Request for Proposal: Consultant to Support Our Board of Directors

Summary

This request for proposal (RFP) is seeking proposals from qualified consultants with experience working with non-profit organizations within the St. Louis region to support Empower Missouri’s Board of Directors with board development to include revising board infrastructure to improve board engagement, setting board goals within the framework of the organization’s strategic plan and determining training needs to draft a training plan for board members. Empower Missouri’s Board of Directors are seeking to create better structures and systems to improve the effectiveness of board operations and oversight. Additional areas of need may be included and justified in the proposer’s proposal.

The Board of Directors presently operates several committees and sets goals annually for the Board, however meeting the board goals and establishing strong committees has proven to be a challenge for several years recently as a result of a major shift in the organization that led to a brand new board and new Executive Director within the same year. While we have worked diligently to recruit board members and maintain a full board roster, we have also noted challenges with maintaining engagement and retention of board members which we believe is related to a need for improved infrastructure for the board to operate successfully. Board members also acknowledge we would like to be more strategic about out training efforts and align them to our board goals while also simultaneously designing an onboarding process that will include an selection of training experiences to yield positive participation from new board members during their first year.

Finally, as we seek to build the right infrastructure, determine goals, and create a training plan for board members, we are also in the process of revising the role of the Executive Director to better align with the expansion of staff the organization has experienced over the past three years.
The consultant will work with primarily the Executive Committee during this process to accomplish the work outlined within the proposal . The consultant should have significant experience with board development and effective structures and systems for nonprofit boards. They should also be comfortable with serving in a coaching capacity to provide feedback and oversight as needed to the members of the Executive Committee which could include ongoing check-in’s on a regular basis.

General Information

About Empower Missouri

Vision: We envision a Missouri in which all people have food, shelter, and justice.

Mission: Empower Missouri works to secure basic human needs and equal justice for every person in our state through coalition-building and advocacy.

Values:

• Adequate nutrition, affordable housing, and equal justice are essential for Missouri’s success.
• All structural oppressions are recognized, challenged, and dismantled.
• Evidence-based public policy is foundational for those who govern.
• The lawmaking process is truly accessible to all in our state.

Empower Missouri is the offspring of a social movement that began in the late 19th century. More than one hundred years ago, Missouri was a segregated state. St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the United States.

A lynching occurred in Richmond, Missouri in March of that year. Women couldn’t vote; many died in large numbers in childbirth. Those that could work were segregated in the workplace doing “women’s work.” Children worked long hours in dangerous conditions or wandered the streets. Some were imprisoned in adult jails for delinquency. Men died in horrible industrial accidents. The life expectancy age was 46.

Because of these poor conditions, in 1901, a group of 41 Missourians came together to empower themselves to address these social ills. Empower Missouri was born. Empower Missouri’s first name was the Missouri Conference on Charities and Corrections modeled after a national organization.
The first official meeting of the group of social reformers was in January 1901 at the YMCA in St. Louis. For the first decade, the organization was a meeting ground for progressive Missourians. They met at an annual conference, read papers on social issues and networked.

One decade later in 1911, more aggressive leadership emerged at the organization. Robert Baldwin, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, headed the conference’s first legislative committee and moved the organization into a more activist role. He became involved in the pilot Mother’s Pension Program in Jackson County, the forerunner of the nation’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program created in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act.

Three years after Mr. Baldwin began his leadership at the organization, he was the one the first to issue a
report about the status and conditions of “Negroes.” These reports and the horrible social conditions of people across the United States inspired the Missouri Conference on Charities and Corrections to change its name to the Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, signaling a more global view of social problems and solutions.

In 1915, the Missouri Conference for Social Welfare leaders worked hard to establish a Children’s Bureau and served on a “Children’s Code Commission.” Thirty child welfare bills were passed over a 20-year-period that established the foundation of Missouri Child Services.

In the early 20th century, to communicate more effectively, the Missouri Conference for Social Welfare created the legislative bulletin to inform people about what was happening in the state legislature. In 1933, the Missouri Conference for Social Welfare changed its name for the third time to the Missouri Association for Social Welfare (MASW) because the organization had become much more than a conference. After the turn of the century, MASW changed its name for the fourth and final time to Empower Missouri. The new name “Empower Missouri” was chosen, driven by the brand position of “Mobilizing for Social Justice”.

For more than 120 years, Empower Missouri has been a voice for the voiceless in Missouri, whether fighting for civil and voting rights, or for Missouri’s homeless and uninsured. Empower Missouri is one the oldest organizations of its kind in the nation. It is a nonprofit and nonpartisan. Our objectives are the improvement and extension of health and affordable essential services for the people of Missouri.
Among many of Empower Missouri’s achievements over its 120-year history are: the creation of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the establishment of a Public Defender System, the Children’s Hunger Relief Act and many others.

Empower Missouri has invested leadership in public social policy change for more than a century and has
achieved some remarkable successes. Change in social policy results from the actions of a coalition of citizens and policy makers. Policy changes would not have occurred when they did without our significant involvement in more than century.

Empower Missouri Operates Three Core Coalitions:

1. Affordable Housing Coalition – The Affordable Housing Coalition (AHC) focuses on the question,
   ‘What will it take for every person in Missouri to have access to safe and affordable housing?’ We are a multi-sector team of dedicated advocates who understand the importance of stable housing on health, community, safety, and more. We support regional housing work as appropriate and expand that energy to the state and federal level, building momentum to address the housing shortage crisis at an appropriate level. We are driven to make sure every person in our state has access to safe and affordable housing. Our coalition focuses on those who are most vulnerable, especially those who earn less than 50% of their AMI (Area Median Income) or who rent. The AHC meets once monthly (twice during the legislative session) via Zoom. It is staffed by Vee Sanchez and Misha Smith. Use the form below to let us know that you’re interested in joining.
   
2. Community Justice Coalition – The CJC works to elevate specific policy reforms that can put us on
   the road to ending mass incarceration and the endless cycle of formerly incarcerated people living in poverty. Our current approach isn’t working. Missouri’s mass incarceration rates devastate families and communities, depress local economies, and do not improve public safety. Coalition members share stories and data from their own work and experiences with the criminal justice system to build a collective understanding of current obstacles facing criminal justice reform. The coalition educates the community about the ways our current system is failing us while collaboratively developing & advocating for significant policy reforms with the state legislature. It is staffed by our Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Gwen Smith-Moore.
   
3. Food Security Coalition – Ending food insecurity in Missouri requires private as well as public support. Private charities can and do play a role in addressing hunger in our communities, but they cannot do it alone. Our government should ensure every person in our country has enough resources to be able to access enough healthy food to support their bodies. There needs to be comprehensive policy and programmatic strategies at the governmental level to fully address the need. Empower Missouri recommends these long-term proposals to address hunger in Missouri:
   • Streamline nutrition program implementation for the state and non-profit partners and streamline access to nutrition programs for families.
   • Increase outreach and education about the benefits of WIC, with increased participation in the program as the ultimate goal.
   • Expand access to affordable and nutritious food in rural areas by addressing food deserts.
   • Address, through policy changes, barriers for seniors and people with disabilities with accessing nutrition programs.

It is staffed by Christine Woody. The work of the Food Security Coalition is partially funded by a grant from the Food Research and Action Center. The Food Security Coalition also works with many other national partners including: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Bread for the World, Coalition on Human Needs.

Strategic Plan FY 2025-2027.

Click here to access the most recent version of the organization’s strategic plan.

Learn more about Empower Missouri at https://empowermissouri.org/ .

Current State:
Important details regarding the current state of Empower Missouri to consider:

• 16 member board, currently recruiting to fill 3 seats.
• 3 board committees – Governance Committee, Resource Development Committee, and Finance Committee.
• Seeking to establish an Executive Committee to provide strategic leadership and guidance for board activities and responsibilities.
• Staff has tripled over the course of the past two years which requires redefining the role of the Executive Director within the context of the additional capacity the staff expansion has added.
• Board of Directors is rebuilding after resignations of most of the Board members and the Executive Director within months of each other in 2020.
• Board goals have been written but may not be the right priorities for the board at this time.
• Committees meet 4 or more times per year. The Board of Directors meets every other month with an annual retreat in the spring.
• Organization operates virtually as staff and Board members are located across the entire state of Missouri.

The board is looking to begin working with a consultancy firm to achieve the objectives included in this proposal starting in July 2025 and continuing throughout the FY26 as needed.

RFP Guidelines

Who May Respond:
Consulting firms with experience working with non-profit organizations within the state of Missouri, St. Louis area preferred, with a special focus on board development.

Instructions on Proposal Submission:

1. Closing submission date: Proposals must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm CT on Friday, June 6,
   2025.
2. Submission Instructions: All proposals must be submitted via email to [email protected] and
   [email protected] with subject line “RFP Submission from (insert name of consulting firm).
3. Inquiries: Inquiries concerning the RFP should be directed to, Empower Missouri’s Board Chair, Dr.
   Tiffany Patton at [email protected] or 314-299-1754.
4. Conditions of proposal: All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this RFP will be
   the responsibility of the proposer and will not be reimbursed by Empower Missouri.
5. Presentations: At the discretion of Empower Missouri, proposers submitting proposals may be
   requested to make virtual presentations as part of the evaluation process. Presentations may be
   delivered in person or virtually. Reasonable advance notice will be provided to selected proposers. Not
   all proposers submitting a proposal will be asked to participate in the presentations.
6. Notification of Award: It is expected that a decision about the selection of the proposer will be made
   within 2 weeks of the closing date for the receipt of proposals (see RFP Schedule below for details).

Specification Schedule

Pricing:
The proposer’s proposed price for services should be itemized and include a not-to-exceed total fee. Any out-of-pocket expenses should also be indicated, including travel expenses.

Payment:
Payment terms will be agreed upon with the proposer.

Confidentiality:
The proposer agrees to keep the information related to all contracts in strict confidence. Other than the reports submitted to Empower Missouri, the proposer agrees not to publish, reproduce or otherwise divulge such information in whole or in part, in any manner or form, or authorize or permit others to do so, taking such reasonable measures as are necessary to restrict access to the information, while in the Proposer’s possession, to those employees on the Proposer’s staff who must have the information on a “need to know” basis. The Proposer agrees to immediately notify, in writing, Empower Missouri’s’ authorized representative, the Board Chair in the event the Proposer determines or has reason to suspect a breach of this requirement.

Technical Qualifications

The proposer, in its proposal, shall, as a minimum, include the following:

Understanding Our Needs

• The proposer should describe the current challenges and opportunities specific to our organization.
• Describe how your firm is best suited to assist our organization in facing those challenges and opportunities moving forward.

Understanding the Scope of Work

The proposer should clearly describe the scope of work to be performed in alignment with this RFP. The successful proposer in this RFP process will accomplish the following, in addition to other inclusions identified throughout the RFP. These include:

• Develop a comprehensive timeline with all project components and due dates. This project should be completed no later than June 2026 unless a different date is agreed upon by the proposer and Empower Missouri
• Facilitate a process to create and revise board goals for the FY26 annual plan that are aligned to the organizations strategic plan.
• Perform an analysis of the current board structures and systems to determine ideal goals, infrastructure, and training needs. Develop a Set of Recommendations using the information gathered during this process to address the boards needs.
• Establish the function and operation of the Executive Committee to guide the inner workings of the Board of Directors.
• Prepare the board to engage in strategic decision making around goals.
• Reflect the need to increase board engagement, management of the organization, and build an effective infrastructure for board operations.
• Include a process for Empower Missouri’s Board of Directors to annually review and evaluate goals and develop new strategies based on the evaluation.
• Assist the Board of Directors with reimagining the duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director in light of a significant increase in staff to include the Board defining how the Executive Director role supports Board operation and development.
• Establish a method for evaluating progress and reporting on outcomes.

Understanding Our Industry

• The proposer should describe its understanding of our industry by providing specific industry knowledge and expertise, as well as references from past or current clients.
• Prior experience and results working with similar organizations on similar projects.
• Prior experience providing additional services to organizations similar to Empower Missouri.
• Customer Satisfaction: One reference is required, but two references are recommended. Additional client testimonials or ratings are also welcome if available.

The proposer should briefly describe the qualifications of staff to be assigned to the engagement. Descriptions should include:

• Consulting team makeup.
• Prior experience of the individual team members. Organization, Size and Structure

The proposer should describe its organization, size (in relation to work to be performed) and structure. Description should include:

• Size of the proposer, including number of employees.
• Industry specialization.

Approach to the Engagement

The proposer should describe its approach to the work to be performed.

Proposal Evaluation

A. Submission of proposals

Proposals should be submitted to Dr. Tiffany Patton at [email protected] and Mallory Rusch at [email protected] .

Nonresponsive Proposals

Proposals may be judged nonresponsive and removed from further consideration if any of the following occur:

• The proposal is not received in a timely manner in accordance with the terms of this RFP.
• The proposal is not adequate to form a judgment by the reviewers that the proposed undertaking would comply with requested work.

Proposal Evaluation

Evaluation of each proposal will be scored on the following six factors:

• Understanding our needs
• Understanding our industry
• Organization size and structure of proposer’s firm
• Qualifications of proposer’s project team
• Proposer’s approach to the engagement
• Price

Review Process
Empower Missouri intends to select the proposal that is most advantageous to itself. The responses to this RFP will be evaluated by the Board of Directors. Empower Missouri may, at its discretion, request presentations by or meetings with any, all or none of the proposers to clarify or negotiate modifications to the proposers’ proposals.
However, Empower Missouri reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposals submitted. Therefore, proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms, from both technical and price standpoints, that the proposer can propose.

Empower Missouri contemplates award of the contract to the responsible proposer with the highest total points.

RFP Schedule