Applications to be accepted through June 26
The team handling Sarasota County’s Resilient SRQ Workforce Development and Training Program is inviting representatives of nonprofit organizations, community-based development organizations, public institutions of higher learning, and Sarasota County public entities to apply for funding for workforce development and training programs and projects, county staff announced this week.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated $201.5 million to the Sarasota County Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) initiative to aid the long-term recovery from Hurricane Ian for low- to moderate-income individuals, a news release explains.
The Workforce Development and Training Program has $15 million available for projects that will create or expand training for construction trades, the release notes.
“Applications will be accepted May 15 through June 26,” the release points out.
Interested applicants are encouraged to attend an in-person/virtual information session to learn more about the program. The in-person session will be conducted on Tuesday, May 21, at 8:30 a.m., in the first-floor training room of the Sarasota County Administration Building standing at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota.
Applicants may register here for the session online.
Applicants must meet all the following conditions for a project to be considered for funding, the release points out:
- 1. Any proposed project must be designed to serve low- to moderate-income (LMI) persons in accord “with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) LMI National Objective.” Applicants will have to continue to report that they are meeting the LMI National Objective as specified in the subrecipient agreement they will have to sign.
- 2. The proposed project must be an eligible activity, which can be one or both of the following: construction or acquisition of a public facility for a construction trades training program; provision of a public service by creating or expanding a training program for construction trades.
- 3. The project must take place in Sarasota County.
- 4. The project must include mitigation measures.
Proposals that meet the above conditions will be scored on their financial plan, project readiness, project impact and pre-award assessment, the release motes.
Below is a summary of the application process and review steps, the release adds:
- Step 1 — Interested applicants submit their materials at ResilientSRQ.net.
- Step 2 — Resilient SRQ staff will review the applications and make scoring recommendations to the Sarasota County Commission.
- Step 3 — The Sarasota County Commission will review the proposals and make the final selection of projects for funding.
- Step 4 — Applicants who proposed the projects that have been selected will enter into a subrecipient agreement outlining the specific HUD funding requirements.
Additional information about eligibility requirements and scoring criteria may be found at ResilientSRQ.net or by calling 311 or 941-861-5309.