The City of Chicopee, through this Request for Proposals (RFP) invites proposals from nonprofit agencies for the use of Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for capital improvements to facilities that serve eligible CDBG clientele, including low – and moderate – income (LMI) and limited clientele (LMC) households. CDBG regulations stipulate that the facility must be open to the public free of charge during normal hours of operation. Funds awarded through this competition must be used for rehabilitation of or improvements to an existing facility for the purpose of preserving or expanding existing service capacity. The City of Chicopee is seeking applications for projects that can be completed by June 30, 2017. While the City anticipates that individual awards will not exceed $25,000 per project, the City reserves the right to award more on a case by case basis.

The proposed facility must be located with the City of Chicopee and serve Chicopee residents. Funding will be available for capital improvement for non-profit agencies which own, or are currently in a long term lease for the building they are proposing for rehabilitation or improvement. The proposed project should increase or prevent the loss of service capacity. Increased or preserved service capacity may be demonstrated based on the number of clients served, the extent, relevance or quality of the services provided.

Projects will be selected based on agency capacity and experience, impact of proposed rehabilitation/facility improvements on the services provided, readiness to proceed, and financial feasibility. Applications will be accepted and awards made on a rolling basis. Agencies are encouraged to apply only when they are sufficiently ready to proceed.

Proposals must include information regarding the agency, proposed project description and its impact, accurate rehabilitation proposals, and other issues outlined in the RFP. This RFP is an open, competitive process to award available resources; submission of a proposal does not guarantee funding. All applicants must be in good standing with the federal agencies, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Chicopee.