United Way of Miami-Dade

United Way of Miami-Dade

Health: Request for Proposal Description

Focus: Healthy Lifestyles

Supporting a culture of health and wellness for students in grades Pre-K to 8.

United Way’s Health Impact Area

Within the Health impact area, United Way of Miami-Dade (UWMD) seeks to engage people and partners as an integral part of community health and wellness solutions. A holistic view of health and wellness is reflected in UWMD interests that encompass physical, emotional and mental wellbeing at every age. Working collectively with others, United Way efforts are focused on three key areas: improving access to care, promoting healthy lifestyles, and ensuring healthy older adults. United Way deploys an array of assets and approaches to achieve impact in these areas; one of those assets is program funding.

Purpose of this RFP

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is in the area of Health. It is intended to enhance United Way’s current and developing portfolio of Healthy Lifestyles grant investments that improve children’s overall health by promoting healthy eating and physical activity.With this RFP, UWMD seeks to cultivate and/or enhance a “culture of health and wellness” within one or more local public schools that is realized through the well-coordinated, collective efforts of multiple school and community stakeholders. The target population is children in grades Pre-K through 8th grade, and efforts may also reach their parents. The estimated total amount to be awarded is $200,000 across two years ($100,000 per year). The anticipated number of awards is one to three. Funding will commence January 1, 2017 and services will begin immediately. Funding will conclude at the end of December 2018.

UWMD will consider proposals submitted by a single “lead entity” (representing a group of partners working with a single school). Proposals should reflect the following approaches:

Synergy across multiple programs, services, and initiatives in and around an individual school that influence health and wellness including, but not necessarily limited to, those that promote healthy eating and physical activity.
Collaborative leadership among partnering entities that includes, but is not limited to, involvement and commitment from the school’s leadership.
Common vision, goals, agenda, and metrics (including, but not necessarily limited to, ways to measure improvements in healthy eating and physical activity)
Mutually beneficial activities and outcomes
Fit and integration with the school’s overall environment
Leveraging and building upon current school and community assets (within the school and surrounding community)

Program Criteria:

Eligible applicants will promote a healthy lifestyle by partnering with an elementary, middle or K-8 school in Miami-Dade County. Programs may take place before, during, or after school. While program activities may take place within a school and/or surrounding areas, all activities must support the culture of health and wellness in the school among the targeted students. Applicants will be provided with a list of recommended school sites. Proposals must align with Project Scope (attached).Outcomes are sought in one of the three following areas (and the strongest applications will directly address all areas and/or work in concert with similar, existing programs to ensure that children benefit from exposure to all three):

a) Healthy eating: Example activities include those focused on education about nutritional labels, integrating fruits and vegetables into diet, healthy cooking demonstrations, targeted nutrition management for at risk children, and evidence-based programs that focus on healthy eating habits (and applicants may propose others).

b) Physical activity: Example activities include those focused on group sports activities, walking groups, strength training exercises, dance, aerobics, and evidence-based programs that focus on increasing physical activities (and applicants may propose others).

c) Change in School Environment. Examples include changes in the physical environment, policy, culture, etc.

RFP Timeline:

•RFP released – July 22, 2016 at 5 p.m.(est.)

•MandatoryApplication trainings, UWMD, 3250 SW Third Avenue, Miami, Florida.

RSVP to .

July 27, 2016 from 2:00-4:00p.m.
August 3, 2016 from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

•Applications due – September 15, 2016 at 5 p.m.

•Applications screened for alignment – September 16-20, 2016

•Finalists notified – Week of October 10, 2016

•Site Visits & Presentations (Finalists only) – October 17-21, 2016

•Partner Planning Session- November- December 2016

•Grantees notified –December 2016

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for funding, applicants must:

Be a for-profit or not-for-profit organization, governmental entity, or faith-based organization providing services within Miami-Dade County.
Have an active voluntary board (requirement for not-for-profit organizations only)
Conduct an independent annual financial audit
Proposal must align with project scope (see Attachment)
Eligible applicants must remain qualified to conduct business in the state of Florida for the duration of the service award.

Note to Applicants:

Organizations will be required to complete formal agreements with Miami-Dade Public Schools should they be selected for funding (i.e. standard agreements for any organization working within a school).

Finalist will be required to coordinate with United Way of MiamiDade to schedule one to two site-visits and/or live presentations as part of the application process. If selected, lead applicants will coordinate with United Way to co-convene their collaborating partners for a project launch meeting.

Application Submission Instructions

All applicants must submit the following via email by 5pm on September 15, 2016to with subject line: HEALTH/Cornerstone – [Agency Name]. All forms are available online:
Application (MS Word document)
Budgets (Excel document; two separate tabs are included for the program budget and the agency budget)
Logic Model and Measurement Framework (MS Word document)
Letter of Commitment for each Key Partner listed
Memorandum of Understanding – MDCPS (MS Word document). Note: Submit this form with the signature of “Agency” (Lead Applicant) and “Principal” (school Principal) only; as all other signatures will be handled later by MDCPS staff).

Only if the applicant agency is not currently contracted as a United Way Impact Partner, the submission must also include (as listed in the application form):
Most recent financial audit conducted by an independent auditor (no earlier than 2015)
Management letter and response
Non-discrimination policy

Not-for-profit organizations additional requirements:

501(c)3 IRS tax exempt letter
IRS form 990
Board list
Agency internal control questionnaire (this form is available online)

If there are documents that cannot be emailed, they must be mailed or hand delivered by September 15, 2016 to United Way of Miami-Dade, ATTENTION: Ana (Yani) Palacios, 3250 SW Third Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129.

To assist in completion of the application, the following tools/guides are also available online: RFP Description and Project Scope, List of Recommended School Sites, Logic Model and Measurement Framework Guide, and Screening Tool.

Contact: Cristina Brito (305)646-7075,

Project Scope: Healthy Lifestyles (Attachment)

Supporting a culture of health and wellness for students in grades Pre-K to 8.

Below are examples of activities, outcomes and indicators. Applicants are invited to include others according to the design of their project.

Focus Area / Description / Outcomes / Sample Indicators
Healthy Eating / Example:

educational programs that focus on reading nutrition labels
integrating fruits and vegetables into diet
healthy cooking demonstrations,
targeted nutrition management for at-risk children
evidence-based programs that focus on healthy eating habits

/ Outcomes must address:

Increased knowledge of healthy food choices
Improved positive attitude towards healthy food choices and variety
Improved healthy eating habits

/ Example:

(x)/% of clients reporting increased knowledge of healthy foods
(x)/% of clients reporting improved positive attitude towards healthy food choices and variety
(x)/% of parents reporting improved attitudes towards healthy foods at home
(x) /% increase of children consuming five fruits/vegetable a day
(x)/% increase of clients consuming home cooked meals

Physical Activity / Example:

group sports activities
walking/running groups
strength training exercises
dance
aerobics
evidence-based programs that focus on increasing physical activities

/ Outcomes must demonstrate:

Increased physical activity
Increased knowledge of physical activities

/ Example:

(x)/% of clients that increase knowledge of physical activities
(x) /% increase of children participating in some kind of physical activity at least one hour a day
(x)/ % of children increasing physical activity level by 30 minutes a day
(x)/% of children participating in physical activity on non-school days
(x)/% of clients that improve fitness test scores

Change in School Environment / Example:

enhance school gym with new innovation equipment with programming
edible school gardens with curriculum

/ Example of outcomes:

Increased knowledge of healthy food choices
Improved healthy eating habits
Increased physical activity
Increased knowledge of physical activities

/ Example:

(x) /% increase of children participating in some kind of physical activity at least one hour a day
x)/% of clients reporting increased knowledge of healthy foods
(x) /% increase of children consuming five fruits/vegetable a day
(x)/% of clients that improve fitness test scores

Other