REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS :Consultant – Focused Marketing/Outreach to BIPOC Communities
RFP Posting Date: July 12, 2021
Recommended Proposal Deadline Date: July 26, 2021
Summary:
NeighborWorks Home Partners (NWHP) is seeking a consultant to create and execute a marketing and outreach plan that will increase access and participation in our homebuyer programs across the Twin Cities by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
Over two thirds of the families we worked with this past year were from BIPOC communities, including 62% of the households we helped purchase a home. We have recently launched several large programs and initiatives, including a number of virtual programs and a substantial down payment assistance program, and have seen a shift in these numbers. We are seeking the services of a consultant to provide focused marketing and outreach to BIPOC communities around our new initiatives to ensure these communities continue to engage and have full access to these community resources.
Background:
NeighborWorks Home Partners is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Our mission is “Empowering individuals and communities by helping people buy, fix and keep their homes”. We were founded 40 years ago by a group of residents on the West Side of Saint Paul to provide locally-focused home improvement lending, and have since grown into a diverse organization that provides comprehensive homeownership services to residents of the Twin Cities metro area. In the past five years alone, NWHP has helped 1,296 families buy a home, while also helping 255 families preserve the home where they are currently living. This work has resulted in over $250,000,000 of direct investment into our community.
Our unique proposition is offering a full suite of homeownership-related services within one organization. NWHP helps prepare potential homebuyers through financial capabilities counseling, pre-purchase mortgage advising and homebuyer education workshops. We offer down payment assistance loans to assist low-to-moderate income households in purchasing a home. For people that own their home, NWHP offers affordable home improvement loans with flexible terms and lower interest rates to households that wouldn’t generally qualify for a loan from traditional lending institutions. An experienced Construction Specialist helps clients prioritize and coordinate their home improvement projects and obtain and evaluate contractor bids. For homeowners at risk of losing their home, NWHP offers compassionate and confidential foreclosure prevention and mitigation counseling and loan modification assistance. Our counselors provide refinance counseling for clients looking to refinance their current loan. And finally, NWHP also develops affordable single-family housing via new construction and rehabilitation of existing homes.
NWHP was chartered as a NeighborWorks America organization in 1982 and designated a NeighborWorks America HomeOwnership Center in 2007. In 2001, NWHP was certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). NWHP is also a HUD and NSP approved counseling agency and a HUD approved down payment assistance provider and is registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry (NMLS).
NWHP has recently received $7,000,000 from NeighborWorks America and Wells Fargo to provide down payment assistance to 425 families help them buy a home in Minneapolis or St. Paul. This program, called the NeighborhoodLIFT program, is the most substantial down payment assistance program of its kind offered in the Twin Cities in recent years. NWHP has prioritized supporting homeownership amongst BIPOC families and wants to ensure this opportunity is well known and widely disseminated amongst BIPOC communities.
Project Purpose:
The goal of this project will be increased access and utilization of NWHP products and services to increase homeownership among BIPOC families. Our focus is building usage of our current and new homebuyer support services (mortgage advising and financial capability counseling) as well as our various down payment programs, with the NeighborhoodLIFT program being the primary focus. The goal is to not only educate potential homeowners on the services we provide but also help connect these potential homeowners directly with our services.
Objectives:
The primary purpose of this project is the creation and execution of a targeted outreach campaign that will increase program utilization among BIPOC communities and lay foundations for continued support within these communities. A secondary purpose is the creation of a marketing toolkit focused on raising awareness of our programs within BIPOC communities.
Specific objectives include:
– Creation and execution of an outreach plan connecting NWHP’s homebuying services with BIPOC communities
– Connect NWHP with a minimum of 8-10 local organizations that serve BIPOC communities
– Creation of a marketing toolkit
– Increase the number of BIPOC participants in NWHP homebuying programs by 15%
– Increase the number of BIPOC families NWHP supports in successful homeownership by 10%
Timing:
NWHP would like to begin this work in August of 2021 with the bulk of the work complete by the end of October 2021.
Proposal process and requirements:
Proposals should be received by close of business on July 26, 2021. Please include:
• Identify the timeline, proposed hours, and the staff (with background and qualifications) that would complete the work.
• Description of your experience providing marketing and outreach to BIPOC communities.
• A brief description of the process you would use to provide deliverables.
• Samples of prior work that demonstrate effectiveness in areas detailed above.
• Contact information for at least three relevant references.
• A price estimate for the project broken down by component, with underlying assumptions.
Contact:
All inquiries and written submittals should be directed to Jason Peterson at:
651-348-5082
jpeterson@nwhomepartners.org
NeighborWorks Home Partners
533 Dale Street North
St. Paul, MN 55107
