Background on Newark 2020:

Under the leadership of Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Newark 2020 is a city-wide systems change initiative to connect 2,020 unemployed Newark residents with jobs that pay a living wage by December 2020, thereby cutting in half the gap in the unemployment rate between the State of New Jersey and the City of Newark. Beyond the numeric targets, Newark 2020 aims to fundamentally transform the city’s workforce development system by better aligning its education and workforce training with the needs of employers, creating more career pathways for local residents to jobs that pay a living wage.

Newark 2020 is an unprecedented partnership between the City of Newark, our major employers, led by the Newark Alliance, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Newark LISC, the Newark Community Development Network, our faith community and leaders, the United Way of Essex and West Hudson, Prudential, and the Victoria Foundation. Newark 2020 employer partners include not only some of the largest employers in Newark, but also some of the largest employers in New Jersey and the United States, including Rutgers University-Newark and Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences (RBHS), RWJ Barnabas Health, Audible.com, Prudential, PSE&G, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark Public Schools, the Port Newark Container Terminal, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, United Airlines, Panasonic, the Prudential Center and the New Jersey Devils, IDT Telecom, and others.

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Overview of Community Hubs:

In order to recruit and sign-up participants for Newark 2020, there will be community hubs selected throughout Newark. The Newark 2020 community hubs are critical components of the initiative, serving to connect local residents to the employment and training opportunities available through Newark 2020.

The community hubs will be charged with (1) recruiting residents, (2) assisting them with signing up for Newark 2020 on the website, (3) conducting an initial intake interview with the resident, and (4) helping the resident navigate through the Newark 2020 process to receive training, if applicable, and the designation of a “Newark 2020 applicant” with participating employers.

Because of the large scale of this initiative and the multi-year time frame for execution, participating organizations must already have significant physical and staff infrastructure that can be immediately mobilized to serve Newark residents, as well as an established track record of providing direct and wraparound services to community members.

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Selection Process and Criteria:

‍Newark 2020 will initially select five community hubs located throughout the city to launch in fall 2017. Based on the volume of residents who sign up for Newark 2020 during fall 2017, additional community hubs may be selected this winter and during spring 2018 or at a later date in the initiative.

These five community hubs will be assessed both individually and holistically and chosen by a selection committee, in order to ensure that the hubs are geographically diverse as a group and that they can collectively meet the needs of all Newark residents. Newark 2020 is an assetbased initiative that seeks to build, strengthen, and expand our city’s existing resources and organizations, so organizations selected as community hubs will receive additional funding and technical and organizational support to establish their organization as a Newark 2020 community hub. However, Newark 2020 will prioritize selecting organizations as hubs that can leverage their existing services and resources to fulfill the obligations of a Newark 2020 community hub, so that the organizations do not require 100% of their funding for this work to come from Newark 2020.

At a minimum, organizations applying to be a Newark 2020 community hub must have:

• At least one physical location, that is ideally close to public transportation and accessible by people with disabilities;
• Paid full-time staff;
• ‍Experience serving residents, ideally with employment, training, or education assistance;
• ‍The capacity to expand and begin serving residents quickly upon their selection as community hubs, and the ability to serve at least 125 residents annually (during the first 12 months of operating as a hub); and
• ‍The ability to continue serving residents through and beyond December 2020 for continuity and sustainability.

‍In addition, each organization applying to be a Newark 2020 community hub will be assessed on the following criteria:

Program Services Capacity

• Comprehensive Intake: The organizations selected should use a comprehensive intake process in which Newark 2020 designated staff collect information about client demographics, goals, and needs to determine whether they need employment readiness (soft skills) training and/or a technical/hard skills training program. The intake process is designed to ensure that all residents will be evaluated/considered holistically and that services are intentionally bundled and sequenced to most effectively meet their needs. All members of the hub organization should be capable of referring program participants receiving other services and who may be eligible for Newark 2020 enrollment to the appropriate on-site Newark 2020 personnel.
• ‍Intermediate and Long-Term Client Engagement: The selected organization should commit to providing intermediate and long-term services for residents, typically lasting 18-36 months. While resident needs and commitment levels will vary, hubs should be committed to providing additional career pathways resources to residents even after initial employment placement. Hub organizations should be able to demonstrate a track record of maintaining relationships with clients over a sustained period of time.
• Internal Quality Control: Hub organizations should have a clear commitment to self reflection, information sharing, engagement in continuous process improvement, and development of evidence-based practices informed by research and evaluation. Hubs supported through Newark 2020 funding should commit to participate in occasional community of practice sessions and trainings for supervisors and front-line staff, which seek to build staff capacity and improve client outcomes. The Newark 2020 Project Director will facilitate the provision of training, professional development, and technical assistance designed to strengthen professional practices and client outcomes across all hub locations to ensure minimum quality standards and consistency.
• ‍Marketing and Branding: Funded hub sites should agree to promote Newark 2020 through common marketing and branding. Depending upon the mix and source of funding provided, branding and logos should be displayed on signage at each site and on associated marketing and outreach materials.
• ‍Fundraising: Funded sites should agree to provide opportunities for donor engagement, including hosting donor site tours.
• Outcome Measurement: Hubs should be able to assist in the tracking of key employment outcomes to measure client progress and program effectiveness, such as the number of residents enrolled at their site and the number of residents provided employment readiness (soft skills) training, the number provided technical (hard skills) training and certifications for positions requiring credentials, the number of hires retained at 30/60/90/180/365 days, and the number of hires promoted and receiving increased income. These outcomes take time to achieve and track and as such, sites may be expected to maintain long-term client relationships and performance management systems capable of tracking these outcomes over time. Sites should be required to demonstrate that they cannot only collect these data, but that they also assist in the use of the data generated to inform and improve programming on a regular basis. Funded sites should be required to use the Newark 2020 website as a data intake and tracking system, in partnership with designated centralized project management staff. In addition, funded sites will be expected to assist with all evaluation and assessment activities required by funders, including but not limited to pre- and post-participant surveys on the efficacy of services available as well as site visits to review records and client data.

Administrative/Operational Capacity

• Organizations will have written Accounting Policies and Procedures in place.
• Organizations will have written Personnel Policies and Operating Procedures. 
• Organizations will have an adequate system to track time and effort (timesheets).

‍Financial Management Capacity

• Financial Stability, indicated by an independent audit of finances within the last two years. 
• The organization will have an accounting system set up to maintain subaccounts/subfunds so that financial reports of revenue and expenditures can be produced by individual grant. 
• The organization’s financial statements will not show any unexplained negative trends (e.g. decreasing income, expense ratio, or change in level of operations). 
• The organization’s independent accountant will not disclose any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the audited financial statements. 
• The independent accountant findings will not disclose any signs of financial uncertainty. 
• The organization will have administered grants of $100,000 or more, or be registered in the federal system for awards management (SAM) and not be delinquent on federal debt as per www.SAM.gov., the official website of the U.S. government.

Additional Considerations

• Number of years of organizational operation in the Newark community, with a preference for organizations that have at least 5 years of operational experience in the City of Newark. 
• Mission Alignment: Does the Newark 2020 mission fit the prospective Hub’s mission? 
• Buy-In: Does it have the staff and leadership buy-in to be successful? 
• Efficacy: Does it have outcomes data to show its competency? 
• Capacity: Does the organization have the capacity to serve at least 125 residents per year as a hub?

‍Application:

‍Application Instructions: Please type responses to the following questions into a Word document and submit your organization’s responses and all attachments as one combined PDF document to Newark2020_Hubs@njisj.org by no later than 5:00 pm on Monday, October 16, 2017. Shortly thereafter, an ad hoc committee will review and select 5 organizations to serve as Newark 2020 hubs, to be launched in fall 2017. Depending on need, additional hubs may be selected at a later date. If you have any questions about the application process, please email Newark2020_Hubs@njisj.org.

1. What is your organization’s name? 
2. What is your name and title at your organization? If we have any additional questions about your application, what is your contact information? If you are not the highest ranking staff member at your organization (e.g. President/CEO/Executive Director), please include a brief statement of support of this application from your highest ranking staff member in your application materials. 
3. What year was your organization founded? 
4. Is your organization a non-profit or for-profit entity? Is your organization a governmental or non-governmental organization? Please also provide your tax filing status and year of incorporation, and a copy of your independent financial audit from the last two years. 
5. Please describe your staff capacity.

                a. What is your total staff size? Please specify the total number of full-time and parttime staff as of your most recent payroll. 

                b. Please list the staff—both leadership and direct service providers—who could provide programming related to Newark 2020 at your organization. For each staff member                     identified, please briefly provide any relevant information about their education, training, and experience in their field, and their number of years of experience working at                     your organization. 

                c. Are any of your staff members bi-lingual or multi-lingual in another language, such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, or American Sign Language? Please state which                     languages your staff members are fluent in, and how many staff members are fluent in each language (e.g. Spanish: 3 fluent staff members), as well as whether those                     staff members are full or part-time.

6. What services does your organization currently provide? Please be as specific as possible, listing out each program, the number of years that your organization has provided that particular program, and the number of people your organization serves annually through that program. For instance, if your organization provides education or training, please list each type of education or training program, when you started providing that program, and the number of people served annually.
7. Under any of your programs, does your organization provide ongoing counseling to people over a period of time? If so, please specify the type of counseling provided under each program, and the typical length of time that your organization works with clients or residents.

               a. Does your organization currently have an intake process for new clients? If so, please describe it, and attach any relevant materials to this application. 

                b. Does your organization have any experience counseling people seeking employment? If yes, please list what services or programs you provide that pertain to                      employment. 

                c. Does your organization have any experience counseling people who need assistance accessing social or human support services, such as housing, health care,                      transportation assistance, child care, etc.? If yes, please list what services or programs you provide that pertain directly to social or human support services, or to                      helping people access those services or benefits.

8. ‍Please describe your organization’s experience working with diverse groups of people.

                a. Describe your organization’s efforts or initiatives to ensure cultural competency in your services and programming. 

                b. Does your organization have any special experience working with specific populations of people, such as youth, senior citizens, people with disabilities, veterans, people                     with limited English proficiency, people with criminal convictions, etc.? These examples are meant to be illustrative, but not exhaustive—please describe any expertise                     or experience that your organization has in working with any specific populations of people. 

                c. Please also list any programs or services that you have for any of the specific populations of people who you serve.

9. Please describe the physical infrastructure of your organization, including the number of physical locations your organization has, and any specialized purposes for those locations (e.g. housing or daycare).

                a. For each of your locations that serve the public, please list your current hours of operation. 

                b. For each of your locations that serve the public, please list the number of full- and part-time employees who work at that location. 

                c. Are your organization’s physical location(s) accessible by public transportation? Please specify for each location, including any nearby public transportation routes. 

                d. Are your organization’s physical location(s) accessible by people with disabilities? Please specify for each location, including whether each location is compliant with the                     Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or exempted. 

                e. If applicable, please describe with specificity any computers or technology that are available for residents or your clients to use at each of your locations, including the                     type of technology and number of units.

10. If selected as a Newark 2020 hub, please describe any partner organizations that will provide key services for your organization, including their experience and qualifications to provide those services, as well as the depth and commitments of their partnership. If applicable, please provide evidence of formal partnerships, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)/commitment letter printed on letterhead
11. Please provide information on your organization’s experience managing large, multi-year grants.

                a. What is your organization’s financial management capacity to execute sizable grant activities? 

                b. Does your organization have an accounting system set up to maintain subaccounts/sub-funds, so that financial reports of revenue and expenditures can be produced for                     each grant? 

                c. Has your organization administered grants of $100,000 or more, and are you registered in the federal system for awards management (SAM)?

12. ‍Please provide information on your organization’s financing and operations.

                a. What is your organization’s annual operating budget? Please then provide a breakdown of the costs of each of your organization’s programs and/or services. 

                b. What are your organization’s funding sources? Please provide a numeric aggregate breakdown by source, e.g. government funds, foundation funding, private                     donations, etc. 

                c. Do your financial statements show any negative trends (e.g. decreasing income, expense ratio, or change in the level of operations)? If yes, please explain. 

                d. Has your organization’s independent accountant disclosed any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in your audited financial statements? If yes, please                     explain.

13. Based on your organization’s current staff and infrastructure resources, does your organization have the ability to immediately expand to serve Newark residents as a Newark 2020 Community Hub? Please explain both how your organization would leverage existing financial resources and in-kind support, and what additional resources your organization would need to expand your organizational capacity to serve as a Newark 2020 Community Hub this fall. 
14. If your organization is selected as a Newark 2020 Community Hub, would your organization be able to continue to serve residents at least through December 2020? Please speak to your organization’s track record, capability, and system of maintaining relationships with clients over a sustained period of time. Also, please describe your organization’s ability to provide sustainability and continuity of services over a multi-year initiative. 
15. Please describe how your organization would be an ideal strategic partner in helping Newark 2020 meet its mission, and provide any additional information that you think is relevant for consideration of your organization’s application.

Reminder: 

Please attach or append the following materials to your application:

• Organizational Accounting Policies and Procedures; 
• Organizational Personnel Policies and Procedures; 
• An independent financial audit from the past two years; 
• If applicable, Organizational Procurement Procedures; 
• If this application was not completed by the highest ranking staff member in your organization, a letter or statement of support of this application by the highest ranking staff member.