U.S. Department of Labor VETS Offers Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP) Grant for Veteran Employment Support

Eligible applicants generally fall into one of the following categories:
A. Applicants should establish partnerships with State and local Workforce Investment Boards (SWIBs/LWIBs), established under Sections 111 and 117 of the Workforce Investment Act.

B. Public agencies, meaning any public agency of a State or of a general purpose political subdivision of a State that has the power to levy taxes and spend funds, as well as general corporate and police powers. (This typically refers to cities and counties.) A State agency may propose in its application to serve one or more of the jurisdictions located in its State. This does not preclude a city or county agency from submitting an application to serve its own jurisdiction.

C. Non-profit organizations (including faith-based and neighborhood partnerships). If claiming 501(c) (3) status, the Internal Revenue Service statement indicating 501(c) (3) status approval must be submitted.
Applicants for VWIP must satisfy a “responsibility review” that demonstrates an ability to administer Federal funds. See 20 CFR 667.170. Other eligible applicants include joint labor-management training programs, representatives from local governments, conservation corps, community colleges, and small businesses.

Entities described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities are not eligible to receive funds under this announcement because Section 18 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, Public Law No. 104-65, 109 Stat. 691, prohibits the award of Federal funds to these entities. In accordance with 29 CFR Part 98, entities that are debarred or suspended shall be excluded from Federal financial assistance and are ineligible to receive a VWIP grant.

Under this PY 2010 SGA, VETS anticipates that up to $2 million will be available for grant awards up to a maximum of $500,000 for each grant award. VETS anticipates approximately 4 awards will be made under this solicitation with the possibility of additional awards contingent upon applicant funding requests. The period of performance for these PY 2010 grants will be July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Two (2) optional years of additional funding may be available, depending upon Congressional appropriations, the agency’s decision to exercise the optional year(s) of funding, and satisfactory grantee and sub-awardee(s) performance. Failure to provide timely and accurate reporting may jeopardize optional year funding. There may be future addendums to this solicitation published on Grants.gov and the VETS website. All applicants are responsible for checking back to Grants.gov and the VETS website regularly to ensure they have all of the latest information regarding any updates to this solicitation.