2015 (SFY 2014) Ohio CDC Microbusiness Development Program Application Webinar August 8, 2014

Changes to Program in 2014 and 2015  Program structure  Grant period  Grant size  Electronic application submission  Fund disbursement

Program Structure

Long-Term Goals  Increasing geographic reach of microbusiness in Ohio  Better leveraging of existing resources  Improved evaluation, training and technical assistance  Create Ohio Microbusiness Network with AmeriCorps*VISTA capacity building  Spring 2015 Microbusiness Summit

Grant Period  Fourteen months to close out grant.  All activities completed in twelve months.  All funds must be drawn down 13 th month  Funds expended, final performance report submitted and ready for closeout by the end of 14 th month.  A timeline of the project, including when the outcomes are anticipated to be met, should be included in the application.

Grant Award Size  $575,000 of OHTF/CDC funds  The maximum award to an organization is $50,000 A maximum of 40% of grant amount may be used for lending. A maximum of 10% of grant amount may be used for administrative costs

Fund Disbursement  Draws for administration/training/TA can be requested at any time with the disbursement form. Form and backup can be provided by .  On-demand loan fund disbursement  Rhonda Foreman, OCDCA Fiscal Manager (614) x 210

Monitoring and Evaluation  microTracker Microenterprise Census (FIELD at the Aspen Institute) will help OCDCA and MDO’s deepen knowledge of the microbusiness industry in Ohio for advocacy and research. microTracker will enable OCDCA grantees to benchmark and analyze program performance (paid by OCDCA).  Annual site visits  Mid-year Progress Report

Application  Submission deadline: The application must be received by September 5,  Submitted electronically via in PDF format in a ZIP file or mailed/delivered to OCDCA office saved to flash/thumb drive.  New office address – 100 E. Broad Street, Suite 502, Columbus, OH  The application should be organized in the same sequence as the instructions.  In order for the application to be considered complete by OCDCA, the required sections and exhibits must be included in the applicant's submission. Applications missing any of the required exhibits will not be eligible for funding.  Anticipated funding announcements: October 2014  Award date: January 1, 2014

Definition  Microbusinesses: For-profit entities with five or fewer employees, one of whom owns the business.  Microbusinesses: Do not generally have access to the commercial banking sector. Therefore, this program intends to provide funding for CDC’s to further develop a local delivery system that encourages microbusiness development, and to provide low- and moderate- income persons with access to capital for business development and self-employment.  Microbusiness and microenterprise used interchangeably.

Eligible Activities  Training and/or technical assistance to for-profit entities.  Financial assistance through direct or shared loans to private, for- profit entities or individuals to support self-employment and job creation/retention. Working Capital Loans are eligible.  Every activity assisted with grant funds must meet the low- moderate income benefit, based on HUD Section 8 Income Limits. The microbusiness assisted will create or retain jobs, 51% or more of which will benefit LMI persons. Participants in training programs must meet LMI qualification.

Eligibility Criteria  The organization must be incorporated with the Ohio Secretary of State as a private, non-profit for at least two years;  The organization must be a dues paying member of the Ohio CDC Association;  The organization must have its 501(c)(3) designation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);  The non-profit’s board must have one-third of its board members determined to be low- and moderate-income persons or representative of low- and moderate-income organizations;  The non-profit’s board must submit a resolution authorizing submission of the application;

Eligibility Criteria cont’d.  Applicant organization must be community-based and have a development focus;  Applicant must submit recent financials or an audited financial statement with the application;  The project must benefit low- and moderate-income persons in the designated target area.  As previously, existing grantees must have expended at least 40% of any open Microbusiness grant at the time of the September 5 th application deadline (applicable to training/technical assistance/administration – not loans).

Rating Criteria 1.Organization Capacity Human Resource Capacity Staff expertise, experience, and education Staffing levels of program components Financial Resource Capacity Program budget 2.Program Design Client Identification and Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Program Loan Approval, Structuring and Servicing (if applicable) Partnerships

Rating Criteria 3.Achieving Results and Program Evaluation Program Outcomes and Outputs Training enrollments/completion, loan applications/received (if applicable), technical assistance (if applicable), business starts, business expansions, jobs created/retained Program Timeline Program Sustainability Leverage of other public and private funds Previous program performance (current and past grantees)

Contact  Nate Coffman, Executive Director  Telephone: ext. 207 