CDBG - Economic Development

Dane County is soliciting applications through a Request for Proposal (RFP #42708-CDBG-ED) to operate economic development programs serving low- and moderate-income business owners within the Dane County Urban County Consortium in Wisconsin. This procurement seeks organizations to deliver Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)-eligible economic development activities, including microenterprise assistance, business incubators, land/building acquisition, and structure rehabilitation. Eligible applicants include municipalities, non-profit organizations, and for-profit organizations specializing in technical assistance to microenterprises with five or fewer employees. Deliverables and services include business education workshops, individualized business assistance, business plan preparation, market assessments, and management and marketing support. Key objectives require projects to meet one of three CDBG national objectives: benefitting low- and moderate-income persons, aiding in prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or meeting particular urgency needs. Required qualifications include registration in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and compliance with federal overlay requirements including environmental review, equal employment opportunity, Section 3 compliance, and debarment and suspension standards. Applications are evaluated on five criteria totaling 100 points: Need and Priorities (20 points), Project Approach (35 points), Experience and Qualifications (15 points), Financial Information (20 points), and Past Performance (10 points). Questions regarding the RFP must be submitted by May 29, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., with responses posted by June 5, 2026. Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Dane County eProcurement Portal by June 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Preliminary funding recommendations will be made in September/October 2026, followed by a public hearing on final recommendations in November 2026 and County Board approval in January 2027.

Applicants must be located in or provide services to residents of member communities within the Dane County Urban County Consortium and cannot be HUD-listed debarred or ineligible contractors. Applicants with unexpended funds exceeding $1,000 from contracts executed before 2025, or more than $250,000 in unexpended funds as of July 1, 2026, are ineligible for additional funds in the same project area. All applicants must complete the CDBG application in its entirety and provide electronic signatures at the end; failure to do so may result in ineligibility for funding and exclusion from scoring. Current 2026 funding awards were made to Latino Academy of Workforce Development, Inc. ($97,500), Urban Triage, Inc. ($75,000), and Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation ($105,000). The maximum total funding available for the Economic Development project area is approximately $168,000, with individual application requests capped at $60,000 per applicant, and it is expected that multiple projects will be funded. Eligible costs include technical assistance, activity hard costs, staff costs directly related to service delivery, and operating expenses, with administrative costs capped at 15% of the contract and a maximum threshold of $1,000 per low-and moderate-income business owner served under the individual public benefit standard. The contract term runs for one year from the execution date, with an option to renew for four additional one-year periods by mutual agreement, with funds available for reimbursement beginning April 2027.