2013 Request for Proposals

Transcription

1 2013 Request for Proposals Overview In 2012, the Tauck Family Foundation s Board of Directors voted to shift our mission to invest in the development of essential life skills that lead to better prospects for children from lowincome families in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Our vision is that Bridgeport children will cultivate the skills they need to take control of their futures, succeed in their education, break the cycle of poverty, and reach their full potential. Challenge and Rationale The achievement gap between students from low income and higher income families is one of our country s most pressing social problems. It contributes to a host of negative outcomes and a cycle of poverty that persists from generation to generation. Compelling research has shown that a variety of non cognitive, self management skills including self-control, persistence, mastery orientation, and academic self-efficacy make a significant difference in children s ability to succeed in school and in life. Yet, there have been few focused efforts to help organizations manage their performance in developing and monitoring these skills in children. By strengthening these capacities in organizations, the Tauck Family Foundation hopes to improve the odds of longterm success for children from low income families in Bridgeport, the largest city and one of the lowest performing school districts in Connecticut, the state with the widest achievement gap. Although these four life skills are important for all age groups, the Tauck Family Foundation s focus will be on elementary school children in kindergarten through fifth grade, because research demonstrates that if children develop these skills during this critical period of development, they will be more likely to hold on to these skills and perform better through middle school and high school and, it is reasonable to expect, even beyond. Beginning in 2013, the Tauck Family Foundation will invest in strengthening the capacity of organizations to help children, in kindergarten through fifth grade, from low income families in Bridgeport to build the skills that will help them to regulate themselves; persist toward their goals; learn for the sake of learning; believe that they are capable of achieving academically; and ultimately change the statistics for themselves and their families. Strategy and Investment Approach We have been guided in our overall strategy and investment approach by David Hunter of Hunter Consulting. In addition, we have partnered with the non profit research firm, Child Trends, to identify and develop a performance management tool to measure and monitor four essential life skills self control, persistence, mastery orientation, and academic self efficacy that are both Tauck Family Foundation RFP Page 1

2 malleable and have been shown to increase children s capacity to boost their academic outcomes, thereby giving them the opportunity to ultimately navigate out of poverty. Our new approach calls for us to transition from being more traditional grantmakers to becoming social investors, and includes the following investments for our future grantee organizations, or investees: 1. Significant multi year financial investments of general operating support (minimum of $100,000 for three to five years); 2. Non financial capacity building support (technical assistance by expert consultants to help organizations develop theories of change and performance management systems for knowing what exactly they are trying to achieve, whether they are indeed achieving those aims, and, if not, how they might change their strategy to reach their intended outcomes); 3. Ongoing portfolio management (engagement of professional foundation staff to guide the development of our investees and their outcomes); and 4. Knowledge sharing (connecting our future investees to each other in shared pursuit of better outcomes for Bridgeport children, and sharing tools, research, and best practices). Theory of Change The Tauck Family Foundation s Theory of Change is to invest over time (multi year general operating support, non financial capacity building support, ongoing portfolio management, and knowledge sharing) in strengthening the organizational capacity (strategic leadership, outcomesfocused management, performance management capacities, and program effectiveness) of our non profit investees so that they can, in turn, help Bridgeport elementary school children from low income families cultivate the essential life skills (self control, persistence, mastery orientation, and academic self efficacy) to succeed educationally in middle school and ultimately escape the cycle of poverty. For more detailed information on the Tauck Family Foundation, as well as its strategy, approach, intended outcomes, and grantmaking process, please visit I. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Please note that in order to submit a proposal to the Tauck Family Foundation, an organization must meet the following eligibility criteria: 1. Be a non profit, 501 (c) 3 organization. 2. Work (or have a specific strategy to work) with elementary (kindergarten through fifth grade) students in Bridgeport, Connecticut. (Organizations may be based in other cities/towns as long as they work with a significant number more than 100 of Bridgeport children in grades K 5). 3. Have an operating budget of $300,000 or more. The Tauck Family Foundation has set this threshold because it seeks to invest in organizations that are building a robust capacity to work effectively and sustainably. 4. Consider the essential life skills development of youth from low income families to be core to the organization s mission. 5. Be interested in developing organizationally and receiving non financial capacity building support, including (a) going through an intensive Theory of Change process with the Tauck Family Foundation s staff and consultants, and (b) implementing performance management systems to measure and monitor the development of Bridgeport children s self control, persistence, mastery orientation, and academic self efficacy. Tauck Family Foundation RFP Page 2

3 II. INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLYING Interested applicants are requested to follow these steps: Step One: Carefully read and review the RFP to determine whether your organization meets the basic Eligibility Criteria outlined above. Step Two: If your organization meets the Eligibility Criteria, visit the Tauck Family Foundation website and submit the initial Eligibility Inquiry form. In order to ensure that qualifying organizations have sufficient time to submit a full application, we will only accept initial eligibility inquiries through the online form until December 14, Step Three: If deemed an eligible applicant, you will be contacted via within one week of your initial inquiry submission and invited to submit the full application (details in this RFP) and complete the 30 question Outcomes Management Self Assessment Tool (OMSAT) online. After completing the OMSAT, you will receive an automated self assessment report, which can be used as a strategic management tool, regardless of whether the organization is ultimately selected as part of the Tauck Family Foundation s portfolio. Step Four: Prepare a narrative proposal that addresses all the questions, and includes the required documents, described in this RFP (see Section III below). Step Five: Following the application instructions outlined, upload both your completed application and the self assessment report (both in PDF form, please) to the Tauck Family Foundation website by January 31, Step Six: Await confirmation that your application has been received. If no confirmation is received by February 8, 2013, please contact the foundation. Please Note: Please be sure that all of the questions and documents in Section III of this RFP are addressed and included in your application/proposal. If possible, please bundle all of the information together into one complete PDF before you upload it to the Tauck Family Foundation s website. In addition, separately, upload the PDF of your Outcomes Management Self Assessment Tool (OMSAT) report to the Tauck Family Foundation website. Both PDFs (full proposal with attachments and OMSAT report) must be received by January 31, Please note that it is the responsibility of the applying organization to ensure that the proposal, the OMSAT report, and all other required documents are received by this date. Applications submitted after this deadline, and incomplete applications, will not be considered. Foundation staff will conduct due diligence, negotiate performance benchmarks, and make investment recommendations to the Board of the Tauck Family Foundation in the first half of It is expected that investment decisions will be made no later than the second quarter of 2013, and the first portfolio of investees will be notified shortly thereafter. Organizations selected as investees will be expected to: o Participate in a four-day Theory of Change workshop with Tauck Family Foundation staff and consultants. o Utilize Performance Management software (to be provided by the Tauck Family Foundation if software is not already in use by the organization), and Tauck Family Foundation RFP Page 3

4 o Report at least twice a year to the Tauck Family Foundation on progress made on mutually agreed upon organizational development and child outcomes, including the four life skills indicated above. The Tauck Family Foundation will provide instruments, designed by Child Trends to be used in a performance management setting, to measure and monitor development of the four life skills in elementary students. III. REQUIRED INFORMATION IN APPLICATIONS/PROPOSALS 1. Name of organization and a brief organizational overview in narrative form. 2. Name of key contact(s); phone number, fax, and mailing address; address; and website address. 3. The organization s mission and vision statements. 4. Narrative description of programs and services for children, in kindergarten through fifth grade, from low income families in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 5. The following specific information: Number of children served per year in each grade List the specific outcomes for children in each grade that the organization is currently committed to producing Number (and percent) of children in each grade successfully achieving these outcomes (for each outcome) Number (and percent) of children in each grade who complete the program/service each year Number (and percent) of low income (qualify for free and reduced lunch) children served per year 6. Retention and Continuity of Services: What is the retention of students within your programs from year to year? At what grade do you begin working with students, and what grade do you work with them until? How likely is it that you will know and keep in contact with students after the fifth grade and into middle or high school? 7. The Tauck Family Foundation seeks to select investees that are aligned with us in believing in the vital importance of developing the four life skills we have selected as Child Outcomes for children from low income families in Bridgeport, Connecticut. However, we do not wish to pull organizations off track of their core mission. If your organization is not currently working on the four outcomes that the Tauck Family Foundation is supporting (self control, persistence, mastery orientation, and academic self efficacy), discuss your interest in engaging in work with Bridgeport elementary aged children on these outcomes, how this fits with your mission, how you would go about doing this, and what organizational challenges this work would pose for you. 8. The Tauck Family Foundation expects every investee to undertake a four day Theory of Change workshop in the first year of the investment, facilitated by David Hunter of Hunter Consulting (David s qualifications can be found at: This workshop will engage a team consisting of the investee organization s staff, leadership, and board, as well as Tauck Family Foundation RFP Page 4

5 Tauck Family Foundation staff. This workshop will result in a Strategic Blueprint providing a framework for the organization to manage its performance at high levels of quality, effectiveness, and sustainability. Please indicate your willingness to participate in such a workshop and discuss any concerns you might have about this requirement. 9. Provide an itemized list of the kinds of data that are currently monitored and used to manage performance. 10. Please answer the following questions regarding the organization s financial and legal standing: Does the organization have any operating reserves? If so, for how many months? Does the organization have any past or present legal issues to disclose? Does the organization have a three year track record of sustaining its operations at its present scale? Has the organization been able to raise its entire budget over the past three years? If over the past several years, the organization has experienced significant financial challenges, discuss any strategies that have proven successful in coping with them and maintaining high quality and effective programming (even if this required pulling back in scale)? 11. A copy of the organization s IRS designation as a 501(c)3 and three years of financial data, including audited financial statements, 990s, annual operating budgets, and annual reports. 12. A copy of the organization s most recent Strategic Plan (if a plan exists), including goals and objectives and progress to date. 13. An organizational staffing chart. 14. List of Board of Directors and their affiliations, and what percentage contributes financially to the organization. 15. Biographies for Executive Director and key leadership staff, including staff members who are currently responsible for outcomes or performance management. Questions about this RFP, proposal submissions, or the Tauck Family Foundation s new strategy may be directed to Eden Werring, Executive Director, at or eden@tauckfoundation.org or Mirellise Vazquez, Program Officer/Portfolio Manager, at or mirellise@tauckfoundation.org. Many thanks for your interest in the work of the Tauck Family Foundation. Tauck Family Foundation RFP Page 5