Film and TV Workforce Training Program

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, through the Illinois Film Office, is offering the Film and TV Workforce Training Program to support workforce training programs that address the growing need for a skilled and knowledgeable film and television workforce in Illinois. The initiative is intended to enhance recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, development, and training in support of a diverse and inclusive film industry workforce. The program is designed primarily to train Illinois residents who are high school graduates or possess an equivalent qualification for entry-level film and television production positions. Training may address on-set occupations such as production assistants and set construction, office occupations such as office production assistants, location assistants and production accountants, and hands-on sustainability skills. Grantees must collaborate with the Illinois Film Office to align training with current industry production needs and facilitate employment opportunities following training. The Department expects to award a total of $1,000,000 through approximately eight grants ranging from $50,000 to $180,000. Of the total funding, $500,000 is reserved for organizations meeting at least one specified statutory criterion: being a minority-owned business as defined by Illinois law, being located in an underserved area as defined by the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, or annually training a cohort in which at least 50 percent of participants are minority persons or reside in an underserved area. Successful grantees are expected to enroll three cohorts of 12 to 15 students during the grant term, provide at least 80 hours of instruction per cohort, retain 80 percent of students through completion, and allocate funds for trainee stipends that at least meet minimum wage standards. Programs must also incorporate hands-on film and television production sustainability training. Pre-award costs are not reimbursable. Cost sharing or matching is not required. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, education organizations, and for-profit organizations. Applicants must be registered in the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act Grantee Portal when applying and must satisfy applicable eligibility verifications, including FEIN, SAM.gov registration, exclusion and sanction checks, and Illinois good-standing requirements where applicable. A valid UEI generally must be provided, although the notice states that entities may apply without a valid UEI under the cited guidance, provided it is obtained before grant execution. Applicants on the Illinois Stop Payment List or Federal Excluded Parties List at submission will not be considered. Applicants may submit only one application under this NOFO. To charge indirect costs, grantees must have an applicable negotiated indirect cost rate or elect the 15 percent de minimis rate; organizations may instead elect to waive indirect costs. The application package must include a Uniform Grant Application in fillable PDF format with the signature page signed by an authorized signatory, the complete DCEO Uniform Budget Excel document with all tabs and a signed certification page, a signed Conflict of Interest Disclosure, a signed Mandatory Disclosure, and the Program Application with attachments as necessary. The application web form permits a maximum of 10 uploaded documents, so applicants may need to combine files. Documents stored in Google Docs or other cloud-based servers are not permitted. Applications must be submitted electronically through the Department's specified Smartsheet form. Failure to meet application criteria or the application deadline may result in an application being returned without review or may preclude an award. Applications are reviewed competitively using a 100-point merit review process focused on Need, Capacity, and Quality. Applicants should demonstrate industry workforce needs with supporting facts and data, adequate staffing and organizational capacity, experience administering workforce training and State of Illinois grants, and a plan for incorporating film and television production sustainability. Quality considerations include curriculum, methodology and program structure, a detailed and justified budget, participant recruitment and vetting, the ability to recruit enough participants for each cohort, and current relationships with film and television productions that can support participant placement. Applications are separated initially into a pool eligible for the $500,000 reserved portion and a pool of other applications, with awards made according to merit-review scores and the funding allocation process described in the NOFO. Evaluation-process appeals may be submitted within 14 calendar days after publication of the grant award notice, although evaluation scores themselves may not be protested. The opportunity was posted and opened on July 14, 2026, and applications are due August 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM. An optional technical assistance session was offered July 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM. No LOI, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating requirement is identified. The expected period of performance is October 1, 2026 through June 15, 2027. Successful applicants will receive a Notice of State Award and proceed to grant agreement development; the NOFO notes that this phase can take months depending on complexity, cooperation, and compliance requirements. Payments generally will be made by reimbursement and may be subject to proration based on performance targets, although grantees may qualify for a working-capital advance covering the first two months of the program. During the award, grantees must submit Periodic Performance Reports and Periodic Financial Reports at least quarterly, with reports generally due no later than 30 calendar days after the period covered, and must submit a final closeout report within 45 calendar days after the end of the performance period. Grantees are subject to fiscal and programmatic monitoring and applicable audit and procurement requirements. Performance reporting includes expenditures, enrollment, expected graduations, workers trained and production placements. The NOFO also requires demographic reporting concerning enrolled students. Program application materials may be requested from Peter Hawley at the Illinois Film Office, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, by email at peter.hawley@illinois.gov or telephone at 312-515-9230. The NOFO does not state that this opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule.

Use facts and data to demonstrate industry workforce need and connect that need directly to proposed training; present adequate staffing and relevant workforce-training and State grant experience; provide specific curriculum, methodology, and program structure; submit a comprehensive budget with sufficient cost justification; explain participant recruitment and vetting and demonstrate ability to fill each cohort; provide a concrete Film and TV production sustainability plan; document current relationships with Film and TV productions that can support participant placement.