Grants Task Force – December 12^th Meeting Minutes

GTF in attendance: Kelly Day, Bill Guindon, Mary Krebs

Staff in attendance: Jamie McFaul, Brittany Gleixner-Hayat

Meeting began at 8:30 a.m.

• The task force discussed increasing Goodwill's award by 8.02 MSY, from 19.24 to 27.26 MSY, to support 5 new 1200-hour members, 1 new 900-hour member, and 19 300-hour members. It was noted there was demand for slots but emphasized the need for a site visit to assess capacity, which she plans to conduct soon despite scheduling challenges. The group agreed to monitor the ability to fill 300-hour positions, as failure to meet 85% capacity could affect future funding for slots. After discussion, the task force voted unanimously to approve the increase

• • MOTION: To increase Goodwill’s award by 8.02 MSY, from 19.24 MSY to 27.26 MSY, in order to support 5 new 1,200-hour members, 1 new 900-hour member, and 19 new 300-hour members.

• The proposal to increase Main Street Skowhegan's positions by 2.5 MSY, from 8 to 10.5 MSY, including one 1700-hour and two 1200-hour positions was presented. It was noted that while Main Street Skowhegan has been successful in recruitment and retention, they continue to struggle with accurate data collection, particularly for qualitative outcomes. The group discussed a specific case of a participant who received bike repair training, with Kelly inquiring about his current status, which Jamie agreed to investigate further.

• • MOTION: Increase Main Street Skowhegan’s positions by 2.5 MSY, from 8.0 MSY to 10.5 MSY, to support one 1,700-hour position and two 1,200-hour positions.

• The GTF addressed concerns about the MVLC (Maine Volunteer Leadership Conference) requirement for AmeriCorps members, noting that while it provides valuable volunteer management training, it has been burdensome for programs due to travel costs and timing. Alternative volunteer management training options through VolunteerMaine could help alleviate these concerns. Allowing members to complete volunteer management training through an online micro-credential instead would satisfy the requirement.

• • MOTION: Eliminate the mandatory MVLC attendance for AmeriCorps members and allow the conference to serve as an optional method for meeting the Commission’s requirement that at least 1% of service hours be dedicated to Volunteer Management Training.

• In our Grant making Policy there is a correction that needs to be made to the following: “Grants are selected with sensitivity to geographic distribution of, not only the legal applicant, but also the local placement or host sites; however, geography will not be a weighted factor in making final awards.” Geography is currently a weighted factor in our decision-making process, so it should be taken out of the policy. The group was unanimous in updating this policy.
• The level of match is something that the GTF discussed back in June/July of this year, we decided that we would align our match level requirements to that of the Federal Agency. We did not, however, bring a motion to the Commission so that we can adopt this policy change. This ONLY applies to Cost reimbursement grants.

The level of match outlined below pertains to the Grand Total for the entire cost reimbursement budget and can be met by increasing the match beyond statutory requirements in either the Member Support or Operating sections of the budget.

• Motion: Adopt the policy to align the Commission’s match requirements for cost-reimbursement grants with the Federal Agency’s match levels.

Meeting adjourned at 9:20a.m.