To: Board of Supervisors
From: Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice
Report Title: Authorize Contract with the East Bay Community Foundation for Management and Monitoring of Service Contracts for African-American Holistic Wellness and Support
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☒ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) Co-Directors, or designee, to execute a contract with the East Bay Community Foundation in an amount not to exceed $120,000 to administer the management and monitoring of $880,000 in FY23-24 Measure X funds for service contracts to increase African-American holistic wellness and support in Contra Costa County for the period of January 15, 2025 through March 31, 2026, as recommended by the Equity Committee, subject to approval by approval as to form by County Counsel (100% Measure X Funds).
FISCAL IMPACT:
$120,000 of Measure X one-time funds will be used for this contract. Funds have been previously allocated for the purpose of supporting existing community services for African-American holistic wellness resources.
BACKGROUND:
On December 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors directed that $1,000,000 in one-time Measure X funds be allocated for the purpose of supporting the “African American Holistic Wellness Resource Hub and existing services” in Contra Costa County, in alignment with recommendations from the Measure X Community Advisory Board. The activities supported through this funding will help inform the possibilities for what will be housed within the African American Holistic Wellness and Resource Hub in Contra Costa County.
At the January 22, 2024 meeting, the Equity Committee directed ORESJ Co-Directors to prepare a proposal for distributing the $1 million allocation for existing services for African American wellness. The ORESJ Co-Directors first presented a proposal at the February 20, 2024 Equity Committee meeting, which included partnering with a local community foundation with extensive experience supporting Black-led and Black-serving organizations to serve as a contracted agency tasked with overseeing and carrying out procurement, selection, and fund distribution responsibilities. These services would include a community and resident participatory process that includes review of applications and recommendation of awardees (for Board of Supervisors approval), as well as monitoring progress and assessing outcomes.
At the June 4, 2024 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved and authorized the ORESJ Co-Directors to release a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to solicit the partnership of a community foundation to administer the procurement, management, and monitoring of $1,000,000 in FY 23-24 Measure X funds for service contracts to increase African-American holistic wellness and support in Contra Costa County. That RFQ was released on June 5, 2024 and Statements of Qualifications were due on June 21, 2024. No applications were submitted.
A second, scaled-down RFQ was released on August 26, 2024 and Statements of Qualifications were due on October 4, 2024. This new solicitation required that the community foundation administer service contracts, including contract negotiation, program monitoring and fund distribution responsibilities; however, procurement and selection responsibilities were to be held by ORESJ. Five applications were received by the deadline.
The five applications were reviewed and scored by a five-member review panel convened by ORESJ, who recommended that The East Bay Community Foundation be selected. At the October 21, 2024 meeting, the Equity Committee affirmed the ORESJ’s recommendation of The East Bay Community Foundation as the partner to administer the management and monitoring of $1,000,000 in FY 23-24 Measure X funds for service contracts to increase African-American holistic wellness. The foundation’s administrative fees for distributing the allocated Measure X funds will not exceed $120,000, resulting in $880,000 of Measure X funds to be distributed to community-based organizations which have not yet been selected.
The contract will provide monitoring, oversight, and support to service provider organizations that are contracted to provide African-American holistic wellness and support services. The service provider organization contractors are to be selected by the County. Approval of this contract would allow ORESJ and The East Bay Community Foundation to administer the grant program and provide necessary monitoring, and oversight services to increase African-American holistic wellness services.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
No action will be taken to distribute the $1 million Measure X one-time allocation to support existing services for African-American wellness.