REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FORD COLLEGE COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Ford Motor Company Fund
Dearborn, Michigan
March 16, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The Ford Motor Company Fund is reaching out to colleges and universities to request proposals for
a fourth round of an innovative grant-making initiative: The Ford College Community Challenge
(Ford C3). This one-time special program seeks to work with partner higher education
organizations to catalyze community-building projects that address pressing local needs.
As in previous years, the overarching theme of the Ford College Community Challenge is "Building
Sustainable Communities." At Ford, we understand that to be a truly sustainable organization, we
must play an active role in the larger community, helping to address a wide range of vital issues
from education to safety to mobility.
Winning proposals must also address, in some creative way, the issue of alternative energy, which
could include (but is not limited to) electrified transportation/mobility, and how it fits into the
broader notion of a sustainable community. Participants are urged to think broadly about this issue,
exploring a variety of issues including infrastructure and workforce needs, education pipeline
issues, design issues, and a wide range of mobility solutions (page 4 has a more detailed description
of this criteria). Like all other criteria, alternative energy does not have to be the sole focus of a
proposed project, but rather one element that must be addressed.
Ford Fund hopes to support our partner colleges and universities as they design and develop
programs and initiatives that address critical community needs in new ways, with a focus on helping
the community become a more sustainable place to work and live. Through these criteria, it is our
hope that participating schools will find their creativity and resourcefulness engaged in meaningful
and unexpected ways.
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Five proposals will be selected to receive $50,000 each from Ford Motor Company Fund
to support implementation of the proposed projects. Winning proposals must, at a minimum:
1. Describe an Innovative Approach to "Building Sustainable Communities;"
2. Address the Issue of Alternative Energy in a Creative Way;
3. Involve Students in a Leadership Role;
4. Seek to Address an Urgent and Unmet Community Need in a Tangible Way;
5. Involve a Community-Based Organization as a Partner;
6. Involve the School of Business, Engineering, or Design in Some Way.
Each of these areas will be expanded upon in the RFP. Respondents interested in submitting a
proposal in partnership with another organization are welcome to do so.
All respondents to this RFP must be Section 501(c)(3) organizations which are classified as
public charities under Section 509(a)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) or
political subdivisions. This RFP does not commit the Ford Motor Company Fund, or Ford Motor
Company, to accept proposals or contracts for service or pay the cost incurred in the preparation of
a response to this RFP.
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THE FORD COLLEGE COMMUNITY CHALLENGE:
PROGRAM SUMMARY
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Objectives. Ford C3 is a one-time initiative of the Ford Motor Company Fund. Its purpose is
to challenge colleges and universities to partner with their local communities to design
innovative, student-led projects that address critical community needs which are consistent with
charitable purposes as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
PROGRAM SPECIFICS

Summary. Ford Motor Company Fund is reaching out to colleges and universities to invite
them to compete in the Ford College Community Challenge. Participating schools will work
with their local communities to put together innovative proposals that utilize the school's
resources and capacity to address a need or problem in the community. Proposals must address
the theme of the challenge – Building Sustainable Communities – in some unique way. Five
winning proposals will be selected to receive a one-time, $50,000 grant from Ford Fund to
implement their proposals.

Ford C3 Theme: Building Sustainable Communities. Successful proposals will take an
innovative approach to defining what building a sustainable community means in their local
community. In this challenge, the term Sustainable Communities is not meant to be restricted to
environmental concerns. Instead, Ford C3 uses the term to describe healthy, livable
communities that are poised to thrive in a global economy, encompassing a wide range of
issues, from education to safety to mobility. As a part of this process, proposals must address
the issue of alternative energy (which can include but is not limited to electrified
transportation/mobility) in some way. Participating schools are encouraged to take a fresh and
unique approach to this theme in their proposals.

Note: The Project Must be Consistent with Charitable Purposes as Described in Section
501(c)(3) of the Code. Given that this initiative is being supported by Ford Motor Company
Fund (foundation) dollars, any proposed project must be consistent with a charitable purpose
described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code. These purposes include, but are not limited to,
combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency; lessening neighborhood tensions;
reducing unemployment and underemployment; engaging in related activities in relief of the
poor, the distressed or the underprivileged; or any other charitable purposes.
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
Criteria. In order to be considered, project proposals must meet the following criteria:
1. The Project Must Represent an Innovative Approach to "Building Sustainable
Communities." As described above, Ford C3 uses the term Sustainable Communities in a
very broad way. Ford Fund is looking for partner schools to come up with interesting,
unique, and ingenious approaches to defining this term, the more creative the better.
Potential areas of focus could include (but are not limited to):
a. Education and Training. In an increasingly global economy, human capital is
perhaps the most important ingredient to a community’s ability to survive and thrive.
b. Safety. What do we mean when we refer to "safe communities?" How has this
definition changed with the advent of the internet and other technologies?
c. Sustainable Mobility. How can we design and implement affordable, clean, and safe
transportation systems for the 21st Century?
d. Environmental Sustainability. Clean water and air are critical to the overall health
and well being of a community. How can members of a community (both
individuals and organizations) learn to become more environmentally conscious and
sustainable?
2. The Project Must Address the Issue of Alternative Energy in a Creative Way.
Alternative energy is an issue of growing importance as communities think about new
notions of sustainability for the 21st Century. Approaches could include, but are not limited
to, approaches to electrified transportation and sustainable mobility. Participants are urged
to think broadly about the issue of alternative energy as a part of their overall proposals.
Proposals should also be creative in their approach to this issue, and could address issues
such as:
a. electrified transportation and other sustainable mobility issues, which could include
bikes, buses, other mass transit alternatives, and a wide range of mobility solutions;
b. a variety alternative energy sources (wind, solar, etc);
c. energy conservation issues (e.g. weatherization and other energy saving
technologies)
d. infrastructure and workforce needs (e.g. As we move to an economy more focused on
alternative energy sources, what kinds of workforce needs will that generate?);
e. education and workforce pipeline issues;
f. design issues;
g. public policy and governmental incentives that must be put into place to support;
h. alternative business models and alliances
i. communication (how can the public be engaged?)
This list of issues is meant to help stimulate ideas – proposals need not be limited to these
issues. Like all other criteria, alternative energy does not have to be the sole focus of a
proposed project, but rather one element that must be addressed. Above all, we are looking
for creative ideas!
3. The Project Must Involve Students in a Leadership Role. University students must be
involved in a leadership role in the project, and in all aspects of the project from design to
implementation. Successful proposals will demonstrate this involvement in some detail.
4. The Project Must Seek to Meet a Community Need in a Tangible Way. Ford C3 is not
looking for research studies or reports. Successful proposals will describe a project that
touches the community in meaningful ways, and that make a difference on a topic of real
importance to the local community. While research/study can and should be a part of any
project, some kind of meaningful and demonstrable action is required.
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5. The Project Must Involve a Community-Based Organization as a Partner. Winning
proposals will demonstrate an active and meaningful partnership with a local communitybased organization. The term "community-based organization" is not used as a legal term
here, but rather to describe any organization that plays a role in the life of the local
community (e.g. schools, social service agencies, businesses, government entities).
6. The Project Must Involve the School of Engineering, Business, and/or Design in Some
Way. Throughout its history interacting with higher education, Ford Fund has concentrated
much of its attention on schools of Business, Engineering, and Design in various ways.
Similarly, winning Ford C3 proposals will involve students from one or more of these three
schools in some meaningful (preferably leadership) role.

Extra Credit. Additional consideration will be given to proposals that are able to:
1. Leverage additional community resources, monetary or human, to support the proposed
project;
2. Use Ford Fund dollars efficiently to extend the life of the project;
3. Create initiatives that can be sustained after Ford Fund money is gone.

Communication and Publicity. Proposals should include a brief section that addresses how
the university will communicate and/or publicize the project through various outlets (e.g. press
release, web, local television and print, etc).
BUDGET
For budgeting purposes, proposals should assume a one-time grant of $50,000 from Ford Fund (the
five winning proposals will receive this grant amount). Additional financial resources brought to
the project should be clearly identified and described.
PROPOSAL SPECIFICS
Proposals should be no longer than 5 pages (please limit attachments to no more than 5 additional
pages), and should address the following areas:
1. Introduction and Project Summary
2. Description of How Project Meets Each of the Ford C3 Criteria
a. The Project Must Represent an Innovative Approach to "Building Sustainable
Communities"
b. The Project Must Address the Issue of Alternative Energy in a Creative Way
c. The Project Must Involve Students in a Leadership Role
d. The Project Must Seek to Meet an Urgent and Unmet Community Need in a
Tangible Way
e. The Project Must Involve a Community-Based Organization as a Partner
f. The Project Must Involve the School of Engineering, Business, and/or Design in
Some Way
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3. Extra Credit Areas.
a. Will the project be sustainable after Ford Fund monies are completed?
b. Can additional resources be identified and leveraged?
c. Are there any strategies for extending the life of the initiative?
4. Budget (can be an attachment)
5. Timeline (can be an attachment)
6. Publicity/Communication Plan
PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND ROLLOUT
STRUCTURE


Ford C3 is an initiative of the Ford Motor Company Fund, and will be managed by Ford
Fund as a competitive challenge grant program. Proposal entries will be judged by the
criteria listed in this RFP, and up to five winning proposals will be funded.
Ford Motor Company Fund will enter into a standard Grant Agreement with the five
winning schools. Funds will be made available to winning schools upon signing the Grant
Agreement.
ROLLOUT



The process of soliciting proposals from participating schools will be a standard "Request
for Proposal (RFP) process. This RFP lays out all of the requirements of the Challenge, and
specifies what proposals should look like and issues to be addressed.
Ford Fund will put together a Proposal Review Team made up of Fund and Company
representatives, who will score the proposals based on a prepared RFP scoring sheet. The
Review team will return their scored proposals to the Fund, who will then rank the proposals
according their overall average scores. The Review Team will come together to discuss the
rankings and make recommendations to the Fund’s Board of Directors which will select a
final list of winners. The decision of the Board of Directors will be final.
Winning schools will be presented with their awards from Ford Fund in a public ceremony
in the local community or on campus. They will then have a set amount of time within
which to implement their projects, to be negotiated with Ford Fund.
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TIMELINE
 March 16:
 May 20:
 Mid June:
 June 10 – Spring 2012:
RFP distributed to schools
Proposals due to Ford Fund
Winners selected
Projects implemented
The exact timing of the announcement events and project implementation period will be negotiated
with Ford Fund on an individual project basis.
Q&A CONFERENCE CALL
Participating schools will have the ability to ask specific questions about the proposal in a
conference call scheduled for April 13, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm EST. In the interest of
fairness, other than factual questions no additional information will be given out about the program
outside of this scheduled call.
Please contact Kelly Durso at 313 337-1942or kdurso@ford.com to sign up for the call and get call
in information.
After this call, additional factual questions about the proposal process should be addressed via email to Ms. Durso, who will route them to the appropriate source for a timely reply.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
Proposals must be received at the address below on or before the close of business on Friday, May
20, 2011. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered.
Please send four hard copies and one electronic copy of the complete proposal to:
Mike Schmidt
Director, Education and Community Development
Ford Motor Company Fund
Address:
Ford Motor Company
World Headquarters
Room 210 A-6
The American Road
Dearborn, Michigan 48121
Phone: (313) 248-6833
Email: mschmi14@ford.com
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