The City of Springfield invites proposals from nonprofit agencies for the use of Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for capital improvements to facilities that house services for low- and moderate-income households. Funds must be used for rehabilitation or construction for the purpose of preserving or expanding existing service capacity. The City is making available $320,000 from its annual entitlement and a maximum of $25,000 will be awarded per organization for successful proposals.
“This is an initiative that is near and dear to my heart. I am proud that we’ve been able to keep it going. These funds have proven to be very valuable in allowing empowerment agencies to not take away from their front-line services, in order to deal with physical plant improvements,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.
RFP’s will be available beginning October 1, 2019 and will be due back November 1, 2019. RFP’s can be picked up at the Office of Housing, 1600 East Columbus Avenue between 8:30 am - 4:00 pm. All applicants must attend a MANDATORY Technical Assistance meeting will be held on October 17, 2019 in the conference room, 70 Tapley Street.
Proposals must include information regarding the agency, the need for the project and its impact, the project concept and scope, accurate cost estimates, and other issues outlined in the RFP. Acceptable proposals are those that are received in a timely manner and contain all required components. Acceptable proposals will be reviewed by a review committee made up of City of Springfield staff. The selection process is expected to be completed by November 15, 2019 and funds will be made available in December, 2019. The City of Springfield is seeking applications for projects that can be completed by June 30, 2020.
Proposals must be consistent with the HUD Consolidated Plan, CDBG requirements, City Code, and other City policies. This RFP is an open, competitive process to award available resources based upon satisfaction of the described criteria. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee funding. The City may choose not to allocate all available resources. All applicants must be current on all Federal, State, and City taxes, as well as all City fees.
All potential applicants are encouraged to review the entire RFP before completing.
Funding will be available for capital improvement for local non-profit agencies or neighborhood organizations who own the building. The proposed project must be necessary to increase or prevent the loss of service capacity. Increased or preserved service capacity may be demonstrated based on the number of clients served, the extent, relevance or quality of the services provided, or specific populations served.
The facility must be located within the City of Springfield limits and serve Springfield residents. Fifty-one (51%) or more of the clients served at the facility must have incomes below 80% of the Area Median Income. Agency must maintain written documentation on unduplicated Springfield low-income clients (including income, race and ethnic data, disability status, and head of household status) and have ability to track information during the period of benefit for the project.
Projects are selected based on agency capacity and experience, need and importance of services provided and impact of the project relative to those services, project feasibility, and financial feasibility.
All organizations are encouraged to submit a completed RFP. However, priority will be given to those agencies who have not received funding from prior rounds of funding for Rehabilitation of Buildings for Nonprofit Organizations Program.
CRITERIA FOR PROPOSAL EVALUATION
All proposals will be reviewed by the committee and evaluated in three categories described below.
Exceptional: The proposal significantly exceeds the standards set forth in the criteria and shows significant innovation and benefit.
Acceptable: The proposal meets the standards set forth in the criteria.
Needs Improvement: The proposal does not meet the standards set forth in the criteria, and could or could not be modified to meet the standards.
- Organizational Experience and Performance
Acceptable proposals must demonstrate that the agency has experience in serving the targeted population and demonstrate that their organization is financially viable for the application period of benefit.
- Project Need and Importance
Who will be served by the project and why it is needed? How will the project impact persons with low and moderate incomes and what critical ongoing needs will be addressed through this project. Why is the project necessary to increase or prevent the loss of services to low and moderate income persons? Was the Agency funded in prior year?
- Project Feasibility
Acceptable proposals must demonstrate that the designed project site is suitable for the services provided for the targeted population and the project can be completed in a timely manner. The applicant must have site control.
- Financial Feasibility
Acceptable proposals must provide a sources and uses budget. Acceptable proposals must demonstrate that other resources necessary for the project are committed at the time of the application. The proposal must include certified Davis Bacon wage rates at the time of the application. Current wage rate determinations can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/davisbacon/