Faith Community Housing Assistance Consultant

The City of St. Petersburg, Florida, issued Request for Quote (RFQ) No. 26-165 on March 10, 2026, seeking a qualified Faith Community Housing Assistance Consultant to support the City's Yes In God's Back Yard (YIGBY) legislation initiative in Pinellas County. The consultant will provide targeted workshops and individualized technical assistance to houses of worship exploring affordable housing development on properties they own or control, with the primary objective of building congregational readiness by clarifying development feasibility, financing options, partnerships, and regulatory pathways. Deliverables include a minimum of two City-approved workshops (in-person, virtual, or hybrid format) covering affordable housing basics, development models, financing pathways, organizational readiness, and regulatory navigation; direct technical assistance to participating congregations; comprehensive workshop curricula; participant evaluations; technical assistance logs; and a final engagement report not exceeding 25 pages. The consultant must demonstrate a minimum of three years' experience providing community engagement, training, and technical assistance to nonprofit or faith-based organizations, with key personnel (project manager and substitute) requiring a minimum of five to ten years of applicable experience completed within the past five years and preferably holding a bachelor's degree in public administration, community development, finance, or social work, along with professional certifications such as Community Development Financial Professional or Certified Community Action Professional. Evaluation criteria weighted across 100 points prioritize experience demonstrating proven delivery of community-based training on affordable housing development and work with faith communities (29 points), qualification and technical competence of the agency and staff (29 points), capacity to accomplish work and program design (19 points), past performance on similar contracts (9 points), and detailed budget (8 points), with a one-year initial contract term and one optional one-year renewal available upon satisfactory performance. The deadline for questions was March 16, 2026, with responses due March 19, 2026, at 3:00 PM, submitted electronically through the OpenGov Procurement portal as a single PDF file not exceeding 50 pages.

The solicitation encourages participation from Small Business Enterprises, Women Business Enterprises, Veteran-Owned Businesses, and Minority Business Enterprises through a voluntary Subcontractor Utilization Plan, with set-aside incentives of 2 points each for City of St. Petersburg-certified Small Business Enterprises, Minority-Owned Business Enterprises, and Women-Owned Business Enterprises; however, no minimum level of participation from these categories is required as a condition for contract award, and proposers indicating zero participation will not be considered non-responsive. The consultant must be registered with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations, comply with E-Verify requirements and public records laws, and obtain comprehensive insurance coverage including commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. No specific budget ceiling or award value was provided in the solicitation documents, with compensation structured according to services pricing to be established in the contract agreement and limited to a maximum annual price not to exceed specified amounts including out-of-pocket expenses such as transportation, mileage, lodging, and meals. Non-negotiable contract terms include indemnification provisions protecting the City and its officers, employees, and agents from all claims arising from contractor performance, insurance coverage requirements, Florida law governance with venue in Pinellas County or the Middle District of Florida, and prohibitions against dispute resolution processes and limitations on liability. The consultant must demonstrate capacity to launch the Faith Community Housing Assistance program within 30 days of contract execution and submit three reference projects of similar size and scope completed within the past five years, with at least one being Florida-based, supported by letters from community partners, houses of worship, and affordable housing developers documenting observable outcomes.