Program Overview
The Employment Grants program was created by
statue 16.313, which was passed as part of the 2017-2019 Wisconsin State Budget (2017 Wisconsin Act 19). The goal of the program is to connect people experiencing homelessness with permanent employment and training opportunities. Annual grants are up to $75,000 and grantees are required to provide at least $10,000 in cash match. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the full amount.
Eligible program participants (clients) are defined as individuals who are 18-years-old or older and part of a households that meets a
HUD definition of homelessness (categories 1-4 are eligibile).
The funds can be spent against the following three categories:
Program Funds
Per the WI Statue creating this program, grantees must allocate most of the funding for the purpose of paying wages or stipends to program participants. Wages/stipends can be paid to program participants for time spent participating in job/work experience, skills training, company tours, budgeting classes, time spent doing educational assessments, goal setting, job searches/applications, resume building, cover letter writing, performing mock interviews, going on college/technical school tours, and registering for classes.
Operational Funds
The cost to provide the above programming such as but not limited to skills training and working with participants on setting goals, resume building etc. can be paid for out of operational funds.
Administrative Funds
These funds can pay for administrative costs such as, but not limited to, the cost of office space, computers, office supplies, and salaries for agency wide functions such as accounting. Please note these costs will need to be prorated to reflect the percentage of the staff person’s time or the percentage of the resource that is dedicated to the EG program.
DEHCR will likely award one grant per year. The final grantee will be determined based on the applicant’s merit (determined by their application score). Preference for funding will go towards grantees who will use the grant to pay for program participants’ wages/stipends and who will partner with nonprofit organizations to provide additional employment and supportive services to program participants.
Eligible Applicants
Recipients of this grant are limited to municipalities defined as counties, cities, villages, or towns. In addition, they must have an active Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) subscription and be able to meet the minimum cash match requirement of $10,000.
2023 Program Manual
2023 Application & Grantee
Applications for the 2023 EG program opened on 10/10/22 and were due 11/11/22. A review team at DEHCR scored each application. An applicant's final score was determined by averaging the individual scores of the review team members. The applicant with the highest final score was award the grant. The performance period for the 2023 EG program will begin 1/1/23 and run through 12/31/23.
Helpful Links, Resources & Tools
Contact Information
Questions can be directed towards the Employment Grants - Grant Specialist Emily Bourne at:
Emily.Bourne@wisconsin.gov
608-261-7068
