The Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (MORCA) is soliciting grant applications from all qualified District of Columbia businesses or nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status for the Access to Jobs Grant.
Donor Name: Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (MORCA)
State: District of Columbia
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/15/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $50,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The subsidization provided by this Grant is for up to two (2) years: MORCA will subsidize 40% of the minimum wage for each employee for the first year and MORCA will fund 80% of the minimum wage for the second year. Organizations must apply each year for the Grant. Organizations that participate in this Grant must provide sufficient supplemental wages so that the employee earns minimum wage; of course, employers are free to pay more than minimum wage, but MORCA will only provide subsidization at the minimum wage as outlined above.
Furthermore, participating organizations are welcome to hire returning citizens under this grant for more than 32.5 hours per week, but MORCA will not cover costs for fringe benefits or overtime, those costs are the responsibility of the hiring organization. Participating organizations seeking to hire District returning citizens beyond the two (2) year grant period are welcomed and encouraged to do so but on an unsubsidized basis.
In 2024, MORCA’s Returning Citizens Access to Jobs Grant will prioritize grant applications with demonstrated ties or designed to:
- Connect returning citizens to subsided employment opportunities.
- Build workplace skills, work experience and career advancement opportunities for returning citizens.
- Create workplace flexibilities that consider the unique needs and challenges that returning citizens face in the workplace; and
- Offer short term, subsidized positions within organizations that could feasibly be extended into long term, unsubsidized employment.
Funding Information
Eligible organizations can be awarded up to $ 50,000 for hiring of up to ten (10) District returning citizens.
Performance Period
October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024, with a possibility of extension through 2025 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025), pending funding availability in 2025.
Target Population
The target population for this grant is returning citizens living in the District of Columbia.
Eligibility Criteria
Organization(s) that meet the following eligibility requirements at the time of the application may apply:
- The organization must be registered with the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (MORCA) to accept applications for employment from eligible individuals.
- The organization must pay eligible individuals at least minimum wage (including the grant subsidy) per the District Department of Employment Services’ Office of Wage-Hour (OWH).
- The organization must pay eligible individuals for a minimum of twenty (20) hours a week for eight (8) weeks to participate in this Grant.
- The organization must be able to comply with following pay structure: For the first year, MORCA will subsidize 40% of the minimum wage and the hiring organization must be able to provide the remaining 60% of the minimum wage. For the second year, contingent on budget availability, MORCA will subsidize 80% of minimum wage and the hiring organization must be able to provide the remains 20% of minimum wage. Organizations must reapply to be considered for the second year.
- The organization must be in good financial standing to cover the unsubsidized wage.
- The organization’s principal place of business must be located in the District of Columbia;
- The organization must conduct all services and programming funded through this grant in the District of Columbia;
- The organization must be registered in good standing with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division (or successor office) and the Office of Tax and Revenue; and
- The organizations must be and is responsible for compliance with all areas of law and regulation, including labor law, workplace safety, tax law, both federal and District.
For a hiring organization to receive funding under this Grant for the employment of an individual, that individual must:
- Have been previously incarcerated.
- Be a resident of the District of Columbia.
- Have completed a workforce development and life skills program sponsored by an organization with the District of Columbia.
- Have been unemployed for a period of at least three (3) months prior to being hired by the participating employer; and
- Be currently enrolled in a mentoring program specifically for returning citizens that is sponsored by an organization within the District of Columbia
For more information, visit MORCA.
