Contract Title: Technical Assistance & Educational Workshop Services

RFP Questions Deadline: May 18, 2026

Proposal Deadline: June 14, 2026 5:00PM ET

Contract Term: July 13, 2026 – February 12, 2027

Estimated Budget: $10,000 – $13,500

About VT PoC

The Vermont Professionals of Color Network (VT PoC) is a nonprofit organization advancing the social and economic prosperity of the BIPOC community across Vermont. We serve a diverse community of individuals navigating career transitions, entrepreneurship, and small business development.

VT PoC believes that systems supporting communities of color benefit the entire state. Our frameworks are guided by the following core values:

• Community: Creating opportunities to provide structure, relationships, affinity, safety, and openness.
• Growth: Fostering relationships with community members and organizations by engaging in mutual learning, challenges, risks, and personal development.
• Leadership: Using what we learn to advocate and lead by example, foster respect, and earn trust from the community.
• Service: Meeting the needs of the community with care, joy, respect, and humility.
• Equity: Disrupting traditional norms to build and dismantle oppressive systems because we are not free until we are all free.

Our work creates space for BIPOC to connect, grow, and thrive in Vermont. We are the first place people turn to for finding resources, building community, and cultivating a sense of belonging, serving as a first-stop-shop for all things BIPOC. We support upward mobility and create opportunities for building a life here. At its core, our goal is to stay connected to our roots, celebrate us and our cultures, and build something that is truly for us, by us. Because of this, our work may be conducted during evening and weekend hours to accommodate participant’s needs.

Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), VT PoC seeks to engage a qualified contractor to deliver targeted technical assistance services and educational workshops over the course of six (6) months. The contractor will work directly with pre-identified individuals requiring business or professional/career development support, while also establishing a robust framework for evaluating the effectiveness of those services.

Contract Scope of Work

The selected contractor shall carry out the following four (4) primary areas of work in a remote-first environment:

1.  Business Development Technical Assistance and Resource Navigation

The contractor will provide dedicated, one-on-one technical assistance and resource navigation support to a pre-identified list of individuals seeking business development assistance. Responsibilities include:

• Conducting individual intake and needs assessments to understand each participant’s business goals, stage of development, and barriers to access.
• Provide one-on-one technical assistance appropriate to the participant’s stage of business development and their identified needs.
• Connecting participants to relevant business resources, programs, and services.
• Attendance- and possible participation in external meetings with participants based on TA request. 
• Providing ongoing follow-up to ensure participants successfully engage with referred resources.
• Maintaining detailed case notes, referral tracking, and outcome documentation for each participant.
• Submitting monthly progress updates to VT PoC.

2.  Professional & Career Development Technical Assistance and Resource Navigation

The contractor will provide dedicated, one-on-one technical assistance and resource navigation support to a pre-identified list of individuals seeking professional or career development assistance. Responsibilities include:

• Conducting individual intake and needs assessments to understand each participant’s career goals, skill levels, educational background, and employment barriers.
• Provide one-on-one technical assistance appropriate to the participant’s career level and  their identified needs.
• Connecting participants to relevant professional development resources, training programs, and employment services.
• Providing ongoing follow-up to ensure participants successfully engage with referred resources.
• Maintaining detailed case notes, referral tracking, and outcome documentation for each participant.
• Submitting monthly progress updates to VT PoC.

3.  Development & Implementation of a Technical Assistance Evaluation Tool

The contractor will develop, pilot, and implement a formal evaluation framework to measure the effectiveness of technical assistance services delivered under this contract. This includes:

• Designing an evaluation tool (e.g., surveys, scorecards, or dashboards) to measure participant satisfaction, resource utilization, goal attainment, and service quality.
• Establishing baseline data and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Piloting the evaluation tool with a subset of participants and refining based on feedback.
• Administering the evaluation tool on an ongoing basis throughout the contract period.
• Compiling and presenting evaluation findings in regular written reports to VT PoC on a bi-monthly cadence, including recommendations for continuous improvement.

4. Development & Implementation of Educational Workshops

The contractor will design, coordinate, and facilitate educational workshops serving both business development and professional/career development participants. Specific responsibilities include:

• Design, coordinate, and facilitate one (1) educational workshop per VT PoC fiscal quarter, covering topics relevant to participants’ business and/or professional development needs.
• Coordinate promotion and outreach for each workshop to ensure broad awareness and participation among the pre-identified cohort and broader community.
• Evaluate each workshop and gather participant feedback through standardized tools, using findings to inform the content and format of future offerings.
• Submit quarterly feedback reports to VT PoC.

Deliverables & Timeline

The contractor shall deliver the following by the dates mutually agreed upon in a finalized work plan:

1. Individual participant intake and needs assessments completed within 48 business hours of receipt of names. 
2. Monthly progress reports detailing participant activities, referrals made, and follow-up status.
3. Draft evaluation tool submitted for VT PoC review within 30 days of contract start.
4. Finalized evaluation tool following review and feedback.
5. Workshop calendar and first workshop curriculum finalized by end of Month 1.
6. One (1) educational workshop delivered per quarter, each accompanied by a post-workshop summary report including participant feedback and recommendations.
7. Quarterly evaluation reports presenting findings, outcomes, and recommendations.
8. Final summary report at contract close, including overall outcomes and lessons learned.

The contractor will be signed on for 6 months with potential for renewal pending work quality and funding. 

Contractor Qualifications

Qualified respondents will demonstrate the following:

• Demonstrated experience designing and facilitating adult education, workforce development, and/or community-based workshops.
• Demonstrated experience supporting small business development and/or professional/career support. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of the business lifecycle and needs/barriers within each stage of development.
• Experience developing accessible, culturally responsive curriculum and workshop materials.
• Proven ability to promote and conduct community outreach for programming, with demonstrated success in participant recruitment.
• Experience developing and administering program evaluation tools and using data to inform future programming.
• Strong public speaking and group facilitation skills.
• Prior experience working with nonprofit organizations or community-based programs preferred.
• Capacity to drive to in-person meetings with VT PoC team or participants on an as-needed basis. 

Proposal Requirements

Proposals must include the following components:

1. Organizational / Individual Overview

• Description of the respondent’s organization or professional background including any specific experience and qualifications as they pertain to this scope of work.
• Description of respondent’s approach to coaching inclusive of frameworks, values, and other relevant information that help to inform your work.
• References from at least two (2) prior clients and/or partner organizations.

1. Technical Approach

• Detailed description of how the contractor will carry out each area of the Scope of Work, inclusive of frameworks, values, and other relevant information.
• Proposed methodology for participant intake, needs assessment, and resource navigation.
• Proposed approach to developing and implementing the evaluation tool.
• Proposed data destruction plan for the closeout of the contract.

1. Work Plan

• Proposed timeline with key milestones and deliverables aligned to the contract term.

1. Budget Narrative

• Itemized budget detailing costs associated with each component of the scope of work.
• Brief narrative justifying each line item.

1. Sample Work Products (Optional but Encouraged)

• Examples of prior workshop development, technical assistance management tools, evaluation instruments, or reports.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee and scored according to the following criteria:

Finalists may be invited for an interview or clarification session prior to contract award.

Submission Instructions

Proposals must be submitted electronically in PDF format to:

Email: thefam@vtpoc.net

Subject Line: RFP Response – VT PoC Resource Navigation & Technical Assistance

Deadline: June 14, 2026, 5:00 PM ET

Late submissions will not be accepted. Proposals will be retained by Vermont Professionals of Color Network but copyright of the submitted application content remains with the applicant. 

Questions & Clarifications

All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing via email to thefam@vtpoc.net no later than May 18, 2026 with the subject line noted above. Questions and answers will be shared with all prospective respondents in written form by May 22, 2026. No oral interpretations of this RFP will be made.

General Terms & Conditions

• Vermont Professionals of Color Network (“VT PoC”) reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities, and to accept the proposal deemed most advantageous to the organization.
• Issuance of this RFP does not obligate VT PoC to award a contract.
• All costs incurred in preparing a response to this RFP are the sole responsibility of the respondent.
• The selected contractor will be required to execute a written agreement with VT PoC prior to commencing work.
• The contractor must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
• The contractor will be required to provide proof of insurance and submit a Certificate of Insurance prior to contract execution.
• The contractor must have a valid drivers license, current auto insurance and registration, and a working vehicle.
• All materials developed under this contract remain the intellectual property of VT PoC.
• All meetings with VT PoC will be held during regular business hours (M-F 9am-5pm).
• Contract cost covers all contractor expenses, inclusive of travel, computer equipment, supplies, subscriptions, etc. with the exception of a VT PoC issued email.

VT PoC was created by a group of community members who represent the global majority with the goal of connecting our community. Over the last five years, we have operated with the following organizational mission: Vermont Professionals of Color Network (VT PoC) exists to advance the social and economic prosperity of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) across the state.

Our team is a reflection of our desire to represent the community we serve. We represent different races, educational levels, cultural practices, sexual identities and orientations, abilities, immigration stories, work experiences, life experiences, and more. And these identities make us stronger as a team because each of us find strength and empowerment within our respective identities, and (we believe) we have built and organization that gives an opportunity for each person to shine.

Internally, we have worked to expand our own understanding of work culture, what professionalism means, and how we can accommodate different working, learning, and living styles. We are continuously working towards increasing accommodations as we grow and as our team expands; and we know this is going to take time because we're also working with a bigger system of constraints. We're hoping that our new team member can also contribute to this process.