Child Care Narrative RFP: Artistic, Storytelling & Creative Content

REQUEST FOR CHILD CARE NARRATIVE GRANT PROPOSALS

Artistic, Storytelling & Creative Content

Funding artistic, storytelling and creative content focused on elevating the impact child care has on Coloradans

Parents and young children participating in a cooking class together.

Artistic, Storytelling & Creative Content Grant Category

Part of Gary Community Venture’s Request for Child Care Narrative Grant Proposals

As part of Gary Community Ventures’ Request for Proposals to elevate the impact child care has on all Coloradans, this RFP outlines the creative themes, objectives, requirements and timelines specific to artistic, storytelling & creative content applications.

Please see the full RFP for more background information on this RFP. Applications for all RFP categories are due on Aug. 3.

This particular RFP calls for Artistic, Storytelling & Creative Content proposals for artistic projects, narrative and documentary storytelling, creative, advertising, marketing and/or communications campaigns. These projects could be activated across a wide variety of mediums, including but not limited to digital, audio, print, visual and in-person activations. The goal for these stories and projects should be to elevate the issues facing our child care system as well as potential solutions through compelling, emotionally resonant and truthful narrative activations. Lastly, all proposed projects should reach the priority audiences outlined in the “Proposal Requirements” section outlined below.

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Creative Themes, Objectives & Proposal Requirements

Informed by robust RFP design session

The following creative themes, objectives and proposal requirements were the result of an intensive RFP design session that included statewide early childhood experts, award-winning journalists, filmmakers, and creatives as well as members of communities who have not been frequent recipients of messages and stories about the issues facing our child care system and why they matter to all Coloradans.

This funding opportunity will work to accomplishing the following objectives in offering funding support for artistic, storytelling and creative projects that adhere to the outlined proposal requirements:

Creative Themes

  • Everyone Relies on Someone Who Relies on Child Care – These proposed stories would explore the ways in which child care impacts the vital services all Coloradans rely on, including health care, education, first responders as well as food and transportation providers. For more information on this creative theme, click here.
  • Made Possible by Child Care – These proposed stories would explore how child care impacts cherished institutions and activities that improve our quality of life in Colorado, including our restaurants, museums, theaters, parks and recreation centers and sports events and teams. For more information on this creative theme, click here.
  • Child Care Champions – These proposed stories would explore early childhood educators who are frequently overlooked as well as unlikely champions of our early childhood system, including military leaders, business owners and conservative messengers and politicians. For more information on this creative theme, click here.

RFP Objectives

  • Provide financial support to the following subgroups of artists, creatives, storytellers and communicators in the development of narratives, storytelling and creative strategies designed to explore the issues facing Colorado’s child care system and the idea that child care is a vital, societal good rather than a responsibility to be singularly carried by parents and providers:
    • Marketers, advertisers and communicators who are interested in the development of compelling, targeted and measurable narrative and creative campaigns
    • Artists, filmmakers and podcasters who are interested in developing moving, representative and emotionally resonant stories, narratives and works of art
    • Community organizers, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, religious organizations and others who hold trust within the prioritized audiences outlined in this proposal and are interested in creating resonant, strategic messaging, narratives and storytelling
  • Support grantees/contractors in finding ways to promote this storytelling, narrative and creative content using distribution and amplification strategies to reach audiences who don’t frequently receive or seek out information on our child care system
  • Protect the independence and artistic integrity and control of all grantees/contractors by working with Colorado’s preeminent arts funders to distribute this RFP as well as a selection panel of statewide, award-winning artists, creatives and community organizations to advise on the selection process and provide ongoing support for grantees/contractors
  • Share a variety of unique storylines and leads with applicants during our informational webinars on July 15 that were surfaced as part of an intensive RFP design session featuring child care experts, journalists, creatives and community organizers across the state
  • Support strong proposals that:
    • Demonstrate the potential grantee’s/contractor’s deep relationships with the priority audiences outlined in the “Proposal Requirements” section and/or an interest in working with Gary Community Ventures and other child care system stakeholders to assist in the development of relatable subjects, characters and sources to be featured in or inspire your work
    • Demonstrate a strong track record of artistic and creative excellence
    • Illustrate an understanding of how to use strategic distribution, advertising or amplification methods to maximize the reach, engagement with and impact of your creative work, especially among the priority audiences outlined in the “Proposal Requirements” category
    • Highlight a clear creative plan that demonstrates the grantee’s/contractor’s ability to accomplish the content quotas outlined in the “Expected Deliverables from Recipients” section and distribute that content within the 6- to 12-month period

Proposal Requirements

  • Proposals must clearly describe how they will identify and elevate stories from or capable of resonating with one or more of the following priority audiences:
    • Coloradans Without Children
    • Family-Focused Conservatives
    • Coloradans Age 50+
    • Business Leaders
    • Fathers
    • Western Slope Communities
    • Larimer County Residents
    • El Paso County Residents
  • Demonstrate a culturally responsive approach to storytelling and a creative process that will engage the audiences identified above
  • Include a clear plan for your storytelling and creative process that includes a timeline of activities, milestones and deliverables across the life of the project
  • Identify strategies for activation, distribution and amplification of your work, with estimates about the size and general demographic makeup of audience you expect to reach

Proposal Considerations

Priority will be given to proposals that:

  • Are led by members of our priority audience groups outlined above or are led by individuals or groups that have shown a demonstrated ability to represent and/or reach one or more of those audiences
  • Show innovative plans to help your creative work reach and engage the aforementioned priority audiences
  • Demonstrate how your work has or could lead your audience to experience sentiment shifts, develop new or deepen perspectives or take a specific and measurable action
  • Reflect innovative or community-rooted practices in listening and artistic curation approaches as well as social and cultural responsiveness throughout your creative process

We will not consider funding proposals that:

  • Do not address the objectives of this RFP, do not align with one or more of the “Creative Themes” outlined above or do not provide clear plans to reach the audiences outlined in the “Proposal Requirements” section
  • Have weak or unclear project details, timelines, reporting, or distribution plans
  • Lack a clear or feasible plan for story mining or creative development
  • Do not reflect thoughtfulness in budgeting or timeline, or engagement of creative sources who represent or are likely to resonate with the audiences outlined in the “Proposal Requirements” section

Grant Awards & Contracts, Expected Deliverables & Application

Grant Awards & Contracts

  • We will award grants and or contracts of up to $50K
  • We anticipate that the majority of grants or contracts awarded in this category will range from $10K-$20K.
  • For grant or contract proposals that incorporate advertising spends, we will offer additional awards or contracts of up to $50K
  • We anticipate selecting 4-10 recipients
  • A total of $185K will be distributed through this category of our request for narrative grant proposals

Expected Deliverables from Recipients

  • A project timeline that outlines how your creative process, deliverables,  distribution/amplification strategies will evolve across the grant/contract period.
  • A clearly defined scope of work with activities, timelines, deliverables, measurable milestones and pivot strategies that can be activated if needed
  • A strategy for elevating your work through trusted media outlets, distribution platforms and additional amplification channels
  • A plan to capture and report reach and engagement metrics of your creative and storytelling work
  • A plan to share your creative learnings, insights and audience engagement metrics

Application

Here is an editable Google Doc that you can use to work on the application among collaborative teams, if helpful. Otherwise, click the link below to apply.

Apply for this RFP

RFP Timeline, Informational Webinar & Office Hours

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can help

For questions regarding this RFP, please reach out to Will Holden, our Director of Communications & Storytelling, at wholden@garycommunity.org. We will also be offering two additional avenues for support.

Office Hours

We will be hosting regular office hours to answer any questions you may have live. Please click the links below to register and feel free to join at any point in these two-hour windows.

Informational Webinars

Additionally, we will host four webinars on Tuesday, July 22 focused on each of the four categories of this RFP. Click the link below to register for the virtual meeting specific to this RFP category.

  • Artistic, Creative Content & Storytelling Proposals – Occurred Tuesday, Jul 22 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
    • Apologies, but we had technical difficulties with this recording — we will record another version of this presentation & post it online by Jul 24
    • View Slide Deck

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