RISE FOUNDATION, INC THOUSAND OAKS BLVD., STE MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE LINDA L. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT AND CEO

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1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROJECT PHASE I RISE FOUNDATION, INC THOUSAND OAKS BLVD., STE MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE LINDA L. WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT AND CEO POINT OF CONTACT: SHELIA TERRELL, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER DIRECT PHONE: HUMANRESOURCES@RISEMEMPHIS.ORG JANUARY 27, 2017

2 1. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND RISE Foundation is currently accepting proposals from independent consultants/companies to provide an assessment of the need for financial education among specific organizations who serve low to moderate-income citizens in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. RISE will accept proposals from various independent consultants or companies, conduct a fair and extensive evaluation based on criteria listed herein, and select the candidate who best represents the direction in which RISE Foundation wishes to proceed. The assessment is to be performed in accordance with generally accepted professional standards. RISE Foundation is a local nonprofit organization that assists citizens in becoming selfsufficient by building and sustaining human and financial assets. The foundation s programs serve youth (grades 5-12) through citizens in their senior years. The common thread of every program is financial literacy. A partnership between the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the Memphis Housing Authority and the United Way of the Mid-South led to the creation of RISE Foundation, in October With its original mission to help public housing residents achieve financial independence, and on a first year budget of only $22,000, RISE served 48 families and helped them create assets of $83,000. Since that time, RISE has provided over 700 families with financial information that has assisted them with purchasing their first large assets, encouraged over 600 youth to excel in school, improved the money management skills of over 2,500 area employees, brought together more than 130 organizations to address predatory lending practices and educate citizens about ways to avoid costly alternative lending traps, and facilitated learning circles to insure that over 2,000 senior citizens have information related to economic and retirement security. To date, RISE s work has created over $7 million in tangible assets in the City of Memphis/Shelby County. Simply put, RISE empowers people to build and sustain human and financial assets. For more information, please visit RISE s current programs include: Save Up the signature Individual Development Account (IDA) financial education and savings program Common Cents a workplace-based financial education program Goal Card an incentive program for youth Silver Neighbors a program for senior adults that focuses on financial security 2. PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE GUIDELINES AND TIMELINE This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. Proposals will be accepted until noon CST on Friday, February 17, Proposals should be submitted via postal service to RISE Foundation, Attention: RFP Selection Committee, 2650 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Ste. 2400, Memphis, Tennessee or via to humanresources@risememphis.org. Any proposals received after this date and time will be excluded from the selection process. All proposals must be signed by the consultant or by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal. 1

3 If the consultant/company submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted. All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs. Evaluation of proposals will be conducted from February 20, 2017 to February 23, If additional information or discussions are needed with any bidders during this window, the bidder(s) will be notified via telephone/ . The selection decision for the winning bidder will be made no later than February 24, Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by RISE s legal counsel and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining to the project. Contract negotiations will be completed by March 3, Notifications to bidders who were not selected will be completed by March 3, (Project initiation phase) should be completed no later than July 31, PROJECT PURPOSE The purpose of the project is to increase RISE s footprint in the community to serve more citizens in need of financial education and to enhance the current curriculum as needed based on recommendations from program participants and the consultant. RISE plays a critical role in helping low and moderate-income citizens of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee have a better quality of life by teaching them techniques, tools and tips necessary to manage their personal finances effectively with an ultimate goal of achieving and sustaining financial assets. During the past 1 ½ years, RISE has worked with other nonprofits in the area to create a service delivery system model that encourages program participants to work and/or volunteer in areas that will help them reach their goals and treat the condition of poverty in the community. Based on the high poverty rate in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, the worked has informed RISE of the need to require targeted intervention in financial education for participants. Participants need information to equip them to make better, informed financial choices. Our preliminary goals of the Financial Education project are as follows: 1. Increase access to budget preparation and maintenance classes for participants working with specific organizations that serve low to moderate-income citizens. Program 2

4 participants will be able to access classes tailored to their needs and educational levels. Participants will be empowered to make better, informed financial decisions as a result of the financial education classes. 2. Improve the financial knowledge and skills of clients with the purpose of helping them achieve an emergency financial fund. The emergency fund will cover a minimum of three months living expenses. 3. Develop a number (TBD) of participants who will be successful in opening a matched savings account to save towards an appreciable asset within 6 to 24 months. Assets may include home ownerships, post-secondary education, and other assets deemed necessary as a result of feedback from participants. 4. PROJECT SCOPE The consultant who is selected will provide an assessment of the need for financial education among specific organizations in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee and enhance RISE s core financial education curriculum as necessary. Specifically, the selected candidate will: Develop a written assessment tool to determine the specific need for financial education among program participants of specific organizations Survey specific organizations relative to the written assessment tool Determine the volume of program participant referrals for financial education classes Determine best days, times and locations for financial education classes Determine the appropriate number of classes to complete instruction of the modules included in RISE s current curriculum Determine the best method of instruction for specific participants Develop a preliminary assessment tool to assess a potential participant s readiness for financial education classes based on class content Develop a precursor workshop to assist participants in handling emergency financial needs Assist in revising RISE s current financial education curriculum and pre-, postknowledge assessments based on results of surveys Assess the feasibility of expanding RISE s matched savings program to include additional asset goals (such as emergency savings accounts) 5. BUDGET All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project scope. 6. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS Bidders should provide the following items as part of their proposal for consideration: Contact information including company principal, company name, address, phone, fax, and web address (if applicable) 3

5 Synopsis of the company executive s background Description of the company history, number of full and part-time employees and contractors, and an organizational chart Description of experience in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating financial education and/or asset building programs for low to moderate-income citizens Description of experience in developing training programs for low to moderateincome citizens. Examples of a program designed, implemented and/or evaluated by your company Testimonials and contact information from recent clients Anticipated resources you will assign to this project (total number, role, title, experience) Project management methodology Timeframe for completion of the project 7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA RISE will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To insure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria: Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner. Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project. Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to program assessment, design, implementation and evaluation, as well as client testimonials and references. Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their proposal based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project. Thank you for your interest in RISE Foundation, Inc. 4