RFP 25-509 HSD2 D2 Promise Non-Profit Services RFP.docx

Request for Proposal (RFP) for Non-Profit Services to Increase Graduation Rates for D2 Promise Scholarship Participants

Harrison School District 2 1060 Harrison Road Colorado Springs, CO 80905

INTRODUCTION

Organization Background El Paso County School District #2 - Harrison (hereinafter referred to as “D2” or the “District”) has approximately 13,000 students and approximately 1,500 full and part-time employees. The District has thirteen elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, two community K-8 schools, one home school, and three charter schools. The D2 Promise Scholarship provides full tuition to all high school graduates who meet certain academic and enrollment criteria to Pikes Peak State College. With the passing of the 2024 mill levy override the D2 Promise Program will convert to a first dollar scholarship program for the next 10 years.

General Information

1. All questions regarding this bid must be directed to the District’s Purchasing Manager.

2. A contract will be put in place between the awarded vendor and the District.

3. Quotes must be in accordance with specifications set forth and subject to conditions herein and/or attached; no other notification will be provided.

4. The District is required to have a W-9 on file for every company it does business with. Complete the form located at Attachment A.

5. A Purchase Order will be issued to the awarded Vendor as needed.

6. All bids must be submitted on the quote form provided; no substitute forms will be accepted.

7. Quote form must be signed by an individual with express authority to bind company.

8. Multiple bids will not be accepted. Each vendor is to submit one best offer bid.

9. Notification of a successful respondent is expected to be made by January 31, 2025.

10. A Contractor that operates as a sole proprietor hereby swears or affirms under penalty of perjury that the Contractor (i) is a citizen of the United States or otherwise lawfully present in the United States pursuant to federal law, (ii) shall comply with the provisions of CRS 24-76.5-101 et seq, and (iii) shall produce one of the forms of identification required by CRS 24-76.5-103 prior to the effective date of this Contract. Except where exempted by federal law and except as provided in CRS 24-76.5-103(3), a Contractor that receives federal or state funds under this contract must confirm that any individual natural person eighteen years of age or older is lawfully present in the United States pursuant to CRS 24-76.5-103(4) if such individual applies for public benefits provided under this contract.

11. ILLEGAL ALIENS–PUBLIC CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES. CRS 8-17.5-101 and 24-76.5-101. The Contractor certifies that the Contractor shall comply with the provisions of CRS 8-17.5-101 et seq. The Contractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform work under this contract or enter into a contract with a subcontractor that fails to certify to the Contractor that the subcontractor shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien to perform work under this contract. The Contractor represents, warrants, and agrees that it (i) has verified that it does not employ any illegal aliens, through participation in the Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program administered by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security, and (ii) otherwise will comply with the requirements of CRS 8-17.5-102(2)(b). The Contractor shall comply with all reasonable requests made in the course of an investigation under CRS 8-17.5- 102 by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. If the Contractor fails to comply with any requirement of this provision or CRS 8-17.5-101 et seq., the State may terminate this contract for breach and the Contractor shall be liable for actual and consequential damages to the State.

12. Responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) become the exclusive property of the District. All submitted Request for Proposals become a matter of public record and shall be regarded as public records. Exceptions will be those elements in each RFP which are trade secrets, and which are so marked as "TRADE SECRETS", "CONFIDENTIAL", or "PROPRIETARY". The District shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records including, without limitation, those so marked if disclosure is deemed to be required by law or by an order of the Court. Firms which indiscriminately identify all or most of their submittals as exempt from disclosure without justification may be disqualified.

13. Responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) become the exclusive property of the District. All submitted Request for Proposals become a matter of public record and shall be regarded as public records. Exceptions will be those elements in each RFP which are trade secrets, and which are so marked as "TRADE SECRETS", "CONFIDENTIAL", or "PROPRIETARY". The District shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records including, without limitation, those so marked if disclosure is deemed to be required by law or by an order of the Court. Firms which indiscriminately identify all or most of their submittals as exempt from disclosure without justification may be disqualified.

14. A firm submitting a Request for Proposal shall not hire, discharge, promote, demote, or otherwise discriminate in matters of compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment against any person otherwise qualified solely because of race, creed, gender, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability.

15. Any costs associated with developing proposals, preparing for, and attending an interview are the sole responsibility of the applicant. The District assumes no liability for any costs incurred throughout the entire selection process.

16. The District reserves the right to accept, reject, workshop, or re-advertise, any or all submissions, or any part thereof, and to award any contract resulting from this RFP as it deems to be in the best interest of the District. The District shall reserve the right to waive and determine the nature of minor irregularities. A minor irregularity is a variation from the RFP, terms and conditions which does not constitute failure to comply with requirements set forth in this request. A firm may not modify its statement after submission.

Scope of Services The scope of this contract shall require the non-profit organization to provide direct services to current and prospective future participants from all District and charter high schools in the D2 Promise Scholarship program from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025. The District has authorized a maximum amount available of $100,000 for funding to a qualified non-profit entity to provide supplemental services to current and prospective future participants in the D2 Promise Scholarship program that significantly increase current graduation rates at Pikes Peak State College for D2 Promise participants. Any proposals received that provide for a total project cost in excess of this maximum amount will not be accepted.

Future contracts will be considered on a twelve month basis starting on July 1, 2025 and will be awarded a maximum of $200,000 per twelve month service period. Applicants should provide a detailed narrative and budget of this future twelve month cycle from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, in addition to a detailed narrative and budget for the introductory period of January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025.

The D2 Promise Scholarship program offers first-dollar full-tuition scholarships and academic coaching at Pikes Peak State College to all eligible participants at all District and charter high schools. Supplemental services by a non-profit organization are requested that significantly increase graduation rates at Pikes Peak State College for current and prospective future D2 Promise participants. Examples of eligible services include ensuring the maximum number of participants eligible for a federal PELL grant apply and receive their grant, hosting informational and engagement events for current and future participants throughout the school year, and providing one to one direct programming to participants throughout their first three years at Pikes Peak State College.

The advisory evaluation committee for this RFP will monitor the increase in total number and total percentage of D2 Promise participant graduation rates at Pikes Peak State College as the sole factor in quality of services provided by the awarded non-profit organization. The awarded non-profit organization will be responsible for providing quarterly data reports on the number of participants and their progress towards graduation at Pikes Peak State College to the advisory evaluation committee, as well as the District. The awarded non-profit organization will also be responsible for an in-person presentation of services provided to date to the advisory evaluation committee at a minimum of twice per 12 month period.

Application Materials:

· Applicants must provide a detailed narrative of services they intend to provide along with associated D2 Promise participant graduation benchmarks from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025, as well as a detailed narrative of services and benchmarks for the future period of July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 if awarded a second contract

· Applicants must provide a detailed budget of services they intend to provide from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025, as well as a detailed budget of services they intend to provide from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 if awarded a second contract

· Applicants must provide no less than 3 letters of support from 501(c)3 non-profit entities that attest to the qualifications of the applicant for this RFP

· Applicants must provide a copy of their federal 501(c)3 determination letter

· Applicants must provide a copy of their most recent independently conducted annual audit if available

THE FOLLOWING MUST BE COMPLETED:

Company Name: ______________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________ Phone Number: ____________________________________________________________ E-mail Address: _________________________________________________________ Signature/Date: _________________________________________________________ Printed Name of Signature: _________________________________________________

VENDOR QUESTIONS

Vendors’ questions will be answered publicly one time through the Request for Proposal process. Vendors must submit questions to the purchasing manager at purchasing@hsd2.org no later than January 15, 2025. Questions received by this date will be answered by the advisory evaluation committee and questions received after this date will not be addressed.

EVALUATION OF CRITERIA

Proposals will be reviewed by an advisory evaluation committee established by the Legacy Institute, an education non-profit partner of the District, and approved by the D2 Superintendent. A list of committee members will be provided to firms selected to be interviewed. The committee reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. Proposals that do not contain at least the information required by all sections shall be deemed nonresponsive and will not receive further consideration. Individuals or firms failing to meet the minimum required qualifications will not receive further consideration.

An advisory evaluation committee will develop a short list of the most qualified respondents and may request that those respondents participate in an interview. Non-profit organizations selected for an interview must appear with at least one principal who will have responsibility for the project. No more than three persons from the responding firm may be present for the interview.

The District will negotiate with the firm chosen by the committee as most qualified. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, the District will negotiate with the next ranked firm on the committee's prioritized list. The District will continue this approach until such time as an agreement is reached.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Individuals or firms responding to this Request for Proposals may either mail a hard copy to the address below or email submissions to purchasing@hsd2.org. Submissions to Bidnet will not be reviewed or considered. Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 pm on January 24, 2025. Late responses will NOT be considered and will be returned unopened. The total number of pages of the RFP must NOT exceed 5 pages. Longer responses may not be considered.

COMMUNICATION:

All communication and bid responses should be directed to Harrison School District 2 Purchasing Manager at purchasing@hsd2.org.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR SELECTION

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