WIRED Innovation Fund Questions & Answers

To whom should Letters of Commitment be addressed? To the applicant agency or to a representative(s) of the WIRED Initiative?

Letters of Commitment are an important method of communicating a partner's role and investment in a proposed project. They can be addressed to the Southeast Wisconsin WIRED Initiative directly or the WIRED Steering Committee.

In reviewing the grant guidelines page 7 reads, "The fiscal agent must have established legal standing as a corporation or a 501(c)3'.  Gateway (Technical College) does not have 501(c)3 status and is not a corporation.  Therefore, I understand this to mean that Gateway cannot serve as the fiscal agent, even though we have experience managing federal grants.  Please confirm.

The Round I RFP is worded to prevent individuals or sole proprietorships from applying for funds. A technical college would be seen as an "incorporated entity" and would be acceptable as fiscal agent.

An amended Attachment B. (3 pages of Budget info) was handed out at the TA meeting. Can this amendment be found in electronic version anywhere?

Please visit our website http://www.milwaukee7-rwa.org   Click on the "WIRED Documents" tab. The latest entry is titled "Innovation Fund Budget." - that is the amended attachment you are looking for.

Can a partner also be a paid trainer as part of the project?  In other words, can we pay or compensate the partner business as an allowable expense?

Guidelines from the Department of Labor regarding the allowable uses of H1-B funds indicate that "training costs may consist of such items as salaries of in-house trainers providing direct training for eligible employees.."

Is a 12-month budget period allowable for a Demonstration Investment?

Yes. There is no requirement that the length of a program's budget period exceed 12 months.

I would like to drop off our Grant proposal. Could you please give me information on where to go and who I should give it to?  Could I also have a phone number in case I need to contact someone?  

The drop off site for WIRED proposals is the Workforce Development Center in Pewaukee, located on the campus of the Waukesha County Technical College and accessible from state Highway 190 (Capitol Drive), state Highway 16 and Interstate 94 (at the County "T" exit). The building's address is:

892 Main Street  Pewaukee, WI 53072.

Susan Koehn is the WIRED Innovation Fund Specialist and can be reached at the WDC at 262-695-7881. The building's hours are 8:00am - 4:30pm. If Susan Koehn is not available, front desk staff will be instructed to date stamp all WIRED grant proposals.  Please emphasize that your proposal is for the WIRED Initiative and should be marked for Susan Koehn's attention.