Oakland Promise Request For Proposals 2025 for Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI) Funding

ABOUT OAKLAND PROMISE

Vision: A thriving Oakland community without educational barriers to opportunity.

Mission: Engaging the Oakland community to advance equity and economic mobility through programs serving Oakland youth and families from cradle to college, and promoting future career achievement.

About Our Programs: Oakland Promise's holistic approach includes development of educational materials, providing programming, educational events, direct services, and financial coaching and support, which foster a culture of career and college preparedness in students, families, and educators, in order to dramatically increase the number of college graduates from Oakland public schools. For more information regarding our organization and our programs, visit us here.

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND RFP

Project Overview

The Oakland Children’s Initiative, driven to the ballot by community advocacy, is a 2018 Charter Amendment (Measure AA) passed by the citizens of Oakland. Its purpose is to deepen the early investment in children and support them through college graduation by dramatically expanding access to high quality preschool and providing college access, mentorship, and scholarship support services for students to obtain undergraduate, associate’s, or technical degrees. The distribution of funds from this Initiative aims to supplement and build upon existing programs supporting college opportunity, access, and success.

As a result of the Oakland Children’s Initiative, the City of Oakland (the “City”) selected Oakland Promise as one of two Implementation Partners for the Oakland Promise Fund, to deepen programming and services furthering the 5 Year Guidelines of this Initiative, which includes 8 goals outlined in the ordinance. In connection with the funding Oakland Promise receives annually from the City to implement this programming, Oakland Promise seeks to subcontract with Oakland-based organizations to fulfill the goals of the Oakland Children's Initiative (referred to throughout this RFP as the “Project”).

About this RFP

This RFP contains a detailed breakdown of the types of services we seek subcontractors to perform.

This RFP seeks subcontractors to perform the services described in the Application Form during the period beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026 (the “Project Period”).

Eligibility & Award Information

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to individuals, non-profit organizations, and for-profit companies that align with the Oakland Children’s Initiative goals of supporting college opportunity, access, and success and the five Strategies outlined in this RFP.
All applicants must provide services and have a presence in the City of Oakland.
Optional but highly preferred: applicants who are eligible for the City of Oakland’s Local and Small Local Business Certification or have an existing City of Oakland SLBE Certification (as per grant requirement, a portion of the funds are to be distributed to S/LBE businesses)

Funding Amount

The total amount we aim to award this cycle is $4 million. The grant period starts July 1, 2025 and ends on June 30, 2026. For reference, last year we allocated these awards across 35 partners, with grants ranging from $5,000 to $425,000. We reserve the right to engage subcontractors for all or only a portion of the Project Period. Final contract amounts (subcontractor fees) will be negotiated with each subcontractor individually prior to engagement.

Use of Funds

Grant funds may be used towards:

Oakland-based programming, activities, and direct services aligned to the 8 Goals outlined in the 5-year guidelines.
Proposals that only request salary funding must be related to direct service and/or programming.

RFP Timeline

The timeline for the application and award process is included below.

Date	Action
January 28, 2025	Request For Proposals (RFP) released and made available to prospective applicants. An updated FAQ will be posted on our website by January 28th.
February 5th, 2025	Virtual Informational Session for applicants. Register here. (A recorded version will be available on oaklandpromise.org after the Informational Session.)
February 26, 2025 (5:00pm PST)	Proposal submission due date. Complete RFP submission packages must be submitted by this deadline.
March 3, 2025	Review of proposals begins.
March 14, 2025	Awarded applicants will be notified.
March 21, 2025	Unsuccessful applicants will be notified.
March 14 - June 30, 2025	Negotiation and execution of contracts for selected proposals.
July 1, 2025	Contract Effective Date, Program Start Date.

Checklist of Materials

The following documents will be required:

Application Form
Scope of Work
Signature Page, including CEO/ED of applicant organization; all school principals from school sites where funded programs/services will be offered; and CEO/ED of any organizations receiving regranted funds from this award
Budget
Other attachments:

For organizational applicants

Oakland Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE)/ Local Business Enterprise (LBE) certification (if applicable)
Business License

For individual applicants

Relevant credential/certification(s) (e.g., financial coaching certification)
One letter of support from a previous or current client
Oakland Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE)/ Local Business Enterprise (LBE) certification (if applicable)
Business License

Thank you for your interest in the Oakland Promise Children's Initiative Request For Proposal.

If you would like to collaborate with other members of your organization, please feel free to make a copy of the application here via google docs. Once you have completed it, you will copy and paste your answers to this form with your final submission.

Applicant Information

Are you a past grantee of Oakland Promise's Children's Initiative funds?

Are you applying as an organization or as an individual?

Organization Name

Individual Name

Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

Country

State

State/Province

Postal Code

Provinces

Points of Contact

Please list the name of the individual who should be the point of contact to receive correspondence and updates regarding this RFP.

If we are unable to reach your first contact, we will follow up with your second contact.

First Contact

First and Last Name

Title or Role

Email

Phone Number

Second Contact

Please provide a second point of contact in the case that we are unable to reach your first contact.

First and Last Name

Title or Role

Email

Phone Number

Organizational Mission, Demographics, and Services

All work funded by the Oakland Children’s Initiative must align with at least one of Oakland Promise’s key Strategies and the related OCI Goals. See RFP for more detail.

Please share the mission of your organization.

200 word limit

Please provide a general description of the services your organization/business provides, including how many Oakland youth and families you serve annually.

250 word limit

How many years has your organization been in operation?

0 to 3 years4 to 9 years10+ years

Do you have a Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE)/Local Business Enterprise (LBE) certification from the City of Oakland? For organizations based in Oakland, we are asking for a SLBE certification if your organization is eligible. Please visit the City of Oakland's website here for more information regarding requirements and how to apply. If you do not have this certification, you may apply for it immediately after submitting this RFP. Please email the application number at your earliest convenience at Partnerships@oaklandpromise.org. To receive priority points (5 points) for this certification, Oakland Promise must receive proof of certification by the start of the fiscal year, July 1, 2025. Select all that apply.

Yes, I have a SLBE/LBE certification and I will provide it. No, I do not currently have one, but I will apply for it. No, I do not have one and I am not eligible. No, I am unsure and I will reach out to Partnerships@oaklandpromise.org.

APPLICATION ATTACHMENTS

All attachments will be uploaded through the online survey form.

Budget

Please download and complete this budget template.

Scope of Work

Please download and complete this Scope of Work template.

Signature Page

Please download and complete this Signature Page template. This form includes space for the signatures of the CEO/ED of the applicant organization/business: all school principals from school sites where funded programs/services will be offered; and the CEO/ED of any organizations receiving regranted funds from this award.

Certifications

Please upload your SLBE/LBE Certification from the City of Oakland (if applicable).

Please upload your Business License (if applicable).

For Individuals

Relevant credentials/certification(s) (e.g., financial coaching certification).

One letter of support from a previous or current client.

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge that if I am selected as a subcontractor through the Children’s Initiative that I will adhere to the data collection requirements. All subcontractor recipients of Oakland Promise must abide by the wage requirements set forth by the City of Oakland.

Yes, I acknowledge that I will abide by the data collection requirements and wage requirements

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the Oakland Promise Children's Initiative RFP, please let us know below or email us at partnerships@oaklandpromise.org.