Now accepting applications! You can download the proposal as a word document here: RFP spring 2012, or as a PDF document here:  RFP spring 2012 , or the text is pasted in below.

Good luck, and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

BIKE 4 THE BRAIN

2012 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Proposals due February 17, 2012

I. ABOUT BIKE 4 THE BRAIN

Bike 4 the Brain (B4B) supports an annual community bicycle ride, walk and run event the goals of which are to increase awareness about mental health disorders; help people understand these as brain-based illnesses with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive symptoms; and raise funds for Kansas City agencies and organizations that help people affected by mental health disorders.

We come together one day each year to acknowledge that one in three of us will struggle with these illnesses at some point in our lives. We move our bodies and gather our forces in solidarity with individuals, families, and friends and their day to day journey to move beyond the disabling power of the diagnosis. B4B seeks to educate, engage, and encourage our community to reduce the serious consequences of these illnesses including the 25 year lower life expectancy for people diagnosed with a serious mental illness and 15% of people with these illness who may lose their lives to the struggle. B4B provides hope, encouragement, connections, and empowerment with the belief that all people with mental illness can recover and take control of a productive and fulfilling life. We seek to provide funding for programs and services that address these challenges. Our funding priorities include but are not limited to:

• Education, awareness, and outreach for people not receiving adequate mental health services
• Integration of physical wellness and mental wellness
• Increasing participation of people with mental illness in community events that encourage recovery
• Peer support, role modeling, and other consumer-provided services
• Encouraging creative expression as a part of recovery
• Advocacy for permanent supportive housing and other community-based living
• Non-medication strategies for self-support
• Education about effective use of evidence-based medicine in recovery

Bike 4 the Brain has a 501(C) (3) status in process. We are linked with the national mental health consumer movement, where people in recovery with mental illnesses use first-hand knowledge to help improve the lives of all people with mental illnesses. Please visit the B4B website www.bike4thebrain.org for more information and resources.

II. WHEN TO USE THIS RFP

Non-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status that provide a project, program or service which enhances the lives of people with mental health disorders in the Kansas City area may apply for a grant to Bike 4 the Brain. Other individuals or organizations who do not have 501(c)(3) status may apply through an affiliation with a 501(c)(3) organization. Funding will be considered for any of the following:

(1) Operations/services

(2) Capacity building

(3) Ongoing or new programs

III. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

Your proposal should contain the following information and should be no longer than 3 pages, in 12 point font with 1 inch margins:

• Contact information including name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and website
• Mission statement
• Brief history of the organization
• Description of current programs, activities, and accomplishments
• How you propose to use the grant funding
• Define “recovery” in your organization and how your work helps move your organization toward this goal

In addition, please attach:

• 2011 budget with actual expenses and income if available
• List of board members and professional staff
• Copy of your 501(c)(3) letter
• List of organizations with whom you collaborate

Please submit your complete proposal electronically to bike4thebrain@gmail.com no later than February 17, 2012. Incomplete proposals will not be accepted.

IV. AWARD LIMITS AND OBLIGATIONS

Bike 4 the Brain will award up to 6 local organizations $2,500 each in spring 2012. Any organization which receives a B4B grant is obligated to do the following:

• Participate as a community partner in the 2012 Bike 4 the Brain event on Labor Day, September 3, 2012. Community partners provide assistance such as hosting a rest stop, volunteering and volunteer recruitment, publicity, furnishing prizes, donating refreshments and planning assistance.
• Use the grant funds only for the purpose for which the grant was made.
• Provide a report and accounting as to how the grant funds were used by December 31, 2012.
• Acknowledge that B4B has the right to withhold or recover grant funds in case the funds are, or appear to be misused.