1. The applicant’s background and organizational history.
2. The applicant’s organizational qualifications and past performance.
3. The applicant’s experience working with veterans.
4. The applicant’s need for grant funding, including a detailed budget.
5. The applicant’s outreach and referral plan.
6. The applicant’s program implementation timeline
7. The applicant’s monitoring and program evaluation.
8. The applicant’s program goals and objectives.
9. The applicant’s past working relationships with other start-up businesses and entrepreneurship programs.
(f) Notification of award or denial of grant. The department shall notify each applicant in writing of its decision to award or not award a grant in accordance with the public notice under this subsection.
(g) Grant awards. The department shall award grants to the applicants with the highest numerical scores determined under the criteria developed under par. (e) as funds are available. A grant awarded under this section shall be made on forms prepared by the department. The award shall be signed by the authorized representative of the department and shall list any conditions to which the award is subject.
(h) Grant acceptance. The authorized representative of the recipient nonprofit organization shall accept the grant award by signing the award document and returning it to the department. The department may terminate a grant award if the award is not accepted within 10 calendar days of the date of issuance by the department.
(i) Amount of grants. The amount of each grant will be based on the amount requested and the amount approved by the evaluation committee. The grant award shall not exceed the amount requested.
(j) Restrictions. 1. ‘Prohibited use of funds.’ a. Grant funds shall be used only for the payment or reimbursement of expenses assignable to the approved purposes of the grant. Any other use of grant funds is prohibited. A grantee may not use the grant funds to supplant existing employee wages and compensation. A grantee may not use grant funds to purchase capital equipment unless specified in the grant award.
b. A grantee agrees that no grant appropriated funds will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, any member of the Wisconsin legislature, or an employee of a member of the legislature in connection with the awarding of any state contract, the making of any state grant, the making of any state loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, or the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any state contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
2. ‘Violation of prohibited use of funds’. If a grantee uses grant funds for prohibited activities under par. (a), the department may terminate the grant and recover funds previously paid to the grantee for that funding period on a recoupment schedule specified in the grant award.
3. ‘Record keeping’. A grantee shall maintain grant records for at least 3 years and shall provide information to the department as required by the department for the purposes of program or fiscal audits and, at the request of the department, shall appear before the department to respond to any questions about the grant and use of grant funds.
(k) Eligibility and certification. In order for a grant participant to receive services from the grantee that are funded by a grant awarded under this subsection, a grantee must submit a certification request to the department to verify eligibility of each grant participant. Services can only be provided by the grantee to grant participants verified by the department as eligible on forms created by the department.
(l) Reporting requirements. A grantee receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit to the department data and information on the use and impact of the grant funds as specified in this section and in the grant award by 6 months from the date of the award of the grant or June 30 of the fiscal year in which the grant is awarded, whichever is later. Such data and information includes:
1. The number of veterans assisted by the grantee with grant funds.
2. The dollar amount of the grant funds applied to each veteran assisted.
3. The type of assistance given to each veteran with grant funds.
4. The measurable outcomes of the grant funds applied to each veteran assisted as defined by the department at the time of awarding the grant.
(m) Assurances and certifications. 1. ‘Authority to sign and accept funds’. The grantee shall certify that the designated signatory official has the authority to sign on behalf of the grantee and has the authority to accept funds.
2. ‘Compliance statement’. Before the department releases grant funds, the grantee shall provide a statement that it is in compliance with applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations, including tax laws, the requirements of this section, and the grant award.
3. ‘Nondiscrimination and equal opportunity’. In accordance with s. 16.765, Stats., the grantee may not discriminate in violation of state or federal law and shall follow equal employment opportunity practices in the administration and delivery of program services to eligible applicants. END OF RULE TEXT
Section 2
Effective date. This rule shall take effect on the first day of the month following publication in the Wisconsin Administrative Register as provided in s. 227.22 (2) (intro.), Stats.
