Thank You For Your Interest.

The board has not set a minimum or maximum budget. We are hoping to see proposals at all ends of the spectrum, and that's why we're also asking for itemized breakdowns for proposed deliverables.  Do feel free to include costs for both approaches, or a phased approach to a larger scope of work.

As noted in the RFP, the organization’s total year one budget is anticipated to be $250,000. As a new organization, there is currently no earmarked funding, and why the board is hoping to see proposals of all shapes and sizes.

The committee will be primarily comprised of BID board members and select community partners with expertise in marketing and branding. The firm selected will not need to help shape this body.

While there will likely be no direct overlap in use with the City branding (as the BID is a wholly independent organization), we do feel the two should be aligned.  We are open to suggestions and best practices about how close this alignment should be.

Yes. Each proposal should fulfill the requirements for the 90-day launch period, but the BID is open to a longer-term partnership as appropriate. We encourage all submissions to include costs for an ongoing relationship, if desired.

Yes. Production of materials and other costs not related to design deliverables in the RFP are covered separately.

Timelines are flexible as circumstances dictate.  Certainly note in the proposal if you feel a longer (or shorter) term is helpful.

The current BID website was built for the project’s formation effort. Now that the BID has passed and begun operations, we anticipate needing a new site that fulfills different goals. We are open to designs that integrate with a service like Brightr Travel (or similar) so as not to reinvent the district map/directory wheel.  We do not anticipate our website architecture to require anything particularly complex - no logins or payment portals or anything of that nature - at this juncture.

We're open to proposals for the selected agency to be our partner for copywriting/media relations, but are comfortable and capable handling these tasks in-house as well.

Yes.  Poughkeepsie is in the early stages of its renaissance.  In the past 10 years, there has been hundreds of millions of dollars of development in downtown Poughkeepsie, with $250m more currently in the works.  More than 100 new apartments are scheduled to become available downtown in the next two years.  The BID district is home to attractions like the MJN Convention Center, Bardavon Theater, Chance Theater, Doubletree Hotel, and many acclaimed restaurants, breweries, and cafes.  Much more about this can be found in many recent articles via Chronogram, the New York Times, and others.

None that we’re aware of beyond the realm of good taste and professionalism. Obviously, any proposals including signage or physical streetscape elements will be subject to compliance with all local laws and ordinances.

Broadly, the audience is anyone who lives in, works in, or visits downtown Poughkeepsie. Information about the BID district, it’s mission/vision/values, and anticipated areas of focus can be found on this website.

Yes.  Public transit in Poughkeepsie is managed by Dutchess County.  The county's "transit hub" is located in the BID district adjacent to 1 Civic Center Plaza.  More information about county transit in the city can be found here: https://cityofpoughkeepsie.com/QuickLinks.aspx?CID=31.

Yes. While relevant experience and a knowledge of Poughkeepsie is a key metric for evaluating a proposal, we are accepting of experience/knowledge that comes from many sources - such as working on a similar project in a similarly sized community, or having previously completed work in the region, for example.