261—102.6 (15E) Eligibility requirements. In order to be eligible for a grant under the program, an applicant must meet the requirements of this rule. This includes meeting a list of objective criteria as well as a list of subjective criteria as follows.
	 102.6(1) Objective criteria. An applicant shall meet all of the following criteria:
	  a.   	 The applicant’s expended funds total shall be at least $500,000 during the applicant’s most recent previous fiscal year. In order to establish that this criterion is met, the applicant may be required to provide financial information, payroll information, invoices, canceled checks, bank statements or other similar information.
	  b.   	 The applicant must provide services that meet the broad-based needs of covered entrepreneurs. In order to establish that this criterion is met, the applicant may be required to provide documentation substantiating the provision of such services. Such documentation may include strategic plans, operating plans, marketing plans, budgets, audited financials, corporate minutes, articles of incorporation, operating agreements, or bylaws.
	  c.   	 The applicant must communicate and cooperate with other entities in the state offering similar services. In order to establish that this criterion is met, the applicant may be required to provide documentation demonstrating communication and cooperation. Such documentation may include contracts or memoranda of understanding with other entities or may include two or more affidavits of cooperation, signed by an officer of another entity with which the applicant is in cooperation and stating with particularity the manner and extent to which there is communication and cooperation. The authority reserves the right to make the final determination as to whether such another entity in the state offers similar services.
	  d.   	 The applicant must engage various funding sources for covered entrepreneurs. In order to establish that this criterion is met, an applicant may be required to provide documentation demonstrating the results achieved for covered entrepreneurs including amounts and types of funding sources successfully engaged for a reasonable number of recent clients or partners. Such documentation may also include the overall, lifetime success rate in engaging such funding sources.
	  e.   	 The applicant must communicate and cooperate with various entities for purposes of locating suitable facilities for covered entrepreneurs. In order to establish that this criterion is met, the applicant may be required to provide documentation demonstrating its efforts to locate such facilities for clients. Such documentation may include two or more affidavits of cooperation from local entities, signed by an officer of such an entity and stating with particularity the efforts undertaken to locate such facilities.
	  f.   	 The applicant shall be an Iowa-based business.
	 102.6(2) Subjective criteria. An applicant shall meet all of the following criteria:
	  a.   	 The business experience of the professional staff employed by the applicant. In order to allow assessment of this criterion, the applicant may be required to submit documentation of such experience. Such documentation may include résumés, curriculum vitae, and other professional biographical information.
	  b.   	 The business plan review capacity of the applicant’s professional staff. In order to allow assessment of this criterion, the applicant may be required to submit documentation of such capacity. Such documentation may include project lists, work plans, or other resources reasonably necessary to assess capacity.
	  c.   	 The expertise of the applicant’s professional staff in all aspects of business disciplines. If the information required pursuant to the criterion in paragraph 102.6(2)“a” is insufficient to allow assessment of this criterion, additional information may be required.
	  d.   	 The applicant’s professional staff’s access to external service providers including legal, accounting, marketing, and financial services. In order to allow assessment of this criterion, the applicant may be required to submit documentation of such access. Appropriate sources of documentation in this context will be determined on an ad hoc basis.
[ARC 0611C, IAB 2/20/13, effective 3/27/13]