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The End of a Contract
2 years ago
We're in a county-wide meeting, as we usually are every two weeks (and biking on our stationary bike with a laptop stand while we do it).
This was the meeting that it was finally announced that we did not get the contract to continue the work we've been doing for the past four years, to the leaders of the organizations that are part of the network. Some already knew, but especially those that are just now learning that we're gonna be gone, are VERY upset. They were not consulted, not asked, their opinions were not considered during the procurement or selection process. Every leader / supervisor that spoke, spoke up about how much they loved working with us, spoke about how much they wished they had been asked. One nearly cried, she was so upset, because she's been in this system for a long time and we were the best she'd ever worked with, and suddenly we're gone and someone else is gonna be taking over. Someone else based in a city on the other side of the state and has a VERY non-diverse system compared to Seattle.
We've been recording this meeting, and are fucking saving this recording and going to keep it.
The next month, we're taking for vacation. Going hiking, camping, digging in a mine, making a specific geologist dragoness grow extremely huge, then going to see some family, then going sailing with our folks along the east coast.
Here's the jist of what's going on, what happened.
Four years ago, we were a grant writer. We wrote a proposal for our non-profit organization to become the Operator for a massive network of non-profit and state-based agencies who all share a common goal of helping people get living wage careers and receive support services. That proposal was accepted, and a year later, we (I) joined the team that was created from the proposal. We've been kicking ass ever since, making MASSIVE differences in the daily work of the case managers, employment specialists, and career coaches who work with people who need help. Creating and giving them trainings like Trauma Informed Care, Compassion Fatigue, De-Escalation & Safety, Digital Literacy & Digital Equity. Overseeing huge programs that give people free access to Coursera online learning and certifications (recognized by employers), free licenses for Jobscan (a resume-improvement tool to help people bypass screening software preventing applications from getting through to a hiring manager), and a bunch of other system tools and resources. Simplifying processes, removing data entry requirements, saving staff time, building relationships between organizations, just... a fuckton, a fuckton of practically useful stuff.
This job has been one of the best jobs of our life. We were told that the application process was really just a formality... but we still treated it seriously and helped to write the proposal for us to keep doing the work.
We lost. We lost by a few points, rated by people who did not work with us and didn't know much about what we did. We lost to a few points that were ridiculous, like one rater giving us a score of 0 on "Was the proposed budget equal to the required budget?" where as all other raters gave us a full score because, yes it was equal.
The procurement and decision-making process had no opportunity for anyone who worked with us to express whether they liked or disliked us. No amount of positive accolades mattered. No successful projects or major successes or truly profound transformations to the system were counted.
Remember, when trying to get a contract, the people who say nice things may have nothing to do with the people who decide on the contract.
We don't know what's next for us. We don't know what we're going to do after the transition period. Maybe the new Operator will hire us to continue the work. Maybe our non-profit will have some interesting work for us to do, such as advocate for SNAP food benefits at the national level or teach other states how to implement effective food benefits and training programs. Maybe some other opportunity will appear suddenly, giving us a chance to scale up our work again and affect more people in helpful ways.
No matter what happens, we will be a corrupting force, a force for good, and a corrupting force for good. Between the perversion of your minds for hypersexuality, the equipping of community psychologies for resilience against malignance, and the dismantling of systemic inequalities to create a better reality for everyone, we're still going to do SOMETHING.
Oh, yeah, we're also going to be at BLFC. And we're going to be staffing at BLFC, too. This will be our first time joining staff to make a great con rather than just experience a great con. Hope to see you there <3
This was the meeting that it was finally announced that we did not get the contract to continue the work we've been doing for the past four years, to the leaders of the organizations that are part of the network. Some already knew, but especially those that are just now learning that we're gonna be gone, are VERY upset. They were not consulted, not asked, their opinions were not considered during the procurement or selection process. Every leader / supervisor that spoke, spoke up about how much they loved working with us, spoke about how much they wished they had been asked. One nearly cried, she was so upset, because she's been in this system for a long time and we were the best she'd ever worked with, and suddenly we're gone and someone else is gonna be taking over. Someone else based in a city on the other side of the state and has a VERY non-diverse system compared to Seattle.
We've been recording this meeting, and are fucking saving this recording and going to keep it.
The next month, we're taking for vacation. Going hiking, camping, digging in a mine, making a specific geologist dragoness grow extremely huge, then going to see some family, then going sailing with our folks along the east coast.
Here's the jist of what's going on, what happened.
Four years ago, we were a grant writer. We wrote a proposal for our non-profit organization to become the Operator for a massive network of non-profit and state-based agencies who all share a common goal of helping people get living wage careers and receive support services. That proposal was accepted, and a year later, we (I) joined the team that was created from the proposal. We've been kicking ass ever since, making MASSIVE differences in the daily work of the case managers, employment specialists, and career coaches who work with people who need help. Creating and giving them trainings like Trauma Informed Care, Compassion Fatigue, De-Escalation & Safety, Digital Literacy & Digital Equity. Overseeing huge programs that give people free access to Coursera online learning and certifications (recognized by employers), free licenses for Jobscan (a resume-improvement tool to help people bypass screening software preventing applications from getting through to a hiring manager), and a bunch of other system tools and resources. Simplifying processes, removing data entry requirements, saving staff time, building relationships between organizations, just... a fuckton, a fuckton of practically useful stuff.
This job has been one of the best jobs of our life. We were told that the application process was really just a formality... but we still treated it seriously and helped to write the proposal for us to keep doing the work.
We lost. We lost by a few points, rated by people who did not work with us and didn't know much about what we did. We lost to a few points that were ridiculous, like one rater giving us a score of 0 on "Was the proposed budget equal to the required budget?" where as all other raters gave us a full score because, yes it was equal.
The procurement and decision-making process had no opportunity for anyone who worked with us to express whether they liked or disliked us. No amount of positive accolades mattered. No successful projects or major successes or truly profound transformations to the system were counted.
Remember, when trying to get a contract, the people who say nice things may have nothing to do with the people who decide on the contract.
We don't know what's next for us. We don't know what we're going to do after the transition period. Maybe the new Operator will hire us to continue the work. Maybe our non-profit will have some interesting work for us to do, such as advocate for SNAP food benefits at the national level or teach other states how to implement effective food benefits and training programs. Maybe some other opportunity will appear suddenly, giving us a chance to scale up our work again and affect more people in helpful ways.
No matter what happens, we will be a corrupting force, a force for good, and a corrupting force for good. Between the perversion of your minds for hypersexuality, the equipping of community psychologies for resilience against malignance, and the dismantling of systemic inequalities to create a better reality for everyone, we're still going to do SOMETHING.
Oh, yeah, we're also going to be at BLFC. And we're going to be staffing at BLFC, too. This will be our first time joining staff to make a great con rather than just experience a great con. Hope to see you there <3
Good luck in figuring out what's next, if there isn't an obvious path in doing things with your NPO, as you said.
I was always interested to hear these snippets of this other, outstanding life you were leading, so thank you for keeping us all abreast of the situation.
Good to hear you'll be working a convention though. Hope you figure out where to go next after your (from the sound of it, well needed) vacation.
- Darn those points system. Hope you'll get some more meaningful work soon.
- It's great you've built a network though. Hopefully you can work with them on the side to make your NPO the preferred supplier next time they need a new contract. Good advice in the bold bit too.
- Ah, congrats on staffing at BLFC! Hope it goes well and doesn't get too rowdy.
Also, love that last paragraph. I also just realised this halfway through when reading this. Go you, multidimensional corruptor for good!