NIGP 96271: Religious Services

NIGP 96271 Religious Services is an Item code covering chaplaincy, religious programming, and faith-based supportive services that state and local governments procure for correctional facilities, public institutions, and community programs. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers—primarily county sheriff's offices and state agencies—contracting for chaplain staffing, religious materials provision, interfaith programming coordination, and religious-accommodation administration within jails and detention centers. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office RFP 2026-RFP-00580, posted October 9, 2026 with proposals due July 30, 2026, exemplifies the scope: the county is seeking chaplaincy services across two adult correctional facilities in Redwood City, including religious services programming, chaplain rosters spanning multiple denominations, religious materials management, and accommodation of special religious requests. Issuing bodies under this code include county corrections departments and state agencies managing public facilities; no repeat buyers appear in the recent opportunities block beyond single solicitations from San Mateo County and Grand County, Colorado.

Geographic activity is concentrated in the West and Mid-Atlantic, with documented recent solicitations in California (San Mateo County), Colorado (Grand County), Florida (City of DeBary), and Washington (Washington Student Achievement Council). The San Mateo County chaplaincy RFP is the most substantial recent opportunity, structured as a competitive proposal process with a mandatory pre-proposal meeting on July 14, 2026, local-business evaluation preferences (five percent for local businesses and nonprofits, with additional points for small or micro businesses), a one-year initial contract term with county options to extend up to two additional years, and interviews tentatively scheduled for August 5, 2026 with award anticipated by August 20, 2026. The procurement requires four years of similar service experience within the past seven years and is open to cooperative purchasing, meaning other jurisdictions may utilize any resulting agreement.