Request for Proposals (RFP) #228

Economic Development Grants

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) #228 to provide critical economic development resources to support San Francisco’s residents, businesses, visitors, and workers.

This RFP includes twenty-one (21) distinct program areas and the total amount of funding anticipated for initial grant awards is $7.9 million.

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

  • Business Development
  • Community Economic Development (formerly Invest In Neighborhoods)
  • Office of Small Business

Grant awards are anticipated to begin in April 2024 or later.
View the Updates section below for the latest 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: Monday, December 4, 2023
  • Technical Assistance Conference (optional): Monday, December 11, 2023 from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Watch the recording
  • Deadline for submission of written questions:* Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 11:59 PM
  • Answers to written questions posted online:
    • Initial posting: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 by 11:59 PM
    • Final posting: Friday, January 5, 2024 by 11:59 PM
  • Proposals due: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 by 5:00 PM
  • Committee proposal review: Late January 2024 – Early February 2024
  • Grantee selection and award notification: March 22, 2024
  • Protest period ends: 5 business days following award notification
  • Projects begin: April 1, 2024 or later (see program area descriptions in RFP document for anticipated start dates)

*Written questions:
The deadline to submit substantive questions is Wednesday, January 3, 2024 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

Applications for RPF 228 are closed.

View the questions that were in the application in Appendix A (linked below in the Documents section).

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) #228

Request for Proposals (RFP) #228 December 4, 2023

Economic development grants
Appendix A – Application Questions (RFP 228) December 4, 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 228) December 4, 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 228) December 4, 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 228) December 4, 2023

For reference only. This document provides additional details on key City administrative requirements that apply to applicants.
Appendix E - Supplier Registration Instructions (RFP 228) December 4, 2023

For reference only.
Appendix F – Federal Grant Terms – Area T (RFP 228) December 4, 2023

For reference only.
Technical Assistance Conference presentation (RFP 228) December 11, 2023

For reference only. View the presentation slides from the Technical Assistance Conference for RFP #228.
Question and Answer Log for RFP #228 (Final Posting) January 10, 2024

For reference only. This is the final posting of the Q&A log. It was updated on January 10, 2024 to include additional questions and answers.

Updates

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

3/19/2024 (2:00 PM)

  • The Notification Date for the following programs has been updated to March 22, 2024:
    • Area D - Excelsior Economic Vitality
    • Area J - Mission District Ambassador Program
    • Area N - Union Square BigBelly Maintenance
    • Area O - Geary Arts Venue Marketing and Activations
    • Area P - Capacity for Latino-Serving Community-Based Organization Collaboration, Targeting the Latino Community
    • Area Q - Outreach, Engagement and Marketing Services for the Small Business Construction Mitigation Program
    • Area R - Skateboarding Retail Activations
    • Area T - Small Business Relief Grant Administration
  • Notifications have already gone out for all other programs in this RFP. Please contact oewd.procurement@sfgov.org for more information.

3/5/2024 (8:37 PM) 

  • The Notification Date has been updated to March 15, 2024. Some programs may be awarded sooner. Applicants should look out for email updates from oewd.procurement@sfgov.org.

2/14/2024 (4:45 PM) 

  • The Notification Date has been updated to March 1, 2024. Some programs may be awarded sooner. Applicants should look out for email updates from oewd.procurement@sfgov.org.

1/10/2024 (6:15 PM) 

  • The Question and Answer log has been updated with additional questions that were determined to have been received by the deadline but, due to technical issues, were not logged previously.

1/5/2024 (5:00 PM) 

  • The final Question and Answer log has been published.

12/13/2023 (3:41 PM) 

  • The initial Question and Answer log has been published.

12/11/2023 (8:48 PM) 

Technical Assistance

OEWD hosted an optional online Technical Assistance Conference via Zoom on Monday, December 11, 2023 from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM to assist applicants in determining the eligibility of proposed projects, completing the proposal package, and navigating City requirements.

Watch the recording of the Technical Assistance Conference

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. The full schedule of drop-in technical assistance sessions will be published to this website soon.

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 228 Drop-In Technical Assistance Sessions

  • Session 1
    Friday, December 15, 2023
    2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
     
  • Session 2
    Friday, December 22, 2023
    12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
     
  • Session 3
    Friday, January 5, 2024
    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
     
  • Session 4
    Tuesday, January 9, 2024
    1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
     
  • Session 5
    Tuesday, January 16, 2024
    3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
     

Resources

Departments

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