Many NYS grants require applicants who submit a funding request that exceeds $25,000 for the full grant period, to spend 30% of their grant projects’ total non-discretionary non-personal service budgets (i.e. personnel salaries and fringe benefits, rent, lease, utilities and indirect costs) on products and services purchased from MWBE (Minority and Women Business Enterprise) certified vendors. Full or partial waivers of the MWBE requirement, providing the applicant can demonstrate that good faith attempts were made to locate MWBE vendors, can be made, although it is not something we recommend. Non-compliance with MWBE requirements can negatively impact applicant receipt of funding and grant applicants are required to identify MWBE vendors in their proposals. If MWBE vendors are not identified in the initial submission, applicants may be contacted during the review process and informed that they must provide vendor names before funds can be released.
Identifying MWBE vendors should be taken seriously and considered early in the application process, during initial program and budget development.
In search of MWBE vendors? We can help!
Our Grants Department can effectively assist you in navigating the NYS MWBE Directory to successfully find MWBE vendors that meet your needs. We also maintain an up-to-date MWBE Binder that makes the search for MWBE vendors much easier for our clients. To learn more about the NYS MWBE Directory or Via Evaluation’s Grant Development services, contact Holly Dickinson, Director of Grant Writing, at (716) 362-0627 or send an email.
