APAC NYSCA Work Scope and Proposal Requirements .pdf

4. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected consultant shall provide, at minimum, the following services.

A. NYSCA Eligibility and Readiness Review

Immediately review the applicable FY2027 NYSCA Capital Projects guidelines upon release.

Evaluate:

● Applicant eligibility;

● Organizational mission and arts/cultural alignment;

● Project eligibility;

● Ownership and site-control requirements;

● Eligible and ineligible project costs;

● Funding-period requirements;

● Match requirements;

● Request limits;

● Existing public funding and potential duplication-of-benefits issues;

● Project phasing;

● Construction timing;

● Organizational financial requirements;

● Required approvals; and

● Application competitiveness.

Provide NRDC with a concise recommendation regarding the appropriate NYSCA application strategy.

B. Grant Strategy

Work with NRDC leadership to determine:

● Appropriate NYSCA request amount;

● Most competitive project scope;

● Funding-gap strategy;

● Project phasing, if necessary;

● Match strategy;

● Treatment of existing committed funding;

● Treatment of prior organizational investment;

● Capital campaign/fundraising strategy as relevant to the NYSCA application;

● Project readiness narrative;

● Rural/regional impact narrative; and

● Overall positioning of APAC as a significant arts and cultural investment for the North

Country.

The consultant should be prepared to recommend changes when necessary rather than simply drafting around weaknesses.

C. Application Development

Prepare complete, polished, persuasive responses to all required NYSCA application questions.

The consultant shall lead development of narratives addressing, as applicable:

● Organizational mission;

● Organizational history and capacity;

● Arts and cultural programming;

● APAC vision;

● Community need;

● Regional cultural impact;

● Rural access to the arts;

● Downtown revitalization;

● Historic adaptive reuse;

● Economic and community impact;

● Accessibility;

● Project readiness;

● Project management;

● Financial feasibility;

● Funding sources;

● Remaining funding gap;

● Sustainability;

● Organizational capacity to operate the completed facility;

● Partnerships;

● Audience development;

● Community engagement; and

● Any additional NYSCA evaluation criteria.

D. Budget and Capital Funding Plan

Work with NRDC and the project team to present the APAC budget in the form most advantageous and appropriate for the NYSCA application.

Review and reconcile, as necessary:

● Construction estimates;

● Architectural and engineering costs;

● Construction-management costs;

● Furniture, fixtures and equipment;

● AV and performance-related equipment;

● Existing grants;

● Committed funding;

● Organizational contributions;

● Prior project investment;

● Remaining funding gap;

● Pending grant requests;

● Private fundraising;

● Match sources; and

● Project contingencies.

Consultant shall identify any inconsistencies or weaknesses that could negatively affect application review.

E. Coordination With Project Team

The selected consultant must be willing to work directly and collaboratively with NRDC and, when necessary:

● Architect/design team;

● Construction manager;

● Cost estimators;

● Financial professionals;

● Board members;

● Municipal partners;

● State funding partners;

● Arts and cultural partners; and

● Other project stakeholders.

NRDC will provide access to existing project materials, including plans, renderings, budgets, cost estimates, funding information, project history, and other documents necessary for application development.

F. Supporting Documents

Develop a detailed checklist of all required application attachments and assist NRDC in obtaining and organizing them.

The consultant shall review supporting materials for consistency with the application narrative and budget before submission.

This may include:

● Organizational documents;

● Board information;

● Financial statements;

● Project budgets;

● Funding commitments;

● Architectural documents;

● Renderings;

● Project schedules;

● Site-control documentation;

● Letters of support;

● Community-impact information;

● Photographs;

● Project descriptions; and

● Other required documentation.

G. Application Management and Submission

The consultant shall maintain an application schedule and ensure that all components are completed sufficiently in advance of NYSCA's deadline.

The consultant shall:

● Track application requirements;

● Establish internal deadlines;

● Conduct regular check-ins with NRDC;

● Maintain a list of outstanding materials;

● Complete quality-control review;

● Review the entire application for consistency;

● Confirm all required attachments;

● Assist with final portal entry and/or submission; and

● Remain available through successful submission of the application.

NRDC expects the selected consultant to take an active project-management role rather than waiting for staff to identify each required task.

5. DESIRED CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS

NRDC is specifically seeking firms or consultants with a strong history of success with NYSCA grants.

Preference will be given to respondents demonstrating:

● Successful NYSCA Capital Projects grant-writing experience;

● Successful arts and cultural capital campaign/grant experience;

● Experience securing significant New York State capital awards;

● Experience with multimillion-dollar cultural-facility projects;

● Familiarity with NYSCA application scoring and review criteria;

● Experience working with rural or underserved communities;

● Experience with historic adaptive-reuse projects;

● Experience assembling complex public/private capital funding packages;

● Strong financial and capital-budget knowledge;

● Excellent narrative-development skills;

● Ability to work under aggressive deadlines;

● Responsiveness and accessibility to the client; and

● Willingness to work collaboratively with NRDC's existing project team.

6. REQUIRED PROPOSAL CONTENT

Proposals should be concise and must include the following.

1. Firm/Consultant Background

Provide:

● Firm name;

● Primary contact;

● Years in business;

● Location;

● Number of staff;

● Relevant professional backgrounds; and

● Brief description of the firm's grant-writing practice.

2. NYSCA Experience

Provide a detailed list of NYSCA applications prepared or substantially managed by the firm during the past five years, including when available:

● Applicant;

● Project;

● NYSCA program;

● Amount requested;

● Amount awarded;

● Year;

● Firm's role; and

● Outcome.

3. NYSCA Success Rate

Provide the firm's documented NYSCA success rate for applications for which the firm served as primary grant writer or application consultant.

Respondents should distinguish between:

● NYSCA Capital Projects applications; and

● Other NYSCA funding programs.

NRDC reserves the right to verify information provided.

4. Comparable Capital Awards

Identify at least three comparable arts, cultural, historic-preservation, or community-facility capital projects for which the respondent helped secure public funding.

Include:

● Project name;

● Total project cost;

● Funding source;

● Amount requested;

● Amount awarded;

● Services provided; and

● Client contact information.

5. References

Provide a minimum of three client references for comparable assignments.

At least two references should relate to successful arts/cultural or NYSCA funding applications whenever possible.

NRDC may contact any organization identified in the proposal, not solely the listed references.

6. Proposed Approach

Describe how the respondent would approach the APAC assignment, including:

● Initial eligibility review;

● Strategy development;

● Application preparation;

● Budget review;

● Coordination with the project team;

● Internal quality-control process; and

● Submission management.

7. Project Team

Identify the specific individual(s) who will perform the work.

Do not submit only firm-wide qualifications.

For each proposed team member, provide:

● Role;

● Experience;

● NYSCA experience;

● Availability; and

● Percentage of project work expected to be performed by that individual.

Any substitution of key personnel following award shall require NRDC approval.

8. Availability and Responsiveness

Describe the firm's current workload and ability to begin immediately.

Respondents must confirm their willingness to:

● Participate in meetings on short notice when reasonably necessary;

● Respond promptly to NRDC questions;

● Work directly with NRDC leadership;

● Coordinate with architects and construction professionals;

● Revise narratives multiple times when necessary;

● Respond quickly when NYSCA guidance changes; and

● Meet all internal deadlines established by NRDC.

9. Lump-Sum Fee

Provide one fixed lump-sum price for completion of the full scope of services through application submission.

The price shall include all:

● Professional services;

● Meetings;

● Calls;

● Research;

● Drafting;

● Editing;

● Budget assistance;

● Application coordination;

● Document review;

● Project management;

● Submission assistance;

● Administrative costs; and

● Ordinary expenses.

Hourly proposals will not be accepted.

Respondents may identify clearly defined optional services separately, but the required base scope must be quoted as one complete lump-sum amount.

NRDC will not accept a proposal structured primarily around hourly billing, retainers with undefined final costs, or percentage-of-grant compensation.

7. EVALUATION CRITERIA

NRDC intends to select the respondent offering the strongest combination of demonstrated success, expertise, capacity, approach, and cost.

Proposals will be evaluated generally using the following considerations:

Criterion Weight

Demonstrated NYSCA Capital Projects experience and success 30%

Comparable arts/cultural capital grant experience 20%

Proposed approach and understanding of APAC 15%

Qualifications of the individual(s) assigned 10%

References and documented past performance 10%

Availability, responsiveness and ability to meet aggressive deadlines 10%

Lump-sum fee 5%

Total: 100%

NRDC is not obligated to select the lowest-priced proposal.

Demonstrated success obtaining comparable funding will be weighted substantially more heavily than price.

8. PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE

NRDC anticipates the following schedule:

RFP Issued: Monday, August 17, 2026 Questions Due: Friday, August 28, 2026 Responses/Addendum, if necessary: Wednesday, September 2, 2026 Proposals Due: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, by 3:00 PM Interviews, if necessary: Week of September 8, 2026 Anticipated Selection: By September 15, 2026 Notice to Proceed: Immediately following selection and contract execution

NRDC reserves the right to accelerate interviews and selection if doing so is necessary to protect the NYSCA application schedule.

9. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Proposals shall be submitted electronically in PDF format.

The subject line should state:

Proposal – APAC NYSCA Grant Writing Services

Late proposals may be rejected.

NRDC may request clarification, supplemental information, interviews, or references from one or more respondents before making a selection.

10. CONDITIONS OF PROCUREMENT

NRDC reserves the right to:

● Reject any or all proposals;

● Waive minor irregularities;

● Request additional information;

● Conduct interviews;

● Negotiate scope and price with the highest-ranked respondent;

● Verify references and representations regarding past awards;

● Cancel or modify this solicitation;

● Modify the anticipated schedule;

● Award all or a portion of the scope; and

● Make no award if doing so is determined to be in NRDC's best interest.

Issuance of this RFP does not obligate NRDC to enter into a contract or reimburse respondents for costs associated with preparation of a proposal.

All work products developed under the resulting agreement for NRDC, including narratives, budgets, application materials, research, and supporting documents, shall become the property of NRDC upon payment.

The selected consultant will be expected to maintain confidentiality regarding nonpublic organizational, financial, project, and funding information.

11. EXPECTATION OF SELECTED CONSULTANT

NRDC is seeking a hands-on strategic partner, not simply a consultant who will proofread materials prepared by staff.

The successful respondent must be prepared to understand the APAC project quickly, identify what will make the application competitive, tell NRDC where the application or project presentation needs strengthening, and take an active role in positioning the project for the strongest possible NYSCA funding request.

The selected consultant will be expected to work closely with NRDC through final submission and to bring demonstrated knowledge of what has made prior NYSCA Capital Projects applications successful.