The Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center (“MassCEC”) is seeking proposals for second round of the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise Support Implementation Grants.
Donor Name: Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/10/2023
Size of the Grant: up to $1,000,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Through this Request for Proposals (“RFP”), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center (“MassCEC”) continues a Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (“MWBE”) Support Program (“the Program”) in climate critical fields. The Program is an overarching initiative aimed at the exploration, development, and implementation of innovative support for Massachusetts-based MWBE companies to assist their entry, creation, and expansion into fields that are critical to meeting the Commonwealth’s ambitious climate goals of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Proposed support and training initiatives may be aimed at facilitating Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office, DCAMM or other certification of new MWBE’s in climate critical fields, creation of new MWBEs, as well as supporting existing MWBE’s to grow and excel in clean energy and climate critical fields.
Program Goals
Funding in this RFP is intended to organization that can support Minority and Women Owned Businesses Enterprises and the creation of MWBEs in Massachusetts for the following goals:
- Increase MWBE business activity in climate critical business fields,
- Increase expertise of MWBE’s in climate critical business fields,
- Grow employment and revenue of existing MWBEs that operate in climate critical business fields and continue long-term growth strategies
- Create new MWBE firms in climate critical fields and support healthy long-term growth of those firms
- Tie together relevant existing support for small businesses and fill gaps in support for MWBEs focusing on climate critical business fields
Funding Information
This funding opportunity is for MWBE Support Implementation Grants of up to $1,000,000 for up to 3 years of work to help MWBEs grow and excel in climate critical fields.
Eligible Funding Uses
For the MWBE Support Implementation Grant opportunity, Applicants must propose the implementation of innovative projects. All projects must focus specifically on support of MWBEs or the creation of MWBEs in climate critical business fields. The expectation is that MWBE Support Implementation funds would be utilized within three (3) years of contract execution for active programs, with an additional one (1) year of outcome and metric monitoring. MassCEC anticipates these grants shall be utilized for activities such as (without limitation):
- staff or individual time devoted to program, or project preparation and implementation; including one-on-one business counseling, strategic business introductions, assistance navigating government procurement processes, assisting with recruitment and retention of employees, and support accessing capital;
- marketing activities & expenses commonly associated with outreach initiatives such as purchasing marketing collateral, renting space for events, promotional mailers, and website or social media hosting costs;
- technical support needed to move projects forward;
- field specific training and coaching;
- training stipends to address anticipated losses of wages or revenue that MWBEs may incur while participating in extended training offerings;
- ongoing costs for accountants, lawyers, or other professional services; and/or
- costs associated with initial and/or ongoing MWBE engagement, including translation services.
Eligibility Criteria
Single organizations or partnerships are eligible to apply. If multiple parties apply jointly, one party should take on the role of Lead Applicant. The following entities are eligible to serve as a Lead Applicant:
- Non-profit organizations including Chamber of Commerce organizations, trade associations, clean energy incubators/accelerators, environmental justice organizations, and organizations representing tribes
- Academic institutions with a business support program
- For-profit entities such as clean energy installers, energy efficiency, or home performance contractors, technical or workforce training organizations, financial institutions or other clean energy practitioners
Additional eligibility requirements:
- Lead Applicant must have a Massachusetts office or staffing.
- Applicants are not required to have experience in clean energy or climate-critical business fields.
- This funding is not intended to benefit a single MWBE, but instead is intended to support an organization that can help several different MWBEs grow and excel in climate-critical business sectors.
For more information, visit Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
