JAN

2017

Real Jobs RI Releases 2017 RFP

Posted By : Aaron

Comments : 0

In 2016 Aaron helped A consortium of businesses, healthcare and higher education institutions to win a $188,000/ year grant (for up to 5 years with re-authorization) workforce development grant. As part of this process the consortium was approved for the first “non-traditional” apprenticeship programs — one for Biomedical Equipment Technicians and one for Data Scientists — in the State of Rhode Island.

The Real Jobs RI (RJRI) program is designed to:

address business workforce needs by focusing on industry sector strategies that seek short term solutions to immediate workforce needs and long-term solutions to sustained skills gaps and personnel shortages;
address the needs of workers by creating formal career paths to good jobs,and sustaining or growing middle class jobs;
encourage mobility for Rhode Island’s most hard-to-serve jobseekers through targeted job readiness training;and,
drive coordination between the public and private sectors and the workforce,economic development, and education partners around the

Consortiums can follow a 2-step process to become a RJRI ‘partner.’

1) Submit a planning grant proposal

2) Complete a comprehensive planning process and complete the final application

Planning grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded (based on last year’s results) to 20-30 recipients. The recipient consortiums may then use their planning grant to underwrite the planning process to develop their RJRI partnership and proposal. These funds are primarily intended to be used to cover staff and/ or contractor time to develop/ facilitate the proposal. It is not a requirement to be a recipient of a planning grant to submit a full proposal, though it will drastically increase (or at least be indicative of) the consortium’s chance of success.

Creating a winning RJRI proposal is as much about the process as the final product. Reviewers at the RI Department of Labor and Training want to see evidence of due-diligence in regards to both research/ analysis/ understanding of the problem or challenge to be addressed; as well as a well-articulated, collaborative, rational and likely-to-succeed plan of action. There must be a high level of buy-in from all industry, community-based and educational partners and the consortium partners should all have a strong track-record in their respective disciplines. Further, the plan should be innovative and outline, expected, concrete benefits to both business and job/ career-seekers. From the 2017 RFP: “In the planning phase, every consortium must include at least two employers from the target industry and representatives from two diverse entities must be identified in the Planning Grant Proposal and committed to participating in the planning process. Diverse entities include nonprofits, community-based organizations, two- and/or four- year institutions of higher education,K-12 programs, local workforce boards, industry associations, local governments, local or regional economic development agencies, labor unions,philanthropic organizations,and other training providers and relevant partners.”

Our (Bioscience — Claflin Medical Equipment) planning and final proposals were both funded in full and the site was selected to host Governor Raimondo’s press conference announcing the 2016 winners. If your organization/ consortium has questions about the process and would like assistance crafting a winning proposal for the 2017 RFP (due in March), contact Aaron ASAP.

The following is a list of the 26 Real Jobs Partnerships:

Aquaculture

The Education Exchange

Bioscience

Claflin Medical Equipment
MedMates

Construction

Rhode Island Builders Association
The Providence Plan (building futures)
West Elmwood Housing Development Corp.
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 51

Defense

General Dynamics Electric Boat
Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance

Design

DESIGNxRI

Finance & Insurance

Independent Insurance Agents of RI
Rhode Island Bankers Association

Health care

Saint Antoine Residence
UNAP RIG Education Fund
Rhode Island College

Hospitality

Rhode Island Hospitality Association

Information Technology

Tech Collective
LaunchCode

Manufacturing

Toray Plastics (America) Inc.
Hyman Brickle & Son Inc.
Polaris MEP (University of Rhode Island Research Foundation)

Marine Trades

Rhode Island Marine Trades Association

Regional

OIC of Rhode Island Inc.
Man Up Inc.
Connecting for Children and Families
Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce

About the Author

Aaron has over 23 years of experience in non-profit management, organizational development and fundraising. He is considered among the most successful independent grant writers in the country.

Every once in awhile you have the pleasure of meeting someone who excels at what they do. I had that opportunity when Alvarado Parkway Institute (API) engaged Aaron Rome as a grant writer. Aaron was exceptionally quick at translating the complex world of behavioral health and academic medicine into a professional, easily understood grant application. His ability to weave timelines and milestones to budget into a comprehensive Gantt chart was the best I have seen. Aaron has an uncanny ability to develop both outcomes and a return on investment. Aaron was easy to communicate with, has a delightful wit and never missed a deadline. API was awarded $2.5 million dollars in grant funding as a result of Aaron's effort.

- Maureen Womack, CEO, Alvarado Parkway Institute

Working with Aaron has proven to be a positive, easy, beneficial process. He is professional and efficient, and, in our first year of working together, he assisted in securing $1.3 million in federal project funds for our 501c(3) youth development nonprofit. Aaron is knowledgeable, fair and pleasant and we look forward to working on more projects in the future.

- Jerod M. Morey, Executive Director, About Our Kids, Inc.

I really appreciate Aaron’s approach to grant writing. He is with the PI throughout the entire process from development to submission, which is critical. He takes the time to really learn about the science that is being proposed and then helps with the technical parts - the writing, organization, etc. to make the proposal make sense from the first page to the last. This is very different than an editor. We just scored in the 6^th percentile on our first NIH R21 grant together, so if that isn’t proof he is excellent at his craft, I don’t know what is!

- Dr. Sarah Messiah, Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health

Aaron was amazing and helped me organize writing my first U01 <NIH grant, $3m+ which we won!]. I would highly recommend working with Aaron, he is fantastic!

- Dr. Paula Busse, Associate Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Aaron helped us tremendously in getting started with our proposal. He had a nuanced sense of what each organization was looking for in their specific SBIR and therefore offered us a variety of ways to tailor our proposal. He also counseled us as to how to get the best advice from Program Officers. For an academic with no experience in a start-up, I cannot overstate enough how helpful he was. We are still in the early stages of our proposal but I am very relieved that we are in great hands.

- Professor Beste Yuksel, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of San Francisco

Last year I became aware that the Department of Veterans Affairs released a notice of funding for their Grant Per Diem program, which was just the help we needed to sustain and grow our organization. However, the level of technical expertise needed to navigate the requirements, develop program services and write the grant, caused me to hesitate. Luckily, I found Aaron and he explained the process and requirements, setting me at ease. He walked me through the entire process, patiently counseling and offering suggestions on how best to express our program. This month, we received notice that organization has been selected for the Grant Per Diem award, at 100% of the funds applied for. Throughout this competitive process we were recognized for the quality of the proposal submitted - We owe many thanks to Aaron for his help!

- Leonard Ramirez, Veterans Accession House

Aaron is the most knowledgeable, skilled and competent proposal writer I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. His strategic approach, innovation, highly evolved intellect, humor, great character and experience are the best qualities the industry has to offer. After losing our State contract, which had been renewed each contracting period for over 24 years, Aaron wrote the most compelling and well crafted proposal that landed us a State Contract to provide Family Preservation Services to our community. Not only did he help save our business, but he assisted in creating jobs and providing much needed services in our communities in Lake County, Indiana. We owe a debt of gratitude to Aaron - THANK YOU SO INCREDIBLY MUCH

- Toya Dumas-Robinson, Metropolitan Oasis CDC

Thank you Aaron for all your help. I would recommend you to anyone. You are a very personable person... we came to you during the eleventh hour and you were able to get the job done with the end result in our organization obtaining the grant ($100,000). You never know what you are going to get when you simply use Google. We took a chance and we cannot be anymore satisfied in the professionalism you offered from day one.

- Rochelle Dukes, Calvary Baptist

I am a solar sales and installation company. I had the pleasure of hiring Aaron to apply for a first time, new, State of California solar grant. My solar client was easily approved for the maximum grant of $300,000. Aaron is easy to work with, knowledgeable and reasonably priced. I hope to have the chance to use his services again. He is well worth it.

- Jim Bowman, Renewable Solar Inc.

We received the best news yesterday. Vigo County Drug Court was awarded funding for the next five (5) years from the grant that you prepared for us. With this funding the Drug Court Program will be able to help so many more people who desperately need the help. So, on behalf of Judge Rader and his staff, the Vigo County Prosecutor’s office, and the Vigo County Drug Court, we want to thank you for all of the hard work and dedication that you gave this project.

- Terri Allen, Vigo Superior Court

I am so happy to have found Aaron to help prepare a healthcare grant application with a very short turnaround. My apprehensions about hiring someone I had no former relationship with soon dissipated as Aaron quickly proved to be not only a great writer, but trustworthy and insightful -- helping us to refine our business model and craft our strategy -- and fun to work with. He walked into a high-pressure situation, hit the ground running and engaged with our staff seamlessly. Within less than 2 months of meeting Aaron he helped our company win a $363,000 contract. I can't believe how smoothly the process went once Aaron joined our team, and can't wait to work with Aaron again on a future project.

- Emmi Chen, Xincon Home Health Care Services, Inc.

We had the pleasure of working with Aaron for our Cancer Prevention Grant. Without his help, we could not have gotten it done! Aaron is prompt, knowledgeable, and great team player. He punctuated the project with a high level of sophistication. Thank you Aaron! We hope to work together soon."

- Dr. Suman Sinha, Pulmonologist, CHRISTUS Medical

Working with Aaron was like working with someone who has been my colleague for years. We called on him to work on a moment’s notice and he jumped in with both feet; availing himself to us exclusively. The ease with which Aaron translated our program’s complex needs into the intricate language of two federal grant proposals was remarkable. Through his impressive communication and steadfast work ethic, Aaron emerged as a teacher and mentor on the intricacies of grant writing for our team. I will not hesitate to recommend Aaron Rome to any organization in need of top-notch, comprehensive grant writing services!

- Amy Middleton, Regional Resource Development Director, The Salvation Army of Central Maryland

Our organization is quite pleased with the grant written by Aaron Rome. In fact, the grant review committee member expressed that of all the grants that were received, ours was the most clear and concise. This is specifically attributed to Aaron's professional experience and we are grateful to his contribution in securing the highest grant award in our organization's 20 year history.

- Ann Burnett, FreeD.O.M. Clinic USA

Aaron was hired at the 11th hour to complete a grant with no prior knowledge of our organization. He worked seamlessly with me to acquire the necessary information in guiding the process – a first for me – from start to finish. Aaron did not flinch in his organization or responsiveness. Needless to say, we submitted on time and were successfully awarded our grant request ($126,000).

- Robert Basile, Psy.D., Director of Clinical Services, Metropolitan Center for Mental Health (NY, NY)

Aaron steered us through the complexities of the STTR (SBIR) grant submission process, coaching us and communicating directly with our research institution. Given a narrow 4 week time frame Aaron delivered with days to spare.

- David Cooper, Stairbuilders & Manufacturers Association

CME contracted with Aaron to assist us with writing 2 grant proposals and from the start Aaron was fully engaged in the project and was not only responsive to any of our requests but was proactive in anticipating our needs and managing the very tight timelines associated with the proposal process. Without Aaron taking the point position on this project we would never have been able to submit a proposal much less successfully secure $175,000 in grant funding. Aaron was truly an integral part of our team.

- Eric Robinson, Claflin Medical Equipment

We are an association with a specific mission that many often know very little about. Aaron took the time to understand our organizational history, focus and needs. When it came to writing the grant, we were happy that he worked with us to create something that fulfilled our current needs and, I believe, laid a foundation for future opportunities.

- Cameron McEllhiney, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement

I cannot tell you how great you have been and how much I value your guidance. I have learned a great deal. You showed as much concern for the success of the grant for the college as someone from an in-house grants office would. I did not expect that level of care from a contractor.

- Dr. Alan Jackson, Vice President, Hiwassee College

Aaron exceeded all of our expectations! He worked with us to understand our vision and effectively communicated it in every grant that he successfully wrote (so far we are 2 for 2!). He was always available, flexible, and easy to work with. We will continue to consult Aaron Rome, and you should too.

- Cici Osanma

Absolutely you were a great help to me!

- Elke, Business owner

Aaron wrote a great economic feasibility study that was integral to our receiving a $200,000 federal farm grant. He is highly competent and professional, and was a pleasure to work with.

- Zachary Zises, Big Head Farm

Right from the start, Aaron impressed us with his efficiency and professionalism - an approach that not only inspired confidence, but generated the results we were looking for. We needed an effective plan for soliciting grants and donors for our "Barbershop Boys" program for our non-profit. By partnering with Aaron, we have been able to consistently increase both our capacity and our funding sources to provide effective programming.

- Ragan Johnson, Imagine Me, President

We found Aaron easy to work with. He gathered and quickly absorbed the literature describing our operations and timely wrote the website and grant narratives. He was very efficient and his fees were extremely reasonable.

- John, Foundation for Eldercare

- Ragan Johnson, President, Imagine Me, Inc.

Aaron Rome
North Kingstown, RI
401-368-2401

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