RFP for business capital and technical assistance

The City of Oakland is requesting proposals from a qualified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to provide small business capital access services, loan readiness technical assistance, direct loan packaging and underwriting, and administration of a City-supported revolving loan fund; proposals are due August 31, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (extended from August 20 via Addendum No. 1). The contractor must be a U.S. Department of the Treasury-certified CDFI in good standing — the central eligibility filter. The L/SLBE participation requirement is 0%.

The scope encompasses intake coordination and eligibility verification, individualized technical assistance to small businesses, loan underwriting and revolving loan fund deployment, loan servicing and portfolio management, capital referral and co-lending coordination, outreach and partner coordination, and data collection and compliance reporting. Services must serve underserved construction contractors and comply with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) requirements, including low- and moderate-income benefit documentation and federal reporting standards. Performance targets include providing technical assistance to 40 businesses, underwriting 15 loan requests, funding 8–10 loans, conducting 4 access-to-capital workshops reaching 75 unique participants, creating or retaining 15 jobs, and serving 150 unique businesses with a minimum 51% low- and moderate-income beneficiaries. The contractor must demonstrate at least three years of experience in small business lending and technical assistance and comply with applicable City programs and policies including Living Wage Ordinance, Minimum Wage Ordinance, Equal Benefits Ordinance, Prompt Payment Ordinance, Non-Discrimination provisions, and Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance requirements.

The City anticipates providing approximately $300,000 annually in CDBG capitalization funding, subject to funding availability, to support working capital loans, lines of credit, and bonding assistance, minus administrative overhead paid to the provider. The initial contract term is one year with options to renew for an additional two years based on performance and funding availability. Contract award is anticipated for Fall/Winter 2026–2027. The voluntary pre-proposal meeting is scheduled for July 30, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time via Microsoft Teams. Questions are due August 6, 2026 by 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time to ContractAdmin@oaklandca.gov. Prospective proposers must acknowledge receipt of Addendum No. 1 and attach it to all proposals submitted.