Request for Proposals: Antiracism Training

Summary

The ACLU of Northern California (“Union) and the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Inc. (“Foundation” and collectively with the Union, “ACLU NorCal”) invites you and/or your firm to submit a one-year proposal for the creation and implementation of an antiracism training program at our affiliate.

About ACLU NorCal

Mission

The ACLU of Northern California is an enduring guardian of justice, fairness, equality, and freedom, working to protect and advance civil liberties for all Californians.

About Us

The ACLU of Northern California, founded in 1934, is an affiliate of the national ACLU, which was founded in 1920, to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. We are non‐profit and non‐partisan. Our programmatic work focuses on six areas -

• Criminal Justice
• Democratic and Civil Engagement
• Gender, Sexuality, Reproductive Justice
• Immigrant Rights
• Racial and Economic Justice
• Tech and Civil Liberties

The Foundation is a California non-profit public benefit and Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) 501(c)(3) organization. The Foundation employs litigation, policy advocacy, public education, organizing, and communications to protect and promote a broad range of civil liberties and civil rights. Acting on the firm belief that liberty must be protected for everyone if it is to be enjoyed by anyone, the Foundation works to defend the rights of all. Known for its legal activities and litigation to preserve constitutional rights, the Foundation also engages in policy work to advance justice, equality, and freedom.

The Union is a California non-profit mutual benefit and IRC 501(c)(4) organization. Unlike the Foundation, the Union does not have a litigation program or legal docket; however, it works across a similar range of issues as the Foundation. The Union employs legislative advocacy, policy advocacy, public education, organizing, and communications to protect and promote a broad range of civil liberties and civil rights. The employee demographic is comprised of both unionized and non-unionized staff.  It maintains programs for activist and community engagement, including volunteer-based chapters throughout the region.

Project Scope

ACLU-NorCal seeks a consultant who will help the organization navigate conversations around antiracism and develop methods and tools to combat racism from an organizational perspective.  The consultants will engage both leadership and staff to prepare the organization for the continuous process of addressing racism in the workplace through this initial training as well as through longer-term deliverables.  Details of the project scope include the following:

• Collaborate with management and staff on the development of an accountability structure prior to the delivery of the training to ensure organizational support and readiness for both the training itself and for future conversations that will develop in the wake of this initial training. 
   
• Assist with the creation of a safe / brave / healthy space for staff to discuss race and racial inequities.
   
• Help the organization identify and address anti-black racism - what does anti-black racism look like and how does it show up in the workplace? 
   
• Develop a shared and non-harmful experience, in particular for people of color, that is created with a trauma-informed lens for the organization.
   
• Develop a common vocabulary and understanding.  Develop/curate pre-training content to help prepare staff for conversations on antiracism.  This could be a reading list, videos, short articles, blogs that would span across varying levels of understanding and awareness around antiracism. 
   
• Build a training curriculum that supports and elevates ACLU NorCal’s organizational competencies (what we do best) and technical competencies (the knowledge required to perform the work). The training would include the following kinds of practices:
  • Ways to identify and address implicit bias and inequity 
  • Methods that could bring anti-racism and racial justice more intentionally into our work. 
  • Strategies to foster and embrace a culture that aligns with the larger vision of building an anti-racist work culture. 
  • Built-in methods for people to put learning into practice at different levels, an interpersonal level, within their role, organizational frameworks etc.
  • Create ongoing learning opportunities that include real-world scenarios, around diversity, equity, inclusion, and implicit bias for staff regardless of where they are in their journey and how they identify.   

Qualifications

We are interested in your background and experience in working with organizations in the nonprofit and social justice sectors. We highly encourage responses from BIPOC women-owned enterprises. Please provide examples of your experience according to the following:

• Experience with developing training content.
   
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating dynamic learning environments that adequately address different learning styles.

• Demonstrated fluency with working with impacted communities, and tailoring a training that uplifts the voices of marginalized identities within the workplace. The consultant should have a lived experience where they have been targets of racism, and how it personally made them feel, and how it informs their work.
   
• Experience doing this work in remote / online settings and ease with addressing accessibility needs in a remote learning environment.
   
• Having a practice that is built explicitly around anti-racism and restorative justice; engagement in a long-standing practice and with tools rooted in equity, emotional intelligence, and anti-racism.

Proposals

Each proposal should include the following elements:

1. Statement of Interest
   Please provide a statement as to why you and/or your firm is interested in partnering with ACLU NorCal and provide your firm’s understanding of the work to be performed. Please include a one- to two-paragraph statement on your approach to anti-racist training.
    
2. Project Team
   Provide the names, resumes and biographies of the partner(s) and staff who will be assigned to this work. To the extent possible, ACLU NorCal seeks a diversity of vendors and teams that reflects the diversity of our staff.
    
3. Qualifications
   Please refer to the previous section titled “Qualifications,” for specific examples of the experience sought. We are particularly interested in examples of antiracist work by your firm in partnership with organizations in the nonprofit and social justice sectors.
    
4. Rates and Scope of Work
   Please include an estimated fee structure for the creation and implementation of the initial training. Describe your billing rates and procedures for follow-up questions that may arise and if these sorts of occasional services would be covered in the proposed fee structure.
    
5. Timeline
   The deadline to submit the RFP is March 30, 2022. Please provide a proposed timeline for fieldwork and final implementation of the training.
    
6. Requirements of ACLU NorCal Staff Time
   Please provide the number of anticipated hours of ACLU NorCal’s staff time that would be required for the training development and implementation.
    
7. References
   Please provide references and contact information for at least three comparable nonprofit clients.

To Apply

This request for proposal does not guarantee or commit the Foundation or the Union to proceeding with the above-described work. Applications should be received no later than March 30, 2022. Proposals should be sent electronically to Duc Le (dle@aclunc.org) with the subject “RFP – Antiracism Training.” Once all proposals are reviewed, a final decision will be made by end of April 2022.