Doing Business with Raise Up
Raise Up relies on businesses, contractors, and service providers to help us deliver quality, affordable housing to families and individuals across Lorain County. When you work with us, you're helping strengthen the communities we serve.
Fair and Open Competition
We are committed to fairness, transparency and integrity in every purchase we make. Raise Up promotes full and open competition so that qualified businesses of all sizes have an equal opportunity to compete for contracts funded with public dollars. Learn more in our Procurement Policy.
How We Buy
Depending on the type and size of the purchase, Raise Up uses several kinds of formal solicitations:
- Request for Proposals (RFP): Used for professional services or projects where experience, qualifications, and approach matter as much as price.
- Invitation for Bids (IFB): Used when the scope and specifications are clearly defined, such as construction or supplies. Contracts are generally awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
- Request for Qualifications (RFQ): Used to identify and pre-qualify firms, such as architects or engineers, for current or future projects.
Get Started
Register as a vendor through Housing Agency Marketplace to receive notifications about upcoming opportunities that match your services. Once registered, you can view open solicitations, download documents and addenda, and submit responses electronically.
Supplier Opportunity
Raise Up encourages participation from small, minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned and Section 3 businesses.
Equal Opportunity
Raise Up is an equal opportunity employer and contractor and complies with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Raise Up also requires vendors to comply with federal, state, local laws and directives.
Prevailing Wages on Construction Projects
When Raise Up uses federal funds for construction, the workers on those jobs must be paid fair, locally set wages. This is required under the federal Davis-Bacon Act.
If your business is awarded a construction contract over $2,000, you’ll need to pay laborers and mechanics at least the prevailing wage and fringe benefits for your area. Construction includes significant alterations and repairs. Contractors must submit certified payroll records so Raise Up can confirm workers are paid correctly. Contracts that don’t meet these requirements can be paused, terminated, or lead to a contractor being barred from future federal work.
You can look up current wage rates for free at SAM.gov.
For a plain-language overview, see HUD’s Contractor’s Guide to Prevailing Wage Requirements.
Section 3: Creating Opportunities for Local Residents
Section 3 is a federal HUD program that helps make sure jobs, training, and contracts created by housing funds go to the people and neighborhoods those funds serve.
Working on a Raise Up contract? Most contractors are required to report hours worked by Section 3 workers and to show good-faith efforts to hire locally.
Review Raise Up’s Section 3 Policy and compliance forms — self-certification and monthly reporting.
Additional guidance can be found on HUD’s website including their Section 3 FAQ.
Questions?
Contact our procurement department at procurement@rupartners.org or 440-288-7499.