National Arts Grant Award - Benton City

Ben Franklin Transit, (hereinafter referred to as BFT), a municipal corporation of the State of Washington, located at 1000 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, WA 99352, is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide the following services and requests listed below.

BFT is soliciting sealed electronic proposals in response to Request for Proposal (RFP) 26-19 National Arts Grant Award - Benton City.

BFT as the regional public transportation provider for the Mid-Columbia region of Eastern Washington, will launch a place-based public art initiative designed to elevate civic pride, cultural identity, and regional storytelling through transit. BFT will commission local artists to design six unique bus wraps, each celebrating the distinct character and history of one of the six incorporated cities in its service area. [...] This program is partially funded and is intended to align with the National Endowment for the Arts' "Our Town" discipline.

Project Goals

• Celebrate the local identity and history of each of BFT's six service-area cities
• Engage diverse local artists, including youth and underrepresented voices
• Foster regional pride and cross-community connection
• Highlight public transit's role as a connector across Benton and Franklin Counties
• Build on and expand the 2025 "Show Us Your City" initiative into a professional, fleet-integrated program

Budget & Funding

• The combined $60,000 (grant + BFT match) may be used only for bus wrap printing and installation across the 6 selected buses.
• The grant will not cover artist payments, marketing, or promotional costs.
• Artist compensation is a flat $5,000 per artist, funded separately by BFT (six artists = $30,000 total). Compensation includes attending meetings, design development, revisions, final and files.
• Grant Performance End Date: December 31, 2027. All goods and services charged to the grant (wrap printing and installation) must be fully completed prior to this date to allow time for final claim submission.

Selected Artist Responsibilities

• Each selected artist will develop an original bus wrap design representing the assigned city in collaboration with BFT.
• Each selected artist will participate in community input activities and design reviews coordinated by BFT and incorporate feedback into the artwork.
• Final artwork created for the bus wrap, including all associated rights, will be owned solely by BFT, as provided in the contract.

Deliverables and Schedules

• Primary Designs shall be completed in 14 calendar days
• Final Artwork shall be completed in 28 calendar days after approval of primary design
• Artists will be required to meet with BFT staff up for project direction and meet with area leaders for ideas on designs.

BFT prefers electronic submission of proposals. Please submit electronic responses via the BFT’s OpenGov e-Procurement Portal: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/bft. By way of the e-Procurement Portal, responses will be locked and digitally encrypted until the submission deadline passes.

If paper hard copy responses are to be made, they will be accepted and must be accompanied by an electronic copy on a USB key included in the response envelope.

Proposals shall be valid for ninety (90)calendar days from proposal due date.

BFT will establish a committee, consisting of staff members, who will evaluate the proposals on the experience and judgment of each member of the committee and any other experts or consultants the committee may choose.

BFT may enter into a Contract with the successful Contractor within ninety (90) calendar days of the closing date or may extend this time frame or exercise the right to reject all proposals.

BFT reserves the right to issue a Notice to Proceed at any time up to twenty (20) days following Award of the Contract.