KHA Youth Empowerment Services (YES)

The City of Jacksonville, Florida, through Kids Hope Alliance (KHA), is requesting proposals for Youth Empowerment Services (YES) programming to be delivered by qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, with proposals due October 30, 2026 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. Lead applicants must be incorporated as 501(c)(3) nonprofits with at least one year of prior operating history and active Sunbiz registration.

The scope is youth empowerment services delivery within designated census tracts in Duval County. The City encourages participation of Jacksonville Small and Emerging Businesses (JSEBs), and all awarded vendors must comply with federal E-Verify employment eligibility verification within thirty days of contract execution.

The available funding pool totals up to $5.2 million, with individual award amounts ranging from under $250,000 to $1,000,000 depending on funding tier and organizational capacity. The contract is structured as an initial one-year agreement with two optional one-year renewals contingent on performance against established benchmarks, submission and approval of a Multi-Year Implementation Plan, and continued appropriation of funding by the City.

Proposals are evaluated on a 200-point scoring system across five domains: Organizational Capacity & Readiness (40 points), Program Design & Service Model (60 points), Employer Partnerships & Work-Based Learning (30 points), Youth Voice & JSEB Participation (30 points), and Performance Management & Data (20 points), plus Budget & Financial Compliance (20 points). A minimum qualifying score of 160 points (80%) is required for funding consideration. Responses must be submitted through the City's 1Cloud e-procurement system and must not exceed twenty pages excluding appendices, title page, and cover letter. The question cutoff date was October 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM; the mandatory pre-bid conference was held September 9, 2026 via Zoom.