Request for Proposals (RFP) #226

Economic and Workforce Development Grants

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) #226 to provide critical economic and workforce development resources to support San Francisco’s residents, businesses, visitors, and workers.

This RFP includes twenty-three (23) distinct program areas and the total amount of funding anticipated for initial grant awards is $21 million.

The funding in this RFP supports programs delivered through four OEWD divisions:

  • Business Development
  • Community Economic Development (formerly Invest In Neighborhoods)
  • Economic Recovery and Regeneration (ERR)
  • Workforce Development

Grant awards are anticipated to begin July 2023 or later. View the Updates section below for more info.


Key Dates

The anticipated schedule for this RFP is below. Check this page frequently for updates as the schedule is subject to change.

  • RFP is issued by the City: Thursday, April 20, 2023
  • Technical Assistance Conference: Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
  • Deadline for submission of written questions:* Monday, May 8, 2023 at 11:59 PM
  • Answers to written questions posted online
    • Initial posting: Tuesday, May 2, 2023 by end of day
    • Final posting: Thursday, May 11, 2023 by end of day
  • Proposals due: Thursday, May 18, 2023 by 5:00 PM
  • Committee proposal review: Late May 2023
  • Grantee selection and award notification

    • Notices are now expected to be sent to applicants no later than 11/13/23 for the following programs:

      • Area L - Stabilization Services for Storefront Businesses (Retention and Relocation Assistance)
      • Area S - Entrepreneurship Training Program Centering People Older than 55
         
  • Protest period ends: 5 business days following award notification
  • Projects begin
    • July 1, 2023 or later (see program area descriptions in RFP document for anticipated start dates)

*Written questions:
The deadline to submit substantive questions is Monday, May 8, 2023 at 11:59 PM. Substantive questions are questions that seek to clarify expectations about the RFP or administrative processes. However, you may continue to submit technical questions (e.g. "How do I complete the application?") to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org until the submission deadline and we will respond as soon as possible.

To ensure full transparency and the opportunity for all applicants to benefit from Departmental guidance, questions should only be submitted in writing. The answers to all questions asked by the deadline will be available for download in the Documents section below.
 

Apply

The application is now closed. View the questions that were in the application in Appendix A linked below. The deadline for all elements of the proposal package was Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 5:00 PM.

Documents

Additional documents will be uploaded in this section, check back often for updates. If you would like to request any of the documents in an alternative format, email oewd.procurement@sfgov.org. The email address is monitored between 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.
 

Request for Proposals (RFP) #226

Request for Proposals (RFP) #226 May 10, 2023

Economic and workforce development grants. Updated on May 10, 2023.
Appendix A - Application Questions (RFP 226) April 20, 2023

For reference only. This document contains the questions that you will find in the online application. Clicking the link will download a Microsoft Word file (.docx).
Appendix B - Budget Template (RFP 226) April 20, 2023

Required. This is the standard budget template that must be uploaded with your online submission. Clicking the link will download a Microsoft Excel file (.xlsx).
Appendix C - City Grant Terms - Form G-100 (RFP 226) April 20, 2023

For reference only. This document provides standard City language that will be included in the resulting grants awarded through this RFP.
Appendix D - Applicant Requirements and Guidelines (RFP 226) April 20, 2023

For reference only. This document provides additional details on key City administrative requirements that apply to applicants.
Appendix E - Supplier Registration Instructions (RFP 226) April 20, 2023

For reference only.
Technical Assistance Conference presentation (RFP 226) April 28, 2023

View the presentation slides from the Technical Assistance Conference for RFP #226.
RFP 226 Question and Answer Log May 11, 2023

This is an updated posting of the Question and Answer Log for RFP 226. Updated on May 11, 2023.

Updates

The following updates or changes have been published on this webpage:

11/9/2023 (5:40 PM)

  • Notices are now expected to be sent to applicants no later than 11/13/23 for the following programs:

    • Area L - Stabilization Services for Storefront Businesses (Retention and Relocation Assistance)
    • Area S - Entrepreneurship Training Program Centering People Older than 55

11/5/2023 (9:40 PM)

  • Notices are now expected to be sent to applicants no later than 11/8/23 for the following programs:

    • Area L - Stabilization Services for Storefront Businesses (Retention and Relocation Assistance)
    • Area S - Entrepreneurship Training Program Centering People Older than 55

10/31/2023 (6:07 PM)

  • Notices are now expected to be sent to applicants no later than 11/3/23 for the following programs:

    • Area K - African American/Black Cultural Activations for Economic Regeneration
    • Area L - Stabilization Services for Storefront Businesses (Retention and Relocation Assistance)
    • Area M - Business Development and Technical Assistance for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
    • Area N - Real Estate Case Management Services
    • Area O - Entrepreneurship Mini-Grant Program for Those with Limited Resources and High Barriers to Capital
    • Area P - SF Shines Small Business Support
    • Area S - Entrepreneurship Training Program Centering People Older than 55

10/18/2023 (4:40 PM)

  • Notices are now expected to be sent to applicants no later than 10/31/23 for the following programs:

    • Area K - African American/Black Cultural Activations for Economic Regeneration
    • Area L - Stabilization Services for Storefront Businesses (Retention and Relocation Assistance)
    • Area M - Business Development and Technical Assistance for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
    • Area N - Real Estate Case Management Services
    • Area O - Entrepreneurship Mini-Grant Program for Those with Limited Resources and High Barriers to Capital
    • Area P - SF Shines Small Business Support
    • Area S - Entrepreneurship Training Program Centering People Older than 55
    • Area T - Downtown Public Space Activations

6/20/2023 (11:30 PM)  

  • The Grantee selection and award notification timeline has been updated for the first round of award notifications. Programs beginning July 1, 2023 are now anticipated to be announced by June 23, 2023.

6/9/2023 (3:58 PM)  

  • The Grantee selection and award notification timeline has been updated for the first round of award notifications. Programs beginning July 1, 2023 are now anticipated to be announced by June 20, 2023.

6/2/2023 (4:47 PM)  

  • The Grantee selection and award notification timeline has been updated for the first round of award notifications. Programs beginning July 1, 2023 are now anticipated to be announced by June 9, 2023.

5/11/2023 (9:00 PM)  

5/10/2023 (10:39 PM)  

  • An updated Q&A log has been posted.
  • The date that the final Q&A log will be published has been updated to Thursday, May 11, 2023.
  • An updated version of RFP 226 has been posted. The only change can be found under Area V, Industries of Opportunity Programs, on the "Recommendations" table (page 107).

5/2/2023 (7:22 PM)  

5/1/2023 (5:30 PM)  

  • The date that the initial Q&A log will be published has been updated to Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
  • Links to register for the Drop-in Technical Assistance Sessions have been added.

4/28/2023 (4:22 PM)  

  • The link to the online application was updated under Apply.
  • The date that the initial Q&A log will be published has been updated to Monday, May 1, 2023.

4/28/2023 (12:00 AM) 

Technical Assistance

OEWD hosted an optional online Technical Assistance Conference via Zoom on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM to assist applicants in determining the eligibility of proposed projects, completing the proposal package, and navigating City requirements.

Watch a recording of the Technical Assistance Conference for RFP 226

In addition to the Technical Assistance Conference, OEWD will host multiple drop-in technical assistance sessions online via Zoom, to provide support to applicants on navigating the RFP materials or online application. At sessions that take place prior to the Q&A deadline posted above, OEWD may collect and/or answer some substantive questions in these sessions and will post the questions and responses on the Q&A log for transparency.

To join a drop-in technical assistance session, please use the links below to register. You will receive an email confirmation and a link to access the event. You can join at any time, and join as many sessions as you need.

RFP 226 Drop-in TA - Session 1
May 3, 2023
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Register

RFP 226 Drop-in TA - Session 2
May 5, 2023
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Register

RFP 226 Drop-in TA - Session 3
May 8, 2023
9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Register

RFP 226 Drop-in TA - Session 4
May 17, 2023
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Register

 

Resources

Departments

Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Community Economic Development
Business Development
Workforce Development Division