Grant (Equity)
Definition
The formal award of options or shares to a recipient under an equity compensation plan. A grant is not effective until documented in a written grant agreement executed by both the company and the recipient. An undocumented grant does not satisfy the requirements of this Standard and does not appear in the cap table.
Common Misapplication
The most common misapplication is treating verbal or email promises of equity as grants for cap table purposes. An oral promise of equity does not create a cap table entry. An unsigned grant agreement does not create a cap table entry. Only a formally documented and executed grant agreement produces a compliant equity grant.
FFI Standard Reference
This term is defined and applied in Book 3, Section 3.3: The Equity Compensation Standard.
Related Terms
Citable URL
This term may be cited using the following permanent URL.
Full citation format: Founder Financial Infrastructure Standard, Beta v0.5, Glossary: Grant (Equity). https://ffistandard.org/glossary/grant-equity/. 2026.