Highland Valley Entry

RFP

Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc.
Area Agency on Aging
Title III Request for Proposals (RFP)

Contract Period: October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2027
(2-year cycle)

Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc. is a federally designated Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and state designated Aging Services Access Point (ASAP), who has a defined service area of twenty-four communities in Hampshire and Hampden Counties.  Our MANDATE as an AAA is to promote comprehensive and coordinated resources for elders and their families.  Our designation as an ASAP allows us to provide access to resources for home and community based care.  Our MISSION states, “Highland Valley Elder Services serves older adults and their families through collaboration, education, advocacy and a range of programs designed to support them where they live.”

PROCUREMENT

The Title III Request for Proposal (RFP) seeks bidders interested in building collaborations and partnerships in pursuit of the above mission and mandates.  We are seeking proposals to support elders and family caregivers by offering resources and supportive services.  Our goal is to support proposals that demonstrate community partnerships and collaborations with the end result of providing collaborative services. We understand that partnerships and collaborations take time to nurture successful outcomes. 

RFP Criteria for Proposals: 

  • All proposals should demonstrate a partnership between agencies in our 24 town service area. Preferably partnerships include a Council on Aging in our 24 town service area. Proposals must primarily serve seniors in one or more of the communities in the Highland Valley service area (see listing of towns in service area below). Highland Valley is not defining how the partnership work needs to be accomplished. Proposals will be given small incentives for the oversight and management. The maximum allowed for administration oversight will be 8%, with the expectation that 4% of that amount will be an in-kind donation for administration by the applicant. 
  • Proposals should include detailed budgets that appropriately support the project.  Generally grants are awarded within a minimum of $3,000 and a maximum of $8,000 (subject to change).
  • Proposals representing partnerships will be expected to oversee the distribution of dollars, record keeping, and monitoring activities.  The submitting organization will be the entity to work with Highland Valley and will be the organization monitored.  The submitting organization will be required to obtain and keep records for the collaborating agencies.

Award cycle will be October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2027 (2 year cycle). The change to a two-year award cycle will allow awarded proposals the opportunity to increase the capacity for success in their partnership endeavors. 

Priority Areas for Funding for Federal FY26-FY27

  • In-home Supports to Maintain Independence
  • Transportation Access & Availability
  • Access to Healthcare (such as locating affordable health care, insurance & prescriptions)
  • Family Caregiver Services
  • Services to Reduce Isolation
  • Services to Promote Evidenced-Based Trainings
  • Services to support low-income seniors, at-risk populations, and/or seniors residing in rural communities

PHILOSOPHY

All Care is Local.  Eighty percent of older adult care has traditionally been delivered by spouses, children, neighbors and relatives.  Our formal system delivers the remaining twenty percent (NIH.gov, 2010).  We seek to commit State and Federal funds and program resources so that older adults and their families and local communities will discover opportunities and options to collaborate and partner to assist the formal system.

Goals for All Proposals

  • Proposal must foster the design, development and implementation of program initiatives that engage older adults, their families and caregivers with individuals and organizations.
  • Promote community activities, resources, programming, and/or social engagement in respective communities.
  • Support multi-generational programs, support groups, trainings, seminars and other organizing activities to encourage all ages to participate in activities that promote diversity and richness within their respective communities.
  • Foster access and awareness to underserved populations (to include consumers facing dementia, families of long term care residents, children as caregivers, spouses as supporting caregivers, grandparents caring for grandchildren, individuals with communications barriers, older adults in rural communities, low income consumers and other marginalized populations).
  • Funds are intended to benefit persons age 60 and above.  Applicants should seek to give preference to older adults in the greatest social and economic need including low income, rural and at-risk elders.
  • For proposals to receive program support using the Health Promotion category (evidenced based programs) the application must describe and demonstrate utilization and support of this model. Stanford Model Programs are examples of accepted evidenced based programs. A list of programs is available on the National Council on Aging website.

GUIDELINES

  1. All proposals should adhere to submission deadlines.  No extensions will be granted.
  2. Grants are reviewed and awarded on a competitive basis for a 24-month period of time. (Federal cycle October 1 – September 30).
  3. Applicants may request funding for more than one program.  Each request requires a separate application. 
  4. Each grantee must give participants an opportunity to contribute voluntarily to the cost of activities.  Contributions must remain confidential.  The charging of a fee is prohibited. No person may be denied involvement if he or she chooses not to contribute.  Contributions are used to expand the services of programs being funded.   All contributions received must be reported.  The year-end report requests sub-grantees to submit information regarding the in-kind activities and/or an accounting of volunteers utilized to support the proposal. 
  5. If an activity requires participants to come to a site, the site must be handicapped accessible. 
  6. Grantees must provide 25% of funds from other sources or in-kind contributions to demonstrate support of the proposal. 
  7. Funded proposals must acknowledge Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc. Title III as a funding source in all marketing and promotional materials (as stipulated in sub-grantee contract). 
  8. All Council on Aging applicants must also apply for their Formula Grant from the Executive Office of Aging & Independence in order to be considered for this funding. 
  9. Applicants and their representatives are encouraged to attend information sessions (see below). 
  10. All proposals are subject to the availability of funds.  No program is guaranteed funding.
  11. No additional funds will be available beyond what the contract stipulates and funds cannot be carried forward from on fiscal year to the next.
  12. New Title III grant applicants will be required to attend a 30-minute virtual applicant interview session with members of our Title III Advisory Council. This will provide an opportunity for the grant applicant to review their program and the Council to ask questions. Returning Title III grant applicants will also be offered the opportunity to participate in an applicant interview session and some will be required to attend based on program performance in the current grant cycle. Session time/dates will be assigned by Highland Valley, to take place between June 16, 2025 and June 27, 2025. Applicants are encouraged to include program facilitators and key partners in their individual interview sessions.
  13. Awardees will be required to attend a virtual sub-grant information session on Thursday, September 25th from 10am – 11am. Invite will be sent with award allocations.
  14. Awardees must collect unduplicated consumer counts, unit counts and demographic information to be submitted along with billing on a monthly basis. Requirements of each funding type will be outlined in sub-grant award letters issued in September 2025.
  15. Awardees will be notified regarding the amount of funds secured for the first year of the award cycle in September 2025. (Ex. Amount awarded $4,000.00 for Oct. 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2026). Funding for the second year will be awarded once Highland Valley is informed by the state of the available funds for that designated year. (Ex. Amount awarded $4,000.00 for Oct. 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2026. Combined total for the two-year cycle is $8,000.00). 

INSTRUCTIONS AND PROPOSALS TIMELINES

  • All Proposals must be submitted online.  Proposals are due by 5pm on Monday, May 15th, 2025. 
  • Use application and budget forms at https://fd7.formdesk.com/highland/FundApplicationForm to file electronically.
  • Proposals will be tracked by the application portal identifying time of submission completion.
  • The application portal will provide a conformation page to applicant, once application is successfully submitted.
  • Informational sessions will be held virtually to review the RFP process and proposals for interested applicants, with identical agenda, on: 
    Friday, March 28th, 2025 from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (and)
    Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 from 10:30 am – 11:30 am

To attend:  RSVP to Bernard LaFlam, Data Specailist, at blaflam@highlandvalley.org or call 413-586-2000 x127. A link to the virtual meeting will be sent once RSVP is submitted.

  • Contact Kelly Ensor at Highland Valley 413-586-2000 X596 with any application questions.
  • Award letters and contracts will be mailed the week of September 15th.  All signed contracts must be returned by October 1, 2025.
  • Highland Valley’s 24 Town Service Area Includes: Amherst, Blandford, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granville, Hadley, Hatfield, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Northampton, Pelham, Plainfield, Russell, Southampton, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg, and Worthington

HIGHLAND VALLEY’S ROLE 

  • Provide outreach, marketing and online collaboration, and resource materials to promote community development and support in the local communities
  • Provide in-home services to include in home assessments, resource and referral information, purchased services, consultations and consideration of program eligibility with older adults, their families and employers
  • Partner with communities to increase capacity for consumers to age in their respective communities

The RFP anticipates the availability of approximately $148,657* in Federal funds from the Older Americans Act as noted below.  Projected funding amounts listed as subject to change. Awards are dependent on available funds from the Executive Office of Aging & Independence.

Title III B – Supportive Services – $117,219* – a portion of these funds must be allocated to legal services based on a Federal formula.  Supportive Services includes companion and transportation services, as well as many other project types.  Since funding is limited, partial funding may be negotiated and awarded.

Title III D – Health Promotion – $6,000*

Title III E – Family Caregiver – $25,438*

*Final amounts will be determined in August 2025. Amounts cited reflect FY25 category amounts. Award amounts for sub-grantees will be released in September 2025.