1. Is the Pre-Proposal Meeting mandatory or Optional to attend?

Attendance is optional for the Pre-Proposal Meeting, but is encouraged to provide potential applicants with valuable information on the application, grant goals, and expectations.

2. How do I attend the Pre-Proposal Meeting?

The Pre-Proposal Meeting was held as a live virtual meeting held on April 4, 2024 via Google Meet. A recording of the meeting has now been posted for review if you were unable to attend.

3. Is this a competitive grant process?

Yes. Applications will be scored by a committee of experts using the scoresheets included in the RFGA.

4. I need accomodations or translation services in accessing this grant opportunity. How do I get support?

The Department of Workforce Services is an Equal Opportunity Program.  Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities by calling (801) 526-9240. Individuals with speech and/or hearing impairments may call the Relay Utah by dialing 711. Spanish Relay Utah: 1-888-346-3162. 

5. When does the Legislative change removing the charitable solicitations permit requirement become effective?

There is no longer a need to provide a charitable solicitations permit for this solicitation. Due to a change during this legislative session, effective July 1, this is no longer required. Because this RFGA will award contracts starting July 1, applicants no longer need to provide a permit. The attachment field in WebGrants is not marked required, so feel free to skip it for this year; it will be removed for next year's application.

6. Some funding our organization has received previously has been mixed federal and state funding. What if we're not sure if funding is state or federal?

The funding source you had been awarded should be reflected in your contracts, but if you have any doubt, we would suggest working with your finance staff or the state entity that awarded you the funding to clarify the funding source.

7. With Appendix I - State FUnding Received By Agency, in other applications, We've been required to only provide related funding or funding for our division in our organization. How is that different than what is required now?

Include all State funding that would be available to your entire agency regardless when it was awarded that applies during the July 1 2024 to June 30 2025 performance period of this grant. We are working to get additional guidance but our current understanding of the new requirements under HB335 is we need whatever state funds are available to your agency during that period that have already been awarded. Pending funding or funding you intend to apply for does not need to be included.

8. our organization is a state entity itself so the list of state funding our organization receives is very long. Is it at all narrowed to the department/division within our organization?

We are seeking confirmation from our legal department on the requirements, but my understanding is we haven't gotten any narrowing of the requirements. We understand that for organizations like state universities or assocations of governments, this is a very broad request. If you were to work with your finance department, there may be an existing list of all state funding you receive in a report. We would accept a link with a prepared Finance report in these instances that you could be provided that would allow us to collect the information without having to replicate something that already exists for public entities. When we get any additional clarification or guidance, we will update this Q&A with that information.

9. So to answer the EFA funded unduplicated counts, for example say we have served 100,000 households and EFA is 10% of our total program budget - would we say the proportional unduplicated efa count is 10,000 households?

Yes, when explaining your past performance or anticipated targets, you can explain the totals with that kind of mathematical explanation. Also it's important when listing unduplicated totals that the mandatory reporting is unduplicated individuals or households. You can also track and have individual targets for total meals served, but it's important for this grant to make sure you're breaking down unduplicated counts, since we're required to report those to the legislature.

10. Is there a way previewing the blank application while I'm temporarily shut out of the webgrants waiting for access or new account creation?

The published RFGA itself has an example in the published RFGA package as Attachment C. You can see the questions and the character limit for entry in WebGrants. While you can't actually start completing the application in WebGrants, you can start working on your answers in a program like Word and copy over the answers when you have access.

11. The cost of insurance has gone up significantly over the last few years. Can you explain the rationale behind the coverage limits required in the terms and conditions?

The limits in the T&Cs have been the same since I've been with the State, so I can't say what the reasoning was when those coverage amounts were determined. I know our legal department had worked with risk management on these issues, we're not aware of those details. We are aware that inflation has been a factor for our grantees. However, our grantees can request a portion of their insurance premiums in Category II (since insurance benefits the entire program), or just the difference in premiums if an organization has to increase their coverage to meet those minimums in Category III.

12. Is there a way to find out after the fact what we scored previously so that we can learn from our own mistakes?

You can request the final scoresheets from the evaluating committee under Utah's open records law, GRAMA. You can find instructions on how to submit a request and a link to the open records portal here: https://archives.utah.gov/opengovernment/how-to-file-a-request-for-records-under-GRAMA.html.

13. We received approx. $20,000 last year. We could definitely use way more than that. I see the ceiling is $150,000. My question is how much total money is available this year, compared to last year? We know that the whole state has to share these funds, but I’m curious if our ask can go up based on more total funding available. I know you can’t recommend how much to ask for. But, if I know how much compared to last year, then I can determine if I should write for more.

This is a great question. EFA typically has just over $1,000,000 available to award for this grant. For the past two grant cycles, we received additional funding from the legislature. Last year DWS had an additional about $700,000 to award (so about $1.7 million). We are not anticipating an increase this year, so EFA would be back to about $1,000,000 total available to award. If you need more funding, you can absolutely request more in your application, but be sure to give justification for the increase.

14. Is my EFA funding for the current year state or federal? it's state, do I need to add that to my application since it's through the agency I'm applying with?

EFA is state funded but no, you do not need to add it. Your FY24 EFA funding will expire June 30, 2024 (prior to the start of the new funding). The only funding you need to declare is what has been awarded for the same contract period as fiscal year 2025 EFA (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025) or any funding that was awarded prior but still active during that time period. So for example, if you received a state grant in January of 2023 and the contract period goes through October 2024, you would need to list it because the contract periods overlap with this funding.

15. Where is Appendix I?

Appendix I - State Funding Received by Agency was included in an Addendum published updating the EFA grant opportunity. You can find Appendix I on the grant's Application tab, along with the RFGA packet, a link to WebGrants and the Budget Instructions.

16. Our organization provides a variety of emergency food services at multiple locations. Because our work is so varied, we're a little stumped about how much we respond to questions about the organization’s work as a whole versus the part of our work we’re looking for funding for?

The Organization Information Section as well as the Locations and Staffing section would capture your organization's background in emergency food as a whole. The Proposal Information section with narrative questions is where you would be able to focus on this funding specifically and how it will impact your organization's specific mission/project.

Question 1 of the Proposal Information section can be used to briefly talk about the work the organization does as a whole and to introduce the proposed project/service/location that would be funded by EFA.

17. For Appendix I, do federal funds distributed through a state agency need to be listed?

Federal funding does not need to be reported, regardless of the entity that awarded that funding. Only State of Utah funds need to be reported under HB 335.