Work for Yourself@50+ : Older Adult Self-Employment Grant ...

Work for Yourself@50+: Older Adult Self-Employment Grant Program

Request For Applications (RFA)

Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 26, 2016

AARP Foundation is requesting applications from eligible organizations to partner with the Foundation to host the workshop component of Work for Yourself@50+ ? a new initiative that will help low income adults age 50+ to understand the pros and cons of self-employment and support them through the early steps to take that will encourage their success. Partner organizations will host and facilitate 90-minute introductory workshops designed by AARP Foundation to walk participants through the Work for Yourself@50+ materials. In addition, partner organizations will: connect program participants with local, accessible resources; submit timely reports on workshop attendance and participant referrals; and regularly participate in a "community of practice" with other grantees to assist with the evaluation of this initiative and help to build a body of evidence regarding its effectiveness.

Application Deadline: Applications are due August 26, 2016 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and must be completed online.

AARP Foundation Overview

AARP Foundation focuses on supporting and advancing effective solutions to help vulnerable older adults transform their lives today and secure the essentials for their future. AARP Foundation is working side by side with other organizations to reach more people, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation seeks to support organizations whose evidence-based interventions can change the lives of adults age 50+ with low- and moderate-incomes and that align with the Foundation's strategic priorities.

Program Overview

AARP Foundation, with support from The Hartford, is launching Work for Yourself@50+ ? a new initiative to help older vulnerable adults assess opportunities to pursue self-employment and

build the skills and connect with resources that will enable them to generate income through working for themselves in a variety of ways.

Creating and owning a business has long been heralded as a path to financial success and economic mobility. In fact, business equity is the second largest source of household wealth behind home equity. For low- and moderate- income (LMI) individuals, self-employment and business ownership can contribute meaningfully to family economic security. However, lowincome older adults considering entrepreneurship as a career move, or who are looking to reenter the workforce in a nontraditional capacity face unique hurdles that can prevent them from successfully attaining their goals, and many may not know where to connect with trustworthy resources to help them reach their goals.

The decision to pursue a new venture is not one to be taken lightly and Work for Yourself@50+ breaks the choices down for older adults in an approachable way through five steps: 1.) A careful consideration of the potential and perils of working for yourself; 2.) Exercises to help develop the self-employment idea; 3.) A realistic overview of what it takes to pursue a selfemployment opportunity; 4.) Guidance to help avoid pitfalls and scams; and 5.) Ways to find trustworthy support and services.

WFY will address these unique hurdles for older adults with multiple offerings:

Work for Yourself@50+: Five Simple Steps to Get You Started Toolkit ? This publication will provide an overview of the opportunities available to "work for yourself" and information about what older adults should know about the advantages and challenges of a variety of income-generation opportunities. Within the Toolkit, worksheets and exercises will guide older adults through the thought process and initial steps to decide whether to start and how to begin to prepare for an entrepreneurial opportunity, and will point them towards services and programs that can provide the hands-on support and training that can help them to launch their own microbusinesses.

Work for Yourself@50+ Website (workforyourself)? Because technology will play an increasingly important role in how people work for themselves, the program website will be specifically designed to supplement the material in the Toolkit. The website is where individuals can find interactive versions of the worksheets and checklists and additional information and resources.

Work for Yourself@50+ Workshop ? The workshop will be offered in a limited number of communities by selected partner organizations. This first look workshop will walk small groups of participants (between 15 and 20 attendees per workshop) through the Toolkit and connect them with local resources and programs to help them achieve their

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self-employment or income generation goals. Partner organizations will be selected through a competitive application and funding process.

In order to successfully implement the Work for Yourself@50+ program, grantees will perform the following activities:

Conduct local outreach and marketing, jointly with AARP Foundation, that directs vulnerable 50+ to the AARP Foundation Call Center to register for a workshop and receive a free Toolkit publication via mail or email.

Schedule, publicize, and host at least three small group workshops serving a total of at least 50 participants throughout the grant period (October 15, 2016 ? April 15, 2017). Partners must host at least one workshop before the end of 2016. Future workshops must be scheduled before the completion of the prior workshop (and at least 6 weeks in advance of the scheduled date).

Identify, refer, and connect workshop participants to at least two local services and programs that can help them achieve their self-identified employment and income generation goals. Services and programs can include financial capability classes or coaching, microbusiness development training or microfinance support, business boot camps, employment services, entrepreneur mentorship programs, workforce development or vocational training.

Within two weeks of workshop completion, provide reports on attendance, referrals and connections made for participants. In addition, provide brief narratives on at least two participants' goals, concerns, questions, prior experience, and motivations--these narratives will be used by AARP Foundation to identify specific individuals to follow up with in order to build a program story bank.

Assist AARP Foundation in creating a "community of practice" through regular participation in conference calls or virtual discussions with AARP Foundation and other grantees to share and respond to challenges, successes, and opportunities in delivering the program.

Participate in virtual onboarding training to be conducted between October 17 and October 21, 2016.

In addition to funding, AARP Foundation will provide in-kind investments and technical assistance to support and enhance the Work for Yourself@50+ activities. They include:

Work For Yourself@50+ toll-free number (1-888-339-5617) connected to AARP Foundation Call Center to manage client intake and workshop registration.

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 Database management and regular communications with registered participants to encourage and support program engagement.

Program promotion through the AARP Foundation network and marketing channels, and coordination with AARP state offices. Specific information regarding AARP Foundation's marketing efforts is available at the end of this document.

Generating reports on registered participants, program outcomes, and grantee partner progress for use in program implementation, or to supplement grantee communications and fundraising efforts.

Work for Yourself@50+ Toolkit publication, PowerPoint presentation and facilitator notes for the workshop, and webinar training for workshop facilitators, programmatic templates, and reporting forms.

Marketing support with standardized templates for marketing materials, maintenance of program website (workforyourself) and story bank with participant narratives.

Information about and connections to other relevant AARP Foundation programs that can support participant success.

Access to the Work for Yourself@50+ community of practice.

AARP Foundation is committed to assessing the effectiveness of its programmatic investments. Please refer to the Logic Model attachment to the RFA for a visual representation of the inputs, outputs, and expected outcomes from the larger multi-year Work for Yourself@50+ initiative. Should your organization be selected to receive a grant from AARP Foundation, you will be expected to generate a Logic Model for the specific inputs, outputs, and expected outcomes appropriate for your grant.

Eligibility Information

Applicant must be a 501(c)(3) organization, nonprofit or state/county community college, or workforce investment board (WIB) with a significant understanding of AARP Foundation's Work for Yourself@50+ or similar programs, and a demonstrated history and institutional commitment to entrepreneurship/microbusiness development leading to improved financial stability and community empowerment.

Grant Award Information 4

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Potential Award Range: $10,000 - $20,000 grants awarded to up to 15 partner organizations

Grant Period: October 15, 2016 ? April 15, 2017

Proposal Type: Work for Yourself@50+ Partner Grants Round 1

Reporting Requirements: In addition to the reports specified in the grantee implementation activities above, AARP Foundation requires quarterly programmatic and financial reports. Reports are due by the end of the calendar month following the calendar quarter end.

Indirect Cost Rate: AARP Foundation will fund an indirect cost rate of 10% of the total direct costs or the grant program.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted via the AARP Foundation online portal by August 26, 2016 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

The following documents must be uploaded and attached to the Attachments section of the application:

Documentation stating existing tax status At least two (2) Letters of Agreement (LOAs) or Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)

from local organizations that provide any of the following programs or services: financial capability classes or coaching, microbusiness development training or microfinance support, business boot camps, employment services, entrepreneur mentorship programs, workforce development or vocational training, or other related services not currently offered at your organization. The LOAs or MOUs from the above partners should acknowledge that they are aware of the proposed project and willing to be a resource to which the grantee can refer participants for additional support services following the completion of the Work for Yourself@50+ workshop.

Applicants may be contacted for clarifications to their Applications. Clarifications should be uploaded to the Application site and must be completed by September 16, 2016 by 11:59pm Eastern time. Further details about the clarification process will be provided as appropriate.

All applicants will be notified regarding the status of their application no later than October 14, 2016.

Please send any questions to AARP_Foundation_Grants@

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