Agenda Item 8A - Recruitment of Grant Writing FirmAGENDA ITEM:
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
Recruitment of Grant Writing Firm
AGENDA ITEM# SA
SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SUBMITTED BY: Catherine Berry, Esq., Director of Human Resources CD
DATE: August 15, 2014
STRATEGIC PLAN: None
BACKGROUND: The City issued RFP #14-08 for Grant Writing Services and received four
proposals, one of which we had to disqualify for failure to submit the required forms. I have
read and evaluated the other three proposals.
1. Langton Associates, Inc., 4830 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32207 (904) 598-1368
The approach, methodology, experience and quality of the proposal submitted by Langton
Associates was very good. In the last five years, the firm has acquired over $120 million in grant
funding for its clients. It was obvious that they had knowledge of some of the needs of the City.
The fact that they are headquartered in Jacksonville, fourteen miles from us, is an added bonus.
As outlined in the proposal, there are two fee options: Option A is a pay-as-you-go approach,
which was a little difficult to understand, but averages out at about $8000 per grant, with
additional services offered as add-ons. Option B is an annual retainer and is for $36,000 per
year and includes all of the services outlined, for a total of four grants. A fifth grant would be
an additional $6,000, as would a sixth grant, but the annual fee would be capped at $48,000,
regardless of the number of grants over 6. Both options are negotiable.
2. Fred Fox Enterprises, Inc., 26 Spanish St., St. Augustine, FL 32084 (904) 810-5183
This was also a quality proposal. This company has been in business for 30 years and states
that approximately 90% of the applications prepared by them receive funding. In the last five
years, the firm has been responsible for having been awarded the following in the State of
Florida:
48 Small Cities Community Development Block Grants
5 Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grants
13 Florida Department of Agriculture Energy Grants
6 Disaster Recovery Initiative Grants
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ACENDA ITEM #SA
SE HEMJJER 8, 2014
The fee proposed by this firm is 3-5% of the grant amount being requested, contingent on the
application receiving an offer of award from the funding agency .
3. Guardian Community Re so urce Management, Inc., 930 Marcum Road, Suite 3, Lake land,
FL33809(863)937-9035
This proposal contained grammatica l mistakes that gave me pause, especia lly considering the
service they would be providing on our behalf. Th e fee structure was also not clear to me.
They were established in 2005 and, according to them, have successfully overseen and
comp leted 270 federal and state grant projects, resu lting in over $700 million doll ars offunding
for l ocal comm unity improvement projects for housing, infra structure, revitalization and j ob
creation.
All r esea r ch and documentation done in identifying the City's needs and in determining
potential grant fund in g so urce s will be charged on an hourly rate, with a predetermined cap.
The cost re lated to drafting indi vidual grant applications will be charged on a flat fee basis,
payable upon deliverables (deliverab les isn 't defined, so I don't know if that is a grant
su bmission or award).
RECOMMENDATION: The Commission should first determine if we want to go down this road.
It is the position of staff that we have this covered in-house. If the dec is ion is to proceed, the
n ext step would be to determine the grant writing needs of the City and then determine which
of the various delivery methods best meets those need s. The City Manager and City Attorney
should then be directed to negotiate a co ntra ct with Langton Associates, In c. in line with the
delivery method that is determ in ed to be the best for the City. If those negotiations are
unsuccessful, it is recommended that they attempt to negotiate with Fred Fox Enterprises, Inc.
I wou ld not recommend using Guard i an.
ATTACHMENTS:
BUDGET :
Proposals from all three candidates are availab l e in el ectronic form by
clickin g here.
None.
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER: __ :/7____,__._~_c_-_ __;;;;;{~'----__...;:_--=-----
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