Family Crisis Fund (FCF) Grant 

• Connecting residents experiencing financial hardship with emergency financial assistance through a network of trained referral partners; 

• Reviewing applications and making eligibility determinations in accordance with the organization's own program policies, which should be consistent with the program guidelines provided in Attachment B; 

• Distributing approved payments directly to creditors on behalf of eligible residents in a timely manner, with a goal of processing approved payments within seven (7) business days of a completed application; 

• Maintaining complete records for each assisted household and ensuring no duplication of assistance; 

• Tracking and reporting on fund distribution, recipient demographics, and program impact to support the City's understanding of community need. 

Social Needs Navigation  

• Providing one-on-one navigation assistance to connect Richmond residents with health, human services, and social resources, including awareness of programs such as the Family Crisis Fund and Eviction Diversion Fund, with a goal of responding to navigation requests within 72 hours; 

• Operating an online resource platform that supports residents in self-identifying available programs and services, maintained and updated by the organization; 

• Making electronic referrals and facilitating warm handoffs to appropriate service providers, with the organization's own approach to tracking successful connections; 

• Serving as a referral partner for residents seeking FCF assistance who are not connected to another referral partner, supporting eligible residents through intake and application; 

• Tracking and reporting on navigation activity, resource gaps, high-need neighborhoods, and demand surges to support the City's understanding of community need. 

Combined Fund Administrator and Social Needs Navigation  

Applicants must be nonprofits authorized to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Virginia and be in good standing with the City of Richmond.  

Applicants must be in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations, and have no outstanding violations, taxes, or penalties. 

Applicants must have a well-developed organizational structure and a currently active Board of Directors. 

Applicants must disclose any lawsuits to which they have been a party in the past three years, as well as any lawsuits and investigations, criminal or otherwise, relating to the financial or business practices of the organization that are pending at the time of application. 

Applicants must provide all application elements and attachments listed below: 

• Federal tax-exempt certification 

• Most recent IRS Form 990 (Must be a complete 990. Form 990-N will not be accepted) 

• Current year operating budget 

• Prior fiscal year audit and/or financial statement 

• Clearly describe mission, history, and relevant experience implementing the same or similar initiatives in Richmond; 

• Provide quantitative and qualitative evidence of past program success; and 

• Demonstrate organizational readiness to administer emergency financial assistance at scale and/or social needs navigation services. 

• Application intake and review process (timeline from receipt to decision to processing); 

• Verification and payment processing procedures and systems; and 

• Review of current eligibility and program guidelines (Attachment B): Are there any criteria you would propose changing? If so, which criteria and why? Provide rationale for any proposed modifications. 

• Staffing plan, including brief description of dedicated staff roles and time commitments; and 

• Technology platform/system of record that will be used for tracking applications, payments, and reporting 

• Proposed volume and capacity limits for proposed process; and 

• Plan for handling unexpected increases in application volume. 

• If applicable, proposed capacity and strategy for making electronic referrals and warm handoffs to partner services for clients needing additional support beyond emergency financial assistance 

• One-on-one navigation service delivery model and workflow; and 

• Online resource platform approach and maintenance plan. 

• Staffing plan for navigators, including but not limited to roles, caseloads, and qualifications; and 

• Technology platform/system of record for tracking navigation interactions, referrals, and platform usage. 

• Proposed volume of inquiries managed per week and capacity to handle anticipated demand; 

• Average response time for initial inquiries and protocols for timely follow-up; and 

• Plan for handling unexpected increases in inquiry volume, including surge capacity protocols and scalability approach. 

• Strategy for electronic referrals and warm handoffs to service providers; and 

• Closed-loop referral tracking to ensure successful connections. 

• Identify meaningful performance metrics and quarterly targets for navigator and platform effectiveness 

• Describe data collection and reporting approach (qualitative and quantitative) 

• Provide a realistic and detailed implementation timeline in the format of your choosing with key milestones 

• Budget is complete and uses at least the level of detail in the provided template; 

• Narrative describes costs by category, identifying grant-funded vs. other sources; 

• Each line item includes a justification of programmatic relevance; and 

• Overall budget reflects a cost-effective approach relative to proposed navigator staffing and platform. 

• Ability to fully address each item listed; 

• Leverage of existing systems, resources, and best practices; 

• Attention to detail; and 

• Innovation and efficiency.