ELIGIBILITY

The Grant Challenge will be open to entities who can design and execute workforce and skills training programs.   

• Eligible applicants can include, but are not limited to, the following:

Community-based Organizations
Non-profit or Private Workforce Training Organizations
Labor Unions
Technical High Schools
County Colleges
Other Non-profit Organizations
Regional Workforce Development Boards
For-profit Companies.

• Applicants must include, at a minimum, one Community-Based Organization (CBO) that serves one or more NJ Overburdened Communities as part of their application.  The CBO must either be the applicant or, in the alternative, a strategic collaborator with the applicant.

For the purposes of this training challenge, a CBO is defined as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with demonstrated experience serving a NJ Overburdened Community as defined by NJ’s Environmental Justice Law that provides direct services or supports to a specific geographic NJ community(ies) or specific segments of a New Jersey community(ies). For the purposes of this Challenge, government entities, K-12 schools, and institutions of higher learning do not qualify as CBOs. However, these entities may be the applicant or an additional collaborator on the applicant team. Entities that are not 501(c)3 organizations do not qualify as a CBO for the purposes of this grant challenge even if they serve a New Jersey Overburdened Community. Per the NJ Division of Taxation, a 501(c)(3) Organization refers to a nonprofit organization that has received a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stating that the organization is exempt from federal Income Tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The term also may refer to a church or ministry that may qualify for an IRS 501(c) (3) determination letter, even though it does not intend to apply for an IRS determination.

NJ’s Environmental Justice Law at N.J.S.A 13:1D-157 defines overburdened communities as any census block group, as determined in accordance with the most recent United States Census in which: 1) at least 35 percent of the households qualify as low-income households; 2) at least 40 percent of residents identify as minority or as members of a State recognized tribal community; or 3) at least 40 percent of the households have limited English proficiency.

• All applications that include the CBO as a strategic collaborator must submit a signed letter of intent from the CBO stating that they are a strategic collaborator with the applicant for the proposed program, the role the CBO will have in the proposed program, and the amount of the requested budget allocated to the CBO. The applicant is responsible for transferring the allocated budget to the CBO for their assigned tasks for the proposed program.
• Applicants may, but are not required to, collaborate with additional entities, including for-profit or non-profit entities of all types, to design and implement the training program as needed.
• In addition to the eligibility parameters already stated above, the applicant must also be in substantial good standing with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and NJ Department of Environmental Protection to participate in the program. The applicant must provide a current tax clearance certificate as part of the application to demonstrate the applicant is properly registered to do business in New Jersey and in good standing with the NJ Division of Taxation.