each applicant must answer a series of questions and submit a video or written response that shares their expertise, story, and the impact the grant would have on their goals. 

Applicants will be judged on three criteria:
1. Expertise: Skill and experience to show a viable path for long-term success.
2. Story: The motivation behind why they started their business.
3. Impact: How they will use the grant to achieve their goals. 

You can share the Breakthrough Grant with a business owner that you think might be eligible by clicking “nominate someone.” You will be asked to include your name, the nominee’s name, and the nominee’s email address. In doing so, you acknowledge that the person whose email has been submitted will receive email communications from HoneyBook.

Upon submission, HoneyBook will send the nominated person an invitation to complete the application form. If someone has been nominated more than once, they will only receive one invitation to apply from the first person who nominated them.