1 Request for Qualifications
“On-Call” Grant Writing Services
Release Date:
March 28, 2024
Deadline for Submittal:
May 2, 2024
City of Richmond
City Manager’s Office
2 INTRODUCTION
The City of Richmond is soliciting proposals from qualified firms or individuals to provide “on-call”, as-needed, professional grant writing services. The City intends to select one or several qualified grant writer(s) to assist in researching and identifying potential grants and providing general grant writing services associated with the completion and submission of grant applications.
Grants will provide:
• Funding that helps the Department reach its goals
• Funding opportunities for activities that the General Fund would otherwise finance
• Funds to cover one-time costs versus ongoing operational costs • Funding opportunities the Department would not be able to respond to in a timely manner due to lack of staff or workload restraints • Funding for collaborative efforts with multiple departments, agencies, community-based organizations, and/or other jurisdictions and • Opportunities to leverage significant additional resources The service contract will remain in effect for three years. The contract may also have an option to renew for two years by means of the mutual agreement of both parties.
1. PROJECT BACKGROUND / DESCRIPTION
The City of Richmond is a Charter City located in Contra Costa County, part of the San Francisco Bay Area with a population of 110,567 residents. Richmond is one of the region’s most diverse communities: 42.5% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino,
20.2% identify as Black or African American alone, 17.8% identify as White alone (not Hispanic or Latino), and 15.4% identify as Asian alone (15.4%).1 Richmond is home to a multi-modal transit hub that includes BART, Amtrak, and AC Transit, marinas, shopping, recreational and cultural amenities, and 32 miles of shoreline. This all contributes to making Richmond among the most desirable up-and-coming communities in California.
The City intends to enter one or more contracts for grant writing, grant management, and related technical assistance. It is the C ity’s further intent that grant writing firm(s) or individual(s) will be mostly “on -call” with Departments primarily being responsible for identifying potential grant opportunities and reaching out to the cont ractor to develop a program specific to a grant and within specific details of a grant. Upon approval of a master contract and authorization for specific projects, funding for pre -work as well as grant writing and application processes will be provided by the City. It is anticipated that ongoing grant management would be funded by the specific grant(s) being managed.
Entering a Master Services contract does not guarantee any future work.
1 Quickfacts Richmond city, California. 2019 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/richmondcitycalifornia
3 2. SCOPE OF SERVICES
Grant Writers will provide prompt professional grant writing services, “on-call”, as needed, as the basis for all assigned projects. Assistance includes but is not limited to:
• Developing overall grant outline; working with appropriate Department staff and team to determine writing assignments, including providing a prediction of how much City staff time you expect will be needed at the beginning of each project
• Provide the Department project manager with a list of stakeholders that you would need to contact and any relevant information required • Taking the lead in scheduling meetings, bringing together stakeholders, and obtaining relevant information from multiple stakeholders • Ensuring that all required components of the proposal are included in the submission, ensuring adherence to grant evaluation criteria • Providing budget guidance and justifications in alignment with City policies and personnel guidelines and conformance with grant solicitation requirements
• Editing draft proposals for consistency of messa ging, ensuring integration of grant requirements and succinctness before Department final review and submittal to funder 3
• Organizing facts, data, statistics, and narratives collected and written as part of assigned projects and making those items availabl e to the Department for future use
• Regularly providing the Department with grant forecasts and timely suggestions of which grants to pursue based on the priorities of the City and other City needs, interests, and capacity
• Provide training and support opportunities that are high quality and relevant to grant writing and funding development to local community - based organizations and nonprofits in Richmond
• Provide training and capacity -building opportunities for City staff an d non-profits as necessary to improve fiscal and administrative services for grant-funded programs.
3. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Proposers must submit a detailed proposal which includes, at minimum, the following:
• Vendor Cover Letter summarizing key elements of the proposal will contain a statement of intent to perform services as described, number of years in business, willingness to agree an agreement under the terms and conditions prescribed by this RFP, insurance requirements ( Attachment A) and in the sample Service Agreement ( Attachment B); address and telephone number of vendor’s office nearest to Richmond, CA and office this project will be managed by; Identify singular person for contact during RFP review process and cover letter shall be
4 signed by an authorized official of the company.
• Define the methodology/approach to be used to identify the needs of the City that would be eligible for funding through grants, including whether costs will be hourly or per grant written and submitted.
• Detail the procedure you would utilize in identifying grants that would address the needs identified above.
• Generally, detail the involvement and role of City staff and City resources in the grant writing process. Describe, in detail, the process you would utilize to prepare the actual grant application.
• List your experience in the identification and preparation of grants for municipalities. Specifically, detail your experience with federal and state grants for public safety agencies, infrastructure improvement, parks, recre ation, technology community development, and capital assets.
• List five (5) funded grants you developed detailing the funding source, amount requested, and amount funded.
• Describe the background, experience, and qualifications of the person(s) who will act as the grant writer and the qualifications of any staff who will assist with the preparation of grant applications (include their role, education, relevant experience, and related qualifications)
• Provide at least three (3) references including the name of contact, affiliation, address, direct telephone number, and email address.
• Describe in detail the fee structure you propose for providing grant writing services.
4. PRICING
Include a cost of proposal containing:
• The schedule of costs and fees with current fee schedules, personnel wage rate sheets, and other costs. Be thorough and specific as this will form the basis for the negotiation of any contract for services that may be presented by the City. • Specific hourly rates for each class of employee/specialist • Services priced by task or deliverables (if applicable) • Requested expenses
5. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
All proposals shall be reviewed to verify that the Respondent has met the minimum requirements. Proposals that have not complied with requirements do not meet minimum content and quality standards, or make unacceptable exceptions to the General Terms and Conditions of the Service Agreement, will be eliminated from 5 further consideration. Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by an evaluation committee comprised of City of Richmond personnel.
5 The criteria upon which the evaluation of the proposals will be based include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Proposal/Methodology and Approach to Work – 20%
The proposer’s responsiveness to the RFP including completeness and thoroughness of the proposal; all required information must be provided in the format specified. This category will also evaluate:
• Ability to provide services as outlined in the RFP.
• Approach and proposed methodology to project scope
• Demonstrated knowledge of the work required
• Explanation of the Project or services required
• Innovative approaches and internal measures for timely completion of the Project
Experience/Past Performance/References – 20%
Consideration will be given based on the firm’s experience, years in business, past and current client references; technical expertise and professional competence in areas directly related to this RFP; and number of years of experience in performing similar work.
Project Team – 20%
Respondent should demonstrate that all key personnel have been successfully involved with projects of similar scope and magnitude. This category will evaluate the firm’s:
• Qualifications and relevant individual experience
• Unique qualification of key personnel
• Staff Availability / Time commitment of key members
• Organization chart
Proposer Qualifications – 20%
To determine the degree of responsibility to be credited to the Res pondent, the City will weigh the evidence that the Respondent has performed satisfactorily other contracts of like nature, magnitude and comparable difficulty , and comparable rates of progress, in addition to:
• The Grant Writer’s writing samples include bu t are not limited to, quality, cohesiveness, persuasiveness, compelling nature, succinctness, login, ease of comprehension, attention to detail, and correct and meaningful use of facts and statistics.
• The Grant Writer’s ability to complete complex or tedi ous tasks, as demonstrated in their proposal.
Cost Proposal – 20%
6. Questions Concerning Request for Qualifications
6 All questions must be submitted via the electronic BidsOnline system on the Q&A tab by 1:00 pm PST, on April 10, 2024. If the City finds it necessary to issue an addendum, prospective Offerors will receive an e-mail notification of the addendum. Otherwise, answers to questions received will be provided on the Q&A tab and notification will be sent by April 17, 2024 . It is the proposer’s responsibility to periodically check the BidsOnline website www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids for any possible Addenda to the RFQ that may have been posted.
Any party submitting a proposal shall not contact or lobby any City Council member, City official, employee (except those specified for contact) , or agent regarding the RFQ. Any party attempting to influence or circumvent the RFQ submittal, and review process may have their proposal rejected for violating this provision of the RFQ.
Interested parties may download copies of the above-mentioned proposal by visiting the City's website, www.ci.richmond.ca.us/bids. To download the RFQ, new vendors will be required to register. Once the vendor downloads any documents relative to a solicitation, that vendor's name will appear on the Prospective Bidders list for that project and it will receive any addenda or notifications relating to the RFQ.
7. GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL
The proposal and any required certifications shall be signed by an individual or individuals authorized to execute legal documents on behalf of the proposer.
Electronic Proposals shall be submitted via the City’s secure online bidding system. All required sections of the proposal must be submitted via the website. The contractor is solely responsible for the “on time” submission of their electronic proposal. The Bid Management System will not accept late proposals and no exceptions shall be made. Contractors will receive an e-bid confirmation number with a time stamp from the Bid Management System indicating that their bid was submitted successfully. The City will only receive those proposals that were transmitted successfully.
The proposal must be received no later than 3:00 PM PST, on May 2, 2024. The City of Richmond reserves the right to waive inconsequential irregularities.
8. LATE PROPOSALS
Proposals arriving after the specified date and time will not be considered, nor will late proposals be opened. Proposers assume responsibility for timely submissions of their proposals.
9. WITHDRAWL OR MODIFICATION OF PROPOSALS
Any proposal submitted before the May 2nd deadline may be withdrawn or modified by a written request signed by the Proposer and received by Patrick Seals.
7 10. PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION
Proposals will only be co nsidered from Proposers that normally engage in providing the types of services specified herein. Proposers awarded a contract will be expected to obtain a City of Richmond business license. The City reserves the right to reject proposals where evidence or evaluation is determined to indicate an inability to perform. The City reserves the right to accept any proposal or reject all proposals if said rejection is deemed in the best interest of the City.
11. STANDARD CONTRACT AND INSURANCE
Attached is a sample Ci ty of Richmond Standard Contract Agreement (Attachment 1).
Please note the City Attorney’s Office is typically not inclined to make any revisions to the standard agreement.
Proposers shall not commence any work before obtaining and shall always maintain in force during the duration and performance of any contract with the City required policies of insurance. Attached is the City of Richmond’s Insurance Requirements for grant writing services (Attachment 2).
12. PUBLIC RECORDS
All proposals submitted in response to this RFP become the property of the City of Richmond and public records and, as such, may be subject to public review. Documents protected by law from public disclosure will not be disclosed by the City of Richmond if marked with the word "conf idential" on each applicable page. Trade secrets may be marked as confidential only to the extent they meet the requirements of California Government Code section 6254.7. Only information claimed to be a trade secret at the time of submittal to the City of Richmond and marked as "confidential" will be treated as a trade secret.
13. COMPLIANCE with CITY ORDINANCES
The contractor and all subcontractors shall comply with the City of Richmond Nondiscrimination Clauses in City Contracts Ordinance (Richmond Municipal Code (RMC) Chapter 2.28), Business Opportunity Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.50), Local Employment Program Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.56), Living Wage Ordinance (RMC Chapter 2.60) and Ordinance Banning the Requirement to Provide Information of Prior Criminal Con victions on all Employment Applications (“Ban the Box”) (RMC Chapter
2.65), which are incorporated into the Contract Documents by this reference.
14. AWARD
When the Review Panel has completed its work, City staff will then recommend the list of Grant Writers to the City Manager and City Council for approval. The services provided by the successful bidder shall be governed by a Standard Services Agreement (Attachment 1)
8 Attachments
A. Standard Contract/Standard Services Agreement
B. Insurance Requirements