Supporting Frontline Workers Fund

Application Window Closed

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Deadline for Submission: October 27, 2021 

Social Venture Partners Los Angeles (SVPLA) is pleased to share this Request for Proposal (RFP) to support workers on the frontlines of the homeless response sector. The Supporting Frontline Workers Fund will distribute up to $1M in one-time funds for immediate financial support to employees who provided daily, direct, in-person services to people experiencing homelessness throughout the pandemic. 

Now more than ever, workers across the homeless response sector are experiencing high levels of anxiety, burnout, and fatigue. Many U.S. workers have cited burnout as the number one reason they are considering quitting their job and leaving their industry. SVPLA is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of frontline workers who have put their lives on the line to provide essential services to our most vulnerable neighbors during COVID-19. We are grateful to Cedars-Sinai for making this Fund possible. 

FUNDING OVERVIEW

Social Venture Partners Los Angeles (SVPLA) will distribute a total of $1M to non-profit and community-based organizations who deliver direct services to people experiencing homelessness. The funds will be used to provide stipends between $500–$1,500 to frontline workers across select Service Planning Areas (SPAs) in L.A. County. These funds prioritize frontline workers who provided daily, direct, and in-person services during the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as street outreach, working in congregate living facilities or shelters, and Project Roomkey sites. We welcome and encourage applications from small, BIPOC-led organizations and those led by individuals with lived experience. 

Organizations must distribute the funds using the following parameters:

  1. Funds may only be used to provide direct cash or cash equivalent to staff members who provided daily, direct, and in-person services to people experiencing homelessness throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically between March 2020 and March 2021. 

  2. Funds must be given directly to frontline workers who make less than $65,000 annually. 

  3. Stipends must be a minimum of $500 and maximum of $1,500 and must be distributed directly and not based on a reimbursement model.

  4. Funds will be granted in December 2021 and must be distributed by June 2022.

  5. Organizations can request up to 15% in administrative overhead. 

FUNDING ELIGIBILITY

501c3 organizations or fiscally sponsored organizations who: 

  • Have employees who provided daily, direct, and in-person services to people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. outreach workers, interim housing staff, Project Roomkey staff) between March 2020 - March 2021; 

AND

  • Have physical sites located in Service Planning Areas 2 (San Fernando Valley), 4 (Metro LA), 5 (West LA), 6 (South LA), or 8 (South Bay/Harbor) – view map;

AND

  • Are actively engaged in the exploration of pay equity and providing a living wage for their frontline workers, e.g. salary and wage analysis, setting a minimum living wage, worker survey, or convening discussions on the leadership level. We understand not all organizations will have the same capacity to engage in such activities. Organizations will have an opportunity in the application to describe the activities you have engaged in to address pay equity and a living wage.  

TIMELINE

  • SEPT 16, 2021 - RFP launch

  • OCT 27, 2021 - Application submission deadline

  • DEC 6, 2021 - Awardees notified

  • DEC 6–17, 2021 - Contract execution

  • JUNE 2022 - Funds distributed to frontline worker staff

  • AUGUST 2022 - Final reporting due

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