The document outlines an agenda to discuss applying for a grant to establish a workforce development program in Trenton, NJ. The agenda includes identifying a concept, conducting a SWOT analysis, determining feasibility, and discussing next steps. The concept proposes leveraging partnerships to create business incubators and employment training programs aligned with in-demand skills to promote gainful employment and self-sufficiency among low-income residents. Success would require overcoming challenges such as municipal changes, competition for funds, and sustainability after funding ends.

2. TODAY’S AGENDA
Overview of Grant Opportunity (10 min)
Identification of Concept (10 min)
Collective SWOT Analysis (20 min)
Collective Feasibility Determination (10 min)
Next Steps (10 min)

3. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES/ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN YOUTH AND FAMILIES
OCS Mission:
The mission of the Office of Community Services is to work in partnership with
states, communities, and other agencies to provide a range of human and
economic development services and activities which ameliorate the causes
and characteristics of poverty and otherwise assist persons in need.
The aim of these services and activities is to increase the capacity of individuals
and families to become self-sufficient, to revitalize communities, and to build
the stability and capacity of children, youth, and families so that they
become able to create their own opportunities.

4. FEDERAL GOALS/PROJECT ALIGNMENT
OCS Goals
The Office of Community Services strives to:
 Serve the economic and social needs of welfare recipients and other low-income individuals
and families that reside in urban, rural and tribal areas;
 Provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities through industrial, business, physical or
commercial development;
 Promote individual self-sufficiency through the creation of new, full-time, permanent jobs;
 Assist community development corporations and community action agencies in leveraging
existing federal, state and local resources for neighborhood revitalization activities;
 Provide financial and technical resources to state, local, public and private agencies for
economic development and related social service support activities;
 Provide energy assistance to low income households; and
 Assist communities in protecting the victims of domestic violence as well as preventing the
occurrence of domestic violence.

5. GRANTS WILL BE MADE AS PART OF
Broader strategy to address objectives like arresting tendencies toward
financial dependency, chronic unemployment and community
deterioration in urban and rural areas:
 Awards for non-construction projects are for three years up to $800,000 per
project period. Awards for construction projects are for five years per project
period.
 Incubator development is allowable as long as the focus of the incubator is on
substantial job creation for low-income individuals.
 The CED program provides priority funding for projects located in service areas
with a demonstrated need for the proposed project.
 The program also seeks to fund projects that identify and address the personal
and community barriers that must be overcome to help low-income individuals
obtain employment and become self-sufficient.

6. CDCS, ALONE OR IN PARTNERSHIP:
 must recruit low-income individuals to fill the positions;
 offer support to help those individuals successfully hold jobs;
 ensure that businesses and jobs created remain viable for at least one
year after the end of the grant period;
 a proposed objective of this effort is to expand the capacity of the
Grace Community Development Corporation.

7. IN ADDITION TO WELL-PLANNED VIABLE STRATEGY FOR
Business creation or expansion, employment placement and retention,
applicants must have in place:
(1) written financial commitments for all non-CED funding,
(2) needed management, staff, and other resources,
(3) evidence of site control in the form of a lease agreement or deed, and
(4) referral sources to help identify low-income individuals to fill the
positions.

8. GOAL:
Align training with resources and skill demand in the City of Trenton and
Greater Mercer County Region.
Recommended objectives are to:
 increase low income residents’ capacity to compete in the regional marketplace for
gainful wages toward improved self-sufficiency;
 propel enrollees along critical skill development pathways that are parallel to
expanding employment sectors in Mercer County and Central NJ;
 provide a constellation of holistic support services to mitigate and assist in the
management of barriers to program participation and optimal training and
employment performance.
 maintain employment and business retention strategies for program enrollees for
one year following job placement or business creation.

9. CONCEPT
 Business, manufacturing and helping sectors in Trenton, with one major exception, have been
unable to respond to the community's need for employment, gainful wages and training
pathways. These barriers are core deficits for residents in the West Ward.
 Re-entry remedial training services to assist previously incarcerated individuals are being
attempted; but this is not the same as preparing under resourced city residents for gainful work
in a constricting economy and competitive workforce.
 Most efforts are under – leveraged, unable to be responsive to the entrenched, multi faceted
needs for employment training and business development in the Ward. The WWGEI (tentatively
named) is a comprehensive systemic approach.
 Leverages the strengths of West Ward agencies and others, to assist business creation,
resident skill identification and development toward health, solar and “green” related industry
job creation, as well as job creation in other targeted manufacturing, production technologies
and contracting.
 The goal is to align training with resources and skill demand in the City of Trenton and Greater
Mercer County Region.

10. STRENGTHS
 Trenton’s Current Profile of needs requires innovative thoughtful concepts to
address its chronic employment and training needs;
 Provides municipality additional pathways to bring impactful funding to the
Ward in a critical resource area - Trenton’s business and resident
employment development;
 Core stakeholder groups are focusing on the West Ward – What are the
identifiable synergies?
 New planning momentum within Capital Health and potential for site
utilization;
 Pending culmination of varying plans; THDC, MSF WWA Initiative, Rutherford
Avenue Plan.

11. WEAKNESSES
 Municipal landscape and administrative priorities are in flux;
 Federal Grant application process is extremely competitive;
 Conflicting interests of stakeholder groups/plans; can we play nice in the
interest of the community? Can we provide a non duplicative services?
 Is there potential for sustainability at funding completion? Thoughtful
strategic and financial planning needed here.
 Need mechanism to finance the development and production of the
proposal.

12. OPPORTUNITIES
 Establish broad partnerships to focus on business development and
employment solutions in a manageable catchment area for the city.
 Create partnerships that promote gainful employment opportunities in
the expanding green sector thru established training pathways.
 Retro fit CDC physical plant as an employment training and supportive
services site; enhance their capacity.
 Retro fit Capital Health space for administrative purposed and business
incubator support.
 Potential to develop a framework to promote broader employment
training and placement of Trenton residents based on regional skill
needs; chamber needs.
 Potential to access labor funding as a part of a regional strategy?

13. THREATS
 Risk of changes in legislative budget agenda;
 Employment barrier mitigation and remediation strategies remain
fractured and focused on least successful of TANF participants;
 A vacuum of non systemic and comprehensive interventions continue
to underserve the chronically un- and under employed;
 Programming remains disconnected from the realities and needs of the
Trenton labor market.
 Project sustainability.

14. COLLECTIVE FEASIBILITY DISCUSSION
 Winning applications tie in synergy with other things that are
happening; how can we holistically target a niche to realistically
compete for these funds?
 Framing the strategic intervention as business and employment
incubators towards career paths and gainful wages demarcates this
concept from re-entry and other TANF reintegration methods.
 What organization brings the best capacity to lead this type of
initiative?
 How can we cultivate financial partners to support implementation and
sustainability?

15. NEXT STEPS:
 Schedule of tasks and activities (to include but not limited to):
1. Invoking of non disclosure agreements between agreed upon partners;
2. Identification of partner roles and resources committed to the application
(actual, required and in-kind);
3. Stakeholder meeting schedule and targeted benchmarks;
4. Preliminary outline of application;
5. Preliminary drafts of memorandums of understanding and organizational profiles;
6. Identification of lead organization;
7. Preliminary logic model and work plans and
8. Tentative budget projections;
9. Workshop generic application;
10. Other tasks to be determined as part of strategic planning needs.

16. FOR PROJECT INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tyrone A. Gaskins, President
Targeting Alternative Growth (TAG) Resources Inc., Trenton, NJ
www.tagresourcesinc.com
tyroneagaskins@tagresourcesinc.com
p 609 356 4642
“Integrating Skills and Experience to Promote Enterprise and Self Reliance”