FY 1997 GRANTEES
PROJECT SUMMARIES
A JOLI grant was awarded to Centos Sor Isolina Ferre. Inc. for the Artesanias Tabaiba's Puerto Rico Craft Initiative. The goal of the project is to direct a three-year project of job creation through self-employment/microenterprise training and development that will increase the self-sufficiency of a minimum of 45 low-income artisans through the production, marketing, and sales of approximately 20 product lines. Sister Isolina Ferre' is the director of the Centros Sor Isolina Ferre, Inc., and Allan Cintr'on will direct the PRCT/JOLI project. An additional 30 Artisans will be recruited in the fourth and fifth years of the project. A key project element is the development of the Puerto Rico Craft Tour (PRCT), an initiative to expand marketing and sales linkages between artisans and Island tourists. The program training will be organized along two tracks--the microenterprise/self-employment track and the career development track, although both groups will be self-employed. Artisans who select the career development track will receive training that strengthens their production and design skills. and provides them with a working knowledge of marketing, but their main interest is in selling through one of the primary workshops or studios that will form the nucleus of the PRCT or other mainstream market. Artisans will be recruited from within one of the three target municipalities, with equitable representation from each community and surrounding areas. Project interventions include life skills and job readiness training which will lead to the development of an individual career development self-employment plan; mentoring, from artisans with proven sales in various craft areas; business skills and management training; marketing and business development assistance which will lead to the preparation of an annual regional marketing strategy of PRCT; microloans and small grants ranging from $400 to $5,000: remedial education, tutoring, and preparation for the GED: and support services through partnership agreements with over 15 social service programs. The grant amount is $466,338 and the cost per job is $10,363. The project evaluator is Noemi Alvarado Ph.D.
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People for People received a JOLI grant for the Independence Apparel Project. The goal of the Independence Apparel Project is to open and operate a worker-owned apparel contractor in the Philadelphia Empowerment Zone which will provide 60 new jobs. Employees will be drawn from the Philadelphia welfare rolls. Independence Apparel Company will be established in trust for future ownership of the workers, directed initially by a regent board, composed of representatives from the organizations participating in project development as well as other individuals having expertise related to the project. Workers will make incremental payments to acquire shares in the company, beginning after 2 1/2 years of training and a transitional period. The Executive Director of People for People is Reverend Herbert H. Lusk. James Kerkula is the project coordinator; a business manager and a sewing floor supervisor will be hired, both of whom will devote 100 percent of their time to the JOLI project. Independence Apparel Company is expected to be profitable in its second year of operation. The company's entry into the marketplace will be facilitated through guaranteed contracts from Mothers Work, a $200 million upscale maternity clothing store chain that employs 1,480 people: low-cost public financing for superior equipment and start-up; and unprecedented worker training and technical supports from leaders in the nonprofit, government and the apparel industry. The company will begin with production of tee-shirt tops and biker short bottoms, reaching a monthly output of 20,000 unties per product by its second year of operation. Employees will receive case management, six weeks of job readiness training, 12 weeks of on-site skill training, and weekly seminars on personal and financial development. Once employed, participants will receive wage compensation, health insurance, as well as help with transportation arrangements and affordable child care. Technical assistance from Mothers Work includes in-kind technical advice in the creation and design of the business and implementation of the operator training curriculum. The grant amount is $499,216, and cost per job is $8,320. Laurie Miller, Ph.D. of Fairmount Advisory will conduct the evaluation.
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Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) in Washington, DC received a JOLI grant for Constructing Avenues for Self-Sufficiency, a program which will provide non-traditional job training/placement for welfare recipients and non custodial parents in obtaining the skills necessary to obtain apprenticeships and jobs in highway and heavy construction projects in the Washington, DC area. According to 1995 Census Bureau statistics, one in five District residents is in poverty, ranking the District only behind Mississippi and New Mexico. The goal of the project is to create 150 high-wage jobs over a two-year period. The Executive Director of WOW is Lina Dobbs. Sandra Van Fossen will serve as project director. Key features of the project are as follows: a community-wide leadership team of city public officials and agency representatives, contractors, unions. and community-based organizations: outreach and recruitment co-sponsored by WOW, the D.C. Department of Human Services, and the D. C. Office of Paternity and Child Support Enforcement: pre-vocational training for welfare recipients who need basic skills upgrading and nontraditional career exploration before entering skills training;occupational skills training to prepare participants for apprenticeships and entry-level employment on large heavy and highway construction projects, including rigorous physical conditioning, a simulated construction worksite, and intensive job placement and support services; technical assistance to contractors to proactively resolve problems that may occur when women enter a nontraditional workplace, and exploration of the creation of a transportation and child care microenterprises to improve project participants' retention in the construction industry. A current WOW project, WORK Skills, (a pre-vocational training program designed to raise the basic skill levels of participants so they can pursue occupational skills training or employment) will serve as a feeder program to the construction skills training for the Constructing Avenues for Self-Sufficiency project. The grant amount is $450,000, and the cost per job is $3.000. WOW's third-party evaluation will be conducted by Sutton Social Marketing.
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Peoples Involvement Corporation (PIC), a community development corporation in Washington, DC, received a JOLI grant to create a training institute. Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals, whose goal is to create a new business venture which will train and employ 100 low-income residents as drivers and tour guides. The project is targeted to reach residents on public assistance and non custodial parents. The Executive Director of PIC is Andree' Y. Gandy. Judith Ponds, project director, will have responsibility for fiscal oversight: monitoring; recruitment; coordination of instruction and placement; coordination of efforts between PIC, Coastline and Curtis; and program evaluation. A key feature of the project is collaboration between PIC, Coastline Cabs, and Curtis Chevrolet, who will lease/sell late model cars to Coastline that are suitable for use as taxi cabs. In addition, Curtis will provide service to the cab fleet. PIC will operate the training facility at its headquarters, although the final curriculum details will be jointly designed by the PIC project manager and the management of Coastline Cab. After completing training, the graduates will be employed primarily with Coastline Cab Company, from whom the graduates can lease taxicabs. In addition to leasing or owning a cab at a reasonable rate. participants will have access to lower rates for group health insurance. Coordination with the DC Bureau of Training and Employment and the Bureau of Paternity and Child Support Enforcement will ensure that project opportunities are made available to the target population. The grant amount is $450,000, and the cost per job is $4,500. Robert Brandwein will serve as the lead evaluator for the project.
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Crossroads Station Chocolates Project is a project of Promoting
Economic Advancement and Career Education (PEACE), a private nonprofit
community development corporation based in Prince William County, Virginia.
PEACE will establish a new business venture, an employee-owned business.
Crossroads Station Chocolates, which targets TANF recipients, non custodial
parents, transitional housing residents living at or below the Federal
poverty guidelines, homeless, and other low-income individuals in Prince
William County. Michael J. McLaughlin, is Chairman of the Board of
PEACE, and Marina A. McLaughlin is the project director for Crossroads
Station. The goal of the program is to train 120 JOLI participants,
of which 40 will be hired by the new business and another 40 are expected
to be hired by businesses that have been assisted in expansion by PEACE.
PEACE sees case management as an integral part of the project; therefore,
a training coordinator/family intervention specialist will be hired to
work with each participant to develop an individualized training plan and
to identify special needs. Key features of the integrated program
include readiness for employment and skills training; vocational and life
management skills training in 20-week cycles (workplace skills training,
technical chocolatier training, personal assessment and improving life
skills, and balancing the demands of home and work); suitable clothing;
and necessary tools and equipment. Social support services activities
include case management, assistance or referral in cases of domestic violence;
referrals for substance abuse: transportation; coordination of resources
and services for development of a one-year plan toward self-sufficiency;
educational referrals: and a mentoring program. New business development
activities will
also take
place to assist employees in assuming their roles as owners and managers
of the Crossroads Station Chocolates. The grant amount is $450,00,
and the cost per job is $5,625. The project evaluator is George McFarland.
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The Virginia Eastern Shore Economic Empowerment and Housing Corporation
(VESEEHC) received a JOLI grant to implement Job Opportunities in Modular
Housing Manufacture for Low-Income Residents of the Accomack-Northampton
Enterprise Community, which will bring a modular home manufacturing
facility to the Eastern Shore. The goal of the program, is to create
50 new jobs. The Executive Director of VESEEHC is Art Carter M.D.,
who will also serve as project director. The project has two components:
the establishment of a modular home manufacturing facility and the training
of an initial workforce. VESEEHC has established a partnership with
McAfee Manufacturing of Wichita, Kansas to work toward building a modular
home facility in eastern Virginia. McAfee will recruit a management
cadre of 20 people on the Eastern shore, train these people in its Wichita
facility, and bring them back to the Eastern shore to run the new facility.
McAfee will also recruit and train up to 100 unskilled workers locally,
and train them using its validated training program, and place them in
positions on the assembly line. Secondly, VESEEHC will train 7 office
workers who will provide administrative and clerical/technical support
services to the plant. The grant amount is $244,000, and cost per
job is $4,880. Larry Veber will the third-party evaluator.
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The JOLI Demonstration Program of the WSOS Community Action Commission,
Inc. is designed to help TANF recipients, non custodial parents of children
receiving TANF and those who are unemployed, residing in public housing
or homeless, as well as others whose income falls below the federal poverty
guidelines, to become self-sufficient. WSOS' service delivery includes
Wood, Seneca. Ottawa, and Sandusky counties. The goal of the project
is to assist 100 individuals in becoming employed in newly expanded businesses
or self-employed with benefits and by providing family development services
to those enrolled in the program. Don Stricker is President and CEO
of WSOS, and Cheryl Moreno-Denny will serve as the JOLI project director.
A key component of the project is support provided by the family development
specialist. Specialists who have received their family development certification
have already been hired. Each of the family development specialists
will work within one of the four target counties. Under the direction of
the program director, their responsibilities will include contacting, recruiting,
and developing trust and rapport with the families; regularly assessing
the needs and strengths of the participants and their families; networking
with Human Service Departments and other social service agencies; testing;
providing intensive wholistic case management and follow-up services: training;
managing day-to-day operations for collaborating agencies, and working
closely with employers. Participant interventions include: needs
assessment; referrals. service coordination; training in the areas of informal
life skills, problem solving, goal setting, employment, job development
and retention; basic needs crisis intervention and stabilization
assistance and supportive services. Resources available to program
staff include ongoing training and evaluation, a comprehensive resource
directory and a program manual. Each staff member will
write an individual development plan. In addition, a self-care
plan will be written,
and staff will be awarded a wellness
stipend on an annual basis. The grant amount is $500.000 and the
cost per job is $5,000. William J. Timmerman. Ph.D., will serve as project
evaluator.
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The South Park/Fair City Innercity Community Development Corporation (ICDC), a South Dallas non profit organization, received a JOLI grant to open a second Business Assistance Center (BAC) which will incubate new businesses, offer community economic education, and house a reference and computer center, law offices, and a home-based resource center. Arthur Weddington is ICDC Executive Director, and Linda Jordan, Director of Economic Development, will be responsible for implementing the JOLI project. Working in partnership with a Job Placement Center, the City of Dallas, the Dallas Housing Authority, and several other enterprises, the new BAC will coordinate a full-scale employment development Nexus, the Spring Plaza BAC/Economic Development Nexus, to generate 200 jobs within the next 24 months. In particular, the project will permit on-site incubation of 10 to 12 new businesses; assist in the development of over 70 new business plans; offer scholarships and entrepreneurial training for more than 150 South Dallas Youth through a Youth initiative; conduct over 36 group counseling sessions on business development for low-to moderate-income families; survey and visit more than 200 South Dallas/Fair Park businesses; serve more than 500 clients in the development of home-based businesses; and assist in the development/execution of more than 20 business loans for local businesses. $100,000 of the JOLI grant will be used to train and place 100 to 150 people in permanent jobs including those 'in the legal profession and administrative secretarial positions. The Spring Plaza BAC/Economic Development Nexus will employ several methods for intervention and generation of jobs for low-income individuals: ICDC's Community Development Education Program (CDEP)--Economic Education Component (Technical Assistance, Classes, Seminars, and Workshops); Community and Business Outreach Resource and Reference Center, the BAC Home-Based Business Resource Center; the BAC Micro Loan Program; expanded Small Business Incubator Satellite; Youth Owning Up (YOU), a youth entrepreneurial project; Spring to the Challenge, an integrated approach to job preparation. The grant amount is $450,000, and the projected cost per job is $2,250. The project evaluator is Bernestine Singley.
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Grace Hill Neighborhood Services. a not for profit United Way Agency, received a JOLI grant to implement Business and Entrepreneurs Success for TANF (BEST). The target population is the St. Louis Enterprise Community, which has an unemployment rate of 16.4 percent and a poverty rate of 44.1 percent. Rodney S. Wead, Ph.D, is Grace Hill's CEO, and the project director is Carolyn Fuller. The goal of BEST is to create three large neighborhood new business ventures and 27 microenterprises which will provide 90 new jobs for TANF residents in the first three years. Grace Hill's Business and Career Center and Maintenance of Effort (MORE) System will provide the foundation for the BEST project. The Business and Career Center provides on-the-job training, job readiness and assessment training, support services (identification of and help with child care, transportation, tools, equipment, and clothing), and job (skills) training. MORE services include family support, day care centers, and primary health care centers. A BEST Working Partners Incubator Business Center that cocoons start-ups and struggling neighborhood businesses to insure their success, will be developed in conjunction with the MORE partners. Characteristics of the center include synergizing buying power, co-management of businesses by Grace Hill staff and consultants, joint promotions, training, larger and more capital intensive companies started as "training companies," creation of several large companies (lawn care, nursery, and landscaping); telemarketing, warehousing and order fulfillment; credit union; individual development accounts; and expansion of the working partners temporary service. The Business and Career Centers staff in partnership with the state's Division of Family Services case workers provide TANF recipients with welfare reform information, support and training. With that foundation, interested participants have the opportunity to pursue small business development and participate in a three-tiered business assessment, development, and training program. After completion of training, participants will enter the Grace Hill Business Incubator. The JOLI grant amount is $390,000 and the cost per job is $4,333. The project evaluation will be done by Charles P. Kindleberger.
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The Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED) received a JOLI grant for the Iowa Neighborhood Enterprise Association Project. For this project ISED proposes to create 100 new Jobs in high poverty neighborhoods in six Iowa cities by building partnerships and increasing the capacity of low-income urban communities to nurture, support, and encourage microenterprise development. John Else, ISED's President and founder, will serve as project administrator and Jason Friedman, Director of Economic Development will serve as project director. In partnership with community-based organizations and neighborhood associations in Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Mason City, Sioux City, and Waterloo, ISED will create local groups, Neighborhood Enterprise Associations (NEAs), that will serve as ISED intermediaries in recruiting, nurturing, and supporting aspiring entrepreneurs. The project will target and serve neighborhoods or groups of neighborhoods in the six cities with the goal of creating new jobs for low-income individuals by creating and developing microenterprises in the neighborhoods. ISED will provide formal training and technical assistance in marketing, financial planning and management, business management, and the development of a formal business plan, as well as help with business financing. Six specific interventions are planned: increase of local capacity to provide services to low-income individuals to support microenterprises through the development of partnerships; coordination of non business supportive services, such as literacy programs, child care, public transportation, housing, skill development, etc.); recruitment and referral to ISED's training program by the NEAs; microenterprise development orientation and assessment services; business training and technical assistance; and access to business financing. The grant amount is $450,000 and the cost per job is $4,500. The project evaluator is Salome Raheim, Ph.D.
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The Hospitality Cooperative for Low-Income Residents of South Central
Los Angeles, is a project of the African American Unity Center (AAUC).
The project will use new business venture and microenterprise/self-employment
as strategies to create 100 new jobs. The cooperative will be established
to provide training and marketing of low-income area residents for jobs/careers
in the hospitality/catering industry. Upon completion of training,
each participant will become a member of the Cooperative. As such,
the cooperative will be responsible for marketing of the cooperative and
each member's specific skills to the larger community, entering into agreements
and contracts to secure and maintain regular and ongoing employment for
all participants, maintaining financial records and paying all applicable
taxes. The AAUC will also provide entrepreneurial training and assistance
for participants who have the potential to operate their own catering/hospitality
business. Such a program is greatly needed in South Central Los Angeles
since it has a unemployment rate of 21 percent, twice the city's rate of
9.5 percent, and three times the national average of 6.5 percent; more
than 43 percent of the area's residents live below the poverty level.
Curtis Owens is president of AAUC and the project director is Monica Austin.
In order to ensure the success of the project, the following interventions
will take place: affordable child care while in the training program and
as cooperative owners; cross language training; job readiness training;
a comprehensive hospitality industry training program; weekly stipends
for a two to three-week comprehensive training program; extensive referral
service to assist with citizenship problems; transportation of workers
and equipment to work assignments in a 15-passenger van purchased with
JOLI funds. Of the 100 residents who obtain permanent full-time jobs,
5 percent are expected to proceed with starting an industry related business.
The grant amount is $499,999, and the cost per job is $4,999. AAUC
is in the process of selecting an evaluator.