Children and Youth Commission Small Grant RFQ

The City of Santa Fe Youth and Family Services Division in collaboration with the Children and Youth Commission is seeking applications for the Children and Youth Commission Innovation Fund. The commission is dedicated to enhancing community services, expanding equitable access, and fostering sustainable growth in program effectiveness by allocating funding to support local community programs that promote the healthy development of children and youth, ages birth to twenty-one (21).

The identified funding priorities reflecting the commission's commitment to empowering the Santa Fe community are:

1. Education and Career Readiness
2. Youth Physical and Mental Health and Well-Being 
3. Support Services for Youth at Higher Risk

Pursuant to Section 2.F. of City of Santa Fe Ordinance No. 2001-7, applicants shall be limited to nonprofit organizations that have been granted and currently hold tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or to applicants whose programs are covered by a fiscal agent that meets these requirements. Applicants shall promote the healthy development of children and youth, ages birth to twenty-one (21).

Applicants must possess professional liability insurance at time of of purchase order issuance. Applicants must be a vendor of the City of Santa Fe (https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/santafenm) in order to submit a proposal. Offerors must agree to comply with state laws and rules applicable to workers' compensation benefits for their employees. Failure to comply with the Workers Compensation Act and applicable rules when required to do so may result in the termination of awarded funds.

Funding Criteria and Reporting Requirements:

Funding for the Children and Youth Innovation Fund comes from a percentage of the City's share of the state gross receipts tax (GRT) and is administered to local nonprofits (funding amount varies due to GRT fluctuations). Funding award amounts for CYC small grants will be capped at $45,000.00. CYC funding cannot be used for capital purchases.

Funding is reimbursement based. Funding is primarily intended to pay for direct services in the community, rather than to pay for administrative costs. Direct administrative costs for the program shall be as low as possible but not to exceed 30% and should be detailed in the budget section of the proposal.

Fiscal agents are responsible for program management, financial reporting and all agreement requirements. If an applicant is using a fiscal agent and awarded, the fiscal agent will process the reimbursement requests and all official documents and signatures must be those of the fiscal sponsor. Fiscal agent fees shall not exceed 12%.

Reporting shall occur biannually. Site reviews and/or visits are conducted by City staff members, commission members and/or consultants. Funded programs may be expected to participate in several training and technical assistance opportunities during the funding year.

This RFQ will result in multiple awards.

Background

In January 2026 the Children and Youth Commission completed a Strategic Plan for the FY 2027-2029 funding cycle. The following priorities and their corresponding outcomes were identified:

Project Details

• Reference ID: FY26-QQ-100
• Department: Youth & Families
• Department Head: Lia Salaverry (Youth & Family Division Director)

Evaluation Criteria

• Important Instructions for Electronic Submittals —

  The City of Santa Fe, NM is accepting electronic bid submissions. Bidders shall create a FREE account with OpenGov Procurement by signing up at https://procurement.opengov.com/signup. Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on "Draft Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

   

   

• Procurement Manager —

  Youth and Family Services has assigned a Procurement Manager who is responsible for the conduct of this procurement whose name, telephone number and email address are listed below.

  Name: Sierra Vigil-Trujillo

  Telephone Number: (505)-955-6824

  Email: svtrujillo@santafenm.gov

  Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be submitted via the OpenGov Procurement Portal. 

• Scope of Work or Project Details —

  Submitted applications should be for one of the following:

  1. Supplementing funding for an existing service that has demonstrated greater need than historically indicated due to emerging social or community circumstances. 
  2. Funding for a pilot project for a new services that the agency has identified as a need of their current constituency. 

   

  Scopes of work will be accepted for program submissions in the following areas: (Organizations must select one priority area, but may apply to address more than one objective.)

  Area 1: Education and Career Readiness

  Goal: Equitable opportunities for education and career readiness are provided. 

  Objectives:

  1) Expand access to education and career opportunities for youth.

  2) Enhance youth academic engagement including postsecondary career outcomes by providing funding to program that support this initiative. 

  3) Align education programs with local workplace needs to enhance youth career readiness. 

  Area 2: Youth Physical, Mental Health and Well Being

  Goal: Equitable opportunities for youth to engage in enrichment activities to strengthen their physical and mental health and well being. 

  Objectives: 

  1) Expand access to programs designed to enhance youth physical and mental well being. 

  2) Increase youth resilience, coping skills, and overall well being. 

  Area 3: Support Services for Youth at Higher Risk

  Goal: Equitable opportunities for youth will be provided for restorative justice and community alternatives, especially for youth engaged in juvenile justice, protective services, and/or emergency systems. 

  Objectives: 

  1) Reduce youth involvement in juvenile justice, child welfare, school disciplinary systems and/or emergency systems. 

  2) Increase access to restorative and community-based prevention programs for youth facing higher risk factors. 

  Additional information for all awards: 

  Funding award amounts for the grant year will have an award ceiling of $45,000.00.

  Funding is intended to pay for direct services for the community, rather than to pay for administrative costs. Direct administrative costs for the program shall be as low as possible but may not exceed 30% and should be detailed in the budget section of the proposal. 

  Fiscal agent fees shall not exceed 12%. 

  Funded organizations must deliver services in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

  Funding cannot be used for capital projects, equipment or for items that will be gifted to recipients receiving the proposed services or who are participating in he proposed program.

  Performance Outcomes:

  To ensure that funding is having a direct impact on the overall well being of children and youth ages birth to 21 in the community, the CYC uses the Results-Based Accountability framework and requests that offerors focus on address the social determinants of health for each individual served. 

  Offerors must ensure as appropriate, that youth served are from underserved communities e.g. American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and African American/Black with a priority to serve at least 85% low to very low-income households as defined by local housing and urban development (HUD) guidelines.

   

   

• Eligibility —

  Applicants shall be limited to non-profit organizations which have been granted and currently hold tax exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or to applicants whose programs are covered by a fiscal sponsor that meets these requirements. For organizations without 501 (c) (3) status, see fiscal sponsor section below.

  Applicants must be a vendor of the City of Santa Fe (https://cityofsantafenm.tylerportico.com/va/vendor-access) and have a current W9 uploaded to their vendor profile.

  Applicants must provide the following to be considered for funding: 

  • Most recent Form 990  

  • Letter of good standing from the NM Taxation and Revenue Department 

  • • Go here to learn how to request the letter of good standing

  Applicants currently receiving city funding may apply for either the Children and Youth Commission or the Human Services Committee small grant fund.  Applicants who do not already receive funding from the Human Services Committee or Children and Youth Commission will be prioritized.

  Fiscal Sponsor:

  Fiscal sponsors will be responsible for financial reporting and will process the reimbursement requests on behalf of the applicant.

  Applicants utilizing a fiscal sponsor should note:  

  1. Fiscal sponsor fees shall not exceed 12%.  

  2. All official documents and signatures must be those of the fiscal sponsor. 

  Applicants must provide the following documentation if utilizing a fiscal sponsor: 

  • Fiscal sponsors most recent Form 990  

  • Fiscal sponsors letter of good standing from the NM Taxation and Revenue Department.  

  • • Go here to learn how to request the letter of good standing.  

  • MOU between the applicant and their fiscal sponsor which outlines the roles and responsibilities of each organization

  ANY APPLICATION THAT DOES NOT MEET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE REVIEW PROCESS. 

• Reporting and Site Visits —

  Reporting for this funding will be streamlined due to the small funding award. This is meant to allow organizations to focus on providing proposed services.

  Applications will be required to turn in a brief end of year report which highlight the impact of the small grant funded program. The end of year invoice and final report will be due at the conclusion of the program (or by June 15th). Along with the end of year report, awardees may be required to provide a 15 minute overview of the end of the year report to the Children and Youth Commission.

  Reporting should only cover what was funded through the CYC small grant, rather than the program/organization as a whole.

  The end of year report should outline:

  • Demographics and total numbers served
  • Impact made  to selected priority indicator(s)
  • Outcome of funded project/program
  • Data collected as part of surveys, pre/post tests, participant program evaluation etc. 
  • Successes that occurred during the funding period
  • Challenges that occurred during the funding period

  Failure to submit an end of year report will disqualify an organization from future small grant funding.

• Payment —

  Payment is on a cost reimbursement basis and will be issued after services have been rendered or deliverables have been completed.

   

• Evaluation —

  Submitted applications will be reviewed for completion by Youth and Family Services Division staff. Complete applications will be distributed to Children and Youth Commission members for their review and evaluation.

  The Children and Youth Commission members shall evaluate and award funding to applicants that demonstrate excellence on the below funding criteria:

  1. Purpose, goals, objectives and services of the proposed program
  2. Budget
  3. Proposed Timeline
  4. Meeting Needs and Addressing Risks
  5. Agency Experience and Staff Capacity
  6. Data Collection and Evaluation
  7. Collaboration
• Award —

  The City will notify each applicant in writing of the City's decision.

  The City reserves the right to make an award in the manner deemed most advantageous to the City and in the public interest. Specifically, the City may:

  • Award to one or more vendors;

  • Award based on quotes as submitted;

  • Award portions of one or more quotes;

  • Select items or services from multiple quotes to create a combined award;

  • Clarify or confirm elements of a quote prior to award;

  • Reject any or all quotes;

  • Cancel or re-issue all or portions of this request if it is in the City’s best interest to do so;

  • Make no award under this request for quotes.

  Award will be made to the responsible vendor(s) whose quote(s) are determined to be the most advantageous to the City, considering price, responsiveness, and compliance with the any requirements. The lowest-priced quote may not necessarily result in an award.

  The highest scoring application may not necessarily be awarded. Final selection is based on a combination of proposal quality, alignment with City objectives, best value and the City's sole discretion.

  Vendors shall not commence work until a Purchase Order is issued by the City.

Submission Requirements

• NM Business Tax Identification Number (NMBTIN) fka CRS
• Munis Vendor Name and Number
• Identify the individual(s) authorized by the organization to negotiate to queries on behalf of this application: (required) —

  Please provide the following: 

  • Name
  • Title
  • Email
  • Telephone
• Identify the individual(s) authorized by the organization to clarify/respond to queries on behalf of this application: (required) —

  Please provide the following: 

  • Name
  • Title 
  • Email 
  • Telephone Number
• Do you understand that your application may be disqualified if you fail to meet any of the RFQ's requirements? (required)
• Is your organization under a fiscal sponsorship? (required)
• Does your organization currently receive Children and Youth Commission or Human Services Committee funding? (required)
• Cover Letter (required) —

  Identify the priority area and objectives you are proposing to address. Please give evaluators a summary of your organization's work, proposed project and unique position to deliver services. Please direct letters to the Children and Youth Commission. 

• Provide a brief overview of the proposed project. (required)
• Purpose, goals, objective and services (required) —

  State the purpose, goals, objectives and services of the proposed program and describe how the proposed program aligns with the selected funding category/goal areas and/or the social determinants of health. 

• Expected Timeframe (required) —

  Provide an expected timeframe for program implementation.

• Describe relevant agency experience and staff capacity to implement the proposed program/project. (required)
• Describe any data collection in place or specific plans for data collection to measure the potential project/program success. (required)
• Highlight meaningful collaborations with other organizations and the specific roles and responsibilities each partner has to support your agency or the work of the proposed program. (required)
• Briefly describe any barriers you foresee in implementing this program and how you are prepared to address those barriers. (required)
• Briefly describe how CYC funding will support and/or implement the proposed project. (required)
• Funding Sources (required) —

  Provide a list of corporations, foundations, other City of Santa Fe funds, and other major sources of funding (committed, pending and anticipated) with dollar amounts. Please indicate the percentage of total funding each source of revenue contributes. 

• Proof of 501(c)(3) Status (required)
• Most Recently Filed IRS 990 Form (required)
• New Mexico Secretary Proof of Good Standing (required)
• Project Cost Proposal (required) —

  Please upload a budget breakdown that outlines what the funding will go towards (staff time, incentives, services, materials, etc.)

  Sample Budget:

  • Consultation Services -- $10,000.00
  • Program Materials -- $2,000.00
  • Total Funding Request -- $12,000.00
• I certify that I have read, understood and agree to the terms in this solicitation, and that I am authorized to submit this response on behalf of my company. (required)
• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items.