Blog

Brief Overview

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) seeks the services of a consultant to assist in determining SLLS’s eligibility for the CARES Act Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and to assist in making an application if SLLS is determined to be eligible inclusive of a tax opinion regarding our eligibility. 

Introduction to SLLS

SLLS provides free legal assistance to indigent and other vulnerable people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. We protect their livelihoods, health, housing and families.  Through legal representation, we are able to assure fairness for our clients as they navigate through the civil justice system. SLLS works to combat the inequities and disproportionate impacts faced by marginalized communities of color. We are the largest nonprofit civil legal services provider in Louisiana serving 50% of the state’s poverty population in twenty-two parishes across southeast Louisiana. Pre-pandemic, Louisiana had the third highest poverty rate in the United States, the second highest rate of women killed by their intimate partner, the highest rate of mass incarceration in the world disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, was consistently noted as one of the unhealthiest states, and had the second highest rate of food insecure seniors. We have been struck by ten presidentially declared natural disasters since 2005’s catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, and the people we serve have been particularly hard-hit by the impact of COVID-19 due to our economic reliance on the hospitality and oil and gas industries and Hurricane Ida. 

Pre-pandemic, SLLS had about 100 team members on staff. We now have about 165 staff working from seven offices, staff embedded onsite with other partners such as hospitals, medical clinics, homeless shelters, domestic violence victim service centers, community colleges, and robust pro bono partnerships. We have almost 100 different funding sources though LSC funding is about 45% of our budget with another almost 30% from the Louisiana Bar Foundation.  

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Purpose of RFP

SLLS seeks a consultant to determine the eligibility of the organization to receive the CARES Act Employee Retention Credit (ERC).  Should SLLS be eligible for this payroll tax credit, the selected consultant would then do all necessary work in order to complete and submit the ERC claim. A tax opinion to support our eligibility for the ERC is also required. 

Deliverables

SLLS seeks a consultant to conduct an evaluation of SLLS’ payroll and other internal documents spanning from March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2021 for the purpose of determining our eligibility for the CARES Act ERC.  SLLS’ 941 Payroll records and other finance records are easily accessible through our online database for the specified time period. This data will be made available to the consultant upon selection. Should SLLS be eligible for the ERC, the consultant will proceed to apply and submit our tax credit claim with the support from the SLLS team as required.  Additionally, SLLS requests that the selected consultant also deliver a tax opinion regarding our ERC eligibility to protect the agency.  

SLLS seeks proposals in this matter that does not exceed five pages inclusive of three references.  We request that all proposals include information on the applicable experience of the potential consultant especially in ERC consultation work for comparable non-profit organizations.  We request a cost estimate for services with the preferable compensation for a deferred payment structure.  As it may take up to 10 months for IRS approval and execution of any ERC payments, we request that all proposals offer an estimated timeline that would allow SLLS to receive the ERC by the end of 2023.  Finally, SLLS requests that all candidates are prepared to provide a proposed contract for this project

Inquiries/Contact Information

Questions about this RFP may be directed to Laura Tuggle, SLLS Executive Director, at (504) 529-1000 ext. 270 or ltuggle@slls.org 

Timeline

• • • Issue RFP: 1/09/2023
  • • Proposals Due to Executive Director: 1/28/2023
  • • Award of Contract: On or By 1/31/2023
  • • Project Implementation: 2/1/2023-6/30/2023 (May Be Extended as Needed)

Proposal Delivery and Due Date

Proposals are due on or before 1/28/2023.  Delivery of proposals should be made electronically to Laura Tuggle at ltuggle@slls.org with “SLLS Employee Retention Credit Proposal” in the subject line, pdf preferred.  If you have large file size items, please provide a file sharing link with instructions for accessing the proposed materials.

Evaluation Criteria and Award of Contract

SLLS may elect to schedule a conference call with potential consultants prior to awarding a final contract. Please include contact information for scheduling purposes in the RFP.  

Proposals will be evaluated upon the contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP, qualifications, demonstrated experience with similar projects, and total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP. Award of the contract resulting from the RFP will be based upon the most responsive contract that is most advantageous to SLLS in terms of cost, functionality, experience, and quality of past work. 

SLLS ideally seeks a firm that understands its needs as a nonprofit and legal services organization and is invested in our missions of achieving justice and social change by fighting poverty.  

SLLS reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, when deemed to be in the best interest of SLLS. We also reserve the right to negotiate with all respondents to the RFP and reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any respondent.

Cost of Proposals

SLLS will not pay any costs associate with preparing proposals in response to this RFP.