Request for Proposals for Financial Capability Enhancement Program. January 28, 2016

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Request for Proposals for Financial Capability Enhancement Program. January 28, 2016"

Bernadette Jennings
6 years ago
Views:

1 Request for Proposals for Financial Capability Enhancement Program January 28, 2016

2 ABOUT THE CENTER Launched in 2008, the Center for NYC Neighborhoods mission is to promote and protect affordable homeownership in New York so that middle- and working-class families are able to build strong, thriving communities. We support middle- and working-class homeowners at every step of their journey. Since the start of the mortgage crisis, the Center has helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers navigate the challenges of keeping their homes. Our programs help to stabilize homeowners and neighborhoods by providing housing counseling and legal services, along with homeownershiprelated education and outreach, to owners of 1-4 family homes. The primary goal of our Network Programs is to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Through our Network Programs, we serve 11,000 homeowners annually in partnership with over 30 housing counseling and legal services organizations (our Network Partners ). PROGRAM OVERVIEW Many homeowners in crisis face financial issues. Job loss, medical bills, lack of savings and overwhelming consumer debt can all pose a challenge to maintaining a home and paying a mortgage. For those facing such challenges, individualized financial counseling can be an important component of maintaining a stable household. Financial capability services help homeowners set financial goals, reduce outstanding debt, build savings, and improve money management to build long-term stability beyond their current crisis. To ensure that homeowners are benefiting from financial counseling services, the Center is seeking a program research consultant (the Consultant ) to work with the Center to understand the financial counseling needs of homeowners, determine the best means of providing counseling, and create standard tools and processes. Understanding Clients Financial Counseling Needs Financial counseling can help at-risk homeowners manage their finances better and make the most of household income, making mortgage repayment possible. To best understand the drivers of homeowners financial stability and what topics to address through counseling, the Consultant will conduct qualitative research, interviewing clients and Network Partner frontline staff about homeowners financial health and challenges. Understanding clients needs will inform service delivery, present training needs for our staff, and clarify the requirements for referral programs. The Consultant will also review aggregate program data on clients income, debt, and credit, as well as existing academic literature on homeowners with financial hardships.

3 Determining Where Financial Counseling Can Enhance Services To determine the best means of integrating counseling, the Consultant will review our Network Partners existing housing counseling processes and assess where financial counseling can be enhanced. With the Center s guidance, the Consultant will map current processes, showing how clients interact with their housing counselor and the points at which staff can incorporate financial counseling tools, services, or referrals. This analysis will also include a capacity assessment including staff time, expertise, and resources of Network Partners to determine a baseline standard at which financial counseling can be integrated. Determining Service Delivery Mechanism(s) for Counseling Based on clients financial counseling needs and the current process for providing housing counseling, the consultant will help the Center determine the best model for incorporating financial counseling into housing counseling services. Together we will standardize the methodology, tools, and process so that our partners can support homeowners in building better financial stability. The Center will continue to adapt as necessary through an iterative process of implementation and testing. Implementation The Center, with training support from the Consultant, will work with selected Network Partners, e.g. our nonprofit, community-based housing counseling agencies located across the city, to roll out the Program and bring it to scale. Implementation is expected to begin in June SCOPE OF WORK To support the design and implementation of the Financial Capability Program, the Consultant will do the following: Conduct a needs assessment for homeowner financial counseling services through interviews, focus groups, and surveys of Center staff, Network Partner staff, and homeowners. The needs assessment will define the areas in which clients need support to build financial security (i.e. budgeting, savings, credit, and debt). Complete a brief desk review of existing academic literature on the financial counseling needs of homeowners in crisis and the Center s reports on client volume, services, and needs. Complete a process map showing existing services and where financial capability can be

4 enhanced, including simple additions to existing data collection systems and tools that Network Partner housing counselors use. For process mapping and needs assessment, conduct approximately 10 interviews with Network Partners and hold approximately 3 focus groups with homeowners. Surveying may also be used as an effective tool for data collection. Make recommendations for service delivery and content based on research findings. Help the Center define success metrics for financial capability integration and develop data collection method and tools, measuring programmatic outcomes while minimizing additions to existing systems. Develop initial training, tools, and resources to be used in counseling, drawing on existing templates and learnings from the field. Deliver introductory training on research findings and toolkit to Network Partners. Deliverables will include: A report summarizing research findings and recommendations for program design and implementation, approximately pages A toolkit that includes: 1. Guidance on delivering a financial counseling model based on coaching and behavioral economics principles 1 and utilizing a just in time approach to financial counseling, tied to particular decisions as entry points for content knowledge counseling, such as retaining a home or selling it 2 2. Instructions for collecting and reporting clients financial capability data to show the impact of our services, such as those indicators recommended by the Center for Financial Security s self-reporting survey questions 3 3. Content for training that includes specific steps for integrating relevant financial counseling components into each level of housing counseling such as intake, group workshops, option assessment, and final modification review sessions 4. Templates and sample questions for client intake, budgeting, goal setting, and other relevant services

5 5. A list of free or affordable tools and resources for counseling staff such as financial calculators Initial training to Network Partners on research findings and toolkit, with support from the Center to train on implementation The Center will provide: A project lead from the Network Programs team acting as day-to-day point of contact and managing weekly check-ins Interviews with Center staff as needed as well as connections to Network Partners and homeowners for interviews, surveys, and focus groups Background program materials Final determination of service delivery mechanisms and content, based on consultant recommendations Goals for volume of homeowners participating in financial capability and success measures for service outcomes, based on Consultant s initial findings Support in identifying resources for toolkit and training content when needed, as well as feedback on content provided by the Consultant Ongoing training and support to Network Partners to ensure successful implementation of financial capability services Evaluation of program s success TO APPLY In order to be considered, all applicants must submit the following: 1. Statement of Interest, detailing the organization s qualifications for this proposal and a description of relevant skills and experience. Please include relevant program planning and assessment experience, as well as experience working with nonprofit organizations. 2. Proposed approach, detailing anticipated tasks and a timeline to complete the project. The timeline should include the implementation of financial counseling services to begin by June Price proposal including line item budget 4. Resumes for each employee to be staffed on this proposal 5. List of references

6 All applications must be received by 5PM EST on Tuesday, February 16, Responses must be limited to 5 pages, excluding resumes and references. Please submit applications, and any questions about this RFP, by to proposals@cnycn.org with the subject line: Financial Capability RFP. Interested parties can submit questions via to proposals@cnycn.org during the application period. Answers to questions will be posted online on the same page as this RFP. Upon receiving proposals, the Center retains the right to: negotiate specific details, responsibilities, and pricing with applicants; use its discretion in accepting or denying proposals for select parts or all of the services listed above; and award a contract to one, multiple, or none of the applicants to fulfill the services listed above. All details regarding the program scope and Consultant s tasks are subject to contract finalization. The Center for New York City Neighborhoods is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or citizenship status. 1 Collins, J Michael and O'Rourke, Collin M. (2012) "The Application of Coaching Techniques to Financial Issues," Journal of Financial Therapy: Vol. 3: Iss. 2, Article Daniel Fernandes, John G. Lynch Jr., Richard G. Netemeyer (2014) Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Downstream Financial Behaviors. Management Science 60(8): Collins, J Michael and O Rourke, Collin M. (2013) Research Outcomes Brief- Finding a Yardstick: Field Testing Outcome Measures for Community-based Financial Coaching and Capability Programs.

Request for Proposals for Design and Development of Online Homebuyer Tool. August 2017

Request for Proposals for Design and Development of Online Homebuyer Tool August 2017 ABOUT THE CENTER Launched in 2008, the Center for NYC Neighborhoods promotes and protects affordable homeownership