DUE DATE: May 17, 2025
The New Orleans Community Support Foundation, a supporting organization of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is seeking a technical assistance contractor to support the planning and delivery of technical assistance for a new grantmaking initiative: Green Infrastructure for Justice in Southeast Louisiana.
OVERVIEW OF DESIRED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Foundation seeks a contractor to deliver high-quality technical assistance in grant writing, project development, grants management, budgeting, and reporting to community-based organizations and nonprofits in the Greater New Orleans area. The technical assistance will be delivered during the “pre-award” phase of the grant cycles –specifically during the application periods. All potential applicants to the Green Infrastructure for Justice program will be encouraged to participate. The contractor’s primary role will be to focus on Goal #2 of the initiative outlined below.
Leveraging its track record of environmental grantmaking, nonprofit capacity-building, and extensive relationships, the Foundation will distribute $1.75 million in grants to implement community-led green infrastructure projects in underserved communities at highest risk for adverse environmental impacts. Through grantmaking, as well as outreach, evaluation, and high-quality technical assistance, the Foundation will build community capacity to advance transformational and equitable adaptation and flood mitigation projects. These efforts seek to raise environmental awareness, strengthen community resiliency, and improve water management in communities most impacted by disaster and extreme weather.
The Green Infrastructure for Justice in Southeast Louisiana initiative will work toward the following goals:
- Increase the resiliency of Southeast Louisiana communities as a result of the implementation of at least 12 stormwater and flood mitigation improvement projects
- Ensure that at least 12 subawardees have improved their abilities to identify, successfully apply for, and effectively manage grants related to water quality improvement, and prevention, reduction, and/or elimination of pollution in vulnerable and underserved communities that are adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental and human health harms or risks
- Increase the number of individuals with improved understanding of environmental issues in their community
This RFP seeks a contractor to deliver technical assistance to nonprofit and community organizations, primarily through office hours, webinars, and in person training sessions over two grant cycles.
Proposals for the technical assistance contractor must be submitted by email to RFP@gnof.org.
CONTRACTOR DELIVERABLES
The technical assistance contractor will:
- Develop a detailed work plan and schedule for delivering pre-subaward technical assistance during both grant cycles
- Design a comprehensive framework for all training that includes virtual and in-person training, webinars, and other learning events to be delivered over both grant cycles.
- Develop and deliver pre-subaward technical assistance including at least fourteen (14) of the following: virtual training sessions on grant prospecting, grant writing, reporting, and financial management; in-person training sessions, particularly in rural communities, to offer information on the application process; and webinars and office hours with Foundation staff to address specific questions from applicants. This will be broken up over two grant cycles.
- Provide tailored technical assistance to subawardees on strengthening their organizational capacity to apply for, manage, and deliver on future grants from government and private funders.
ANTICIPATED PROJECT TIMELINE
| April – May 2025 | Foundation hires and onboards a technical assistance contractor |
| May – July 2025 | Contractor develops and provides pre-award technical assistance for cycle 1 |
| Sept. – Dec. 2025 | Foundation completes review of subaward applications and makes subawards for cycle 1 |
| May – July 2026 | Contractor develops and provides pre-award technical assistance for cycle 2 |
| Sept. – Dec. 2026 | Foundation completes review of subaward applications and makes subawards for cycle 2 |
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal technical assistance contractor for this program will possess a combination of experience, expertise, and skills in nonprofit capacity building, and grant management. The following qualifications are required:
- Proven experience designing and delivering technical assistance and capacity-building training for nonprofit organizations, particularly in the areas of securing and managing grants. Knowledge of green infrastructure, nature based solutions, and environmental issues in Southeast Louisiana preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to design and deliver virtual and in-person training sessions, webinars, and workshops tailored to the unique needs of nonprofit organizations seeking grants, with a focus on underserved or rural communities.
- In-depth knowledge of grant application processes and managing competitive grant proposals, particularly for federal funding, as well as financial management of secured grants.
- Ability to facilitate discussions, lead group coaching, and provide individualized support to nonprofit leaders and their teams.
- Ability to work effectively in diverse communities, demonstrating cultural competency in engaging a variety of stakeholders.
Preference will be given to qualified applicants located in Greater New Orleans, Gulf Coast Region, or qualified applicants who can partner with a qualified local entity.
PROPOSED BUDGET
The Foundation’s target budget for this effort is a maximum of $25,000 total over two years. Value will be a criterion in selecting a contractor.
PROPOSALS MUST
- Contain a cover sheet
- Be signed by a person authorized to contract for the selected technical assistance contractor and for the signature should be included
- Describe your approach to producing desired deliverables, highlighting how your competencies align with the project and how you approach working with diverse communities.
- Outline a high-level timeline of proposed activities, with cycle 1 being May 2025 – July 2025 and cycle 2 being May 2026 – July 2026.
- Include three references of clients for whom the contractor has conducted related projects with contact information and short descriptions of the relevant projects.
- Provide a budget for proposed activities
- Be limited to 10 pages.
- Append one to three samples of past work product from similar projects – samples can be from projects done for listed references and appendixes do not count toward page limit.
SELECTION PROCESS
A Selection Committee comprised of Foundation staff will rate proposals based on the criteria listed below. Interviews may be conducted with those submitting the highest scoring proposals to help determine selection.
Selection criteria include:
- Experience in designing and delivering capacity building training (30%)
- Expertise in Grant Applications and Management, Including Federal Grants (20%)
- Interpersonal/Communication Skills (15%)
- Organizational and Project Management Skills (10%)
- DBE Participation (10%)
- Value for Money (15%)
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposals must be submitted by email to RFP@gnof.org. You may also contact RFP@gnof.org with questions regarding this request for proposals.