HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2024.07.18 - 41346
AGENDA ITEM: Grant Application with Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency for Fiscal Year 2025
County Veteran Service Fund
DEPARTMENT: Economic Development - Veterans Services
MEETING: Board of Commissioners
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 2024 6:00 PM - Click to View Agenda
ITEM SUMMARY SHEET
COMMITTEE REPORT TO BOARD
Resolution #2024-4241
Motion to approve submission of the County Veteran Service Fund Grant application with the
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency in the amount of $530,893.00 for the grant period of October 1,
2024 through September 30, 2025.
ITEM CATEGORY SPONSORED BY
Grant Yolanda Smith Charles
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
This is a request to approve submittal of an application for the Fiscal Year 25 County Veteran
Service Fund Grant from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. The Michigan Veterans Affairs
Agency has, for planning, allotted Oakland County’s Veterans’ Services Division grant funding in the
amount of $530,893 for Fiscal Year 2025. The total program budget consists of the following:
$50,000 for enhanced transportation services, $364,500 for veterans resource fairs, and
$116,393.00 for marketing. There is no County match required with this grant.
This is the sixth year the County has been awarded the County Veteran Service Fund Grant. The
funding will be used to increase awareness of the benefits and resources available to veterans and
their dependents in the county through a marketing campaign. The marketing campaign will consist
of advertising through radio, newspapers, billboards, social media, and mailings. The funding will
also be used to provide veteran resource fairs, and transportation to Oakland County Veterans
Services offices.
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: No
Committee members can contact Michael Andrews, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at
248.425.5572 or andrewsmb@oakgov.com or the department contact persons listed for additional
information.
CONTACT
Garth Wootten, Manager Veteran's Services Economic Development
Tyrone Jordan, Digital Marketing & Communications Coordinator
ITEM REVIEW TRACKING
Aaron Snover, Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 7/19/2024
AGENDA DEADLINE: 07/18/2024 6:00 PM
ATTACHMENTS
1. FY 25 CVSF Grant Application Sign Off
2. FY25 MVAA CVSF Grant 5-29-24
3. FY25 CVSF Grant Guidance
4. FY25 CVSF Grant Application Instructions
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2024-07-10 Economic Development & Infrastructure - Recommend to Board
2024-07-18 Full Board - Adopt
Motioned by: Commissioner Christine Long
Seconded by: Commissioner Ann Erickson Gault
Yes: David Woodward, Michael Spisz, Michael Gingell, Penny Luebs, Karen Joliat, Kristen
Nelson, Christine Long, Robert Hoffman, Philip Weipert, Gwen Markham, Angela Powell, Marcia
Gershenson, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles, Charles Cavell, Brendan Johnson, Ajay
Raman, Ann Erickson Gault, Linnie Taylor (19)
No: None (0)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: (0)
Passed
GRANT REVIEW SIGN OFF – VETERANS SERVICES
=================================================================================
GRANT NAME: FY2025 County Veteran Service Fund (CVSF) Grant APP00160
FUNDING AGENCY: Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
DEPARTMENT CONTACT PERSON: Garth Wooten (248) 858-0790
STATUS: Application (Greater than $50,000)
DATE: 06/12/2024
Please be advised that the captioned grant materials have completed internal grant review. Below are returned
comments.
You may now obtain the Board Chair’s signature for submittal of the application. The grant application package
(which should include this sign-off and the grant application with related documentation) should be downloaded
into Civic Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for placement on the next agenda (s) of the appropriate Board of
Commissioners’ committee (s).
DEPARTMENT REVIEW
Department of Management and Budget:
Approved – Sheryl Johnson (05/31/2024)
Department of Human Resources:
Approved by Human Resources. No position impact – Heather Mason (05/31/2024)
Risk Management and Safety:
Approved. No County insurance requirements detailed – Robert Erlenbeck (06/03/2024)
Corporation Counsel:
Approved. Corporation Counsel has conducted a legal review of the application and found no unresolved legal
issues. – Heather Lewis (06/12/2024)
FY25 COUNTY VETERAN
SERVICE FUND
GRANT GUIDANCE
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COUNTY VETERAN SERVICE FUND
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND
Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2025 County
Veteran Service Fund grants (PA 210 of 2018). Public Act 210 of 2018 amends PA 192 of 1953,
entitled “An act to create a county department of veterans’ affairs in certain counties, and to prescribe its
powers and duties; and to transfer the powers and duties of the soldiers’ relief commission in such
counties,” (MCL 35.621 to 35.624) by amending the title and by adding section 3a. This Act creates a
county department of veteran’s affairs in certain counties, and to prescribe its powers and duties; to
create the County Veteran Service Fund (CVSF) and to provide for contributions to and expenditures
from that fund; and to transfer the powers and duties of the soldier’s relief commission in those counties.
AWARD INFORMATION
Funding Mechanism: Grant
Total Available Funding: $4,253,300
Anticipated Number of Awards: 83
Purpose: Grant dollars are intended to enhance and improve county veteran service operations in an
effort to connect veterans to their federal benefits and provide consistent access to services throughout
the state.
Length of Project: Up to 1 fiscal year, depending on fund availability
Cost Sharing/Match Required: No
Continuation Funds: Contingent upon appropriation funding
AVAILABLE FUNDING
The total disbursement for each grant shall be determined by combining the following amounts:
(a) A base amount of $50,000.
(b) A per capita amount according to the number of veterans residing in each county. The amount in
this subdivision shall be determined by dividing the amount remaining in the fund after
accounting for all disbursements under subdivision (a) by the total number of veterans residing
in this state and multiplying the resulting dollar amount by the number of veterans residing in
the county receiving the grant. Population figures for veterans residing in this state and in each
county of this state shall be obtained from 2022 Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures
(GDX) Report published by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA).
(c) If the amount remaining in the fund after accounting for all disbursements under subsection
(a) is less than the amount obtained by multiplying $1,000.00 by the number of counties
receiving grants, MVAA shall not perform a calculation under subsection (b) and shall not
disburse the portion of grant funds described under that subsection.
There is no cost sharing or match required.
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TIMELINE
A completed and signed application (including any attachments) must be received by MVAA at
mvaagrants@michigan.gov no later than 5pm EST on June 18, 2024. Subject should identify
individual county and FY25 CVSF Grant Application (ex: XXX County FY25 CVSF Grant
Application). The time of receipt by MVAA is determined by the time stamp provided by the State of
Michigan’s e-mail system. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application in advance
of the due date to avoid any delays in electronic mail delivery. There will be no extensions of this
deadline. Applications received by MVAA beginning at 5:01PM EST on June 18, 2024, and thereafter
may not be considered for funding. It is recommended not to wait until the last minute to submit
your grant application. This is a State of Michigan e-mail address and you run the risk of a
server overload.
CONTACT INFORMATION
The same person shall not serve as The Project Director, the Authorized Official, and the
Financial Officer.
Project Director*—The person from the applicant’s County Department of Veterans Affairs
(CDVA) with overall responsibility for project management and ensuring that all grant guidelines
and requirements are met.
* County must ask for permission and be granted an exception by MVAA for someone other than Director of CDVA to
be the Project Director.
Financial Officer—The person from the applicant’s organization responsible for the financial
accounting of project-related expenditures (must be different than the Authorized Official).
Authorized Official—The person from the applicant’s organization authorized to enter into an
agreement with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA)/MVAA to accept
grant funds (must be different than the Financial Officer).
ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility is limited to Michigan counties that meet the eligibility criteria.
To be eligible to receive a grant, a county must satisfy the following:
(a) Maintain at least 70% of the total county funding for veteran service operations for the fiscal
year immediately preceding October 1, 2018; (i.e., Fiscal Year 2017).
(b) Establish remote access to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA)
computing systems and require county veteran service officers to obtain a PIV card.
(c) Submit quarterly reports to MVAA in accordance with the reporting requirements detailed in this
document.
(d) Provide no less than 20 hours per week toward veteran service operations.
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(e) Submit all required reports, in the requested format, to MVAA on a quarterly basis
demonstrating that the county department of veterans’ affairs expended the grant funds received
directly and solely on veteran service operations during the period of the report.
EXPECTATIONS
It is the expectation of MVAA that these services will be initiated/implemented as soon as possible after
the award.
Priority will be given to applications that seek to establish a County Department of Veterans Affairs or
enhance existing current veteran service operations. Other requests may be considered acceptable unless
they deviate too far from veteran service operations as defined. You will be notified if your application
falls into this category and will be offered the opportunity to reapply.
Project personnel previously hired with grant funding may continue to be funded with FY25
grant funds.
Supplanting, sponsorships, and donations are not allowed.
DEFINITIONS
For this funding opportunity, below is a list of commonly used terms as defined by Public Act 210 of
2018:
1. “Accredited veteran service officer”: an individual who has met the qualifications for
accreditation under 38 USC 5904 and 38 CFR 14.629.
2. “County veteran service fund” or “fund”: the county veteran service fund created within the
state treasury.
3. “PIV card”: a personal identity verification card issued by USDVA.
4. “Veteran service operations”: assistance and programming to meet the needs of veterans in
this state. Veteran service operations include, but are not limited to, providing advice,
advocacy, and assistance to veterans, servicemembers, dependents, or survivors by an
accredited veteran service officer to obtain USDVA health, financial, or memorial benefits
for which they are eligible.
PROJECT NARRATIVE
Grant applications must be submitted on the supplied forms and in the required format to be accepted.
Applications submitted that do not follow the guidelines may be rejected. Each proposed
program/initiative and expenditure must be described in detail and include how each links to one or both
of the following goals:
Goal #1: Enhance or increase veteran service provision over past service provisions.
Goal #2: Connect eligible veterans, servicemembers, dependents or survivors to benefits by an
accredited service officer to obtain USDVA health, financial, or memorial benefits. This includes
applying for emergency grants from the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund to address a short-term
unforeseen financial crisis.
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EXPENDITURES
Consistent with the best practices of USDVA and MVAA, all proposed expenditures must facilitate,
enhance, and improve county veteran service operations to connect veterans to their federal benefits. Failure
to obtain prior written approval from DMVA/MVAA may result in an expense not being authorized or
reimbursed. Funds expended without prior MVAA approval will not be reimbursed. Please refer to the FAQ
handout or contact MVAA for further guidance.
BUDGET JUSTIFICATION AND NARRATIVE
All applications must have a detailed Budget Justification and Narrative that supports the requested
funding. The Budget Justification and Narrative explains how the costs were calculated and must tie
directly back to the Project Narrative.
The Budget Justification and Narrative is the justification of ‘how’ and/or ‘why’ a line item helps to
meet the program deliverables. All costs must be utilized to support the provision of assistance and
programing to meet the needs of veterans residing in the county. The proposed costs must be
reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary for the supported activity.
All budget calculations must follow a prescribed format. Please refer to the FAQ handout or contact
MVAA for guidance.
If operational/programmatic changes are needed during the award period, a Project Amendment form
must be submitted for PRIOR approval to mvaagrants@michigan.gov. The subject line should state,
“FY25 CVSF XXX County Amendment.” If the change also requires moving funds from one line item
to another, you will also need to complete and attach a budget amendment form. All MVAA grant
reporting forms will accompany the grant award agreement.
If you are not sure if a cost is allowable, you will need prior approval – again, e-mail
mvaagrants@micnigan.gov with the subject, “FY25 CVSF question.” If a cost is deemed disallowable
after it has been expended and there was not a PRIOR authorization, the grant WILL NOT reimburse the
county.
Charges to the project for items such as salaries must conform to the written policies and established
practices of the applicant organization.
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POST AWARD
All grantees must be registered to do business with the State of Michigan. Registration is available at
the following website: https://sigma.michigan.gov/PRDVSS1X1/Advantage4
The State of Michigan will not accept Signature Pages without the entire Grant Agreement. A
complete signed copy of the Grant Agreement must be returned to MVAA no later than 60 days after
the award letter is received.
When communicating with MVAA regarding your grant award, the Grant Award Number or County
must be included in the subject line of the e-mail.
There will be a mandatory one-day training for Project Directors and Financial Officers to learn correct
reporting formats. If one or more parties fails to attend, the grantee is still required to adhere to all grant
standards. Dates and locations will be provided with the grant award letter. Grant funds may be used to
support travel to and from the mandatory training. Additional personnel assigned to the project may
attend at the expense of the county.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Submitting reimbursement reports starts with an approved budget. Reimbursements will be made on a
quarterly basis once the $50,000 advance is surpassed. All reimbursable expenses must be incurred
during the grant award cycle. Requests for reimbursement for activities/services prior to the award or
after the close of the award WILL NOT be reimbursed.
Reimbursement for salaries/fringes will need to be supported by submitting Staff Budget Quarterly
Reports and certified timesheets signed by both the employee and the employee’s supervisor.
Travel or Training requests must be submitted using the MVAA Training and Travel
Reimbursement Form.
Quarterly progress reports that identify the major tasks completed during the reporting period, any
issues or difficulties during the quarter, project milestones, and performance standards and metrics
must be submitted to MVAA as part of the quarterly report.
Reporting templates will be provided to grant recipients with the Notice of Award.
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REPORTING SCHEDULE
Reporting
Period
October 1 -December
31, 2024
January 1 –
March 31, 2025
April 1 –
June 30,
2025
July 1 –
September
30, 2025
Report
Due
January 10, 2025 April 10, 2025 July 10, 2025 October 5,
2025
MONITORING
All grant recipients will be subject to grant monitoring of performance, including data collection.
Standardized templates will be provided with the grant award letter. Budget, progress, and activity
reports will be required quarterly. Grant and performance monitoring will be conducted by MVAA. If
MVAA determines, by audit or otherwise, that a county department of veterans’ affairs expended the
grant funds received for purposes other than veteran service operations, MVAA shall reduce the grant
disbursement provided to the county department of veteran’s affairs in the succeeding fiscal year by an
amount equal to the total of all amounts improperly expended.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions regarding this funding opportunity, please e-mail mvaagrants@michigan.gov.
RESOURCES
The following sites may be of assistance in researching and developing your grant application.
The 2022 Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) Report:
https://www.va.gov/vetdata/Expenditures.asp
Michigan Veterans Trust Fund:
https://www.michigan.gov/mvaa/quality-of-life/emergency-assistance/panel-content
Michigan Travel Rates:
https://www.michigan.gov/dtmb/-/media/Project/Websites/dtmb/Services/Travel/Travel-Rates-
FY2024-and-High-Cost-Cities-effective-1-1-
2024.pdf?rev=d807618d59a74230a13e989cedffd66a&hash=87B1925CC47EA9AEDA6372A0C
C3DD9F9
FY25 County Veteran Service Fund Application Instructions
Please follow these instructions in the completion of your Fiscal Year (FY) 25 application.
Contact Information
Add your County name and SIGMA information (your Vendor Code and Address Code will not
change). You have received an e-mail that showed the total amount eligible for your county. In
the Total Grant Amount box, put the amount your county has decided to apply for. This may or
may not be the full amount you are eligible for.
You must list three grant contacts:
Project Director (PD): This will be the person primarily responsible for administering the
grant funds, and the main person that MVAA will reach out to with any questions or
concerns about the grant award, reporting questions, or other issues.
Financial Officer (FO): This is the person named in your county as the contact for any
fiscal questions or concerns. This may also be the person who assists with grant
reporting in the way of providing payment proof (general ledger, check copies, etc.) for
your expenditures.
Authorized Official (AO): This is the county’s Board official assigned to the grant. The
AO cannot be the same person listed as the FO.
Note that each individual must have an address, phone, and e-mail listed.
Initiatives
Identifying your initiatives, let’s say that you will have three this FY. Staffing, Emergency
Services, and Outreach. For each of your initiatives, you will complete three pages: Project
Detail, Budget Narrative/Justification, and a Budget Request or Staff Budget Request. Thus, in
the scenario above, you will submit nine documents for your initiatives.
Project Detail
For your Project Title, you’ll add a short entry to identify your initiative; for example, the three
listed above: Staffing, Emergency Services, Outreach. Then, add the Grant Focus Area
(connecting veterans to federal benefits, improving veteran services, etc.).
Project Narrative
The Project Narrative section is where you’ll explain in as much detail as possible what you plan
to utilize the grant funding for within this initiative. Staffing is self-explanatory.
Let’s use the Outreach example. For an initiative other than staffing, you’ll want to describe the
activities, tentatively when they will occur (veteran stand down to occur in the summer of 2025;
monthly coffee and donuts at the veteran services office; attend local county fair with
table/information and SWAG giveaways), and what items will be included (purchase of tent,
tables, coolers for drinks at event, catered lunch for approximately 150 veterans and family
members, etc.) Please also add details on why you believe this initiative will be well received in
your county – you might do this every year, so you would then be able to add how well attended
it was in the previous year and how many veterans you are hoping to reach in the current year.
Budget Narrative/Justification
For your Budget Narrative/Justification, you may group items together. Let’s say that for your
Outreach initiative, you’re requesting a total of $6,000.00. For your Veteran Stand Down, you’ll
be purchasing SWAG; table décor; tables, chairs, tablecloths; a tent; etc. For your coffee hours,
you’ll be purchasing donuts, coffee, condiments, and coffee mugs. At the County Fair, you’ll
have the fee for your reservation, your SWAG giveaways, and perhaps a cooler or two for water,
soda. As a suggestion, you may group these items:
Veterans Stand Down:
—Tables/chairs/tablecloths - $3,000.00
—SWAG - $1,000.00
—Tent - $500.00
Monthly Coffee Hours:
—Donuts, condiments - $500.00
—Coffee mugs - $500.00
County Fair:
—Reservation - $100.00
—Coolers and ice for drinks - $200.00
—SWAG - $200.00
For the narrative portion, you might consider including things like, “The tables, chairs,
tablecloths, and tent will be stored at the Veteran Services office and will be utilized for future
events. The coffee mugs will be stored in the kitchen/conference room area, and we are
considering these as a giveaway for veterans who attend the Coffee & Donut hours.”
Also, for the justification piece – if you have an initiative for, say, Office Productivity, which
includes higher dollar items such as a new copier, scanner, and laptops for your service staff,
please offer detail on why you are choosing these specific items, and indicate that you checked a
few businesses for best pricing.
Budget Request Form
When you complete the actual budget form for your Outreach initiative, you’ll list all of the
above items on one budget form. Again, for each initiative, you will include the three forms
listed previously; you may have several line items within each initiative, as described above.
Programming/Initiative Justification
A new section for FY25 is the Programming/Initiative Justification. Here you will explain, in
detail, how your requested programming/initiatives meet the intent of the grant by 1) enhancing
or increasing veteran service provision over past service provisions, and 2) connecting eligible
veterans, servicemembers, dependents or survivors to benefits by an accredited service officer to
obtain USDVA health, financial, or memorial benefits.
Submission of Application
The last page of your application is the attestation/signature page. Please read this page
carefully, ensuring that you have all the pieces you are attesting to. Then, have your AO sign,
and send your grant Application package to MVAAGrants@michigan.gov. Watch for an e-mail
confirming receipt; if you do not see one within a few business days, please reach out again and
check to be sure your application was received.
The approval process has several steps on the State’s side, and we may have questions regarding
your application. The more accurate and complete your application is, the more quickly the
review and approval process.
As always, the Grant Team is available to answer questions and provide feedback; we’re an e-
mail or phone call away:
MVAAGrants@michigan.gov
(517) 230-8535 – Kate Preston, Grants Specialist