Call for Proposals for
Communications Specialist: Supporting First Peoples Wellness
Circle’s (FPWC) Resources Development and Promotion

Introduction

First Peoples Wellness Circle (FPWC) is an Indigenous-led national not-for-profit dedicated to enhancing the lives of Canada’s First Peoples by addressing healing, wellness, and mental wellness barriers. The organization’s purpose is to walk with and support First Peoples and communities, embracing a Two-Eyed Seeing Approach to share collective intelligence for healing, peace-making, and living a good life. The FPWC advocates for collaborative and transformative change and promotes pathways to wholistic health and wellness for First Peoples by incorporating diverse Indigenous cultural lenses and knowledge.

FPWC primarily focuses on implementing the First Nation Mental Wellness Continuum Framework and supporting the frontline mental wellness and trauma-specialized workforce. FPWC aims to foster resilience, well-being, and mental wellness within First Nation communities by creating and disseminating resources tailored to the unique needs and perspectives of First Peoples.

Guided by the First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework (The Framework), FPWC focuses on four strategic priorities: Growth, The Framework, Relationships, and Collective Intelligence. Through these pillars, we deliver learning opportunities, resources, and foster relationships grounded in reciprocity to advocate for transformative change that supports the mental wellness of First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

To support our growth and communication needs, FPWC is focused on three key areas:

• Launching a new website.
• Enhancing the online sharing of resources.
• Supporting and leading the development and promotion of our materials through social media.

Purpose Statement/Objective

Working with FPWC’s Management and the Sr. Communications Lead, we are seeking a contractor to support the ongoing communications needs and project work at FPWC. This role will support the implementation of FPWC’s communications and marketing strategy by assisting with content creation, design of resources, editing, and distribution across various platforms, including publications, social media, and the website.

The contractor will be expected to understand and be able to develop and write content that is consistent with and honours a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, that honours Indigenous ways of being and doing, and aligns with FPWC’s strategic priorities: Growth, The Framework, Relationships, and Collective Intelligence.

A specific emphasis will be placed on supporting various activities at FPWC and will require the following skills:

• Graphic Design, copy editing (English required, French an asset), review and formatting various resources (e.g. reports, one pagers etc.)
• Copyediting and proofreading with strong knowledge of Canadian English standards and FPWC’s preferred style (e.g. Wholistic, capitalizing Indigenous).
• Assist in writing descriptive content for projects, programs, objectives to be used in publications and in media.
• Coordinating, reviewing and writing content for FPWC website
• Strong writing, editing, coordination and review of resources
• The contractor must have demonstrated skills in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Canva, and WordPress to support the creation, formatting, and publishing of professional, accessible, and visually appealing/compelling resources
• The contractor must be able to meet high design standards and align with the FPWC brand guidelines

Term of Contract:

• Available budget is up to $47,000 for up to 5 months (beginning November 2025 and ending March 31, 2026)
• The estimated time expected for the work indicated above is between 800 to 900 hours

Scope of work and deliverables:

Work	Scope	Deliverables
Website:	FPWC will be working with an external vendor to update the design and format of FPWC website. Working alongside the website vendor, Sr. Communications Lead, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Programs and FPWC Management, the contractor will be responsible for completing the following tasks:	Coordinate and liaise with Sr. Communications Lead, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Programs and external website vendor to update content on FPWC website. Write, review, copy edit, install and update content on FPWC website. This includes reading and reviewing projects to conceptualize written content for pages and posts for the FPWC website Support ongoing content management updates of the website in WordPress (FPWC Website & Resource Hub sites).
Social Media and Marketing/ Promotion:	FPWC is working towards enhancing the promotion of resources through their social media presence. Working alongside the Sr. Communication lead, the contractor will be responsible for:	Content collaboration: Coordinate, write, and edit marketing materials to promote the FPWC brand and resources. Resource design: Lead the graphic design and layout for up to 12 new resources and all associated promotional materials (On average, a short resource document could be 12 pages long, and a long resource document could be up to 50 pages long). Resources to be created in Adobe InDesign, working InDesign files to be provided in delivery of final content and resources. Social media promotion: Develop complete sets of social media content (written posts, conceptualization, project summaries, and visuals with custom graphics) to promote the launch of up to 12 new resources: Including up to 12 templates for social media posts: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn All content must adhere to FPWC’s brand and tone of voice Create custom graphics and digital assets in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Canva Develop and deliver editable Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and InDesign resources, templates, and graphics: Resource documents Poster style one-pagers to promote the resources Reusable social media templates for staff use Design professional and visually engaging presentations PowerPoint Google Slides Including custom infographics, charts, and data visualizations
Graphic Design & Copyediting Mental Wellness Team Specific Resources:	FPWC will be developing and launching a variety of resources that support the Mental Wellness Workforce. Working alongside the Manager of the MWT, the contractor will be responsible for the design, content promotion, and copyediting of various resources that includes:	Copy edit/review and Graphic Design of Facilitator Guide: Including scripts, notes, timing, activities, and discussion prompts for each module (approx. 40 pages) Copy edit/review and Graphic Design Participant Workbook: Containing summaries, reflection questions and space for notes (approx. 30 pages) Graphic Design Presentation Slide Deck: Slide decks and visual aid for each session (approx. 80 slides) Graphic Design, Edit and Format One pagers: Up to 7 one pagers (2 pages front and back for each one pager)

The Contractor will be responsible to have regular communication on the project including:

• Weekly or biweekly meetings (between 1-2 hours) with the Director of Strategic Initiatives and/or Sr. Communications Lead
• Bi-weekly meetings (between 1-2 hours), as required with FPWC managers and/or team members
• Expected email correspondence/communications and updates

Submission Requirements

Within Proposal submissions Proponents must include the following:

• Introduction of Contractor summarizing background, resources and relevant experience.
• Examples of past projects, preferably of a similar scope and size.
• References from at least two to three (2-3) past projects, preferably matching expectations and size.
• Breakdown using budget given ($47,000.00). Budget should include a suggested work plan and breakdown of fees, costs, administrative services (if applicable), and hours anticipated.
• Proposed schedule for the project, including project stages and/or milestones.
• A list of personnel on the project team including any possible sub-contractors, their bios and their roles.
• Identify the Project Leader as the main point of contact–name, title, phone and email address must be included.
• The proposal shall be submitted electronically. Each page shall be numbered and have the company name on it.

RFP Timelines

• RFP Release Date: October 15, 2025
• Question deadline: October 23, 2025, before 4:00 pm EDT
• Proposals submission deadline: October 30, 2025, at 4:00 pm EDT
• Notice of Award Released: Anticipated by November 6, 2025

Submission of Questions

Questions regarding the RFP will only be accepted by email and are to be submitted electronically to: humanresources@fpwc.ca. Questions will only be accepted until October 23rd, 2025, before 4:00 pm EDT.

Submission of Proposals

The proposal shall be submitted electronically in Word format to:

Email: humanresources@fpwc.ca

First Peoples Wellness Circle
857 Yellek Trail
North Bay, ON P1B 8G5

All proposals must be received by October 30, 2025, at 4:00 pm EDT through email.

Proposals submitted after the due date and time will be rejected. FPWC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals and to waive any minor informality in any proposal received.

Award of Contract

Award of the contract resulting from this RFP will be based upon the most responsive contractor whose offer will be the most advantageous to FPWC in terms of functionality, experience, quality of past work, and other factors as specified elsewhere in the RFP. FPWC reserves the right to:

• Consider proposals based on their relative merit, risk and value to the Corporation.
• Negotiate with any or all contractors.
• Reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any potential contractor, when it is in the Corporation’s best interest.
• Accept other than the lowest priced bid.

Proposals received shall be judged by FPWC solely on the selection criteria:

• Contractor’s understanding of FPWC’s mission and scope of the project.
• Contractor’s knowledge of MWTs and community development models.
• Proposed price of the entire project.
• Expected timeline for completing the project.
• Contractor’s demonstrated experience in similar projects. Proposals will be evaluated upon the Contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP and price quoted for all items covered by the RFP.
• The successful contractor may be asked to participate in negotiations and may be asked to revise their proposal based on their negotiations. In submitting a proposal, each contractor acknowledges that they have read and understand these requirements.

Evaluation Criteria

The proposal will be reviewed, scored and a decision made based on the responses:

• Skills and experience of key personnel.
• Description of services.
• Timeline of project broken into three (3) sections:
  • Website
  • Promotion and Social Media
  • Graphic Design & Copyediting- Mental Wellness Team Specific Resources:
• Budget/cost.
• Sample of similar work projects (2-3).
• Demonstrated experience with Graphic Design, copy editing (English required, French an asset), review and formatting various resources (e.g. reports, one pagers, etc.)
• Demonstrated skills in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Canva, and WordPress to support the creation, formatting, and publishing of professional, accessible, and visually appealing/compelling resources
• Compliance with administrative requirements of the RFP with respect to the submission process.
• Results of reference check.
• Ability/commitment to meet time deadlines.

Rejection of Proposals

FPWC reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, which are required to complete this project, or when deemed to be in the best interest of FPWC.

Confidentiality

All information presented in this RFP, including information subsequently disclosed by FPWC during the proposal process, shall be considered confidential and should not be released to outside parties. This document represents a request for proposal only and in no way should be construed as a contract or letter of intent.

Cost of Proposal

The Respondent shall bear all costs associated with the proposal meeting(s), interview, preparation and submission of the bid and FPWC shall in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation.