The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Council requests proposals for a soap maker to supply our Bathing Bundle Project. The term of the project contract will be for nine months (January 1 – September 30, 2025).
Background:
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) is a Native nonprofit organization with a mission to provide national leadership to end violence against American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women by supporting culturally grounded, grassroots advocacy.
In 2020, we began the Bathing Bundle Project to provide bathing bundles at no cost to tribal domestic violence programs and shelters. With the spread of COVID-19, having access to personal care products and encouraging hand washing and general hygiene is crucial and especially difficult for survivors seeking shelter when leaving an abusive situation. Furthermore, the ritual of bathing is a simple way to clear the mind and cleanse the body. Providing natural, Native, traditional-themed products for these routines can improve the situation for survivors of domestic abuse who are transitioning out of trauma. The Bathing Bundle Project provides handmade, vegan, natural moisturizing soaps with no chemical preservatives, scented with essential oils that evoke a calming effect and have traditionally promoted healing, such as cedar, sage, lemongrass, tea tree, or lavender.
Scope:
This RFP requests proposals from soap makers to manufacture bathing bundles (each bundle to include two soaps- one face bar and one bath bar- at .75 oz each, for a total of 1.5 oz per bundle). The soaps should be vegan, natural moisturizing soaps with no chemical preservatives, scented with essential oils that evoke a calming effect and promote traditional indigenous healing, such as cedar, sage, lemongrass, tea tree, lavender, or other scents. Each soap should be individually labeled, and each bundle (of two soaps- one face bar and one bath/body bar) should be wrapped with the “Bathing Bundle Project” title, NIWRC’s logo (to be provided by NIWRC upon the successful bid), NIWRC’s social media contacts (website, Facebook, and Instagram), and ingredients listed. The provider can add their name, logo, and contact information if desired. The project budget is $75,000, and the manufacturer should budget for all soap ingredients; manufacturing needs, supplies & labor; bundle wrapping material and labor; and shipping of bundles to locations requesting bathing bundles. All shipping costs will be reimbursed at the actual costs above $75,000. The project is funded by Federal Funds (90EV540) and is therefore the records are subject to Federal requirements and review. All soaps must be shipped no later than September 20,2025. In the event there is not enough requests for the remaining soaps, they will be shipped to the NIWRC office in Great Falls, Montana.
Proposal Content:
All proposals are to include the following:
- Complete contact information, including mailing and email address and phone/cell number.
- Information regarding whether the manufacturer is minority/woman-owned and, if Native, the tribal affiliation of the company leadership.
- Detailed responses that provide a description of the soaps to be manufactured, a description of the manufacturing process (including whether handmade or not), a description of soap ingredients to be used for face bars and bath/body bars, and a description of how the bundles will be wrapped, with an image of the wrap design to be used (a placeholder for NIWRC’s logo is sufficient for purposes of the proposal).
- Information on how many bathing bundles will be provided and shipped to recipients for a total compensation of $75,000 plus actual shipping costs. A budget breakdown that addresses all costs, including soap ingredients, manufacturing needs, supplies & labor, bundle wrapping material and labor, and estimated shipping cost.
- A timeframe for when completed shipments will be sent to recipients, how many bundles will be included in each shipment, and requested payment terms.
- List of three references (of previous/current soap clients) with contact information.
Please submit proposals to Carolyn Gresham, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, at grants@niwrc.org. Proposals must be received by December 6, 2024.
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