General news about Mountain Projects

Letter from the Director: Spring 2021

Dear Friends of Mountain Projects,

Our intent with this Spring newsletter is to express our appreciation and reflect the impact that your December donations have made in the midst of the pandemic.

We saw a lot of suffering as the effects of Covid unfolded in our community, and we’ve been anxious to see what the winter quarter would bring. As springtime arrives we’re getting a clearer picture of what’s ahead, and please know that we, along with our clients, are immensely grateful for every contribution we received.

We’ve extended quite a few helping hands through the generosity of our contributors.

I want to share a note from one of our clients, to help you understand the value of your donations: “Thank you! We had nowhere else to turn. If it weren’t for Mountain Projects, my family would be living without power in our home, or even worse, evicted by the end of the month. Please thank your staff and the people who support your nonprofit. We never thought we would be in this situation and you all came through in the nick of time. From our hearts, thank you.”

At Mountain Projects, we know this story all too well. As a community action agency serving Haywood and Jackson counties, it’s our mission to provide stabilizing solutions for people with serious unmet needs: food, shelter, early childhood education, healthcare, substance misuse prevention and transportation – the basic building blocks that make a stable life. 

People often ask me who we serve and I always tell them this: our clients are just like you and me or our elderly parents or family members. We serve regular folks who are experiencing rough times. The truth is, everyone needs situational help at some time in their lives, and because Mountain Projects offers a diversity of services, we can step up when others can’t. A second truth is that we couldn’t do it without you.

Your generosity supports critical needs in our communities, just when our friends, family members and neighbors need it most.

With gratitude,

Patsy Davis, Executive Director

[email protected]

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Dogwood Health Trust Invests in Affordable Housing through SMHP, Mountain Projects

From Dogwood Health Trust

Asheville, N.C. – Dogwood Health Trust announced today its investment in affordable housing in Haywood and Jackson Counties. A grant made to Mountain Projects will go to support their affordable housing division, Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership, in their efforts to increase affordable homeownership opportunities and increase access to affordable rental units over the next two to five years. The grant will also catalyze a homeownership center that will serve counties throughout the region.

Mountain Projects is one of the original community action agencies formed in 1965 under President Johnson’s War on Poverty. Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership (SMHP) was formed in 2019 as the affordable housing division of Mountain Projects with offices in Waynesville and Sylva. Their mission is to advocate for and create opportunities for workforce housing. SMHP strives to assist residents in their service area through programs that include financial literacy, down payment help, rental assistance, credit counseling, and home purchasing.

According to SMHP Executive Director Heather Boyd, the terrain in Haywood and Jackson Counties makes buildable land scarce, and as a result, more expensive. “Support like this from Dogwood Health Trust allows us to jumpstart a few key projects and leverage funds from other sources,” said Boyd. “We anticipate being able to secure an additional $2.4M from state and federal sources as a result of this grant.”

Specific elements that the $872,671 grant will support include hiring additional housing counselors, covering acquisition and pre-development expenses on housing developments, being able to offset infrastructure and rising materials costs, and expansion of affordable rental opportunities. “The team at Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership knows their communities and they understand the constraints that prevent a family from owning a home,” said Sarah Grymes, Dogwood’s Vice President of Impact Investing for Housing​. “They also share Dogwood’s commitment to address the disadvantages created by a lack of affordable housing. It’s our great honor to walk alongside them and to provide support to see real change take place in these counties.”

Boyd notes that with the grant funding from Dogwood, SMHP will be able to catalyze their homeownership center, ultimately serving over 400 families over the next two years. “The right housing counselor has the potential to have significant impact in a person’s life,” said Boyd. “Their efforts with a client can create generational impact because they’re doing more than just helping them buy a house; they’re helping them see the bigger picture and instill values that will last a lifetime.” HUD certified housing counselors often work with clients on budgeting, meal planning, credit counseling, and foundational life skills that can positively impact their likelihood of homeownership.

To find out more about the services offered through the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership, visit smokymountainhousing.org or call 828-452-1447. 

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Mountain Projects | Request for Proposal

RFP 2021 – WEB HOSTING AND MAINTENANCE

Scope of Work

Mountain Projects, Inc.,

Mountain Projects, Inc. is seeking proposals for a contractor to provide two years of web hosting, troubleshooting/maintenance, training and web development services as it relates to agency websites: Mountainprojects.org, SmokyMountainHousing.org, GetCoveredWNC.com, Haywoodtransit.com and others. 

It is our agency’s intent to streamline technical services and increase online capacity, to make our programs and products more readily accessible through our online presence, and to effectively tell the story of Mountain Projects.

Mountain Projects has a content development and design team in place, and the chosen provider will collaborate with this team and the staff at Mountain Projects to develop and achieve the organization’s online goals.

These sites are built or are transitioning to WordPress and it is important that respondents to this RFP demonstrate capacity in WordPress. Each site has individual technical needs and specific work plans are under development. The chosen contractor should provide answers to the questions below. The chosen service provider should expect to charge a monthly fee for basic services with an hourly rate for expansion projects. Some web development projects will require an estimate of costs in advance of the work.

All proposals must be completed and submitted electronically and marked “RFP for Website Services” in the subject line, no later than Friday, April 30 at 12:01pm EST.

Inquiries & Proposal Submissions

All inquiries and proposal submissions related to this RFP should be submitted to Angeline Schwab, [email protected] and Patsy Davis, [email protected].

Proposal Requirements

All submissions will be accepted electronically. Proposals should be specific in terms of price and experience to allow Mountain Projects to evaluate and compare the qualifications and costs compared to other respondents. Proposals should include the following information and any other information and data you believe should be or desire to be considered in the selection process:

  •   Service Packaging (Please describe)        
  •   Web hosting per month                          
  •   Web Development Costs by the Hour if needed                    
  •   Support Calls Costs                        
  •   Cost of additional bandwidth when/if needed                                 
  •   Training Costs (Support)                         
  •   Module/Widget Updates (Support)                                  
  •   E-commerce/Donations module description (Support)
  •   Connection to Newsletter Software
  •   Annual aggregated costs 
  •   SEO Services
  •   Security of data, website 

Please submit the following information with your proposal

  1. Basic Business Information
    • Provide a short description of your company. Describe any concepts, techniques and management tools you intend to utilize in managing this project. (For example, how do you manage communications and timelines with your clients?)
    • Your company’s size and location
    • Number of years in operation
    • Specific references of other website update/re-design projects you’ve completed in the last two years
    • Names and professional specialties of all individuals on the team who will be responsible for this project. Include information that highlights their qualifications and expertise.
    • Name of a single point of contact who will manage the working relationship with Mountain Projects Communications Staff.
  1.   Training: Submit a short description on how you will provide training on use of the websites to Mountain Projects Staff.
  1.   Technical Information: Please describe a preferred website hosting scenario, your experience with WordPress, specific software usage and network protocols.
  1.   Fees: Please provide these fees for services in an Excel worksheet. Include or attach any price-packaging descriptions.

Mountain Projects is interested in receiving information about other content and/or feature options your company can provide that are not included in the list above. Mountain Projects encourages respondents to submit their ideas and to propose alternative recommendations, but with specific costs associated with such upgrades.  

Evaluation of Proposals will be quantified as follows:
Proposals will be evaluated by staff against the following criteria: Total possible points for each evaluation criteria
1 Response to the RFP 15
2 Costs 20
3 Demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for scope of work 20
4 Experience in content management website construction 10
5 Ability to attend in-person meetings,(with covid precautions) if needed, within a 24-hour period 10
6 References that illuminate track record of providing excellent customer service 10
7 Availability of services between services agreement execution and April 2023 15
  Total Points 100


General Summary of Work for the Mountain Project Websites

Mountainprojects.org: Hosting, implementation of new designs; newsletter, database and ecommerce software solutions, module and widget updates, structural changes to navigation when needed.

SmokyMountainHousing.org: Hosting, implementation of new designs; newsletter, database and ecommerce software solutions, module and widget updates, structural changes to navigation when needed.

Mountainstrongwnc.org: Currently under contract with another provider. 

GetCoveredWNC.com: Hosting, implementation of new designs; newsletter, database and ecommerce software solutions, module and widget updates, structural changes to navigation when needed.

HaywoodSeniors.org: Currently under contract with another provider. 

Haywoodtransit.com: Hosting, implementation of new designs; newsletter, database and ecommerce software solutions, module and widget updates, structural changes to navigation when needed. Potential opportunity for implementing transportation scheduling software.

Other websites as needed.

Content Components

Content will be provided by staff and/or developed with the assistance of Buris Chalmers Creative and the selected consultant. All features of the Mountain Projects website must be easy to manage and updatable by non-technical staff.

 Project Schedule

The following schedule is tentative and subject to change, but is being provided to give respondents an idea of the timeframes for this project.
April 15, 2021 – RFP available to prospective web development businesses

April 30, 2021 – Responses due no later than 12:01 PM EST (Please submit to [email protected] and [email protected]) 

May 14, 2021 – Review of responses will begin

May 28, 2021 – Selection announced

 

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Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership | Request for Qualifications

Request for Qualifications

Architectural/Engineering Services

Description of Project: Mountain Projects, Inc.  located in Waynesville, NC, is soliciting proposals for Architectural/Engineering Services for a 40.5-acre purpose-built community. The building projects may include but are not limited to the following:

  • Single-Family Housing
  • Multi-Family Housing 
  • Mixed Use Community Facilities 
  • Green Space

The scope of work includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Site Plan
  • Compaction Report
  • Timeline of Development Phases 
  • Appraisal
  • Wetland Delineation
  • Phase 1 Environmental & Geotechnical Exploration
  • Soil Sample
  • Infrastructure, Property Layout & Project Feasibility
    • Grading & drainage plans
    • Road design including NCDOT (Ingress & Egress)
    • Water & sewer design
    • Stormwater retention/ detention design
    • Preliminary parking and off-street loading layouts
    • Opinion of costs for infrastructure 

 

Applicants should have experience in educational design and be familiar with all pertinent codes and regulations. Mountain Projects, Inc. is seeking creative and economical design solutions that incorporate energy-efficient features. 

Each response is to provide information which will allow evaluation of the following:

  1. Past performance.
  2. Qualifications of professional personnel proposed for the project.
  3. Demonstrated ability to meet time and budget requirements.
  4. Location and size of firm, now and 5 years ago.
  5. Recent, current, and projected workloads of the firm.
  6. Creativity and insight related to the project.
  7. Related experience on similar projects.

 

Qualifications may be hand delivered, emailed, or mailed to Mountain Projects Inc., 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786.

Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 pm on April 22, 2021.

Questions regarding the RFQ should be addressed to the SMHP Construction Supervisor, at the above address, Attn: Joey Massie Phone (828) 452-1447 or emailed to: [email protected] 

 

A contract will be negotiated with the most qualified firm(s) at a compensation which is stable, fair, and reasonable to Mountain Projects, Inc., If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated with any of the ranked firm(s), this RFQ shall be considered terminated.

Proposals: Mountain Projects, Inc. reserves the right to select the firm(s) which it deems to offer the best overall proposal taking into consideration all factors such as (a) past performance; (b) qualifications of professional personnel proposed for the project; (c) location and size; (d) recent, current, and projected workloads of the firm; and (e) related experience on similar projects.

This RFQ is made for information and planning purposes only. Mountain Projects, Inc. does not intend to award a contract solely based on any response made to this request or otherwise pay for the information solicited or obtained. Mountain Projects, Inc., will be the judge as to whether a proposal has or has not met the requirements of this RFQ.

Acceptance of Proposal Content: The contents of the proposal of the successful firm(s) may become part of the contractual obligations if a contract ensues. Failure of a successful firm(s) to accept these obligations may result in cancellation of the award.

Economy of Preparation: Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the firm’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFQ. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content.

Firm Responsibilities: The selected firm(s) will be required to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them. Firm(s) shall be responsible to adhere to all federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances, etc., and if the request for proposal results in a contract award, selected firm(s) shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary permits and variances.

 

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Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership Welcomes Executive Director Heather Boyd

When Heather Boyd gave birth to her daughter, Casey, she suffered severe complications which threatened her life. She went through 11 liters of blood on the operating table, which is no small thing, given the body only holds about five.

Two years later Heather and Casey are fine, but one of her takeaways from that experience and her long recovery had to do with – housing? Yes, housing.

Boyd was recently hired as Executive Director of the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership (SMHP), a division of Mountain Projects, which is making strides to create affordable essential workforce housing in Haywood and Jackson Counties, and to provide pre-purchase homeownership counseling to young people starting their careers in fields like healthcare, teaching, firefighting and policing.

Boyd remembers the hard working hospital staff that saved her life, and particularly the intensive care nurses that helped she and Casey recover.

“If you get sick, you want people working in your community hospital who are well trained, happy in their job and who care about your well-being, right?” asks Boyd.

“You want someone who is steady and capable to keep your family member alive. Affordable housing is the cornerstone of our communities. Providing assistance to these workers and helping them own their own homes provides security for these families and positively affects the entire community.”

Without affordable housing, all essential professions in our community are impacted. Recruiting suffers, and retention is difficult, with workers coming and going without settling in.

Boyd is the first Executive Director of SMHP, which was founded in 2019 and has made steady progress since then, raising over $215,000 for initial operations, then organizing an affordable housing consortium with HUD and creating a network of strategic partnerships.

She brings both practical experience and life experience to the job. A Transylvania County native and mother of six children, she worked her way through school at Blue Ridge Community College and A-B Tech.

Since 2011 she’s built an impressive resume in banking, with a primary focus on lending and affordable housing. She began work in 2017 as a housing counselor with the Housing Assistance Corporation in Hendersonville, where she won accolades for both counseling and lending and won the Louise Mack Housing Counselor of the Year Award in 2019. Her experience prior to 2017 included stints with United Community Bank, Sharing House, First Citizens and Ecusta Credit Union. She holds numerous certifications.

Boyd credits her professional climb to mentor Marianne Festa, to longtime involvement with Western Carolina Community Action and to United Way Rising Leaders.

Boyd says her background includes plenty of hard work, struggle and personal financial growth, which she says helps her empathize with her clients. A single mother for part of her life, she put her kids through Head Start and helped care for her brother, a combat veteran, and mother, all while working and continuing her education.

“If I can do it, anyone can!” she says.

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Mountain Projects Community Action Agency seeking contributions to an Emergency Fund to assist neighbors in need

Media Contact: Patsy Davis, Executive Director/828-452-1447 or Angeline Schwab/828-550-9336

WAYNESVILLE AND SYLVA – Mountain Projects 31 Days of Giving Campaign is seeking holiday contributions to support the well-being of families experiencing poverty in Haywood and Jackson Counties. 

Executive Director Patsy Davis encourages the community to get involved in this campaign to protect our region’s most vulnerable. “It does a heart good to help a neighbor in need, and to give to causes we care about,” Davis says. “We are asking for your help to meet the growing need this year and we appreciate people giving what they can. Every contribution, every act of generosity counts.” 

The Mountain Projects Emergency Fund was established to address the urgent and immediate needs of neighbors in crisis. Generally, these folks need a stabilizing solution to avoid traumatizing situations for themselves and their families. Some recent examples include:

  • A pregnant woman requesting weekend emergency shelter to avoid sleeping outside
  • A Head Start family facing utility shut-off due to pandemic-related unemployment
  • Meals for low-income senior citizens over weekends and holidays
  • Home rehabilitation for individuals without running water or working toilets
  • Diapers for babies whose parents are in-between paychecks
  • A mattress for a veteran who lost all belongings in a house fire

On a daily basis, the Emergency Fund helps Mountain Projects clients resolve short-term crisis situations, so our staff can then help the client access life-changing services.

Mountain Projects also provides: meals and food boxes for the food insecure, preschool for low-income families, heat & weatherization for people in need, housing rehabs that remedy unsafe housing, accessibility for seniors and the disabled, affordable housing for the essential workforce, substance abuse prevention services, access to affordable healthcare options, transportation for veterans, seniors, students and the disabled.

Donations will help our community make it through a challenging winter. Here’s the link to give: https://mountainprojects.org/?product=support-urgent-needs

Founded in 1965, Mountain Projects was chartered as part of President Linden Johnson’s War on Poverty and currently serves more than 12,000 people each year. Ninety-seven percent of clients served by Mountain Projects are the working poor, disabled, elderly or handicapped. The organization employs 140 staff members and maintains offices in Sylva and Waynesville

As a Community Action Agency, Mountain Projects supports and implements programs designed to improve social, economic, educational, health, emotional and environmental aspects of life for families and individuals in the western mountain region. Those initiatives range from Head Start and food assistance to a variety of programs for senior citizens, and from public transportation to housing rehabilitation. 

For information and stories about Mountain Projects’ work in Haywood and Jackson Counties, visit MountainProjects.org and Mountain Projects’ Facebook page.

To donate, visit MountainProjects.org, call 828-452-1447 or send a mail-in contribution to Mountain Projects, 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville NC 28786.

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Mountain Projects Emergency Fund

The Mountain Projects Emergency Fund was established to address urgent and immediate needs of neighbors in crisis. Generally, these folks need a stabilizing solution to avoid traumatizing situations for themselves and their families. Some recent examples include:
  • A pregnant woman requesting weekend emergency shelter to avoid sleeping outside
  • A Head Start family facing utility shut-off due to pandemic-related unemployment
  • Meals for low-income senior citizens over weekends and holidays
  • Home rehabilitation for individuals without running water or working toilets
  • Diapers for babies whose parents are in-between paychecks
  • A mattress for a veteran who lost all belongings in a house fire
On a daily basis, the Emergency Fund helps Mountain Projects clients resolve short-term crisis situations, so our staff can then help the client access life-changing services.
  • Mountain Projects also provides:
  • Meals and food boxes for the food insecure
  • Preschool for low-income families
  • Heat & weatherization for people in need
  • Housing rehabs that remedy unsafe housing
  • Accessibility for seniors and the disabled
  • Affordable housing for the essential workforce
  • Substance abuse prevention services
  • Access to affordable healthcare options
  • Transportation for veterans, seniors, students and the disabled
Your donations will help us through a challenging winter. Here’s the link: https://mountainprojects.org/?product=support-urgent-needs
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31 Days of Giving for Mountain Projects!

Starting on #GivingTuesday (Dec. 1) and throughout December, Mountain Projects, a nonprofit charitable organization, will be raising emergency funds to support food, heat and shelter for underprivileged people in our community. #31DaysofGiving #mountainprojects

The Nantahala Health Foundation is offering a match for all donations at this link.
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