OBJECTIV E Retain more of our STEM college

OBJECTIV E • Retain more of our STEM college and university students in Michigan after graduation. • Offer our client companies financial support to take interns and help them find great students.

Ann Arbor SPARK will take the 10 years of experience it has running an Ann Arbor based Intern Matching Program and scale it to serve both students and companies anywhere in Michigan. Intern Match Program – A History This program funds up to 50% of an intern(s) for a ~10 -12 week period and is intended to provide STEM based work experience for the intern. In turn, this promotes the talent needed by MI companies that they might not otherwise be able to afford. In the past five years SPARK has achieved an 84% success rate of students that have gone through the Ann Arbor program and remained in Michigan via professional jobs.

Scaling to Promote the State of Michigan A New Era of Collaboration Talent Retention: Increase the rate at which Michigan STEM college graduates find meaningful work in the knowledge economy and ultimately remain in Michigan. Cost Savings: Support Michigan based companies state-wide by allowing them to take on an intern when they otherwise could not afford to, or to take one more additional intern than they would have without assistance. Develop Partnerships: Assist Smart. Zones and supporting organizations in Michigan to create strong ties to their local universities and colleges to gain access to their students interested in pursuing a career in the knowledge economy.

Program Structure & Roll Out

SPARK will engage with entities, ie. MEDC funded Gateway Representatives (GWR), local Economic Development Organizations, etc. to screen and endorse companies applying to the program. Once the referral is made SPARK can work with either the GWR or whomever the point of contact is at a any support entity, college or university. Onboarding SPARK will provide materials/webinars to assist Smartzones or appropriate entities to support/build relationships with colleges and universities to leverage events to source students and companies to participate in the program. The larger goal is that the entities will retain the primary relationship with their local client companies and recommend them to the program.

• Startups are provided a submission link from the partner organization • College students submit their information to showcase their talent within an industry, interests in location, and availability. How It Works • Once a startup interviews and matches to an intern, they are onboarded via agreements and forms through which Ann Arbor SPARK will hire the student as a temporary W-2. • The startup pays their match amount to SPARK per payroll interval. • SPARK will handle all payroll, tax, and compliance responsibilities. Additionally, the timesheets, approvals, payments to students, and collecting funds from startups. • Companies will be charged 11% of wages to cover FICA, FUTA taxes, and work comp associated with direct wages

• SPARK will provide a dollar-for-dollar wage match to the participating companies and SPARK will employ the interns. • Two categories of awards will be made: Full Time and Part Time. The maximum award per Intern will be $3, 000 or $1, 500 respectively. The Bottom Line • Most internships run May-August, therefore a structure that caps expenditures before May (i. e. 25% of the annual budget) with unused funds rolling forward to the summer and ultimately the fall and winter. • This structure allows a minimum number of awards for each qualifying entity and prevents no one entity from taking more than 25% of the total budget. • We will also implement a cap that would prevent any one entity from capturing a dominant portion of the budget.

Eligibility Startups/Companies: • • Michigan based or strong operational presence Legal entity Technology based is preferred, must be a STEM focused job description Ability to supervise and provide meaningful career experiences Scoring premiums: • Financial Need • Compelling Job Description • Experience taking interns and quality of direct supervisor • Strength of referring organization • Actively Hiring Students: • • STEM Major or desire to work in a STEM role. CS is ideal. Desire to live in MI after graduation. Attending a MI based College or University is preferred. Resume and valid SSN

WHERE TO START • Complete the STEM Forward application, provided by your local Smart. Zone • Not sure who that is? Find your representative using the Smart. Zone directory on the Entrepreneurial Services page at Ann. Arbor. USA. org

Although most internships run over the summer, your organization can apply to participate year-round. Timing

YOU’RE APPROVED! You will be given access to a resume database of interested Michigan college students including: • Preferred industries • What regions/ cities they would like to be located in for an internship • Their availability to start work Already have an intern candidate identified? Great, that works too!

Select your intern Contact SPARK to start the onboarding process Hiring Process Intern hired directly by SPARK as a temporary W-2 SPARK Handles all payroll, tax, and compliance responsibilities

Full-time interns: Up to $6000 for a 10 -12 week period (>32 hours a week) Part-time interns: Up to $3000 (<32 hours a week) Intern Wages Minimum wage/ hour: $15 (based on local municipality minimum) (Example – Ann Arbor min. is $15. 66) Companies are welcome to set their own wage above that amount with the understanding that once the match has been exhausted the company is responsible for 100% of the cost. Your organization can apply for multiple internships, but the final number of positions awarded will depend on fund availability.

SPARK’s Responsibilities and Yours RESPONSIBILIT IES • SPARK will pay up to 50% of the intern’s wages • Your company will pay the remaining 50% match directly to Ann Arbor SPARK broken into individual payroll intervals. • In addition, companies will be charged 11% of wages to cover FICA, FUTA taxes, and workers compensation associated with direct wages.

Commitment to providing a meaningful work and career experience for the intern Does your organization qualify for the program? Michigan-based or have a strong operational presence in Michigan A legal entity (C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC, LLP, B-Corp, etc. ) Your internship position must have a strong STEM focus

Depending on program demand, not every company will receive an award. Companies applying to participate will be evaluated according to several key criteria, including: Technology-focused businesses are preferred. The organization’s financial need. How Will Applications Be Judged? The internship’s job description, relevancy to STEM fields, and work experience. An organization’s previous experience working with interns, as well as the proposed intern supervisor. Strength of referring organization’s recommendation. The organization’s current hiring status. (What is the availability of open positions and is the company actively hiring. )

NEXT STEP? • Contact your local Smart. Zone representative today to receive a link to an application. • Not sure who that is? Find your representative using the Smart. Zone directory on the Entrepreneurial Services page at Ann. Arbor. USA. org or MIstemforward@annarborusa. org

Thank You Questions, Comments, or Concerns? MIstemforward@annarborusa. org