2018 Emerging Opportunities Program Application

Transcription

1 2018 Emerging Opportunities Program Application Submit Application to: Deadline: 12:00 pm CST (noon) on March 5, 2018 Late applications will not be accepted Please limit your proposal and responses spaces provided in this form. Any materials submitted in addition to this application form will not be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Do not attempt to unlock or alter this form. If you need assistance with this proposal or are unclear about how to respond to any questions listed below, please contact CDD staff at Agency or Group: connextions Amount Requested: 20,734 Title of Proposal: Project Type Project Description: 2018 connextions program Community Engagement and Capacity Building connextions guides underrepresented young adults to achieve their goals by building their social capital and connecting them with the community. We provide mentoring opportunities with professionals that have expertise in the young adults career interests. We also provide networking opportunities by teaching young adults how to network and create events for them to practice their skills. Finally, we offer free workshops on personal and professional development so that young adults can build their knowledge, skills, and abilities to become leaders, be more positively engaged with the community and be better prepared for the real world. Contact Person: Saran Ouk Address: Is this Group a 501 (C) (3)? Applicant Organization founded (Year): Name of Fiscal Agent (if Applicable): Fiscal Agent Contact Person: 5201 Old Middleton Rd. Madison, WI Yes or No Yes 2016 N/A Telephone: If no, applicant will need to secure a fiscal agent with 501 (C) (3) status Fiscal Agent Phone: Fiscal Agent Contact Us! CDD staff are committed to helping interested groups understand and work through program requirements. Call Nancy Saiz at or check out the staff directory on our website for a list of staff, their focal areas, and contact information.

2 1. Project Description a. What is the goal of your project? (500 characters) connextions guide underrepresented young adults from the Madison community to achieve their financial, educational and career goals through mentoring, networking and professional development. Our goals are to 1) help build social capital and connections with the community so that young adults can become selfsufficient and give back to the community, 2) increase their knowledge and access to resources, 3) build their confidence and skills in public speaking, resume writing and interviewing. b. Intended Service Population: (500 characters) Describe the intended service population that will be impacted by this project (e.g., location, ages, ethnicities, income ranges, English language proficiency etc.). We serve people of color, women or individuals from low-income communities, ages in the Madison community. This is a crucial age in a young person's life because once you turn 18, you're expected to go off into the real world on your own and many no longer have family, school or community support. It's a crucial age to not have support because important life decisions are made during this time and many nonprofit programs or government support ends at the age of 18. c. Project Design: (5000 characters) Describe your proposed project activities. How will these activities help you accomplish your stated goals? Include information about key parts of your project that help us understand how you will accomplish your goals and how these funds would be used. Our services are free of charge but there are expenses that accrue. We need funding for the following activities to help us guide mentees to achieve their career goals. First, with mentoring, there are costs associated with matching, training and monitoring. We carefully match young adults with mentors, perform background and reference checks, conduct interviews, etc. to ensure a good match. Mentees and mentors are trained so they can maximize their relationship. We monitor the relationship via in person meetings, phone calls and surveys to ensure a good mentoring relationship. Second, with networking, we provide workshops that teaches them networking skills. We create inclusive networking events such as the Entrepreneurship and Leadership panels, so they can practice their networking skills. Mentors can bring them to other networking events, so they can get more practice and feel confident to network on their own. When they graduate, they receive a "connext" card, which is a business card with their name and information printed on the card. This is a great way to exchange information and young adults will feel more professional when they meet with people. Third, with professional development, we provide workshops that will help young adults build their knowledge, skills, and abilities such as financial literacy, interviewing skills, resume writing and confidence building so they can be prepared for the real world. In addition, we provide one-on-one financial coaching with an individualized plan to help eliminate financial barriers. We believe that financial knowledge is key for young adults to be successful. They learn how to save, budget and invest their money. They also learn about loans and the importance of building and maintaining good credit. Finally, they learn about other valuable information that all young adults need to know about such as credit cards, buying a car or home for the first time, insurance and taxes. We also partner with various employers to provide career tours to broaden mentees awareness of the scope of possibility in the Madison area job market. Young adults learn about different career opportunities that they would not have known about. Employers are able to connect with a more diverse pool of candidates and gain a more diverse workforce. Lastly, we provide free transportation so that young adults can attend our workshops and events because we know that transportation is a major barrier for many people in our community. d. Proposed Timeline for Implementation Activity Estimated Start and Completion Dates Mentoring Match and Relationship Monitoring May-December 2018 Mentee and Mentor Orientation Training May-June 2018

3 Activity Estimated Start and Completion Dates Mentee Educational Workshops July-December 2018 Entrepreneurship Panel Event September 2018 Leadership Panel Event October 2018 Career Tours September-November Applicant Organization or Group: (2500 characters) Briefly describe the structure of your organization. Include information about your board and/or volunteers. Please describe any successes you have had that relate to the proposed project. (10 Pts) We have 5 board members, 1 founder and a couple volunteers that helps with marketing. In addition, we have volunteer mentors who are currently continuing their mentoring relationships with the graduates and we have several more that are on the waiting list to get matched this year. In 2017, the first connextions program was launched and in December of 2017, the first cohort of mentees graduated from the program. These young adults have increased their social capital and knowledge on important life skills. They feel empowered to create their own career paths, feel more confident in themselves and have a better understanding of what they want to do for their career and what they need to do to be successful. One mentee commented in the beginning on how uncomfortable she was with her finances and how she did not think she had enough to start investing. Now she feels confident, wants to educate people about finances and knows that she can start investing right away. Many of the mentees felt this way. In addition, we have partnered with Synergy Coworking for our graduates to join another program to help them continue building their leadership skills. Three of the graduates are in the new Synergy Excelerator program that was inspired by the mentees in the connextions program to continue to help develop their social entrepreneurship ideas and career interests. These three graduates are working together to start an organization to support immigrants and refugees in Madison and will go on to start a similar program in their home countries. Another mentee was inspired from our Entrepreneurship Panel event to start her own salon and help those that are homeless with free beauty services and interview preparation, so they can look and feel confident when applying for jobs. Finally, a major success is that we were able create awareness for the need for underrepresented young adults to have mentors and connections to be successful. These graduates understand the barriers in our community and want to give back by returning to connextions to volunteer as a mentor and help improve the community. This is our ultimate goal to have them return as mentors, give their expert advice to another mentee and give back to the community. They know that it is important to not just provide tools and resources but to also help eliminate barriers for underrepresented young adults that were created in the first place. 3. Alignment: (2500 characters) Briefly describe how your proposed project aligns with City, neighborhood or community based planning processes or reports. (10 Pts) According to a 2013 Dane County report on Race to Equity, youth of color in our community do significantly worse than their white counterparts on measures of employment and educational achievement. These disparities compromise life chances for far too many of our young adults. In addition, the City and employers are looking for ways to create a more diverse workforce. As mentioned earlier, connextions is collaborating with various businesses, organizations, schools and government agencies to provide career tours to broaden mentees awareness of the scope of possibility in the Madison area job market. In these career tours, young adults get a tour of the building, learn about different career opportunities they would not have known about, hear from employees what it is like to work for the company and learn from HR what skills are needed for various positions within the company. Also, employers can connect with a more diverse pool of candidates and gain a more diverse workforce. Many underrepersented young adults do not know that they can simply reach out to employers, ask for a tour or do informational interviews. These career tours help build relationships and connections with young adults

4 and employers, which makes it less intimidating for young adults to reach out to the employers. This will help with the issue of young adults finding employment and with employers missing out on the oppportunity to connect with young adults from Madison. Many times, underrepresented young adults from Madison are not aware of the opportunties in Madison and end up leaving the city to work elsewhere. Our program provides young adults with the skills they need to get the job and the skills they need to maintain the job so they can stay and contribute to our community. 4. Community Engagement: (2500 characters) Briefly describe how residents and the community who may benefit from this project have been involved in the development of this proposal. (10 Pts) connextions was founded in 2016 by Saran Ouk who is passionate about giving back to the community, developing young people and educating people on financial literacy. She was inspired to start connextions when she met a young lady who wanted to be a financial advisor to help out low-income families invest their money wisely so they can end the cycle of poverty. This was exactly in line with Saran s passion and she immediately connected the young lady with a friend of hers who had just opened his own investment firm. After making this connection, Saran knew that she wanted to give back to the community by connecting underrepresented young adults to professionals that can help them with their career goals. Saran knows firsthand the challenges that low-income families and those from underrepresented groups face. She herself grew up in a low-income household without a mentor and limited resources. She feels strongly that education and social capital can help eliminate barriers. This is why she created connextions to help prepare young adults for the real world by building their social capital, connecting them with the community and educating them on important life skills they may not learn in school such as financial literacy. In addition, Saran knew that her firsthand knowledge and experience would not be enough and that she needed to do research to understand the barriers that young adults today faced and what the gaps in our communities were. This is why she met with underrepresented young adults to learn about their challenges and find out if the connextions program would be a benefit to them. She met with other organization such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and CEOs of Tomorrow to find a way for the youth in these programs to transition and join connextions since these program ends at the age of 18 whereas the connextions program starts and 18 and this can help youth and young adults stay connected with our community. She also spoke to potential mentors and other community leaders about the program and everyone gave her advice, feedback and support to make the program a reality. 5. Collaboration: (2500 characters) Briefly describe any collaboration or coordination with other organizations or service providers in the development of this proposal. (5 Pts) connextions developed collaborations with the community to provide free space for our educational sessions at the Urban League, Madison Public Library and Synergy Coworking. We also engaged the University of Madison staff and student volunteers to assist with data collection and metrics analysis, and professionals in our community who volunteer their time to mentor and teach various life skills to young adults. For example, in our resume writing and interviewing skills workshops, we had volunteers from various employers give tips on resume writing and met with each mentee to help build their resumes. In addition, mentees were able to prepare for interviews by practicing in the mock interview sessions and practiced asking questions. The mentees appreciated getting feedback from people who reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates on a daily basis. We also had an investment advisor from Edward Jones teach mentees smart investment strategies. Many of our mentees come from low-income communities and did not feel that they could invest their money. After the workshop, they all wanted to start investing right away and educate others that it is possible to invest, no matter how much money you have. As mentioned earlier, we partner with various employers provide career tours. Many employers are looking to create a diverse workforce yet struggle to find diverse candidates. The young adults in our program will not only gain skills that these employers are looking for but they are also the diverse group that employers want to join their team. We work with other organizations and businesses that provides networking opportunities so that young adults can connect with professionals in the community, build their social capital and advance their career goals. Finally, we collaborate with others to create special events for young adults on topics that are important to them. At Entrepreneurship Panel Event, we invited young entrepreneurs to come

5 speak and to inspire young adults to do anything they want. We also invited speakers from Upstart and WWBIC to learn about resouces for entreprenuers. The message was that they can create their own career path and that they do not have to fit into a box. This event inspired many of the mentees to create their own businesses, nonprofits or programs to help their communities. This is exactly what we envisioned our nonprofit to accomplish. Helping young adults achieve their goals and inspiring them to give back to the community. 6. Funding: (10 points- includes workshop attendance) a) Has your organization received funding from the City of Madison Community Development Division, City of Madison CDBG office, Community Resources, or the Emerging Opportunities Program in the last 5 years? (Please note: Amount and frequency of funding will be considered in scoring this criteria) Yes No b) What other funding do you anticipate pursuing if the project is expected to continue? (500 characters) We anticipate in pursuing the 100 Women grant and the Coca Cola Foundation grant. 7. Budget (5 points): a. Summarize your project budget by estimated costs, revenue, and fund sources. BUDGET EXPENDITURES A. Personnel Costs (Complete Personnel chart below) TOTAL PROJECT COSTS AMOUNT OF CITY REQUESTED 1. Salaries/Wages (show detail below) Fringe Benefits and Payroll Taxes B. Program/Project Costs 1. Program/Project supplies and equipment 2. Office Supplies Transportation Other (explain) C. Space Costs 5. Rent/Utilities/Telephone Other (explain): D. TOTAL (A + B + C) AMOUNT OF NON- CITY REVENUES SOURCE OF NON- City FUNDED PORTION Explanation of Other expenses: (500 characters) B. Program/Project Costs-Other: -Food/snack/water for workshops, trainings, meetings and events 780

6 -Workshops/trainers Staff training and professional development Marketing 1125 C. Space Cost 5.Rent/Utilities/Telephone: This is the cost of a coworking space at Synergy 30/month x 12=360 6.Other:Training/Event Space for workshops, trainings, meetings and events (780) -Nonprofit Registration Fees (404) b. Personnel Chart: List all paid staff that will be working on the proposed program/project. Title of Staff Position F.T.E.* Proposed Hourly Wage* Founder/CEO TOTAL.10 *FTE = Full Time Equivalent (1.00,.75,.50, etc.) 2080 hours = 1.00 FTE Please identify FTE that will be spent in this project. *Note: All employees involved in programs or project receiving City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance Effective January 1, 2018 December 31, 2018, the Living Wage is per hour.

7 City of Madison Contracts: -SIGNATURE PAGE- The following information is provided in order to outline city requirements that will apply if your proposal is funded. All allocated funds will be administered through contracts with the City of Madison, Community Development Division. If funded, the City of Madison reserves the right to negotiate the final terms of a contract with the selected organization. If funded, applicants will be required to attend a mandatory meeting on contracting requirements in early May City purchase of service contracts include requirements regarding non-discrimination, consideration of vulnerable populations along with specific requirements in the following three areas: 1. Affirmative Action: If funded, applicant hereby agrees to comply with City of Madison Ordinance 39.02, an Affirmative Action Plan with the City Department of Civil Rights (DCR) or an exemption if allowed by City DCR. A model Affirmative Action Plan and instructions are available at: 2. Living Wage Ordinance: All employees involved in programs or projects supported by City of Madison funds must be paid the established Living Wage as required under City of Madison Ordinance The Living wage effective January 1, 2018 is per hour. For more information on Living Wage requirements, go to 3. Insurance If funded, applicant agrees to secure insurance coverage in the following areas to the extent required by the City Office of Risk Management: Commercial General Liability Automobile Liability Worker s Comp Professional Liability The cost of this coverage can be considered in the request for funding. The Certificate of Insurance that will be required at the time of contracting is available on the City of Madison Risk Management website. A sample contract that includes standard provisions may be obtained by contacting the Community Development Division at (608) Signature: (Any applications submitted without a signature will be considered incomplete and will not be considered for funding.) Applicant Signature: Enter Name: Saran Ouk Date: 03/04/2018 By entering your initials in the box, SO You are electronically signing your name and agreeing to the terms above.