—Ed McMahon, Orton Family Foundation Trustee

Are you looking for a way to help your community realize its potential and create a better future?

Are you seeking a new way of doing business that taps in to a shared vision, uncovers what makes your community special and leads to action and tangible results?

Are you ready to build your community’s resilience and ability to meet future challenges and opportunities?

If you’re nodding your head, read on.

The Orton Family Foundation invites proposals from small cities and towns committed to planning for a future that preserves and enhances their “heart and soul”—those places, people and customs that make them unique. The Foundation helps communities navigate change while upholding what they value most. We offer an innovative approach to community planning that unlocks potential by identifying local values, building a vision from them, and prioritizing actions. We seek towns where community partners are ready to harness the inherent ability of citizens to imagine and achieve a better future.

The Foundation will select four communities, two in New England and two in the northern Rocky Mountain West. Each selected community will receive training, technical assistance and up to $100,000 in supporting funds over two years. During this two-year period, communities are expected to provide a 1:1 match through a combination of in-kind resources and a minimum $25,000 cash match.

Please review this page thoroughly before contacting the Orton Family Foundation. If you need further information or clarification, please contact us at rfp@orton.org.

Submission Deadline: July 20, 2011

RFP Table of Contents

1. Eligibility

2. Background

3. What We’re Offering

4. What We’re Looking For

5. Partner Roles & Responsibilities

6. Selection Criteria

7. Timeline

8. Submission Requirements

Our Unlocking Heart & Soul Conference Call Series begins on May 4, 2011!

Join us for an informative call series that will help you understand the essential elements of Heart & Soul and what you need to prepare a proposal. View a complete schedule and list of topics, and mark your calendars today.