Request for Qualifications for

Communications Services for BC Vision

Responses must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm EST September 25, 2015
Introduction & Overview of BC Vision
While there are many things to celebrate about Battle Creeks history, like many manufacturingbased cities in the region and across the U.S., for over a decade Battle Creek and its immediately
surrounding area has struggled to regain the economic stability it once enjoyed. While many
residents in Battle Creek express strong pride and connection to their community, more will need to
be done to make a better Battle Creek, where employers, entrepreneurs and residents of all ages and
backgrounds can thrive.
In response to these persistent challenges, in April 2014 John Bryant, CEO of Kellogg Company, and
La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, launched a yearlong community planning process with a clear commitment to co-create a vision and an actionable
long-term sustainable community and economic development plan that leads to a vibrant and equitable
transformation of Battle Creek.1
This BC Vision plan was crafted by Battle Creek community members, thousands of whom
contributed their ideas through surveys, house-to-house canvasses, on line and in meetings.
Community members discussed their priorities, reviewed and analyzed data, identified community
assets and barriers to progress and defined strategies to create the Battle Creek they want for
themselves, their neighbors and their children. A steering committee comprised of volunteers from
business, education, the faith community, government, nonprofits and others from across Battle
Creek reviewed and approved the vision, goals, priorities and strategies. Our three pillars for this
work are jobs, talent development and culture of vitality:

BC Vision, Community Kick-off Sept. 29, 2014

Our Vision: Battle Creek is a thriving community for people to live, work and play, where there is
equitable opportunity for all residents to have the income, education and resources they need to be
successful.
With the launch of BC Vision, we are poised to implement the next phase of planning for the
community-driven community economic development plan to revitalize the City of Battle Creek. A
coherent strategy to continue community outreach and communication across broad segments of
city residents is critical for the success of BC Vision. We are also releasing three additional Requests
for Qualifications for community engagement, data monitoring services, and racial equity strategy
development. Our expectation is that all successful vendors are working together to ensure that
work is aligned and not redundant. Successful organizations will be directed by and report to the BC
Vision Steering Committee.
Potential Communications Scope of Services
Branding: A corporate identity with a logo, incorporating imagery and messaging with the design,
look and feel of the existing BC Vision design, iconography and materials, including:
An updated style guide for presentations
Presentation templates
Messaging: The three pillars of jobs, talent development and culture of vitality should reflect the
progress of BC Vision work. The messaging goals include:
Update of any existing materials (i.e. key messages, FAQ, etc.)
Talking points and elevator speech for the various leadership groups (i.e. Steering
Committee, Action Team Co-Chairs) about the desired outcomes and goals of BC Vision
Outreach Tactics: We would like to use traditional and non-traditional media with an emphasis on
digital and social media.
An ongoing outreach strategy should be developed for traditional and social media. This
should include a strategy for what, how and when content is posted.
Preference for having staff available to attend ongoing events and meetings in order to
provide consistent content.
A plan should be developed to leverage earned and paid media, traditional and nontraditional.
There will be a separate RFQ for an organization(s) to develop and implement a more formal
community engagement strategy. Our expectation is that both organizations are working
together to ensure alignment, syncing of messaging and creating targeted outreach
strategies.
Other considerations and/or deliverables:
Social/online: Promoted and targeted posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google to accommodate a
number of different audience demographics: younger (late teens to mid-40s); all incomes;
diverse (African-American, Spanish and Burmese)
Press releases and media advisories on activities and progress of effort
Television/radio interviews with Steering Committee, community stakeholders and engaged
residents, and event coverage

Op-eds/letters to the editor from campaign stakeholders/owners (e.g. Steering Committee,

Action Teams) and engaged residents
Leverage existing platforms/cohorts/institutions i.e. City of Battle Creek

Submission Requirements
This RFQ contemplates that the services requested will begin in the fall of 2015 and end spring 2017.
Interested consultants or firms shall submit a Statement of Qualifications containing all items listed
below:

The name of the organization(s), address for all offices, telephone and fax numbers
Name and credentials of designated contact person or project manager
Type (nonprofit or for-profit), size of the organization and years of operation
Description of basic services provided or corporate overview
List of proposed staffing and team members, including short biographies. The key
personnel (including the project manager) for this engagement should be called out
separately with a more detailed resume and biography with hourly rates.
Three examples or project summaries of where your organization(s) or personnel have
experience in the areas of service requested.
A summary of how the organization will approach the potential services. This summary
should also include a list or narrative of other unique services or resources that your
organization can offer BC Vision in addition to whats listed above.
A summary of how the organization will work with the community and other civic
organizations throughout the duration of the work.
A summary of how the organization approaches diversity and inclusion internally and
externally, i.e. staff diversity, reaching diverse audiences, etc.
Description of your organizations commitment to customer service and quality assurance.

Selection Criteria
All RFQ submissions will be evaluated on the following factors:
Understanding of and ability to meet BC Visions goals and objectives.
Demonstrated expertise in and/or understanding of community initiatives or civic related
outreach and communications.
Demonstrated expertise in and/or understanding of public-private partnerships or similar
organizational structures.
Demonstrated experience working with diverse constituent audiences.
Organizational and personnel qualifications and experience with weight given to experience
of team.
Creativity in the approach and additional services that could be offered.
Articulated approach for working collaboratively with community, business, and
philanthropy in Battle Creek.
Additional points will be awarded for organizations located in Southwest Michigan.
A committee will be established to review and evaluate the responses to this RFQ by scoring them in
accordance with the foregoing criteria. This committee will make recommendations to the BC Vision
Steering Committee for selection of the service provider.

Questions
Questions may be submitted via email to Alana White at alana.white@wkkf.org.
Deadline
Responses must be submitted to Alana White at alana.white@wkkf.org no later than 5:00 pm
EST September 25, 2015.