(updated 8/06/2026)

A recording of the RFP webinar held on July 29, 2026 can be found here.
The slide deck from the RFP webinar can be found here.
The Questions & Answers can be found here.

The Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (“PACDC”) is pleased to issue this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to Qualified Community Development Corporations (“QCDCs”) seeking general operating support funding.

Funding through this program will support a range of QCDC operational needs. The program is designed to balance resource accessibility and effective reporting requirements that demonstrate the impact of these funds for QCDCs.

Funding Available

The program is funded with $3,230,000 in Fiscal Year 2026 funds from the City of Philadelphia through the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (“PAID”). We anticipate awarding ~43 grants of $75,000 each through this RFP. Award amounts may vary based on the financial or other circumstances of a recipient organization (e.g., for organizations with a total annual operating budget of less than $225,000, the award amount may be pro-rated to an amount of no more than 33% of the organization’s annual operating budget).

Timeline

The timeline for this pilot program will be as follows:

Request for Proposals Posted	7/16/26
Virtual Briefing Session (slide deck)	7/29/26
Written Questions Due to PACDC	8/3/26
Responses to Questions Posted	8/10/26
RFP Deadline for Submission	8/20/26 by 5pm EST
Anticipated Notice of Awards Issued to Selected QCDCs & Contract Start Date	Late October 2026
Anticipated Initial Grant Payment	Early November 2026
Anticipated Mid-Year Report Due	4/30/27
Anticipated 2nd Grant Payment	Early May 2027
Anticipated Contract End Date	10/31/27
Anticipated Final Report Due	11/30/27

Program Overview
Eligibility Requirements:

1. Eligibility as a Qualifying Community Development Corporation (QCDC) for this program is limited to organizations that meet all of the following requirements:
2. 501(c)(3) Status. Applicants must be a nonprofit organization with a valid 501(c)(3) determination from the Internal Revenue Service showing a current tax-exempt designation under the provisions of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
3. Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation. Applicant must be duly organized and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a nonprofit corporation;
4. Community Development Experience. Applicants must demonstrate a history of place-based community development program activities conducted within a defined service area of a specific neighborhood or set of neighborhoods within the City of Philadelphia. Citywide entities without any primary area(s) of focus will not be eligible. Active engagement includes the development and facilitation of affordable housing or economic development projects and related community development activities in the City of Philadelphia;
5. Record of Success. Applicants must demonstrate a track record of engaging in activities that met anticipated outcomes of increasing affordable housing or economic development opportunities. These opportunities may include retaining, growing, or attracting businesses to the City of Philadelphia and/or retaining or creating permanent jobs in an identified neighborhood within the City of Philadelphia.
6. Personnel. Applicants must demonstrate they have at least one (1) paid staff person employed at the time of their application;
7. City of Philadelphia Compliance. Applicants must demonstrate they are currently in full compliance with all applicable City laws, ordinances, and resolutions of the City of Philadelphia that pertain to the valid operation of a QCDC.
8. The organization must conduct place-based work
9. Organization primarily identifies and markets itself as Community Development Corporation or Business Improvement District that is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, and NOT a Business Improvement District that is not 501(c)(3), Community Development Financial Institution, Education, Arts or Healthcare Organization, Intermediary Organization, For-Profit Business, Neighborhood Association or RCO (as primary organizational identity).
   

Award amount:

PACDC anticipates making grant awards of $75,000 per selected QCDC. Award amounts may vary based on the financial or other circumstances of a recipient organization (e.g., for organizations with a total annual operating budget of less than $225,000, the award amount may be pro-rated to an amount of no more than 33% of the organization’s annual operating budget).

Eligible and Ineligible Uses of Grant Funds:

Eligible Uses – Funds may be used to cover the general operations of a QCDC during the grant term. Funds may be used for the following activities; this list is illustrative and not exhaustive as to the permitted uses.

Eligible expenses may include:
General operating expenses—salaries, rent, utilities, and other administrative expenses of the QCDC;

Capacity building—funds may be utilized to strengthen the operations of a QCDC including investments to procure and update technology systems or training of employees;

Programmatic costs—funds may assist in financing gaps in community development programming of the QCDC;

Capital expenditures—funding may be used to assist with office maintenance or repair expenses or development of a community garden at program location.

Ineligible Uses – Funds may not be used for any of the following activities:

Funding of a political event, campaign, donation, or lobbying on behalf of the QCDC;

Expenses of personal travel, entertainment, social activities, gifts, or alcohol purchases by QCDC employees, volunteers, directors, or contractors;

Payment of fines and penalties issued to the QCDC;

Payment of bonuses or commissions to the QCDC employees, volunteers, directors, or contractors; and/or

Expenses related to religious activities or proselytizing by the QCDC and its employees, volunteers, directors, or contractors.

Grant Priorities

The Scoring Rubric used by the Grant Review Committee can be found here.

RFP Briefing

A virtual briefing was held on Wednesday, July 29^th at 1:00 pm via Zoom to review the RFP, including eligibility requirements, application scoring, required documentation, process and timeline.

You can view a recording of the webinar here.

Slides from the webinar can be found here.

Submission Requirements

Deadline

Applicants must submit a complete proposal no later than Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 5:00 pm EST to be considered for this program grant. Failure to meet the application deadline will exclude the Applicant from consideration.

Submission Process

All proposals must be submitted online through the electronic application in Submittable accessible here.

If you do not already have a Submittable account, you can obtain guidance on how to create a new account here.

It is recommended that an applicant access the electronic application in Submittable through Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Safari web browser (note that Submittable does not work well with Internet Explorer), and make sure to turn off ad blockers.

Applicants will be able to save your work and return later to complete and submit the application.

A downloadable version of the application can be found here.

In addition to completing the on-line application, the following six (6) documents will need to be uploaded:

1. Organization’s Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) determination letter
2. Organization’s most recent charitable solicitation registration certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. Organizations without a currently valid certificate must provide both their most recent certificate and an explanation.
3. Board-approved annual operating budget (excluding real estate development costs) for the organization’s current fiscal year
4. Most recent Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filed by the organization
5. Audited financial statements for organization’s most recently completed fiscal year, including the auditor’s letter to management if any. Organizations without an audit must provide your prior year’s audit and management letter (if available), and internally prepared Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement for your most recently completed fiscal year with an explanation 
6. Organization Leadership information for Executive Director/CEO and Board Members

Documents to be uploaded should be saved as a .pdf, .doc, .xls, .png, or .jpeg file with the following naming conventions: Organization Name – Document Type.xxx (e.g., PACDC – Operating Budget.xls).

 
Proposal Review and Selection Process

All applications will be reviewed and evaluated by a review committee composed of volunteers from City of Philadelphia housing and economic development representatives, community development intermediary organizations, and other Philadelphia area CDC funders. This committee will utilize the criteria identified in the RFP and a scoring rubric to guide the evaluation and selection process. The grant term will conclude on ~October 31, 2027, and no extension requests will be provided.

Disqualification

Applicants will be disqualified if:

• They submit applications after the deadline;
• They are submitted by means other than through the identified electronic application in Submittable;
• They do not meet the eligibility criteria for a QCDC;
• The proposed use of funds is inconsistent with the eligible fund and program guidelines; or
• The application is incomplete.

General Disclaimer

This RFP does not commit PACDC or the City of Philadelphia to award a contract. This RFP and the process it describes are proprietary to PACDC and the City of Philadelphia. Any response, including written documents and verbal communication, by an applicant to this RFP, shall become the property of PACDC and the City of Philadelphia and may be subject to public disclosure by PACDC or the City of Philadelphia, or any authorized agent of PACDC or the City of Philadelphia.

Reporting Requirements

All successful applicants will be required to submit a brief mid-grant report on fund utilization and impact by ~April 30, 2027 and a final report by ~November 30, 2027 based on forms provided by PACDC in Submittable to document expenditures and grant outcomes.

Questions

Questions regarding the program, RFP, or potential expenses to be funded under the project may be submitted in writing by 5:00 pm EST on August 3, 2026 to rfp@pacdc.org.

Our goal is to post responses to all questions to pacdc.org/ccbf_rfp by 5:00 pm EST on August 10, 2026.

Answers to questions were posted here on August 6, 2026.

General Terms

By submitting an application in response to this RFP, the Applicant agrees that it will comply with all contract monitoring and evaluation activities undertaken by PACDC.

What follows are contractual terms the chosen Applicant will be expected to agree to. By submitting an application in response to this RFP, the Applicant acknowledges and agrees to be bound by these terms unless otherwise noted in the Applicant’s proposal.

1. Insurance Requirements

The organization shall, at its own cost and expense, procure and maintain in full force and effect, covering the performance of the services, the types and minimum limits of insurance following. (A) commercial and general liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000; (B) workers’ compensation and employer’s liability insurance at the statutory limits; (C) motor vehicle liability insurance at $500,000 per occurrence, combined coverage; and (D) such other insurance as PACDC reasonably requires. All insurance shall be procured from reputable insurers admitted to do business on a direct basis in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or otherwise acceptable to PACDC. 

All insurance herein, except the Professional Liability insurance, shall be written on an “occurrence” basis and not a “claims-made” basis. In no event shall work be performed until the required evidence of insurance has been furnished. The insurance shall provide for at least thirty (30) days prior written notice to be given to PACDC in the event coverage is materially changed, cancelled, or non-renewed. PACDC, PAID and the City of Philadelphia, their officers, employees, and agents, shall be named as additional insureds on the General Liability Insurance policy. An endorsement is required stating that the coverage afforded PACDC, PAID and the City of Philadelphia and their officers, employees, and agents, as additional insureds, will be primary to any other coverage available to them and, that no act or omission of the City shall invalidate the coverage. The organization shall furnish PACDC with a current certificate(s) of insurance upon request (including renewal certificates on an annual basis).

2. Representations and Warranties

The selected Applicant represents, warrants and covenants that so long as the grant agreement resulting from this RFP has not been terminated: (i) the Applicant has full power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the agreement; (ii) entering into and performing its obligations under the agreement will not violate or breach any agreement binding on the Applicant; and (iii) the funding provided to Applicant will not supplant an existing funding source. 

3. Indemnification

The selected Applicant shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PACDC, PAID and the City of Philadelphia from and against any damage, loss, liability, obligation, claim, litigation, demand, suit, judgment, cost or expense including without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees (“Claims”) that may be made: (i) for bodily injury, death, or damage to real or tangible personal property; (ii) in connection with the Applicant’s breach of its obligations under this agreement; (iii) by any third-party alleging that the funded expenses under the grant agreement violate any proprietary information, non-disclosure, intellectual property, or contractual rights; and (iv) in connection with the Applicant’s recklessness, gross negligence, willful misconduct, or violation of applicable law. Prior consent of PACDC, PAID, and the City of Philadelphia is required for settlement of any Claim.

Download the RFP and Applicant Resources:

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Click Here to Apply

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