San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (DCYF) announces the release of its upcoming 2024-2029 Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP will award more than $650 million to community-based organizations (CBOs) that work with children, youth, transitional age youth/young adults (TAY/A) and families over the next five years.
“We are committed to ensuring the unique needs of all of San Francisco’s children, youth and young people – particularly those who are most vulnerable – are supported by nurturing families and communities, physically and emotionally healthy, succeeding in school, and ready for college, work, and adulthood,” said Maria Su, DCYF Executive Director. “We are determined to amplify our influence across our four citywide result areas. Together, with our sights set on a transformed future, we will make San Francisco a great place to grow up.”
DCYF’s last five-year RFP, which ran from 2018 to 2023 funded a total of $380 million over five years to 299 programs across 152 agencies. This RFP, which will provide funding for community-based organizations from 2024 to 2029, is now open for organizations to apply.
“The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the urgency of existing needs, prompting swift responses from our city and community partners. We learned we are a different city and a different department. As a result, the RFP reflects this enhanced vision, clarity and agility,” said DCYF Programs, Planning and Grants Director Sherrice Dorsey Smith. “We gained valuable insights, acknowledged the necessity to evolve and adapt in order to address the continuously growing needs and embraced new and different approaches. We are committed to ensuring that in the coming five years the services, initiatives, and assets we have provided will profoundly impact the well-being of our City’s children, youth, and families.”
DCYF operates on a five-year grantmaking cycle that includes three major planning phases that are grounded in equity, beginning with the Community Needs Assessment (CNA). Completed on June 28, 2022, the CNA is a citywide community input process that deeply engages children, youth, TAY/A, and their families to understand their current strengths and challenges while ensuring that their voices are represented throughout the planning process. The Services Allocation Plan (SAP) is the second phase of the planning cycle. The SAP articulates the strategic plan for addressing the needs and disparities highlighted in the CNA, describes the service areas and partnerships the funding intends to support and allocates resources to them. DCYF’s approach for developing the SAP includes a strong focus on collaborative partnerships with City agencies, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and City College of San Francisco (CCSF) to increase the impact of the services supported.
The third and final phase of the planning cycle, DCYF’s Request for Proposals (RFP) and subsequent awards of five-year direct service grants, is the competitive funding process used to select the CBOs who will implement the services outlined in the SAP. The RFP is designed to ensure that the CBOs most capable of providing high-quality, culturally responsive services to target populations are prioritized. The RFP process culminates with the selection of a portfolio of grantees to implement services in the new
funding cycle.
All applicants must meet all the following eligibility requirements to be considered for DCYF funding. Applicants can be for-profit organizations and community-based non-profits under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. DCYF will also accept applications from organizations utilizing a valid fiscal sponsor. Programs may only serve residents of San Francisco and must provide core services within the city. Organizations receiving a grant from this RFP must be approved City Suppliers by the release of award decisions to receive funding under this RFP. DCYF reserves the right to revoke a grant award if an organization is unable to meet this deadline. Non-profit applicants must be compliant with the California Office of the Attorney General’s registration and reporting requirements, as reported in its
Registry of Charitable Trusts. Visit DCYF to access the 2024-2029 RFP and for more information.
Estimated Timeline (Dates may be subject to change):
- RFP Issued: Wednesday, August 16, 2023
- Pre-Proposal Conferences: Tuesday, August 29, 2023: 10AM-12PM and 2PM - 4PM at the SF Public Library Main Branch, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Question Submission Period Ends: Friday, September 1, 2023, 5PM
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Answers to Questions Posted: Friday, September 8, 2023, 5PM
- Proposals Due: Friday, October 20, 2023, 5PM
- Award Decision Finalized: Monday, March 11, 2024
The Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) has administered San Francisco’s powerful investments in children, youth, transitional age youth, and their families through the Children and Youth Fund since 1991. With a deep commitment to advancing equity and healing trauma, we bring together government agencies, schools, and community-based organizations to strengthen our communities to lead full lives of opportunity and happiness. Together, we make San Francisco a great place to grow up.
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