December 5, 2022, The Southland Development Authority (SDA) is conducting a Request for Proposal to identify a technical assistance partner that can assist our small business clients prepare and file their 2022 tax return or create 2022 financial statements. This RFP is a one-year contract with two one-year options to renew.

BACKGROUND

SDA is a not-for-profit organization started in November 2019. Its mission is to grow the economy of south suburban Cook County (the “Southland”). It offers a wide range of development resources and services to drive catalytic growth. One of these services is its Business Growth Services program (BGS) which provides technical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses to help them grow. A focus area of BGS’ technical assistance is “financial readiness.” We want to facilitate our clients’ ability to access capital. We have identified the lack of up-to-date financial documents, such as financial statements or filed tax returns, as obstacles to accessing capital. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

SDA would like to identify a technical assistance partner who can assist in the design, development, and execution of a program to help our clients prepare and file their 2022 tax returns. We will use a hybrid model for this service – on-site in-person help (e.g., in-office and communities) and virtually throughout the tax season.  

QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful bidder must have demonstrable core competencies in the following areas:

• Tax Services
• Advisory Services
• Program Management and Project Management
• Training 

Other Criteria include: 

• Capacity to service 100+ clients during the 2023 tax season
• Bilingual capability (Spanish/English)
• Experience working with small businesses 
• Must have a local presence
• Knowledge of Southland areas is a plus
• Cook County or City of Chicago MBE/WBE/DBE certification is a plus

CRITERIA FOR REVIEW:

• Company qualification and experience (50%)
• Workload capacity (20%)
• Local presence (15%)
• Experience working with small businesses (5%)
• Bi-lingual (5%)
• Business certifications  (5%)

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS:

Please submit a digital copy of your qualifications and your team’s by 5 PM, Friday, December 16, 2022. In addition, you may submit questions related to this RFP by email to Marcia Delaney, Vice President, Client Services (marcia.delaney@southlanddevelopment.org). We must receive your questions by 10 AM CST on Monday, December 12, 2022.

ALL SUBMITTALS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1. 1. Company Profile - including the name, address, email, and telephone number of your company’s primary contact for this RFP. 
   2. Bios or Resumes – for each individual who will participate in delivering the program
   3. Statement of qualifications – including a sentence or two on what makes you uniquely qualified for this project
   4. Project Proposal – Please provide a general statement or broad outline of your ideas to design and deliver this program

Thank you for considering this opportunity.