COMPANY BACKGROUND

CommunityWorks is a non-profit financial organization, certified by the US Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution or CDFI. Our mission is to expand access to capital, housing solutions, and knowledge to build stronger families, businesses, and communities. We envision a future where innovative and bold solutions move communities to economic resiliency and shared prosperity. 

CommunityWorks achieves this mission by providing capital to small and microbusiness owners, financing affordable housing developers, downpayment assistance to aspiring homeowners, personal and business coaching services, and business and housing developer training.

One of the key elements of our Affordable Housing program is a variety of training and one-on-one consultations with the expressed purpose of building the field of individuals, nonprofits, and businesses that are advocating for, building, or planning on how to include affordable housing development in their communities.

NEED FOR SERVICES

In 2020, CommunityWorks launched what has become a signature offering, our Faith Based Development Intensive. Over the last 5 years we’ve trained over 200 faith leaders and members on how to position their real estate assets to further both their mission and community development efforts in their communities.

Our efforts are centered around a changing faith landscape and a significant shortage of affordable housing units across the state of SC. We have found that the faith community faces new challenges with underutilized or aging facilities, declining memberships, neighborhood changes, or continuing to serve their communities. While challenges exist, we have also found that affordable housing and community development efforts are readily embraced by houses of worship. There is a clear connection between the mission of faith  and creating more resources for neighbors to thrive. Additionally, the faith community can improve financial health, expand its mission, and support community-centered revitalization when given the opportunity to put community development plans into action.

However, we also recognize that most faith leaders are not developers nor does all the expertise and will live inside the house of worship.

As CommunityWorks embarks on a new, bold strategic plan, that aims to build stronger pathways for more housing development, we are seeking new training solutions to build on the success of our past offerings.

CommunityWorks offers this training to a diverse faith community and it is expected that the experience level of these houses of worship will range from early consideration to organizations that have completed full planning processes.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

• 1-3 planning calls to discuss preparation, marketing, and pre-training launch
• Offer an in-person 5-hour training over one Saturday in the Fall of 2026
• Deliver a structured curriculum for a faith-based audience that includes a diversity of knowledge and experience in the development space including those in the early learning through intermediate
• Coordinate with CommunityWorks on all matters relating to this training.
• The contracted individual or firm agrees to keep all participant information as well as that of the CommunityWorks confidential.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL 

Submit the following documents to Katy Davenport, Chief Strategy Officer – kdavenport@cwcarolina.org by May 29, 2026 at 1pm

Title page (Define subject firm, local address, phone number, contact person, and date)

• Summary to include the following:
  1. Statement of services to be performed
  2. Fee (all-inclusive rate on a per hour basis)
  3. Names of persons authorized to make representations for the proposer, titles, addresses, and phone numbers
  4. Knowledge of and experience in working with small businesses
• Description of the proposed approach to providing training, including:

• 1. Experience facilitating affordable housing training and community development training to a faith-based constituency.
  2. Description of curriculum or content to be presented over the 5-hour training.
  3. Experience working with the faith-community in general.
• Qualifications and credentials of staff to be assigned to the project
• Additional data the firm wishes to present
• Three (3) business references who can attest to the qualifications of the proposer

Proposals will be evaluated based on experience, proposed curriculum and delivery, experience in providing technical assistance, qualifications of instructor(s), pricing, and past performance. All submitted proposals become part of the files of CommunityWorks and receipt of the proposals implies no obligation on the part of the requestor.

PROPOSAL Timeline

• Last day for application submissions- May 29, 2026
• Decision sent by June 10, 2026
• Monthly planning calls starting in June
• Training day to be determined during the preparation call with a target of a Saturday in October