Guidelines for your 260F project

The purpose of the Agreement of Intent (AOI) is to set the project start date while allowing time to complete the 260F process. Qualified training completed after this date can be reimbursed from the grant training funds once the application is approved by Iowa Workforce Development. The AOI is forwarded to the Economic Development Accountant (ED Accountant) to ensure the funds are earmarked for your company.

The training plan is a summarized list of the training activities and the dates of the project. Your Business Solutions Consultant (BSC) will work with your company to determine training needs and indicate the number of unduplicated employees that will be trained with the funds. It is important to be conservative about the number of employees to be trained. You can always train more employees than stated, but you are committed to training the number indicated on this form.

Iowa is funding your training plan, so it should be as precise as possible and outline where training will be provided. Funds may be reallocated between the training activities, but activities cannot be added to the plan once it is approved without a modification request. Descriptions of each training activity are required to be submitted with the 260F application and training plan. These can include screenshots of websites or brochures detailing the outcomes and structure of the training.

Your BSC will assist you in filling out the application. Be detailed when answering questions about the marketability after training and the business’s training needs as Section 6, part C will be revisited in the performance report. This thoroughness will help you complete the report later. After you finish the application, your BSC will forward it to the Iowa Waste Exchange. There, a representative will collaborate with your company to fulfill the Environmental section requirements. Your signature is needed, and then the application is submitted to Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) for final approval of the forgivable loan.

Upon approval of the application by IWD, a contract is issued to your company. This contract outlines all the legal aspects of the forgivable loan. It must be signed by an individual at your company who has the authority to enter into financial contracts of the size specified. This contract is forwarded to the EICC Board of Trustees for approval. Once approved, IWD is notified to release the 260F funds.

Your company is billed for one-half of the required match payment (30% of the forgivable loan, plus 15% admin fees) when the contract is signed and fully executed. The other half of the match is billed when the training plan is complete and all funds have been invested.

After all training is completed, the BSC will reach out to you to complete the performance report. Section 6, part C will be referenced from the application. The report must be submitted to Iowa Workforce Development within 90 days of the last training date

Yes. The minimum loan is $5,000. If your company doesn’t need that much funding, please contact your BSC as there may be other options available. (Those grants are more restrictive, providing training at 50% the cost and limited to training with EICC).

Yes. Your Business Solutions Consultant (BSC) will work with you one-on-one to review eligibility, develop a training plan, and assist with the application process.

Your BSC and ED Accountant will assist in the tracking of training funds. If there is a significant amount of dollars remaining toward the end of the two years, you can choose to extend the agreement for an additional year. The agreement will then be sent to Iowa Workforce Development for final approval.

No, the environmental quality section is good for two years.

Yes. If you need to add/delete any training activities, your BSC will work with you on a new training plan and ask you to complete a modification form. This will require new company signatures and Iowa Workforce Development approval. You need to continue to train the number of unduplicated employees on the original application and you can always train more.

No, you are not restricted to using only EICC for training. If the training activity or description is included in your training plan, you have the flexibility to use your training dollars for training with EICC or a third-party vendor. If you choose to use trainers affiliated with EICC, the process of using your training dollars is seamless and handled internally.

If you choose to use a third-party vendor, either by having them come to your worksite or sending your employees to be trained elsewhere, you will need to follow these steps for reimbursement:

Submit a customized training form.

• Provide receipts or invoices from the third-party vendor.
• Include the names of employees who received training.
• Attach a training outline detailing the content covered during the training.

It’s important to note that while the reimbursement covers expenses such as meals and hotel charges incurred during travel for training purposes, it does not include expenses related to alcohol.

Yes, you can purchase equipment for training, but there are specific conditions to consider:

• The purchase price must exceed $1,000.
• The equipment should be exclusively used for training purposes initially.

If you later decide to utilize the equipment for production purposes, the cost will be adjusted proportionally. Your company will pay a prorated amount based on the percentage of time the equipment is used for production.