COVID-19 Contracts for Diverse Media Messaging and Community Outreach

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is partnering with many experienced and trusted diverse media vendors and community organizations in Minnesota as part of our public health response to COVID-19. Our relationships with diverse media vendors and community organizations play a key part in ensuring that all who reside in Minnesota and the 11 Tribal Nations that share its geography – including residents from communities of color, American Indian residents, LGBTQ residents, and residents with limited English proficiency – have access to needed, culturally relevant resources and have the opportunity to be fully informed with culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, accurate, and timely messages related to COVID-19.

Since our COVID-19 response work began, MDH has partnered with about 120 different diverse media vendors, community-based organizations, and tribes. Information about our current and previous contractors can be found in the links below:

• COVID Community Coordinator Contractors
• Current Community Engagement Contractors (PDF)
  • Map of Community Engagement Contractors
• Current Diverse Media Contractors (PDF)
  • Map of Diverse Media Contractors
• Previous Contractors in 2020 and early 2021 (PDF)

For more examples of the work done in partnership with our contractors, please visit the COVID-19 Examples of Contractor Materials page.

New Funding Opportunities

Diverse Media Vendors for COVID-19 Communications

This Request for Proposals will ask vendors to propose a plan for media services to help MDH in getting culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, accurate, and timely messages related to COVID-19 vaccines to our communities of color, American Indian communities, LGBTQ communities, and disability communities in Minnesota. This may include, but is not limited to, addressing ongoing vaccine hesitancy, booster doses, and vaccines for youth including ages 12 and younger. Media services may include formats such as online and social media, radio, television, and print. Vendors are encouraged to use methods that are adaptable to quickly changing information.

• Funding: MDH plans to make $1.2 million available for multiple contracts from January 2022 – December 2022.
• Target Audience of Request for Proposals: Media vendors; priority will be given to media vendors that are owned/led/operated by people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals.

Community-based Organizations and Tribes for COVID-19 Outreach and Engagement

This Request for Proposals will ask community-based organizations and Tribes to propose a plan for culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, and timely community engagement activities to aid the state in learning about community needs related to COVID-19 vaccines, connecting communities to existing resources and services, and developing or adapting resources and materials for cultural communities as needed. Activities may include outreach and engagement to address ongoing vaccine hesitancy, to encourage booster doses, and to promote vaccines for youth including ages 12 and younger. The primary audience(s) for community engagement must include people of color, American Indians, LGBTQ communities, and/or disability communities.

• Funding: MDH plans to make $1.2 million available for multiple contracts from January 2022 – December 2022
• Target Audience of Request for Proposals: Community-based nonprofit organizations, other community-led organizations, and Tribes; priority will be given to entities that are led/operated/owned by people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals.

MDH will make final selections of contractors based on a competitive review of proposals, while also ensuring that the final cohort of selected contractors covers a range of racial, ethnic, cultural, disability, and LGBTQ communities and geographic areas in Minnesota.

The proposal submission deadline for both Requests for Proposals is October 28, 2021. Contracts are expected to start in early January 2022.

Current contractors of MDH are eligible to apply. Please note that organizations currently funded by MDH through the COVID Community Coordinators initiative are not eligible to respond to this Requests for Proposals.

Previous Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 Diverse Media Requests for Services

These Requests for Services asked vendors to propose a plan for media services to help MDH in getting culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, accurate, and timely messages related to COVID-19 to communities of color, American Indian communities, and LGBTQ communities in Minnesota. Media services include formats such as online and social media, radio, television and print. Vendors were encouraged to use methods that are adaptable to quickly changing information and explore alternative methods of communication that are effective while people maintain social distancing.

• Request for Services issued in April 2020 ($670,000 in funding distributed to 18 vendors)
• Request for Services issued in May 2020 ($800,000 in funding distributed to 17 vendors)
• Request for Services issued in December 2020 ($1,500,000 in funding distributed to 30 vendors)

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COVID-19 Community Engagement Request for Services

This Request for Services asked community-based organizations and Tribes to propose a plan for culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate and timely community engagement activities to aid the state in increasing community understanding of and participation in COVID-19 testing, case investigation, and contact tracing. Organizations and Tribes will be asked to learn about community questions and needs related to COVID-19 testing, case investigation, and contact tracing; work with the State and its partners to address those community needs; and connect communities to testing, case investigation, and contact tracing. The primary audience(s) for community engagement must include people of color, American Indians, and/or LGBTQ Minnesotans.

• Request for Services issued in May 2020 ($1,550,000 in funding distributed to 39 vendors)
• Request for Services issued in December 2020 ($1,500,000 in funding distributed to 41 vendors)

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Image credit goes to MDH contractor American Indian Community Housing Organization for their work with native artists to create posters that share health messages through an indigenous lens. Posters can be downloaded and printed from the American Indian Community Housing Organization website.

Video credit goes to MDH contractor Girls are Powerful, who launched a communication and wellness campaign focused on community building through empowerment, self care and wellness activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.