With the recent passage of the $2 trillion CARES Act to provide COVID-19 relief, we’ve been closely monitoring the issuance of RFPs. On April 2, SAMHSA issued its first FOA (SAMHSA-speak for RFP) under the Act, “Emergency Grants to Address Mental and Substance Use Disorders During COVID-19.” But the submission due date is April 10, which is just 8 days from the posting. This is a model for what other federal coronavirus-related RFPs will likely look like. Although the RFP length is long, most of the content is SAMHSA boilerplate, and the narrative only needs to be 10 pages. Projects are expected to start by May 31. A May 31 start date may seem slow in this time of war, but it’s incredibly fast by the standards of federal agencies.
Only states, territories, and Indian Tribes are eligible applicants. We’re pointing this program out because RFPs for which nonprofit and public agencies are eligible will likely follow in the coming days, issued from a variety of federal agencies. If you’re a nonprofit, you need to be ready to act fast. Some nonprofits aren’t poised to act. We got a query email, for example, from a nonprofit back on March 3. I sent a fee-quote letter and follow-up email that day. The nonprofit disappeared, then, on March 25, sent an email asking for a further call two to three weeks later. Six or more weeks to make a decision to apply may work in normal times, but a culture of inactivity during a crisis is a real liability.