Jessica Delcid| Grant Coordinator Fiscal Year 2018: Grant to Provide Volunteer Taxpayer Assistance Services June 27, 2017 Jessica Delcid| Grant Coordinator

Jessica Delcid Grant Coordinator Good afternoon. My name is Jessica Delcid. I am the Grant Coordinator and the Volunteer Outreach Coordinator of the Outreach Team within the Income Tax and Withholding Division at the Minnesota Department of Revenue. I administer the grant to provide volunteer taxpayer assistance services and I educate volunteers on Minnesota tax laws.

Disclaimer This presentation is for educational purposes only. It is meant to accompany an oral presentation and not to be used as a standalone document. This presentation is based on the facts and circumstances being discussed, and on the laws in effect when it is presented. It does not supersede or alter any provisions of Minnesota laws, administrative rules, court cases, or revenue notices. If you have any grant related questions, contact us at 651-556-3052, or 1-800-818-6871 (toll-free), or Volunteer.Grant.MDOR@state.mn.us

Today’s Agenda Grant overview Grant application process Grant awards Reimbursement of grant funds Deadlines and due dates Questions

Grant Overview What is the grant for? Who qualifies? Coordinating, facilitating, encouraging, and providing volunteer taxpayer assistance services Who qualifies? 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations Must be part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or AARP Tax-Aide program through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) The Commissioner of Revenue has authority to issue grants totaling $800,000 for the 2018-2019 biennium. The Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be made available June 30, 2017 is $400,000 for fiscal year 2018. The grant is available to non-profit organizations that qualify under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, to receive grants to coordinate, facilitate, encourage, and provide volunteer taxpayer assistance services. Organizations applying for this grant must be part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or AARP Tax-Aide program through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Volunteer Taxpayer Assistance Services are accounting and tax preparation services provided by volunteers to Minnesotans who are low-income and disadvantaged. This includes filing federal and Minnesota income and property tax refund returns, and representing qualifying residents before the department and IRS. Low income – households making less than $54,000 annually- follows the Earned Income Tax Credit guidelines Disadvantaged – people with limited English-speaking ability, 60 years and older, or disabled

Grant Overview What are the goals of the grant? Provide grant funds to qualifying non-profit organizations who assist low- income and disadvantaged Minnesotans by: Providing volunteer taxpayer assistance services Preparing accurate tax returns Operating efficient tax preparation sites throughout the tax season and beyond Properly training and preparing volunteers in taxpayer assistance services, and Collaborating with other organizations to increase volunteer taxpayer assistance services throughout Minnesota The goal for this grant is to provide grant funds to qualifying non-profit organizations who assist Minnesotans who are low-income and disadvantaged by: Providing volunteer taxpayer assistance services Preparing accurate tax returns Operating efficient tax preparation sites throughout the tax season and beyond Properly training and preparing volunteers in taxpayer assistance services Collaborating with other organizations to increase volunteer taxpayer assistance services throughout Minnesota

Grant Application Process New fillable PDF Grant Workbook Fill out electronically, or Print and fill out on paper All proposals must be submitted using the new fillable PDF Grant Workbook for fiscal year 2018 Last year, an excel grant workbook was created to help ensure organizations report and submit grant application information correctly and consistently. This year the grant workbook is in a fillable PDF format. You can choose to fill out the PDF grant workbook electronically or print the workbook and fill it out by paper. If you are completing the workbook electronically, the text boxes do not expand. If you need additional space, you can attach additional pages. This grant workbook will be available on our website June 30, 2017. All grant proposals must be submitted using the grant workbook. Attach any relevant or required documentation to help support your organizations proposal if it is not included in this grant workbook.

Grant Application Process Print advertisements must: Be reviewed and approved by the department before printing Be reviewed and approved each grant period State “Service made available through a grant provided by the State of Minnesota” Be professional, accurate, and represent the integrity of the services provided through the volunteer taxpayer assistance program If your organization plans to request grant funds for print advertisements, a copy of the advertisement must be reviewed and approved by the department before printing. Advertisements must be reviewed and approved each grant period. If advertisements are not approved by the department prior to being printed, grant funds for print advertisements will not be reimbursed. If your organization requests advertising funds but does not plan to use print advertisements, provide a detailed description of your marketing plan.

Grant Application Process Salary funding Cannot be used to pay volunteers Must be reasonable Cannot be requested from organizations who do not pay persons to perform the organizations functions or activities Salary funding cannot be used to pay volunteers for conducting intake, preparing tax returns, doing quality review, etc. Grant funds used for salaries must be paid to individuals specifically for services performed for the volunteer taxpayer assistance program. This must be well documented so that you can request reimbursement. More details on this later in the webinar. Organizations that are exempt from registering with the Attorney General because they do not pay persons to perform the organization’s functions or activities cannot request grant funds for salaries. This does not apply to organizations exempt from registering with the Minnesota Attorney General for any other reasons.

Grant Application Process Required documentation must be included Missing required documentation will disqualify your application for fiscal year 2018 grant funds. Grant deadlines will not be extended. Additional time will not be given to submit information missing from a grant application. Check the RFP for all documents that are required to be submitted with your proposal. Missing required documentation will disqualify your application for Fiscal Year 2018 grant funds. Grant deadlines will not be extended and additional time will not be given to submit missing information.

Grant Application Process The department will verify the following information with the appropriate agencies: Determination letter issued by the IRS recognizing your organization qualifies under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Current Minnesota Attorney General’s Registration Certification, if required for your organization. Some exceptions may apply. The department will verify the following information with the appropriate agencies: Determination letter issued by the IRS recognizing your organization qualifies under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your organization’s name must be the same on the Grant Cover Sheet in the Grant Workbook and the 501(c)(3) determination letter.   Exception: If your organization operates under a Group Exemption Ruling, you must provide: a copy of the group exemption ruling letter that lists the affiliated tax exempt organization your organization operates under, and a copy of the determination letter issued by the IRS recognizing the affiliated organization qualifies under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 2. Current Minnesota Attorney General’s Registration Certification, if required for your organization. Exception: If your organization is exempt from registration with the Attorney General, you must include the reason why.

Grant Application Process Payment obligations with government agencies must be met Grant funds will not be distributed to organizations with a past due balance to government agencies that is being collected by the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Department records will be checked at the time proposals are received and prior to any grant reimbursement.

Grant Awards Starting with fiscal year 2018, grant funds will be awarded as one lump sum Previously, grant funds were awarded in each of the four categories: Equipment and Accessories Advertising Salaries Other Expenses This year grant funds will be awarded as one lump sum to your organization. Proposal expense requests and reimbursement requests must still be separated into four categories (equipment and accessories, advertising, salaries, and other expenses). You may spend the total amount awarded within any of these four categories.

Reimbursement of Grant Funds When can reimbursement of grant funds be requested? Organization awarded: Submit reimbursement request when: Less than $5,000 The entire award has been spent $5,001 - $20,000 At least $5,000 has been spent $20,001 or more At least $10,000 has been spent When can organizations request reimbursement of grant funds? Requests can be made anytime between October 1, 2017, or when the grant is fully executed, and August 31, 2018. However, reimbursement requests should generally be made shortly after the funds have been spent and as soon as your organization’s tax sites close. If your organization is granted a substantial amount of grant funds, we recommend requesting reimbursement in multiple increments (following the guidelines in the table above) and not waiting until the final report is due. Note: Organizations receiving $50,000 or more in grant funds will have a monitoring visit conducted before final reimbursement is approved.

Reimbursement of Grant Funds Reimbursement request cover sheet Complete each time requesting reimbursement Requests will not be accepted without cover sheet Must include supporting documentation Organizations will need to complete a reimbursement request cover sheet that will detail the specific expenses of the reimbursement request. The reimbursement request cover sheet will be available on our website. Organizations will also need to include supporting documentation for all expenses within the reimbursement request such as payroll records, itemized receipts, invoices or purchase orders, mileage logs, etc. to prove expenses are reasonable, necessary, and allowable within the guidelines of the grant contract. General Ledger accounts are not acceptable documentation. Salaries – Include names, position, pay rate, and time allocated to the tax program (if they are involved in other areas of your organization) Acceptable documentation: Payroll Records (Labor Allocation Detail Reports, timesheets, etc.) Documentation must be organized so that it flows in the order that it is listed on the Reimbursement Request Cover Sheet to make it easier to review. Highlight/circle dates and expenses Organize into one PDF (or as few as possible if a large document) Requests for reimbursement without proper supporting documentation will not be accepted.

Due Dates and Deadlines FY18 Request for Proposals (RFP) Available on our website June 30, 2017 Submit applications by email or mail Applications are due August 15, 2017 The specifics on how to submit a question is detailed in the RFP for your reference. Questions can be submitted anytime between June 30, 2017 – August 3, 2017 with all questions answered by August 10, 2017. All questions received during this time and the answers provided will be posted to our website for anyone to review. Be sure to submit your organization’s proposal through a method sure to arrive on time as applications must be received by August 15. It is your responsibility to ensure a timely proposal is received by the due date. Proposals will not be considered if received late. Once all proposals have been received, our grant review team will evaluate all complete applications to determine awards. Details of exactly how proposals are scored on the basis of need, impact, and performance will be outlined in the RFP.

Due Dates and Deadlines Progress Reports Due February 15, 2018 Final Reports Due August 31, 2018, or 45 days after volunteer taxpayer assistance services have ended (whichever is earlier) Progress Reports are only required for organizations that are awarded more than $5,000 in grant funds. FY18 progress reports will be due February 15, 2018 after training for the 2017 tax season has ended and a few weeks into the filing season. The goal is for organizations to report more specifically on preparations for the filing season on the progress report and report on how the entire filing season went on the final report. Final reports are required for all organizations that are awarded grant funds. FY18 final reports will be due August 31, 2018 or 45 days after volunteer taxpayer assistance services have ended (whichever is earlier). We have information on when your tax sites close for the season, which we can use to verify that your final report was submitted timely. You can always submit progress and final reports before their due dates.

Questions? Are larger grant requests considered with different criteria than smaller requests? No, all grant requests are considered using the same evaluation criteria. See Part Six. Evaluations of Proposals in the “FY18 Request for Proposals” for details. For progress reports, how much does the grant have to be? If you receive a grant of $5,000 or more, a progress report is required. Progress reports are due February 15, 2018. When will we be notified if we are approved for grant funds? Before October 1, 2017. If and when you run out of grant money do you give more organizations partial amounts that they requested or do you fully fund fewer organizations? The grant is for $400,000 for fiscal year 2018. The grant evaluation team evaluates and scores each application. Depending on the number of qualifying organizations that submit complete applications to be considered for grant funds, the grant funds are distributed based on the grant evaluation team score. Typically, we have requests over $400,000 each fiscal year. See Part Six. Evaluations of Proposals in the “FY18 Request for Proposals” for details on the grant evaluation criteria. Are grant funds renewed each year? No. Your organization must apply for the grant funds each fiscal year. How much was awarded in FY17? Grant contracts totaling $400,000 were executed in fiscal year 2017. Are there examples of successful grants that we can review? If you know of another organization that has been awarded grant funds in the past and you’re familiar with them and could reach out to see if they’d be willing to share that information with you. All data submitted in a grant application becomes public once the evaluation process is completed. Contact the grant coordinator at Volunteer.Grant.MDOR@state.mn.us or 651-556-3052 if you are interested in this information. Is there a way to view a sample previous RFP? Yes. The Fiscal Year 2017 Request for Proposals is currently on the website. The Fiscal Year 2018 Request for Proposals will be on the website beginning June 30, 2017.

Thank you! 651-556-3052 or 1-800-818-6871 (toll-free) Volunteer.Grant.MDOR@state.mn.us