Request for Proposals 212 - Neighborhood Economic Development Grants

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development advances equitable and shared prosperity for San Franciscans by growing sustainable jobs, supporting businesses of all sizes, creating great places to live and work, and helping everyone achieve economic self-sufficiency. OEWD programs are responsible for strengthening San Francisco’s many diverse neighborhoods and commercial corridors, creating a business climate where companies can grow and prosper, and ensuring a continually high quality of life for all San Franciscans.

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development ("OEWD") is issuing this Request for Proposals ("RFP") for grants to support a variety of key economic development activities from the Invest in Neighborhoods (IIN) division. In total, OEWD has allocated resources to make grants in 27 different program areas, detailed in Section II of the RFP. Unless otherwise noted in the program descriptions, it is anticipated that successful proposals for most program areas will be funded for a term of one year beginning in fiscal year 2019-2020 with opportunities to renew or extend programming through fiscal year 2022-2023, subject to OEWD approval and funding appropriation.
 

Any additional information, updates, or changes to the schedule or content of the RFP will be posted at this website. If you are interested in applying, please review this site periodically to check for more information.
 
Key Dates
 
The anticipated* schedule for awarding grants is:
 
PROPOSAL PHASE DATE/TIME
RFP is issued by the City Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Bidders Conference

Friday, September 20, 2019
9:00AM-11:00AM
San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
Koret Auditorium (lower level)
Deadline for submission of written questions Monday, September 23, 2019 at 5:00PM
Answers to questions posted online Thursday, September 26, 2019
Proposals Due Friday, October 11, 2019 by 5PM
Committee Review October-November 2019
Grantee selection and award notification target December 12, 2019**
Projects begin January 2020 or later

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

*Each date above is subject to change. Check this website frequently for latest schedule.

**Please see "Updates" section, below, for information on the notification date for Program Areas AA, J and L.

 
Bidders Conference
 
To meet equity objectives, increase transparency and accessibility, OEWD will be holding a bidders conference. While attendance is not a prerequisite to apply, interested applicants are encouraged to attend. The Bidders Conference will be an opportunity to determine the eligibility of proposed projects as well as to receive technical assistance on completing the required elements of the proposal packet. Additionally, staff will be on-hand to assist with questions related to navigating the City Supplier (vendor) process. The Bidders Conference will take place:
 
Date:  Friday, September 20, 2019
Time:  9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Location:  San Francisco Main Library
                  100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
                  Koret Auditorium (lower level)
                  San Francisco, CA 94102
 
All substantive questions asked and answered at the Bidders Conference will be transcribed and included in the final Q&A log, to be posted to this website under Document Downloads (below). Purely technical questions regarding how to navigate the RFP or fill out application materials will be answered until the proposal submission deadline. 
 
The Bidders Conference will be fully accessible to attendees requiring hearing, vision and mobility accommodations. If you have a specific accommodation request, you are encouraged to contact the Department by Tuesday, September 17 at oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or (415) 701-4848 to provide adequate time to secure resources.
 
 
Questions and Answers
 
Questions may be asked in person at the Bidders Conference or submitted in writing to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org. To ensure full transparency and the opportunity for all applicants to benefit from Departmental guidance, questions should only be submitted via one of these two forums. The answers to all questions asked and answered at the Bidders Conference and submitted via email to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org by the posted deadline will be available for download in the Document Downloads section, below.
 
 
Updates
 
  • December 20, 2019 at 3:34 PM - Award notifications for all program areas have now been sent to applicants. Please contact oewd.procurement@sfgov.org with any questions pertaining to the award process.
  • December 17, 2019 at 3:59 PM - Update to RFP timeline: Notifications related to program areas AA, J and L are now anticipated to be sent to applicants by Tuesday, December 24, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact oewd.procurement@sfgov.org. 
  • December 12, 2019 at 5:45 PM - Update to RFP timeline: award determinations have been sent to applicants for all program areas with the exception of:
    - Program Area AA - Commercial Corridor and Neighborhood Marketing Initiatives
    - Program Area J - Lower Fillmore Neighborhood Strengthening, Stabilization, and Capacity Building Program
    - Program Area L - Lower Fillmore Festivals and Events

Notifications related to all three of these program areas are anticipated to be sent to applicants by Tuesday, December 17, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact oewd.procurement@sfgov.org.

  • December 9, 2019 at 9:44 AM - Update to RFP timeline: award notifications are now anticipated to be sent out to all applicants by December 12, 2019. 
  • November 22, 2019 at 2:15 PM - Update to RFP timeline: award notifications are now anticipated to be sent out to all applicants by December 6, 2019. 
  • September 26, 2019 at 4:51 PM - The full Question and Answer (Q&A) log has been posted under Document Downloads, below.
  • September 25, 2019 at 8:20 PM - Update to RFP timeline: the Question and Answer Log will be posted to this website on Thursday, September 26 by end of business.
  • September 23, 2019 at 1:35PM - The materials distributed at the RFP 212 Bidders Conference (PowerPoint Slides, Program Area Table, and 12B Equal Benefits Compliance Guide)  have been uploaded under Document Downloads, below.
All updates to the RFP will be posted in this section with a date/time stamp indicating when the update occured. Any questions regarding updates should be directed to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or (415) 701-4848.
 
 
Document Downloads
 

Full RFP 212 - Issued September 10, 2019

Appendix A: Sample Agreement for Grant (Form G-100)

Appendix B: Proposal Budget Template

Appendix C: Application: Request for Proposals 212

Appendix D: Staffing and Board Composition Chart Template

Appendix E: Submission Authorization Form

Appendix F: Supplier Registration Instructions

Appendix G: Applicable only to RFP 212 Area Z (Womens Entreprenuership)

Bidders Conference - PowerPoint Slide Deck (September 20, 2019)

Bidders Conference - RFP 212 Program Area Table

Bidders Conference - 12B Equal Benefits Compliance Guide

 
Any additional documents will be uploaded in this section, please check back frequently for updates. If you would like to request any of the above documents in an alternative format, please email oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or visit the Office of Economic and Workforce Development at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 between 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.