Request for Proposal
Capital Campaign Consultant
Specializing in Non-Profit Organizations
Statement of Purpose
Abby Kelley Foster House, Inc. (Abby’s House) seeks to engage a Fundraising Consultant
(Consultant/Applicant) to provide guidance, expertise, and assistance to Abby’s House
for its upcoming 52 High Street Renovation Project. Abby’s House invites qualified,
experienced and successful Consultants to submit proposals which will address our short
and long term needs to achieve the approximate $1.5 million in private funds necessary
to complete the $7.4 renovation. To be considered, written proposals responsive to the
information requested herein should be submitted electronically to the Executive
Director, Stephanie Page, stephanie@abbyshouse.org by 5:00 p.m. on October 9, 2015.
Introduction and Background
Abby’s House has been effectively responsive to one of the most basic and fundamental human
needs - a safe place to stay - since 1976. Our mission is "to provide shelter and affordable
housing, as well as advocacy and support services, to homeless, battered and low-income
women, with or without children." We empower the women we serve to lead self-directed lives
filled with dignity and hope.
Our annual operating budget is $1.3 million and is supported by fundraising contributions and
events (48%), foundations (17%), rents and fees (23%), thrift shop (10%), and other (2%).
Abby’s House is able to welcome women from all circumstances because we do not have the
restrictions that come from government funding for programs. Our agency was created when
there were no paradigms to follow in women's shelter organizational development. Instead, the
volunteers who ran the shelter listened carefully to the needs of the women and responded
accordingly. The spirit of empowerment, mutuality and respect embodied by the original
volunteers continues to inform our program delivery today in both our shelter and in our
supportive, affordable housing units.
The organization is unique in that the founder’s original focus on empowerment and respect
remains as operational values in this grass-roots organization. The early history of Abby’s
House demonstrates the activism of the community-at-large in addressing the very real
challenges of homelessness and creating a sustainable solution. There were presentations given
throughout the area focusing on Greater Worcester and the metrowest areas. Many of the
initially supportive churches and civic groups remain active with the organization with minimal
stewardship activities and could be a source of outreach and engagement at a higher level to
support a one-time ‘stretch’ ask to support the campaign. A complete listing can be found in
our Annual Report for 2014 which is available on our website.
Community support remains a critical piece of the success of Abby’s House. Last year, there
were 5,490 donations recorded in our database - of which 3,990 were cash gifts while the
remainder were in-kind donations. Abby’s House defines leadership donors as those who donate
$500+ per year. In the most recent 11 months, there were 129 individuals who met this
criteria. They have already been invited to a Donor Appreciation Event to be held on
September 30th to view the initial plans. They will be briefed about the process which may
include outreach during initial stages to assess an appropriate goal for this sub-set of donors.
Local Foundations have been very supportive of capital campaigns and other bricks and mortar
needs. They have received a brief letter introducing the campaign and follow-up plans include
an informal meeting with a local trustee serving on multiple foundation boards to assess their
readiness and ability to support our financial goal.
There are many untapped sources of support which may be engaged through the campaign
process as a very real outcome of the renovations will be that the building will be handicapped
accessible. Now, it is not. This will mean we can serve women with physical disabilities or
those who are mobility-limited due to the aging process.
Volunteers continue to be involved in nearly every aspect of our mission. In 2014, these
dedicated supporters provided over 18,525 hours of service to Abby’s House. At Abby’s House,
staff, volunteers, board members, donors, and partners, along with our guests and residents
are all valued and respected for the role that each plays in achieving our mission. We are
community that develops caring, supportive, and enduring relationships, and treats one another
with compassion and respect.
Abby’s House has 77 units of affordable housing and 9 shelter beds in 4 properties near
downtown Worcester. We are the largest provider of affordable housing in Worcester that is
specifically designed to meet the needs of women. While there are a range of ages of women
represented within our housing from 19 – 81, Abby’s has found that the units are serving a
much older population than previously served, with 15% of the units housing seniors. With the
median age of women in an SRO at Abby’s House being 49 years of age, we expect to be
serving an increasingly more mature population over the next several years.
Unlike many other housing programs, we do not have city residency requirements and accept
women from all over the state of Massachusetts. We provide safe and comfortable housing for
elderly women who are on SSI, disabled women on SSDI and other women who cannot afford
market-rate rent. We open the door one knock at a time, providing safety, compassion and
hope for a bright future within our walls.
Our focus on intensive case management is to help our guests access wraparound services they
need to survive and thrive. Our Advocates empower each woman to access the resources she
needs to succeed, from accessing health providers or arranging transportation for
appointments.
In order to meet the needs of the women served, we work with more than 50 other social
services and government agencies and departments. Our focus is to effectively create a system
of seamless service provision and assist our women with the sometimes daunting task of
matching needs with existing resources - and assisting them with accessing those services.
Our agency model that combines safe and affordable housing with supportive services has
helped more than 12,500 women over the past 39 years to move beyond the chaos of housing
insecurity and homelessness, regaining their footing on the path to independence.
Of special note is that we will be celebrating the agency’s 40th anniversary over the course of
2016-2017. This could provide an opportunity for synergy in outreach, strategy and approach
with the private source, fundraising goals of the capital campaign.
Campaign Information
Project Overview
Abby’s House will be rehabilitating the building at 52 High Street currently comprised of 54
affordable Single Room Occupancy Units (SROs), which will become 55 SROs post-renovation,
occupied by an aging population of women. Built in 1924, the building is in dire need of
systems updates in the following areas: plumbing, heating, electrical, mechanical, and fire
protection. There will also be significant work done to make the building accessible for elderly
and handicapped residents by renovating all common areas, including the bathrooms, and
adding an elevator that services all floors, as well as adding full kitchens and laundry facilities
on each residential floor.
Organizational Capacity and Resources
Abby’s House recently completed an initial feasibility assessment and has proceeded to the
predevelopment phase, and has done so with support from the Community Economic
Development Assistance Corporation and Housing Ministries of New England. The feasibility
study itself was conducted with assistance from a development consultant at the Women’s
Institute for Housing and Economic Development (WIHED). Women’s Institute is continuing as
the development consultant throughout the life of the project.
Over the last three decades, WIHED has successfully created or preserved over 80 affordable
and supportive housing properties with a total of 2,000 units, and leveraged a combined finance
packaging of close to $250 million. With their guidance and first-hand experience in accessing
the various public financing sources based on the historic preservation of the building, we
expect that approximately one-third of the $7.4 million budget to come from federal and state
historic tax credits.
The Narrow Gate Architectural Firm was hired as the project architect after the initial feasibility
was complete. They have helped Abby’s to re-envision their spaces and to coordinate
engineers to determine what systems will best meet the needs of the organization over the long
term. The Narrow Gate has expertise with building affordable housing for non-profits as well as
the renovation restrictions and expectations inherent to the Historic Tax Credit program.
The agency’s Executive Director has formed a Building Committee comprised of staff members
and representatives of the Board. Under their direction, all zoning has already been secured
from the City of Worcester. This committee will continue to monitor all phases of the project
and will be responsible for advising on all major decisions moving forward.
Secured Funding
Initial proforma budgets were put together which showed Abby’s House that the most feasible
approach to the renovations was to utilize State and Federal historic tax credits, soft debt from
DHCD and housing development funds from the City of Worcester along with grants and a
modest fundraising campaign.
As a result of the information gained through the feasibility assessment, Abby’s House has been
able to secure two predevelopment loans totaling $115,000 in order to complete the City of
Worcester’s zoning and permitting process, perform environmental testing, evaluate the current
building and associated systems and to submit the initial State Historic Tax Credit application.
Project Timeline
Zoning approval
State Historic Tax Credit Application
State Historic Tax Credit Application
Finance Closing
Construction start
50% Construction Complete
Construction complete
Full Occupancy
June 2015 - Completed and Approved
August 2015 - Submitted
January 2016
November 2016
December 2016
June 2017
December 2017
December 2017
Scope of Work
The selected consultant will be required to:
1. Meet with the leadership of Abby’s House to develop a Campaign Structure, which
could include the development of a Campaign Steering Committee or other
campaign logistics that build on the extensive base of volunteers and supporters
at Abby’s House.
2. Gather information about the history of previous campaigns, the budget and line
item revenue goals for the current campaign and giving histories of individuals,
foundations, corporations, community groups, and religious organizations.
3. Implement an informational study to assess the capacity and interest of the
various donor groups mentioned above to further breakdown the private source
line item in the capital project budget.
4. Following completion of #2 and #3, develop a detailed strategic fundraising plan
(which will include specific details on required action items and metrics) for each
donor sector.
5. Work closely with Development Director to ensure that the fundraising efforts
from the Capital Campaign do not negatively impact the organizational operating
budget or compete with existing funding sources or strategies.
6. Develop performance metrics which can be utilized by the agency leadership to
evaluate the success of the campaign goals and objectives.
7. Develop a theme for the campaign in conjunction with agency leadership or
campaign committee.
8. Develop an educational, marketing and promotional program for the campaign,
with accompanying schedule and responsibilities of implementation.
9. Develop a Capital Campaign Case Statement and AGM formatted grant with
attachments to be used in the fundraising strategy (some elements already
completed as part of an application to the TD Housing for Everyone grant
competition and FHLB of Boston’s 2015 Affordable Housing Program application).
10. Work directly with the Executive Director, Development Director and other
committees on the implementation of the capital campaign plan.
Qualification Statement Requirements
Consultants should submit a cover letter providing an introduction to the firm or team
and the areas of expertise of the consultant. The letter should also identify the point of
contact (or Lead Consultant) with physical address, email address and phone number.
Please indicate with type of firm ownership (individual, partnership, or corporation).
Include the state in which the firm is incorporated or licensed to operate and provide
proof of the entity’s legal existence.
Please provide full contact information for three references.
Firms will be evaluated on the basis of overall experience, quality of proposed approach
to the fundraising process and demonstrated ability to achieve successful outcomes in
Capital Campaigns of a similar nature in addition to the cost estimate provided . It is
imperative that responses are completed containing the information requested.
Abby’s House reserves the right to:
 reject offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation to any potential
Contractor and
 accept other than the lowest price proposal based on campaign experience,
understanding of the greater Worcester area donor landscape, and/or synergy
with the existing organizational culture
All responses should be submitted in the following format:
Section I - Cover Letter (see above)
Section II - Corporate Information
 History of firm, including present ownership and key management members.
 Location of corporate headquarters and other divisional offices. Specify which office of
offices will be involved in the project. Include contact names, addresses and phone
numbers.
 Vitae of any personnel anticipated to be assigned to provide the services requested
under this proposal
 List any current or past litigation the consultant or firm has been involved in during the
last five (5) years.
 A disclosure statement listing all potential conflicts of interest related to this proposal.
This disclosure statement must be addressed specifically in your response, even if no
conflict exists.
Section III - Experience
 Provide details of past experiences, up to three (3) references for similar work, talents
applicable to respective service to be provided, documentation methodology employed
on these types of engagements, and fundraising plans that have proven successful.
 Include any experience or past work related to Abby’s House, or any other shelter or
affordable housing programs
 Provide the following information on completed Capital Campaigns:
o Project Name
o Project Location
o Project Scope and Description
o Project Approach
o Contract Type (lump-sum fixed fee, installment payments, percentage
compensation arrangements)
o Actual or Expected Completion Date
o Description of the Scope and results of your Services
o Actual Duration of Engagement
Section IV - Proposed Team and Approach to Project
 Identify proposed services, including firm’s capabilities and anticipated approach to
develop the plan required under this proposal.
 Please describe the tools, and the methods the Consultant plans to use to evaluate the
success of the fundraising plan.
 Include a staffing plan, estimated hours and resources that will be required from Abby’s
House.
 Present a timeline of how the Consultant anticipates satisfying the goal of starting the
public Capital Campaign in early 2016 and the dates for milestones associated with the
project.
Section V - Cost Proposal
 The response should include the Consultant’s best estimate of lump-sum (“not to
exceed”) fee, including an allowance for reimbursable expenses, for the project.


The Consultant should also provide a summary of any assumptions used to determine its
fee, including but not limited to team members, if any, and their rates, hours,
deliverables, number of meetings, required resources, etc.
Complete budget for the project, preferable in timeline format, showing the costs (both
Consultant fees and other costs, over time).
General Terms and Conditions
1. Any proposal submitted in response to this Request for Proposal is irrevocable for
sixty (60) days.
2.
3.
Selected firm(s) must be prepared to enter negotiations for services outlined in this
RFP.
Abby’s House reserves the right to decline any or all proposals, in whole or in part,
at any time prior to selecting a consultant and entering into a contract, for any
reason, without liability being incurred by Abby’s House to any applicant.
4.
All costs associated with the preparation of the applicant’s proposal will be solely the
responsibility of the applicant.
5.
Abby’s House reserves the right to select the most qualified and responsive applicant
in its sole judgment, not merely the lowest cost applicant.
6.
All submittals and supporting materials as well as correspondence relating to this
RFP become property of Abby’s House when received. Any proprietary information
contained in the submittal should be so indicated. However, a general indication that
the entire contents, or a major portion, of the proposal is proprietary will not be
honored.
7.
All applicable State of Massachusetts and Federal Laws, City and County ordinances,
licenses and regulations of all agencies having jurisdiction shall apply to the
Consultant and project throughout and incorporated herein.
Questions regarding this RFP can be directed to Stephanie Page, Executive Director,
until 24 hours before the responses are due. She can be contacted at (508) 7565486 Ext. 18 or stephanie@abbyshouse.org.