Historic Preservation Fund Committee

November 7, 2007
Notice of Funding

Availability (NOFA)

Bidder’s Conference: May 14th, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Deadline for Submission: May 22nd by 5:00 p.m.
 
Availability of Funds
For Historic Preservation Projects

Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Historic Preservation Fund Committee

I.          NOFA Timeline

Proposals will be accepted beginning May 22, 2006 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the RFP is withdrawn by the City.   No electronic or fax submissions will be accepted. 

Send via certified US mail, return receipt or hand-deliver to:

Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (MOEWD)

Attn:  Rich Hillis

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 448

San Francisco, CA 94102

For further information, contact Rich Hillis at 415.554.4082.

II.         Background

The Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (“MOEWD”) has received $2.5 million from a settlement agreement signed by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, San Franciscans Upholding the Downtown Plan and San Franciscans for Preservation Planning.  Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the funds can only be used for historic preservation purposes.  A seven-member committee, the Historic Preservation Fund Committee (“HPFC”), was created to advise MOEWD on the expenditure of these funds. 

MOEWD, in conjunction with the Historic Preservation Fund Committee, is issuing this NOFA to provide small preservation grants to non-profit organizations with compelling, immediate historic preservation needs that cannot be met by other resources within or available to that community. 

III.        Use of Funds

The funds shall be used solely for historic preservation purposes within the City and County of San Francisco, such as:

• Feasibility studies:  architectural, structural, economic and planning
• Research and documentation including the review of historic preservation determinations contained in CEQA evaluations 
• Nominations of properties to local, state and federal historic registers
• Context statements such as those related to potential historic districts and architectural surveys
• Historic preservation education programs
• Other preservation-oriented purposes

The funds should be utilized for a project that provides a public benefit and cannot be issued for a private purpose. 

Funding for architectural surveys will only be considered where an existing neighborhood context statement has been endorsed by the City’s Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board. 

IV.       Availability of Funds

Individual grant requests should be less than $25, 000 for non-survey related proposals and less than $50,000 for survey related proposals.  MOEWD reserves the right to make larger or smaller grants, and to make no grants at all. 

V. Submittal Requirements

All proposals must include the following:

1. Cover Letter. 
2. Project Narrative - Please provide the following information in narrative format:

• Needs Statement –  Provide the background or history of your project, and describe it in full, including your need for this particular funding.  What will the final product be, and how will it be used going forward?  Describe the need(s) that your project will address and how it will benefit historic preservation in the City.  Discuss your attempts to obtain other funding, whether you have been successful and to what degree.  Further discuss your organization’s capacity for matching any grant with funding, volunteer labor and services, and/or donated materials and supplies. 
• Scope of Work - Describe your proposed project in detail.  Be sure to address community/neighborhood support for the project; how the project addresses the need(s) stated above; and a project timeline.
• Experience  - Please provide detailed information about your organization’s past experience and achievements. Be sure to highlight those projects related to historic preservation; and include a list of key staff and/or consultants that will be working on the project, their qualifications, their roles in the project, and their immediate availability to do the work.
• Organizational Summary - Please provide a brief summary of the organization’s mission, history and scope of services, including when and why the organization was founded; total organization budget, with a description of the revenue sources; total number of staff members; and a description of how the specific program seeking funding fits into the organization’s larger mission and how it serves the organization’s overall goals and objectives.

3. Budget -   Please provide a detailed project budget that includes the following:

a.   Revenues - Anticipated revenues from all sources for the proposed project

• Expenses – A detailed breakdown of proposed expenses including personnel, consultants, subcontractors, administrative expenses, supplies, etc.

4. Attachments – Please include the following attachments 

a.   Proof of Non-profit Status - Letter from the IRS (as per Minimum Requirements).

b.   Description of Board of Directors –Attach a list of the names, title and organizational affiliation of the lead agency’s board members.

• Most Recent Financial Statement – audited if available.
• Most recently filed 990 Tax Return

Any proposal that fails to meet eligibility requirements, or fails to follow submission instructions will not be considered for funding. 

VI.  Proposal Review and Scoring 

Applications will be reviewed by a proposal review committee consisting of representatives from MOEWD and the San Francisco Planning Department.  This committee will review all completed applications based on the evaluation criteria outlined below.  Concurrently, MOEWD will forward all applications to the HPFC for its review.  At a duly noticed hearing of the HPFC, the HPFC will make a recommendation on funding the application after review of the recommendation from City staff.  The Director of MOEWD will make the final selection decision.  

Evaluation Criteria:

The following matrix will be used for evaluating each proposal:

VII.  Minimum Eligibility Requirements

• Applicant shall be a non-profit agency and recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS and the California State Franchise Tax Board under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Organization shall be in good financial standing.  The agency shall provide a copy of its most recent audit, if applicable.
• Organization must have or be willing to acquire adequate insurance coverage (workers compensation, general liability, fidelity and automobile, if applicable) at the time the grant is awarded.
• Organization shall be or be willing to become a city-approved vendor.

It is recommended that organizations that are not yet city-approved vendors begin the certification process as soon as possible, in order to ensure that they are able to meet this requirement if awarded a grant.  The city’s Office of Contract Administration offers all of the necessary forms on their website, which can be found at http://www.sfgov.org/site/oca_page.asp?id=26550. Subcontractors are not required to be city-approved vendors.

VIII. Submission Instructions

To apply for funds, please mail or hand-deliver one (1) original and eight (8) copies of your proposal to:

Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (MOEWD)

Attn:  Rich Hillis

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 448

San Francisco, CA 94102

IX. General Terms and Conditions

            1.         The selection of any proposal by MOEWD shall not imply acceptance by MOEWD of all terms of the proposal, which may be subject to further discussion and negotiation.  The City shall have no obligation to provide funding unless and until the City and a selected nonprofit enter into a written grant agreement approved by the Mayor and the City Attorney.  The City may decide not to enter into a grant agreement with a selected proposer at any time and for any reason.

            2.         The City accepts no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by an agency in responding to this NOFA.  Submissions under this NOFA will become the property of the City and may be used by the City in any way deemed appropriate.

            3.         At any time during the proposal evaluation process, MOEWD may request additional information, or may require a proposer to provide oral or written clarification of its proposal. 

            4.         The issuance of this NOFA does not constitute an agreement by the City that any contract will actually be entered into by the City.  The City expressly reserves the right at any time to: (a) waive or correct any defect or informality in any proposal; (b) reject any and all proposals; (c) modify this NOFA; (d) procure any materials or services specified in this NOFA by any other means; and (e) determine that no funding will occur. 

5.         In accordance with S.F. Administrative Code Section 67.24(e), proposals, bids, responses and all other records of communications between the City and persons or firms seeking contracts shall be made available to the public.  Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a private person’s or organization’s net worth or other proprietary financial data submitted for qualification for a contract or other benefits until and unless that person or organization is awarded the contract or benefit.  Information provided which is covered by this paragraph will be made available to the public upon request.

6.         All proposers must comply with Section 16.510-2 of the San Francisco Administrative Code, which states:

No person who contracts with the City and County of San Francisco, for the rendition of personal services, for the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment to the City, or for selling any land or building to the City, whenever such transaction would require approval by a City elective officer, or the board on which that City elective officer serves, shall make any contribution to such an officer, or proposers for such an office, or committee controlled by such officer or proposer at any time between commencement of negotiations and either the completion of, or the termination of, negotiations for such contract.