Community Outreach and Capacity Building for Residential Energy Upgrades

The City of Madison is seeking qualified vendors to design and implement multi-modal community engagement campaigns for residential energy upgrades through RFP #14047-0-2025-BG. The procurement targets community outreach and capacity building initiatives focused on helping residents access home energy upgrade programs, energy efficiency job training, and contractor upskilling. Qualified vendors must develop campaigns targeting specific audiences including low-income renters, rental property owners, low-income single-family homeowners, and energy efficiency sector professionals. The project is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights under the "Climate Resilience Starts at Home" initiative. Key deliverables include participating in monthly Leadership Team meetings, completing up to 10 hours of city-provided training, and submitting quarterly programmatic and financial reports. Bidders were originally required to schedule a planning appointment by July 24th, 2025, with questions due by July 28th, 2025 at 2:00 PM Central Time, and proposals due on August 8th, 2025 at 2:00 PM Central Time for a contract period from August 2025 to August 2026.

However, Addendum 2 dated July 30, 2025, indicates that the RFP has been cancelled due to the loss of grant funding. The procurement was specifically limited to non-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status or groups able to secure a fiscal agent with such status. The initiative was designed to focus on outreach in specific census tract block groups identified as disadvantaged communities within Madison's project area. The City anticipated allocating up to five grants ranging from $133,000 to $233,000 each. Applicants were required to have culturally responsive staff, demonstrate fiscal management capacity, provide training plans, show collaboration experience, and establish privacy protocols and EPA compliance capabilities. While the original solicitation suggested a comprehensive approach to community energy upgrade engagement, the cancellation notice effectively terminated the procurement process, leaving no immediate path forward for potential bidders.