Nonprofits Initiatives | MOCS

Mayor's Office of Contract Services


ProcurementNonprofitsM/WBE

Nonprofit Initiatives
Discretionary Award Process
Capacity Building Training
Discretionary Award Tracker
Returnable Grant Fund
Contract Compliance Support
Indirect Cost Rate Initiative

Nonprofit Initiatives

Discretionary Award Process

Capacity Building Training

Discretionary Award Tracker

Returnable Grant Fund

Contract Compliance Support

Indirect Cost Rate Initiative


Partnering with Nonprofits

Each year, the City of New York awards billions of dollars to nonprofit providers to deliver critical programs and services to over 3 million New Yorkers across the City. MOCS supports these nonprofit providers by building and managing digital platforms that make it easier for them, especially small community-based organizations, to participate in City contracting and receive timely payment. We design solutions with and for our nonprofit partners and lead Citywide initiatives that further sector-wide goals.

You can read a letter from MOCS Director Lisa Flores and Mayor's Office for Nonprofit Services Director Karen Ford to the human services sector.

Key Initiatives

PASSPort, the City's Procurement and Sourcing Solution Portal, is digitizing the contract registration process—a long-standing goal of the HHS sector. PASSPort is saving providers time and effort by digitizing VENDEX disclosures, streamlining the HHS Prequalification application, and centralizing all contracting activity.
Visit PASSPort

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Investment

The City is investing $741 million in the nonprofit human services workforce across three fiscal years, beginning July 1, 2024 (Fiscal Year 2025). Building on the Workforce Enhancement Initiative, this COLA investment is a significant step towards delivering better pay parity for our nonprofit partners.

Watch Mayor Adams' March 14, 2024 announcement

Read the June 4, 2024 announcement

Read the June 21, 2024 announcement and FAQ

Returnable Grant Fund

MOCS manages the Returnable Grant Fund (RGF) in partnership with the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), which provides interest-free bridge loans to eligible human services providers. Exciting reforms have streamlined the RGF application process and expanded access loans.
Learn more about the Returnable Grant Fund

Multiyear City Council Discretionary Award Contracts

Many nonprofits begin their business relationship with the City through the City Council Discretionary Award process. MOCS partners with City Council to manage procedural requirements and make contracts available in PASSPort. The multiyear reform now allows organizations to enter one three-year contract per City agency, eliminating months of contracting in the outyears.

Learn more about discretionary funding

Track your organization's discretionary awards

Allowance Clause

In furtherance of the recommendations of "A Better Contract for New York - A Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time," the City will be including an allowance clause to HHS contracts. An allowance clause eliminates the administrative burden of processing amendments for anticipated budgetary increases such as cost of living adjustments, changes in indirect cost rates, and other funding increases.
Read the August 24, 2022 announcement

Workforce Enhancement Initiative

The Fiscal Year 2023 Budget included a $60 million baselined enhancement for human service and legal service providers to support their workforce. The City was able to leverage an additional $8 million in federal and state matching funds to further meet the sector’s financial needs, amounting to a total of $68 million.
Read the June 30, 2022 announcement
Read the October 31, 2022 announcement

Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Funding Initiative

New York City is the first major city to establish an indirect cost rate funding initiative to pay nonprofits' indirect cost rates. MOCS co-leads this initiative with the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Visit MOCS ICR Initiative

HHS Cost Manual and Invoice Review Policy

Through collaborative efforts between nonprofits, City agencies, MOCS and the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, the City designed and adopted policies to standardize practice, create predictability and support business continuity. These policies leverage PASSPort technology to streamline efforts and centralize information and processes.
HHS Cost Policies and Procedures Manual
Standard Health and Human Service Invoice Review Policy
Equipment Purchase Inventory Report Template
Standard Invoice Review Policy Technical Assistance Webinar 12/18/2020

Supporting Nonprofit Cash Flow

Providers with health and human service contracts are eligible for advance payments of at least 25% of their annual budgets at the start of each fiscal year. These advances will be issued upon contract registration and budget approval. Recoupment should occur no sooner than 6 months before the end of the contract period. The number of recoupment payments should at least equal the number of months of advance and should not be required through a single payment.

Previous Initiatives

Procurement Technology Innovation

The legacy HHS Accelerator technology platform, managed by MOCS, was designed exclusively for the health and human service (HHS) sector to make it easier to do business with the City. HHS Accelerator streamlined and enhanced the management of financial processes for providers delivering direct services to clients and communities.

COVID-19 HHS Team

In response to COVID-19, MOCS was a principal member of a centralized HHS Team, along with the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Together, we designed and implemented contracting, budgeting and financial policies to provide organizations with flexibility, business stability and cash flow during the shifting and dynamic environment.
Learn more about the work and its impact

Nonprofit Resiliency Committee

MOCS was a partner in the Mayor's Nonprofit Resiliency Committee (NRC), which gave the HHS nonprofit community a direct voice in designing the City of New York's business practices, policies, and technology solutions.
Visit NYC Nonprofits NRC