Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | September 2, 2019 | wbjournal.com By Chris O'Keeffe Chris O'Keeffe is vice president for program at the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. Greater Worcester Community Foundation's annual Community Grants program is soliciting proposals due Sept. 16 and will award $2 million to local nonprofits. After applications are in, GWCF begins a two-month process of due diligence. The dilemma faced is shared by all foundations & funders: The needs exceed capacity. How do they all decide? United Ways, community foundations and other funders all have their own individual requirements and priorities but have common threads. Cardinal rule: Keep the reader in mind! Real human beings will read your proposal. Yours is one of dozens of applications, and they're usually not steeped in the work you do. If you confuse or bore the reader, your chances go down. 10) You must be able to identify and understand the need you're trying to meet. State the need concisely so someone not in your business can understand it. 9) You must identify the outcomes you're trying to achieve. Say how program participants will be better off. 8) Gather ample evidence indicating your approach will be effective. Your task is to convince a skeptical reader your approach is a good one. 7) Answer, "Why is my project a good bet?" Like venture capitalists, foundations are making a bet you can deliver results. You need potential funders to understand you have the skills, resources, and imagination, etc. to be successful. 6) Identify what is unique or especially powerful about your project. Communicate what distinguish- es your project from others. 5) Identify what is important to the funder you're applying to. Each funder has a unique perspective. Read the instructions carefully. Investigate the funder on the web, talk to people who know them (board members, etc.), or talk to the program officer (or whomever is running the process). 4) Answer the questions you are asked. You might think this is self-evident, but one of the biggest complaints of grant proposal reviewers is answers often don't actually address the questions asked. 3) Be concise. Sometimes, less is more. 2) Get feedback before you submit. A reader who's not steeped in the subject must easily understand what you've written, so be sure to have someone else review your work. Paradoxically, the less they know about the subject matter the better. 1) Pay attention to outcomes. Many applications fall short in articulating the benefits to your clients. You need to clearly describe how people will benefit, and how you will know. More than half of the proposals we see are weak in this, so doing it right will make your application stand out. K N O W H O W Workforce training is easier than you think 10 1: S O L I C I T I N G E M P L O Y E E F E E D B A C K BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal A heated exit interview is not the ideal way to find out what is on your employees' minds. It's also too late to make changes to have kept a valued team member onboard. It's important to solicit honest feedback. Employees should see changes made in response to some of that input. Here are some things to keep in mind regarding employee feedback. Notice non-verbal cues. Ron Carucci at Harvard Business Review said there are employees who may withhold verbal comments. But managers can learn how to read cues – if an employee avoids eye contact, for instance, or if a normal even-keeled employee gets a defensive tone. "One leader I worked with did this masterfully," he writes. "When moods or countenance took a sudden shi, he would say something like, 'Tell me how I should interpret your silence.'" Ask three questions. "What are you getting from me that you want more of? What are you getting from me that you want less of? What are you not getting from me that you want?" Asking employees those queries ensures a well-rounded perspective on their views, according to David Taylor-Klaus of DTK Coaching of Atlanta. He tells Forbes.com a second conversation is needed, where managers repeat back what they heard from the employee and map out how to address the concerns. Consider a flow chart, a replacement to the outdated suggestion box and a feedback method used by marketing agency Quirk, according to Andrew Lavoie of Entrepreneur.com. "e anonymous aspect of the stereotypical suggestion box encourages employees to give their two cents because there's no fear of retribution. But that fear shouldn't be present if a company has successful- ly developed a culture based on open communication," he writes. "Employees should feel empowered and realize they have a stake in the success (or lack there- of) of the organization." 1 0 T H I NG S I know about . . . ... Applying for grants BY LUIS PEDRAJA Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W E ducating your workforce is a fundamental component in productivity and business advancement; however, one of the key items holding a company back from growth is its ability to educate and advance its workforce. In today's global marketplace, local businesses must have employees who can take on additional skills in order to remain competitive. ose skills must be regularly upgraded to continuously provide value. Yet, finding the financial resources to educate your workforce, as well as ensure they are prepared for how their jobs may shi in the future, can oen be a sticking point. In 1998, Massachusetts recognized helping businesses invest in their work- force would help with the economic vitality of the commonwealth, and the Workforce Training Fund was born. e WTF focuses on small to mid- sized businesses without the funds to invest in their workforces. While many businesses have taken advantage of the different types of funding avail- able through this fund, others are still unaware they are eligible. Requirements for access to the WTF are relatively simple. Companies eligible for free training opportunities must be located in Massachusetts, pay into the state unemployment fund, and hold a certificate of good standing with the Department of Revenue. From there, companies can choose to apply for a General Program Training Grant, Express Grant or be part of the Direct Access Program. e General Program Training Grant offers a maximum of $250,000 for businesses (grant funds must be company-matched dollar for dollar); the Express Grant offers a max- imum $30,000 each year (companies must contribute 50% of the total cost of training) and the Direct Access Program offers eligible businesses access up to $15,000 in funds per year (businesses are required to pay their employees' full wages while they are in training). Once businesses are approved to receive funding, they can choose from a variety of workforce development courses offered by pre-approved training providers. ese courses run the gamut from so skills training and business courses to manufacturing and other critical workplace skills needed to bring employees to the next level. Pre-approved training providers are those businesses delivering the training to approved companies. Once a training provider becomes approved, they may request grant funding for their classes to be listed on an online, universal course registry service. While training providers can be any business meeting the state require- ments (found on the Workforce Training Fund website), many such as Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, have established workforce development programs already in place. ey are already well-versed in the needs of the commonwealth's busi- nesses, and many have spent countless hours with local businesses learning about their needs and developing programs to support those needs. Sometimes these training providers will hold information sessions to help businesses become registered. Once businesses are registered and given the greenlight to use funds from the WTF, they can visit the registry, see what courses are available, and register their employees for relevant courses. Businesses can register for any course on the site, regardless of its location. All course registration, logistics, payment are then arranged between the training vendor and the company. Late summer is the perfect time to step up your game and learn more about the WTF. Courses begin this fall. Visit workforcetrainingfund.org. Luis Pedraja is president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. W

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