03-15-24: 2025 R3 NOFO Applicant Questions

Posted: March 15, 2024

Question (Received 3/6/24)

For the Youth Development program priority, what does the age category of 18+ include? Would it include emerging adults 18-24?

Response

Yes, the Youth Development age category of 18+ includes emerging adults ages 18 to24 years old.

Question (Received 3/6/24)

Can we apply under two categories, for example Youth Development and Economic Development? Or do we need to focus on one category?

Response

Yes, proposed programs may provide services in more than one category or priority area. However, organizations may not submit more than one application per region. All proposed service categories may be described in a single application.

Question (Received 3/6/24)

Are there zip code/zone restrictions for participants? For example, if we applied for a Youth Development grant within the zone where our office is located (60623) could we only serve participants within that zip code? We recruit from the direct geographical area around the program, but we don’t limit participants based on their zip code or zone.

Response

Applicants may propose to provide services within a designated R3 zone or to residents of any other designated R3 zone for grant eligibility.

Question (Received 3/6/24)

It would be great to connect with you via Zoom or phone to discuss further and see if our organization is a good fit for funding. Are you free in the next week or so to chat?

Response

Due to the competitive nature of this solicitation, applicants may not discuss this opportunity directly or indirectly with any ICJIA employee other than the respondent of this email address: CJA.R3Questions@illinois.gov.

Questions may be submitted until 2:00 pm CST, on April 25, 2024. All substantive questions and responses are posted weekly.

Question (Received 3/6/24)

If our official address is outside the eligible area, but our project and our clients are within the eligible area, are we eligible to apply?

Response

Yes. Applicants proposing to provide services within a designated R3 zone or to residents of any other designated R3 zone are eligible to apply for a grant.

Question (Received 3/6/24)

I saw that R3’s 2025 Service Delivery Grant is open, and the funding is available for the period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Our organization is a current recipient of the R3 grant. Our initial program period is 7/1/2022 - 6/30/2023 but it has been extended to 7/1/2022 - 6/30/2025. We are thinking of expanding our existing reentry program with street outreach and clean energy-related training and placements. Are we eligible to submit an application for 2025 grant given that we are a current R3 recipient? Or will we have another chance to extend our R3 program after it ends on 6/30/2025?

Response

Current grantees are allowed one service delivery grant per region. Your organization may apply for service delivery grants to serve another R3 region through this NOFO. To be notified of all future grant opportunities, subscribe to ICJIA’s email list.

Question (Received 3/7/24)

We are a current R3 grantee. Are we eligible to apply for a different program?

Response

Yes, you are eligible to apply for a different program as a current grantee. For example, if you have a current grant for planning, you may apply for service delivery funding. If you are a current service delivery grantee, you may apply for another service delivery grant in another region. Organizations may only apply for one grant per region.

Question (Received 3/7/24)

Our current grant is for the Chicago North Region. Could we apply with our Elgin office to serve the Elgin R3 zones 1501-1506?

Response

Yes, applying for grants to provide service delivery in an R3 region that is different from the region you currently serve is allowable.

Question (Received 3/8/24)

We are planning to apply for R3 funds this year, and we have two locations of service we are interested in applying for. I wanted to confirm that they are separate regions, and therefore require two separate applications. I also wanted to ask if submitting more than one application would affect our likelihood of receiving a grant.

Response

Please see the Region Map on page 41 of the NOFO to identify regions. Each application submitted will be competing with others submitted within that R3 region, by tier. Funding will be divided among successful applicants based on available funds until funding is exhausted or until all applications selected for funding have been awarded.

Question (Received 3/10/24)

Is there a limit or recommendation on the number of applications we can or should submit, especially if considering multiple extensions or expansions of our program?

Response

Single applications may propose to provide services in multiple R3 zones. Proposed programs may provide services in more than one category or priority area. However, organizations may not submit more than one application per region.