Financial Empowerment Center Operations Provider

Location:	New Hampshire
Posted:	Mar 19, 2026
Due:	Apr 30, 2026
Agency:	City of Nashua
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Solicitation No:	RFP0359-043026
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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City of Nashua

Purchasing Department

Administrative Services Division

229 Main Street - Nashua, NH 03060

(603) 589-3330

Fax (603) 594-3233

Request for Proposals: RFP0359-043026 Financial Empowerment Center Operations Provider

I. Overview

The City of Nashua’s Economic Development (the “City”) is seeking a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit

organization to serve as the financial counseling provider for the City’s new Financial Empowerment

Center (“FEC”). This Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is targeted toward organizations that can effectively

implement high-volume, quality, one-on-one financial counseling services to individuals and families.

The selected financial counseling provider will implement programming and services in partnership with

the City.

II. Background

In 2023, the City of Nashua applied for a planning grant to outline the City’s strategy to help build wealth

and improve finances for Nashua residents, specifically focusing on racial wealth equity. The creation of

a Financial Empowerment Center primarily located in the Nashua Public Library and the Nashua Senior

Center actually works toward several of the goals in the City's Economic Mobility Strategic Plan. The

City of Nashua’s Financial Empowerment Center will be the first FEC launched in the State of New

Hampshire.

Supported by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (“CFE Fund”), the Financial Empowerment

Center model has operated for over thirteen years across more than thirty municipalities in the United

States. In total, current FECs have worked with over 150,000 clients, helping them reduce debt by more

than $226 million and increase savings by $46 million. Professionally trained FEC counselors help

residents manage their finances, pay down debt, increase savings, establish and build credit, and access

safe and affordable mainstream banking products. Core to the FEC model is integrating financial

counseling into other social services, including homeownership services, workforce development,

emergency assistance programs, benefits access, and more.

The success of FECs is backed by over ten years of continuous expansion of the model, as well as the CFE

Fund’s three-year evaluation released in 2017, An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers:

Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service, which closely examined the initiative’s initial

replication in 5 cities. Key elements of the FEC model and operations include:

Model:

• Provide professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service.

• Systematically track data and outcomes for client management and evaluation.

• Connect to a range of local government and nonprofit service delivery systems.

• Prioritize sustainability efforts to become a permanent service in the locality.

The FEC model is a partnership between local government and the selected operational organization,

with critical and distinct roles for each partner. The City of Nashua is responsible of overseeing the

program and the partner organization is responsible for day to day operations. For a detailed overview

of the model, please see Exhibit B.

III. RFP Overview and Scope of Services

The City is seeking a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to serve as the Financial Empowerment

Center’s financial counseling provider, following the key elements of the model and the framework

provided by the City of Nashua and the Center for Financial Empowerment. The City and the selected

nonprofit will work in partnership to develop the FEC’s programming, policies, and implementation plan.

While the FEC may initially be housed in drop-in or temporary locations, the permanent home of the FEC

will be the Nashua Public Library and the Nashua Senior Center.

The Financial Counseling Provider (proposer) will:

● Manage day-to-day operations of the FEC

● Recruit, hire and supervise the FEC Program Manager. This is a full-time position for one

person.

● Recruit, hire and supervise the FEC counselors. The financial counseling provider must staff

the equivalent of two full-time counselors. Preference is given to applicants who propose two

full-time counselors

● Collect data using the FEC database, which is provided to the nonprofit at no cost, and

regularly fulfill reporting requirements as determined by the City and the Cities for Financial

Empowerment

● Support continuing education and training for the financial counselors

● Ensure program managers and counselors are trained based on the CFE Fund’s training

standards (program managers and counselors must pass a CFE Fund-administered final exam)

● Lead public marketing efforts for the FEC, including participating in outreach events and

presentations

● Adhere to reporting requirements determined by the City on FEC services and operations;

● Coordinate with City personnel to develop and maintain partnerships among the FEC and

outside organizations to better serve clients and drive traffic to the FEC

● Communicate routinely with the City’s local government manager about FEC operations,

specifically, any challenges encountered that would impact the organization’s ability to meet the

goals of the FEC

● Support fundraising efforts to sustain the FEC program

The City will:

• Coordinate with the CFE to manage overall operations of FEC, including program oversight,

design, and implementation (Note: The nonprofit provider is responsible for the day-to-day

operations and staffing of the FEC)

• Conduct evaluation and formal reviews of the nonprofit provider in relation to services

provided at FEC

• Fundraise to ensure FEC program sustainability

• Coordinate with nonprofit provider to develop and maintain partnerships with social service

organizations and businesses

• Coordinate with nonprofit provider for marketing and outreach for the FEC

• Host the Nashua FEC website

This RFP is targeted toward organizations that can effectively implement high-volume, quality, one-on-

one financial counseling services to individuals and families.

Required Qualifications for Nonprofit Financial Counseling Provider

● Qualified as exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code.

● Preference for organizations with a minimum of 3 years of delivering financial education,

financial counseling, financial coaching, or similar or related services.

● Track record of achieving financial stability outcomes or impacts.

● Experience working in one or more low-income communities.

● Established relationships with organizations in the local community to receive and provide

referrals to related supportive services to clients. If the applicant has not performed work in

Nashua, the applicant demonstrates significant experience in establishing relationships in other

local communities served.

● Demonstrated experience conducting effective client outreach. Preference will be given to

applicants with specific experience using multiple marketing and outreach tools to build a high-

volume client base and leveraging partnerships with community leaders and activities to drive

traffic.

● Experience with data tracking and reporting to government agencies and/or private funders.

● Ability to track, manage, and report on critical data points for each client based on systems

developed with the City of Nashua.

Preferred Qualifications for Nonprofit Financial Counseling Provider

● An established track record of providing one-on-one financial counseling and/or coaching to

adults is strongly preferred. Please note applicants with limited experience delivering one-on-

one financial counseling should demonstrate trusted, long-standing ties to the community they

propose to serve and a detailed plan for developing the necessary technical capacity.

● Established community relationships and partnerships in the proposed community or target

population.

● Capacity and flexibility to meet a continuum of financial needs of low-income, multilingual

individuals/families in a variety of stages of financial need and crisis.

● Knowledge and/or assessment of the financial service and counseling needs of the proposed

community and/or target population and solutions or alternative services most appropriate to

specific client needs.

● Ability to offer bilingual financial counseling services

IV. Program Timeline

The nonprofit provider will follow the timeline below for FEC operations:

● Build Phase (4 – 6 months):

o All efforts to prepare for the opening of the FEC (Hiring and training staff, finalizing

partnership agreements, preparing marketing and operations, etc.). Time period is estimated

and may vary based on local procurement processes or other factors.

o Begin offering services at the FEC

● Implementation Phase (18 months, with option of contract renewal):

o Continue offering services at the FEC

V. Program Oversight

The City will provide oversight for the financial counseling provider based on the services outlined in

this Request for Proposal and in the contract. The City will conduct weekly regular follow up during

the first 6 months of operations and monthly formal reviews thereafter. If the City determines in its sole

discretion that the financial counseling provider has performed unsatisfactorily, the City may terminate

the Agreement at any time with 30 days’ notice.

VI. Program Funding

While the City is responsible for funding the Financial Empowerment Center, the expectation of the City

is that the chosen provider will partner with the City to fundraise the required amount for operations.

Based on the sample budget provided in Exhibit C, we anticipate that this we require roughly $500,000

for two years of operations. The City will receive a committed $150,000 ($100,000 immediately and

$50,000 saved for the second year) from the Cities for Financial Empowerment to start the program, but

the rest of the funding that has been committed is subject to Aldermanic approval.

At the end of this contract, if the City determines, in its sole discretion, that the financial counseling

provider has performed satisfactorily; they may continue providing services at the FEC. If the City

determines, in its sole discretion, that the financial counseling provider has performed unsatisfactorily,

the City reserves the right to discontinue their services at the FEC.

VII. Request for Proposal Timeline and Submission Methods

The City is now accepting submittals electronically via Bonfire. A Digital ID is not required to

submit via Bonfire. Please review the electronic documents linked here, Bonfire Vendor

Guide and Vendor Set-up Guide for more information. Copies are also available on the

City’s website in the Purchasing section within the Bids section.

If an organization chooses to submit their proposal outside of Bonfire, the following is an alternate

option:

Submit one (1) original and two (2) bound photocopies in a sealed envelope(s) or

package(s) clearly marked “RFP0359-043026Financial Empowerment Center Partnership”. A pdf version

of all printed

material as well as any supplemental digital material shall be submitted in the form of a

thumb drive. The proposals and the names of the proposers who submit will be posted on

the city website, under Bid Results, within thirty-six (36) hours of bid closing.

Proposals must be submitted, as outlined in the preceding paragraph, no later than

3:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2026, c/o Purchasing Office, Room 11, City Hall, 229 Main

Street, Nashua NH, 03060. Proposals must be submitted in a format no less than 8.5x11 and

no more than 11x17 with digital copies of all printed material. Supporting digital media is

allowable but all submissions must address the items specified in the submission

requirements section of this proposal via printed material. Postmarks or other timestamps

will not be accepted in lieu of actual delivery. The firm can use whatever delivery

mechanism it chooses as long as it remains clear that the firm is responsible for

submissions prior to the date and time. The City has the right to waive any informalities in

the submittal procedure. The City of Nashua may reject any or all of the proposals on any

basis and without disclosure of a reason. The failure to make such a disclosure shall not result in accrual

of any right, claim or cause of action by any unsuccessful proposer against the City. The City reserves the

right to negotiate any change or amendment in any proposal without soliciting further requests for

proposals if the action is necessary for the best interest of the City.

Complete specifications and related documentation is available on our website, content related to the

RFP may be updated to provide new information as it becomes available or in response to questions

submitted in writing. www.nashuanh.gov, under Services, Bid Opportunities, document RFP0359-

043026.

Timeline for development is as follows:

Date

March 19, 2026

March 26, 2026 at 1:00 pm

April 3, 2026 at 10:00 am

April 8, 2026 at 3:00 pm

April 30, 2026

Item

RFP Opens

Informational Zoom for RFP - Optional

All applicant questions due to the City

City submits answers

RFP Submission Due by 3 PM EST

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Bid Number:	RFP0359-043026
Bid Title:	Financial Empowerment Center Operations Provider
Category:	City
Status:	Open

Financial Empowerment Center Operations Provider

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See also