The General Appropriations Act, Act 88, SLH 2021, appropriated funds for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022 and included funds for the promotion of Hawaii agricultural products through marketing activities. The Sponsorship and Product Promotion RFP 22-03-MDB requests proposals from Hawaii-registered non-profit agricultural associations and non-profit commodity organizations for sponsorships and product promotion activities that will be conducted within the State. SPP22 will also consider marketing activities conducted out-of-state that enhance the competitiveness of Hawaii agricultural products and provide extraordinary benefit to the members of the nonprofit association or non-profit commodity organization.
To achieve this goal, the HDOA announces the availability of approximately $80,000 in program funds for projects to enhance the competitiveness of local agricultural products and their industries including, but not limited to, agritourism, apiary/beekeeping, aquaponics, dairy, eggs, fish (marine or freshwater), floriculture, livestock (cattle, goats, sheep, swine, poultry), organic, specialty crops, and value-added products (manufactured, processed).
SPP22 will consider proposals that request funds for marketing activities including, but not limited to, sponsorships for conferences, festivals, seminars, trade shows, or workshops; and for product promotion projects for Hawaii agricultural products including, but not limited to, advertising campaigns, development of banners, brochures, or posters, collaterals (bags, buttons, clips, pens, pencils, packaging, boxes), in-store demonstrations, sampling events, or website improvement.
SPP22 proposals for sponsorship and product promotion can include, but need not be limited to, support for statewide campaigns to increase local production of Hawaii agricultural commodities and/or support for the “Buy Local, It Matters” call-to-action campaign to increase demand for locally grown and processed agricultural products. The HDOA will administer a competitive process to award these funds in amounts up to a maximum of $10,000 per proposal. Higher award amounts will be considered for proposals that are of extraordinary merit that benefit Hawaii agricultural producers statewide. For sponsorships, the requested amount can be based on the following suggested guidelines and reflect a reasonable expenditure for either: mid-level sponsorship categories, sponsorship of travel to attend the activity, sponsorship of venue, equipment rental, registration fees or costs related to the activity. Due to limited funds, awards to an eligible organization will be limited to one project.
For other than sponsorships, the requested amount should benefit most of the membership and/or industry rather than one individual or company. The primary goal of SPP22 will be to support Hawaii-registered non-profit associations’ and non-profit commodity organizations’ projects to implement marketing and product promotion activities. Project proposals must include at least one measurable, quantifiable outcome.
Submission
Applicants must submit their proposals electronically in MS Word format with all attachments via email to hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov. All proposals must be received by 12:00 p.m. Noon on Monday, March 7, 2022, as evidenced by the HDOA time clock. The official time of receipt of proposals shall be determined by the HDOA’s time clock, and NOT by the time the Applicant sends its proposal. Applicants are encouraged to take appropriate measures to ensure timely receipt of proposals.
Proposals not in MS Word format will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant. Proposals not emailed to hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov with all required attachments by the deadline will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant.
The contact person for this Request for Proposal (RFP) is Sharon Hurd, (808) 973-9465, or email sharon.k.hurd@hawaii.gov for more information.
Scope of Work
Project proposals and goals of offerors applying for sponsorship and product promotion funds can focus on the following categories:
• Introduces a product, method, technology, or process that achieves the goal of the association/organization and supports the membership.
• Demonstrates the need for the project or promotional activity to attain full potential of an industry or agricultural product;
• Contributes a greater ratio of matching funds (cash or in-kind);
• Promotes a fledgling industry, with a lesser ability to pay for a product promotion program but with potential for expansion;
• Benefits a great number of the producers whose production accounts for a substantial portion of the value of the industry;
• Results in greater value to the State, including labor and material utilized, or value added within the State;
• Supports the membership statewide and/or supports most of the stakeholders of the industry (associations, farmers, producers, businesses); or
• Has fulfilled the expectations of previous promotional programs based on staff evaluation and written reports submitted by the applicant.
Project Oversight
HDOA’s Market Development Branch (MDB) will directly oversee the planning and implementation of the project and will monitor the performance of all project activities and ensure that work is completed within the required timeline and in compliance with all program regulations.
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