1. WHAT IS AN INTERNSHIP?
An internship is a short-term, experiential work experience that is a supervised, in-depth learning opportunity where the interns can more fully explore career interests. It is not meant to simply advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
2. MY BUSINESS IS CONSIDERED A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
Governmental entities, as defined in W.S. 1-39-103(a)(i) and (ii) or persons employed by a government entity, are not eligible for Internship grants except Wyoming county and memorial hospitals and emergency medical service providers. Political parties and affiliations are not eligible to apply. If your non-profit is not government or quasi-governmental, you would be eligible to apply for the Internship grant.
3. DO I HAVE TO APPLY FOR ALL 3 INTERNSHIPS IN ONE APPLICATION OR CAN I APPLY FOR DIFFERENT ONES THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR?
Businesses can apply for multiple internships with similar start dates under one application. If the internships have different start dates, consider submitting under separate applications.
4. WHO CAN BE AN INTERN?
An intern may be a student interested in learning more about your industry OR a worker exploring a career change or new industry opportunity. They shall be hired as short-term, hourly employees – not contractors, and for the purposes of these Internship Grants, existing employees are not considered eligible. The intern may be hired no earlier than one month prior to submission of the application, being hired specifically for the internship, and no later than two months after the execution of the contract. Due to the high demand for this grant, and for WDTF to be able to help as many individuals as possible, interns that have already benefited from a work experience supported by a previous WDTF Internship Grant are not eligible to be supported by another WDTF Internship Grant.
5. I HAVE AN INTERNSHIP THAT IS GOING TO START IN A COUPLE MONTHS. SHOULD I APPLY NOW?
WDTF may consider the start dates of the applications that are being submitted each month and may give preference to those that are starting earlier due to the limited funding we are able to obligate each month. If your application is not approved due to limited funding and your internship is still far enough out, you may create a new application to submit in the following months for consideration.
6. HOW WILL I KNOW IF MY APPLICATION HAS BEEN APPROVED?
After the application window has closed and applications have been considered, WDTF will notify those grant recipients that have been approved via email with what to expect for next steps towards getting a contract drafted and all signatures in place to be fully executed.
7. ARE WE ABLE TO AMEND OUR CONTRACT AND WHAT STEPS DO WE NEED TO TAKE TO DO SO?
A request to amend a contract can be emailed to dws-wdtf-internship@wyo.gov for consideration. Requests will be considered on an individual basis, based on the length of time being requested and purpose for the request.
8. THE INTERN I HIRED IS NOT WORKING OUT. CAN I HIRE ANOTHER PERSON FOR THAT INTERNSHIP?
If there are enough remaining hours in the internship to be beneficial for the business and the intern, you are encouraged to replace your first intern with another one; however, the new intern would not be eligible for another internship just because they did not get the full experience. Due to the high demand for this grant, the intent is to fund one person under one internship opportunity, regardless of how many hours were incurred.
9. I NEED TO PAY MY INTERN MORE THAN $18 PER HOUR. SHOULD I STILL APPLY FOR A GRANT?
Businesses are welcome to pay more than what WDTF is able to reimburse. Paystubs shall be submitted with a Grant Reimbursement Form, and can show a higher hourly wage paid to the intern, but the Grant Reimbursement Form will need to reflect the hourly wage that was approved when the grant was awarded.
10. WHO SHOULD COMPLETE AND SIGN THE APPLICATION?
The application should be completed and signed by either the primary or signatory contact as identified in the application. The primary contact will be the main individual for all communications of the application if awarded the grant. The signatory contact has the authority to sign legal documents on behalf of the business. This may or may not be the primary contact. If your application is approved and you intend to utilize a bookkeeping service for the reimbursement process of the grant, they are welcome to serve as a contact for payroll and invoicing. However, they should not be listed as the primary or signatory contact, or complete the application for your business.
11. Will applications be reviewed in the order they are received?
The order the applications are received will not impact the review process. We allow all businesses equal opportunity to apply at the same time and in the same way. We accept all applications between the first seven (7) calendar days of the month, and give the last one submitted on the 7th day the same level of consideration as the first one submitted on the first day.
12. IF THE INTERN HAS BEEN HIRED BEFORE MY APPLICATION IS APPROVED, CAN THE GRANT REIMBURSE FOR THE HOURS ALREADY INCURRED?
DWS is not able to reimburse for any wages incurred prior to the execution date of the contract. Please note: The contract is not considered fully executed until the date it is signed by the Director of DWS. Eligible intern wages incurred from the Effective Date (the date the Director signs) or the Start Date, if later, as referenced in the Letter of Agreement, are eligible for reimbursement.