power ffo appendix d - arc ffo insert final.pdf

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Appendix D. ARC Eligibility and Submission Guidelines

A. Who is eligible to apply for ARC funds?

1. Eligible Applicants:

Public and private non-profit organizations, public and non-profit educational institutions, multi-county Local Development Districts (LDDs), local and state governments, special purpose units of local and state governments, and Indian tribes.

2. Service Area:

An applicant organization must limit its ARC proposal to a scope of work designed to benefit the Appalachian Region (40 U.S.C. § 14102(a)(1)).

Appalachia is defined by the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, as amended to include certain counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and all of West Virginia. A list of Appalachian counties can be found at: http://www.arc.gov/counties.

3. Special Requirements for this FFO:

ARC’s goal is to help communities achieve economic diversification through investment in emerging opportunities in growth industries such as advanced manufacturing, health care, local food systems, energy, and travel/tourism. For the POWER’15 FFO, an applicant must demonstrate that the primary beneficiary of their proposal has been impacted, or will imminently be impacted by loss of employment from disruptions in coal-related supply chains, from the recent closure of a nearby coal mine or mines, or from the loss of a coal-fired electric generating unit. ARC funds are available to implement economic diversification strategies that have been developed through a region-wide planning process, e.g. a process used for development of CEDS or equivalent economic and workforce development strategy.

B. What are the ARC permitted activities?

Permitted uses of ARC funds include non-construction programs that address gaps or shortages in a region’s industrial and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Examples of eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

Provision of direct technical assistance to small and medium-sized firms in the form of incubation, export assistance/market expansion, supply chain development, or operational improvements.

Support for improving access to capital for new, emerging, or established businesses through creation of angel networks and business accelerators;

Training programs for skilled individuals seeking new or updated credentials and/or certifications;

http://www.arc.gov/counties

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Programs that help to establish an enabling culture of entrepreneurship, including education for young entrepreneurs; or

Establishment of a supportive infrastructure for business growth including, but not limited to, improved demand for and access to broadband telecommunications infrastructure.

C. Amount of the ARC Award

ARC is setting aside $500,000 for this FFO and expects to make between seven

(7) and ten (10) awards. The maximum award is capped at $75,000.

D. What is the cost sharing or matching share requirement for ARC funding?

Under this FFO, applicants must demonstrate a Matching Share from other

Federal or non-Federal sources that is available and committed to the project. The share of ARC assistance is determined by the ARC classification of the county or counties served by the proposed activity. Applicants may request up to 80 percent of the total project cost when the county served by a project has been designated as economically “distressed” according to ARC’s FY’15 classification scheme. A table showing the maximum ARC share for each ARC County can be found at:

http://www.arc.gov/funding/ARCCountyEconomicStatusandMatchRatesFY2015.

asp.

To determine the match rate for an ARC multi-county project, find the maximum

ARC share for each county within the project’s service area (e.g. 80%, 70%, 50%, 30%, or 0%), add the percentages and divide by the number of counties in the project area. The resulting number is the maximum allowable ARC share of the project.

E. ARC Scope of Work

Applicants to this program must clearly identify a scope of work and provide a budget for the use of ARC funds. ARC funding may be combined with funds from EDA, SBA, and DOL to enable a larger scope of work, or they may be used for a stand-alone activity. When used to fund a stand-alone activity, the applicant must show how the ARC activity complements other activity being funded under this FFO, as prescribed in section IV.D.1.

F. ARC Performance Metrics

All ARC applications must provide estimated performance measures, usually projected out to a date three years past the anticipated end of the project. These measures include outputs (i.e. elements paid for with ARC funding) and outcomes

(results from the ARC-funded project activity). Guidance on development of

ARC performance measures may be found at www.arc.gov/POWER.

G. ARC Application Submission Guidelines

In order to apply for ARC funds, applicants must send a one-page summary, the common project narrative as outlined in section IV.D.1, a distinct scope of work http://www.arc.gov/funding/ARCCountyEconomicStatusandMatchRatesFY2015.asp http://www.arc.gov/funding/ARCCountyEconomicStatusandMatchRatesFY2015.asp http://www.arc.gov/

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ARC. Applications should be submitted electronically as a PDF attachment to an email, addressed to POWER15@arc.gov. ARC will not accept applications transmitted by facsimile nor are we currently accepting applications through www.grants.gov. For information on submitting a paper application by overnight delivery and for more detailed instructions, visit www.arc.gov/POWER.

H. ARC Application Forms

In addition to the summary, the “core narrative,” the ARC scope of work, and the ARC

Budget Narrative, all applicants for ARC funding must include the following required forms for ARC, which are available at www.arc.gov/power. Submit all forms to

POWER15@arc.gov. Adobe portable document form (.pdf) is the preferred file type.

SF-424

SF-424A

POWER Budget Narrative

SF-424B

I. Review Process

ARC will designate a review team that may include Federal, State, and Commission staff, to review applications, judge them against the evaluation criteria presented in section

V.B. of the FFO, and rank them on their overall merit. The applications will then be presented to the Federal and State Co-chairs for final selection.

J. ARC Reporting Requirements

Financial and performance progress reports, submitted by electronic means, are required from each ARC grantee in accordance with the grant agreement. The conditions of the agreement will be developed based on the project description for the associated ARC scope of work, as presented in the project proposal. The grantee may also be asked to provide qualitative/quantitative data on project progress and best practices, including through learning events, webinars, or other forums.

Detailed reporting guidelines can be found in the ARC Grant Administration Manual at http://www.arc.gov/POWER.

K. Funding Restrictions

Ineligible use of funds:

Using funds for recipient’s general operating costs;

Purchase of a motor vehicle;

Purchase of real estate;

Grants to individuals or private, for-profit businesses;

Engineering and construction;

Capitalization of a revolving loan fund (RLF); and

Any activity otherwise disallowed by ARC’s Project Guidelines, found at www.arc.gov/publications/ARCProjectGuidelinesContents.asp.

mailto:POWER15@arc.gov http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:POWER15@arc.gov http://www.arc.gov/publications/ARCProjectGuidelinesContents.asp

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L. Other Requirements The need to adhere to applicable administrative requirements and Federal cost principals are incorporated by reference into terms and conditions of each ARC grant agreement. Award recipients must follow the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit

Requirements for Federal Awards.

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards