Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Compliance

The following Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) participation requirements apply to:

  • Conservation/Preservation Discretionary Grant Applicants (applications for grant funding that exceed $25,000)
  • Center for Jewish History -- Statutory Aid
  • New-York Historical Society -- Statutory Aid

Instructions

Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Participation Goals Pursuant to Article 15-A of the New York State Executive Law external link opens in a new window

The following M/WBE requirements apply when an applicant submits an application for grant funding that exceeds $25,000 for the full grant period.

All applicants are required to comply with NYSED’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE) policy.  Compliance can be achieved by one of the three methods described below.  Full participation by meeting or exceeding the M/WBE participation goal for this grant is the preferred method. 

M/WBE participation includes services, materials, or supplies purchased from minority and women-owned firms certified with the NYS Division of Minority and Women Business Development.  Not-for-profit agencies are not eligible for this certification.  For additional information and a listing of currently certified M/WBEs, see the NYS Directory of Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.external link

The M/WBE participation goal for this grant is 30% of each applicant’s total discretionary non-personal service budget each year of the grant.  Discretionary non-personal service budget is defined as total annual budget, excluding the sum of funds budgeted for:

  1. direct personal services  (i.e., professional and support staff salaries) and  fringe benefits; and
  2. rent, lease, utilities and indirect costs, if these items are allowable expenditures.

The M/WBE Goal Calculation Worksheet is provided for use in calculating the dollar amount of the M/WBE goal for this grant application.

All requested information and documentation should be provided at the time of submission. If this cannot be done, the applicant will have thirty days from the date of notice of award to submit the necessary documents and respond satisfactorily to any follow-up questions from the Department. Failure to do so may result in loss of funding.

Methods to Comply

An applicant can comply with NYSED’s M/WBE policy by one of three methods:

  1. Full Participation - This is the preferred method of compliance.  Full participation is achieved when an applicant meets or exceeds the participation goals for this grant. COMPLETE FORMS:
    • M/WBE Goal Calculation Worksheet
    • M/WBE Cover Letter
    • M/WBE 100 Utilization Plan
    • M/WBE 102 Notice of Intent to Participate
  2. Partial Participation, Partial Request for Waiver - This is acceptable only if good faith efforts to achieve full participation are made and documented, but full participation is not possible. COMPLETE FORMS:
    • M/WBE Goal Calculation Worksheet
    • M/WBE Cover Letter
    • M/WBE 100 Utilization Plan
    • M/WBE 101 Request for Waiver
    • M/WBE 102 Notice of Intent to Participate
    • M/WBE 105 Contractor’s Good Faith Efforts
  3. No Participation, Request for Complete Waiver - This is acceptable only if good faith efforts to achieve full or partial participation are made and documented, but do not result in any participation by M/WBE firm(s). COMPLETE FORMS:
    • M/WBE Goal Calculation Worksheet
    • M/WBE Cover Letter
    • M/WBE 101 Request for Waiver
    • M/WBE 105 Contractor’s Good Faith Efforts

Good Faith Efforts

Applicants must make a good faith effort to solicit NYS certified M/WBE firms as subcontractors and/or suppliers to achieve the goals for this grant.  Solicitations may include, but are not limited to:  advertisements in minority and women-centered publications; solicitation of vendors found in the NYS Directory of Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprisesexternal link; and the solicitation of minority and women-oriented trade and labor organizations. 

Good faith efforts include actions such as setting up meetings or announcements to make M/WBEs aware of supplier and subcontracting opportunities, identifying logical areas of the grant project that could be subcontracted to M/WBE firms, and utilizing all current lists of M/WBEs who are available for and may be interested in subcontracting or supplying goods for the project.

Applicants should document their efforts to comply with the stated M/WBE goals and submit this with their applications as evidence. Examples of acceptable documentation can be found in form M/WBE 105, Contractor’s Good Faith Efforts. NYSED reserves the right to reject any application for failure to document “good faith efforts.”

Request for Waiver

When full participation cannot be achieved, applicants must submit a Request for Waiver (M/WBE 101).  Requests for Waivers must be accompanied by documentation explaining the good faith efforts made and reasons they were unsuccessful in obtaining M/WBE participation.

NYSED reserves the right to approve the addition or deletion of subcontractors or suppliers to enable applicants to comply with the M/WBE goals, provided such addition or deletion does not impact the technical proposal and/or increase the total budget.

All payments to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise subcontractor(s) should be reported to the NYSED M/WBE Program Unit using the M/WBE 104G Quarterly M/WBE Compliance Report. This report should be submitted on a quarterly basis and can be requested at MWBEGrants@nysed.gov.

NYSED’s M/WBE Coordinator is available to assist applicants in meeting the M/WBE goals.  The Coordinator can be reached at MWBEgrants@nysed.gov.

Equal Employment Opportunity Reporting (EEO) Pursuant to Article 15-A of the New York State Executive Law external link opens in a new window
Applicants must complete and submit form EEO 100: Staffing Plan.

M/WBE Compliance Checklist

The following checklist outlines the forms required for the three methods of compliance.

M/WBE Documents Package

All forms should be completed, saved as .PDF files, and attached to the applicant’s online application.

Download a PDF containing the documents listed below. pdf icon [621k]

Required Documents
Documentation Full Participation Request Partial Waiver Request Total Waiver
M/WBE Goal Calculation Worksheet (Word, MS Word [21k])      
M/WBE Cover Letter (Word, MS Word [20k])      
M/WBE 100: Utilization Plan (Word, MS Word [19k])     N/A
M/WBE 102: Notice of Intent to Participate (Word, MS Word [19k])     N/A
M/WBE 105: Contractor’s Good Faith Efforts (Word, MS Word [19k]) N/A    
Evidence of Good Faith Efforts (please refer to the M/WBE 105 form to distinguish what constitutes as “evidence of good faith efforts”)
M/WBE 105A Contractor Unavailable Certification (Word, MS Word [20k])
N/A    
M/WBE 101: Request for Waiver Form and Instructions (Word, MS Word [19k]) N/A    
EE0 100 Staffing Plan and Instructions (Word, MS Word [31k])      
Last Updated: October 23, 2023 -- sm