Terms and Conditions for Submitting Videos to SBA

Have you used an SBA service to start or grow your small business? SBA wants to hear from you! As part of the SBA’s Small Business Owners Speak project, SBA is seeking creative videos from small businesses that show how they have been assisted by an SBA service (counseling, training, guaranteed loans, government contracts, disaster recovery, etc.).

Videos may appear on the Small Business Owners Speak page at SBA.gov.  Your participation in the Small Business Owners Speak project will help educate other entrepreneurs and small business owners on how SBA programs and services may help them start, grow and succeed. 

A video may be posted on the Small Business Owners Speak webpage when SBA determines that the small business and the submitted video comply with the terms herein, and SBA receives consent form(s) for minors as outlined below.

Video Requirements

1. The video submitter(s) must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and at least 18 years old to participate. 
2. The video must be about a small business (per SBA size standards) located in the United States and its territories. 
3. The small business must have used at least one SBA program or service including but not limited to:
   • SBA Loan Programs (7a, 504, Microloan, etc.)
   • SBA Contracting Programs or Certifications (8(a), HUBZone)
   • SBA Disaster Assistance
   • Participated in counseling or training with an SBA Resource Partner service such as SCORE, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), or U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs).
4. SBIC Portfolio Companies
5. Videos must be educational, not promotional in nature (i.e., a commercial for the small business’ products or services). Videos should tell the story of how the business owner used at least one SBA product or service to help him/her start or grow a business.
6. Videos must be 2 minutes or less in length and produced in a high-resolution format.
7. Only one video may be submitted per business.
8. The video must be your own original creation and must not infringe on any third party rights. No copyrighted music, video, or images may be used in submissions to this project without appropriate permission. Submitters are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions. Videos previously developed for other organizations may be submitted. 
9. Small businesses that submitted videos to SBA for the National Small Business Week Video Contest in 2012 need not resubmit their videos.
10. Videos must not contain violence, profanity, sex, images of a prurient nature, or direct attacks on individuals or organizations. SBA will not post videos that it deems to contain offensive material.
11. Do not use the SBA seal or logo in your video.

Ownership and Rights

1. By submitting a video to SBA, you grant to SBA a perpetual royalty-free license to copy, distribute, modify, display and perform publicly and otherwise use, and authorize others to use, your video for any educational purpose throughout the world and in any media.
2. SBA reserves the right to make any video submitted available to the general public from its respective web sites and social media pages and to distribute it to groups and any other organizations interested in showing it for educational purposes, including, but not limited to, Internet sites, conferences and events, on television, and other media outlets.
3. SBA reserves the right to not use a video submitted for this project for any reason.
4. The submitter is responsible for obtaining any necessary consent from all persons appearing in the video.  Minors may appear in the video so long as the Video Image Release Form is signed by a parent/legal guardian and submitted to SBA with the video.

Video Content

All videos must address the following questions:

1. What is the name of your small business and where is it located (City/State)?
2. Which SBA program or service did you utilize?
3. What were you able to accomplish from the SBA program or service you utilized? For example, were you able to hire new employees, start your business, expand your operations, purchase equipment etc.?
4. What is the most rewarding part about starting or growing your small business?
5. How has the assistance benefited the local community?

How to Submit your Video

1. Create a video and ensure that the video addresses the requirements set forth in these Terms and Conditions.
2. All individuals that appear in the video must give consent and it’s the responsibility of the submitter to obtain such consent.  If a minor (individual under the age of 18) appears in the video, the minor’s parent or legal guardian must sign the Video Image Release Form.
3. Send your video submission to opengov@sba.gov.  Each video submission must include:
   • a link to your video from any online video sharing platform such as YouTube or Vimeo;
   • a Video Release Form signed by the submitter(s);
   • signed Video Image Release Form by the parent/legal guardian of any minors appearing in the video.
4. If you cannot provide the signed documents as attachments to an email, you may fax signed forms to (202) 481-0769.  If faxing any forms, please provide a cover sheet with the name and contact information of the submitter and reference the video submitted via email.
5. Video will not be considered submitted until all items have been emailed and/or faxed to SBA.
6. Submit your questions to opengov@sba.gov.
7. SBA will accept video submissions until December 31, 2012.

Privacy Policy

Any personal information collected from video submitters to SBA’s Small Business Owners Speak Project will only be used for the purpose of contacting the submitters if necessary.  The submitter(s) name may be listed on SBA.gov in conjunction with the video.