Request for Proposal: NYC Cooperative Development

Project Name: WCBDI NYC Cooperative Development

RFP Issue Date: 08.07.2025

Response Due Date: 08.15.2025
 

Project Overview and Qualifications  

The Democracy at Work Institute seeks a qualified partner to provide training, technical assistance, and the creation of educational events for the NYC Coop Ecosystem. Applicants must have demonstrated experience in the areas of work outlined in the scope of work.

About DAWI 
The Democracy at Work Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit movement-based think-and-do tank that works to expand worker ownership to meet the needs of workers locked out of good jobs and business ownership opportunities, especially BIPOC, recent-immigrant, and low-wage workers. We do research and advocacy; we develop tools and new models; we train worker-owners and developers; and we build cooperative development capacity to ensure that further growth in the worker cooperative movement reaches low-income people, people of color and recent immigrants. In all our work, as well as internal operations, we strive to embody our organizational values of Excellence, Equity, Entrepreneurialism, Collaboration, and Human-Centeredness.

Scope of Work 


Anticipated project period: 7/1/2025 - 6/30/2026 

Anticipated project budget: $30,000

The Democracy at Work Institute seeks a qualified partner to provide support on a wide range of initiatives. We anticipate that the project deliverables, milestones and level of effort will be as outlined in this chart. Milestones and descriptions are preliminary and we welcome extra detail in proposals. 


Work Areas: 

1. Technical Assistance

Description: 

  • 12 Technical Assistance events delivered in the following NYC TA categories:
    • Initial Consultation
    • Marketing/Market Research
    • Business Planning and Coaching
    • Web Development and Support
    • Governance and Internal Manuals
    • Strategic Planning
       
  • Clients/Activities/Dates:
    • Intakes/referrals for individualized TA to clients - throughout the year
    • Deeper peer advisor engagements with clients - throughout the year

Milestones/Deliverables:

  • 12 technical assistance events delivered

2. Educational Events

Description: 

  • 125 eligible course completions, which will be achieved via a variety of virtual events and courses:
    • Worker Cooperative Startup Webinar in English (monthly)
    • Worker Cooperative Startup Webinar in Spanish (quarterly)
    • Worker Benefits: Healthcare for your co-op
    • How to file taxes as an LLC cooperative
    • How to file taxes as a cooperative: broad entity review
    • Co-op Clinic Summit
       

Milestones/Deliverables:

  • 125 eligible course completions

3. Reporting

Description: 

  • The contractor will:
    • Participate in data reporting each month
    • Provide quarterly narrative reports
    • Submit a finalized work plan after winning the RFP
    • Participate in a January mid-point check-in

 

Proposal Template


The response should include the following sections: 

  • Statement of Work 

    • A description of how the applicant will undertake the scope of work, including key project milestones, deliverables, and impact metrics

  • Organizational qualifications 

    • An overview of why the applicant is qualified to do the work outlined in the scope 

  • Personnel 

    • Names and qualifications of the individuals who will execute this work and their estimated allocation to it.

    • Include resumes of team members in the appendix 

  • Budget

    • Include a standard line-item budget using the following categories: 

      • Personnel 

      • Fringe 

      • Contractors 

      • Travel 

      • Supplies 

      • Other [describe]

         

Proposal Submission Instructions


Organizations that meet the qualifications outlined in this document should submit their documents electronically in a single PDF. Documents should be no more than 3 pages in 12-point font and single-spaced with one-inch margins.

Proposals should be clearly written and describe the applicant’s understanding and plan to address the work described in the Scope section of this document. 

RFP Issue Date: August 7, 2025 

Response Due Date: Aug 15, 2025 

Submission Email Address: info@institute.coop

 Submission Email Title: WCBDI NYC RFP 2025-2026

Evaluation Criteria 

Submitted proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria: 

1. Project Approach 

a. Applicants demonstrate a clear and effective approach to meet the scope of work 

2. Qualifications of the organization 

a. This includes: demonstrated experience in the field of worker cooperatives and past experience with relevant project work 

3. Qualifications of personnel 

a. Demonstrated and relevant experience of staff members 

4. Budget 

a. Demonstration that the applicant can meet project deliverables within the outlined project budget 

In evaluating proposals, DAWI may seek information from the applicant or other sources that it deems necessary on submitted proposals.