RFP: Southern California Water Stewardship Projects 2023
RFP: Southern California Water Stewardship Projects
BACKGROUND
Business for Water Stewardship (BWS) is a program of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) that helps businesses advance solutions to ensure that communities, economies, and ecosystems have enough clean water to flourish. The program provides ways for businesses to actively help sustain rivers and replenish aquifers, promote forward-looking water policies, and boost their reputations as environmental stewards.
BWS is pleased to solicit proposals for water stewardship projects in Southern California / Los Angeles Metro Area River Basins, a region described in more detail below, that aim to have a long-term positive impact on freshwater ecosystems and/or water supply resilience for communities and business. BWS anticipates that funding for water stewardship projects in this region will continue for multiple years, and some awards made through this RFP may constitute multi-year funding commitments that support the design and implementation of projects over time.
Please share this RFP with any other potential project sponsors working to improve water resources within the RFP geography.
Proposal Submittal Instructions
- Proposals should be submitted using the following application link: RFP Southern California Water Stewardship Projects
- The RFP will request a budget, please use the following link to download the budget template. BWS Proposal Budget Template 2023
- We recommend that you review the full RFP PDF and drafting your application response in a separate document before submitting to the link above.
- If you have issues using the link above, please contact us at BWSproposal@b-e-f.org
- All materials are due no later than 5:00 pm PST, July 21, 2023
Informational Resource
- Contact Tyler Smith, BWSproposal@b-e-f.org with any questions regarding this RFP.
- Business for Water Stewardship information and previously funded projects can be found at https://businessforwater.org/projects.
- A recording of the RFP Informational Webinar on June 29 can be seen here: Southern California RFP Informational Webinar Recording
Timeline
- Request for Proposal Issued: June 21, 2023
- Informational Webinar: June 29, 2023
- Proposal Due Date: 5:00 p.m. PST, July 21, 2023
- Project Selection Announcement: October 2023
Funding Opportunity Details
BEF seeks to support water stewardship projects that address priority water stewardship needs and build water resilience in the Southern California region, encompassing the watersheds extending from the Santa Clara River south to the Santa Ana River watershed.
Through this Request for Proposal (RFP), BEF will assess opportunities to make meaningful contributions of up to $500,000 in the design and/or implementation of one or more projects that produce quantifiable water stewardship outcomes for communities and the surrounding watersheds. To this end, the objective of this RFP is two-fold:
- Identify water stewardship project opportunities that will be implemented in the next one to five years (2024-2028) that require implementation funding. See below for a discussion of eligible project types and desired outputs.
- Identify water stewardship project opportunities that can be implemented no later than 2028 but require funding to help support early development phases, including design, engineering, and permitting. Projects seeking funding for project development must demonstrate a high likelihood that development funding will result in project implementation prior to 2028.
Application Materials
- Full RFP PDF
- Application Link
- BWS Proposal Budget Template 2023 *This link will take you another website where you can download the budget template.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Q: Do I need to create a Gmail account in order to submit?
- A: No, you will not need to create a Gmail account. However, it is useful if you plan to “save and return” to your application draft. The RFP Application is a Google Form, and while logged into your Google account, your progress is automatically saved as a draft for 30 days. This means if you can’t complete a the application in one session, or need to switch devices, you don’t have to start over the next time you open the application form. Important: If you’re offline, autosave doesn’t work.
- Q: How will I know you have received my application?
- A: You will receive an email notification confirming that your application has been received. The application will be sent to the email that is input in the application.
- Q: Can I save my application and return to later to finish it?
- A1: If you do not have a Gmail account then unfortunately no, you may not save your application. A best practice would be to have your application questions answered on a Word Document, or other source program, and copy / paste your answers to the application form.
- A2: If you do have a Gmail account, then yes you can return to the application form later. When you fill out a the application form from your Google account, your progress is automatically saved as a draft for 30 days. This means if you can’t complete the application form or need to switch devices, you don’t have to start over the next time you open the form. Important: If you’re offline, autosave doesn’t work.
- Q: Can I share the RFP with my network or is it a closed process?
- A: Yes, please share the RFP with contacts that have relevant projects.
- Q: I am having issues with the application link, can I submit a word document?
- A: If you are having issues, email BWSproposal@b-e-f.org to receive a template and submission instructions.
- Q: I am having issues with uploading my budget template, can I submit it directly?
- A: If you are having issues, email BWSproposal@b-e-f.org with the budget template, please be sure to include the name of the project and organization name in the budget template so we can attach it to the correct application submission.