RFPs for Nonprofits: Finding the Right Digital Partner

If you work at a nonprofit organization, you’re likely very familiar with the RFP process, which is vital to the organization’s health. 

Creating RFPs is challenging and, without proper planning, can result in work that doesn’t meet expectations or goals. On the other hand, RFPs offer several benefits. 

RFP Benefits

Supports Clarity – An RFP clearly outlines your organization’s purpose, project goals, specific requirements, timeline, and budget. This level of clarity enables vendors to tailor their responses to your precise needs and give more accurate estimates. 

Fosters Internal Alignment – Creating an RFP encourages thoroughness, exploration of goals, and consideration of challenges and other issues that may arise along the way. RFPs also provide clarity for your internal team and help guarantee alignment among all stakeholders. 

Creates Efficiency – Assembling clear requirements upfront saves time. You’ll be able to invite vendors who are a good fit and capable of fulfilling your project requirements. 

Supports Apples-to-Apples Comparison – Without detailed project requirements, you’ll likely get a range of estimates with varied specifications and details, making it difficult to compare and contrast estimates accurately. 

Now that we’ve illustrated why putting together an RFP is worth the investment, let’s explore the whos and hows. 

Your RFP Team

Most RFPs include a range of needs from various skill sets that are worthy of a team. Here are some of the people you should include on your RFP team.

RFP Lead – Appointing an RFP leader will ensure that your RFP is consistent, well-written, and doesn’t suffer from “too many cooks in the kitchen.” The RFP lead (aka wrangler) ensures that team input is included and synthesized in a clear and meaningful way. 

Leadership – Your nonprofit’s leadership offers insight into your purpose and strategic direction. Including your leadership ensures that your RFP aligns with your nonprofit’s short- and long-term vision. 

Financial and Administrative – Without input and buy-in from your financial team, you risk going through all of the effort of putting an RFP together and not identifying a feasible budget and how specifically you will pay for the project. 

Operations and Development Staff – Enlisting the help of team members with “boots on the ground” is imperative, especially when hashing out the project details, timeline, and rollout, since they will likely be heavily involved once the project is underway. 

Subject Matter Experts – Tap subject matter experts (SMEs) for specifics on parts of the project requiring insider knowledge. For example, if accessibility is a primary concern, you’ll want to identify what that means. Over the years, we’ve encountered many vague accessibility requirements.

Legal Counsel – If necessary, enlist your legal counsel, especially on complex issues such as compliance, HIPAA, and other identified risks. 

RFP Components

A well-written RFP contains the following key components.

Introduction and Background

• Provides a brief overview of your organization, its purpose, and the context for the project.
• Outlines why the project is needed and how it aligns with your organization’s broader goals.

Project Goals and Objectives

• Clearly defines what you hope to achieve with the project.
• Sets specific objectives that potential vendors and partners should meet.

Scope of Work

• Details the required tasks and deliverables.
• May include project phases, milestones, key performance indicators, and other vital metrics.

Timeline and Deadlines

• Outlines the desired project timeline, including deadlines for proposal submissions and project completion.
• Highlights key milestones and critical dates for project phases.
• If you’re flexible with your work schedule, say so!

Budget

• Provide a budget range or financial parameters for the project.
• Indicate funding limitations or specific budget allocations if applicable.
• Transparency with your budget enables potential vendors to opt out of responding to your RFP if they feel the budget does not align with the project scope.

Proposal Requirements

• Be transparent about listing the information vendors must include in their proposal, such as qualifications, project approach, references, and pricing.
• You may also request case study examples or other relevant experience.

Evaluation Criteria

• Specify how the proposals will be evaluated, including cost, experience, timeline, and alignment with project goals. If there’s a rubric that’s used for evaluation, share it. 

Submission Guidelines

• Share dates of any information sessions you’ll be hosting to answer vendor questions about your project. 
• Clearly outline how vendors should submit their proposals, including preferred format, contact information, and due dates.

Appendices or Supporting Documentation

• Some RFPs require additional resources or documents (e.g., market research, technical specs, or sample reports) to help vendors better understand the project.

RFP Vendors

Now that you’ve assembled your RFP, the next step is to promote it and find a vendor who is a good fit for your project. 

Research Potential Vendors – This may take several forms, from asking for referrals from colleagues and tapping your industry network to reviewing websites and checking for relevant experience and a proven track record.

Compile Decision-making Rubric – Identifying how you will grade RFP responses by enlisting a scoring mechanism allows you to prioritize what’s most important while keeping you from being subjective. 

Assemble Shortlist – Once you’ve compiled your shortlist, contact the potential vendors and send them your RFP. Be sure to include important information like due dates.

Evaluate RFP Responses – Using your rubric, score the submitted RFP responses. Remember that using a rubric may disqualify vendors that don’t meet requirements from your initial list.

Schedule Meetings – Hold interviews with potential vendors. Pay attention to communication styles and cultural alignment. 

Make a Decision – Based on your evaluations, select the vendor that best aligns with your project requirements, budget, and organizational values. Once chosen, share your decision with the vendor and schedule the next steps.

Be sure to let vendors who you didn’t choose know about your decision, too. 

Sign Contracts and Agreements – Before starting the project, ensure all service agreements and contracts are signed, scanned, and shared. 

Why ArcStone?

At this point, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you a little about us and why you should consider ArcStone when inviting potential vendors to respond to your RFPs. 

Experience Matters – ArcStone understands the complex needs of nonprofits, government agencies, and educational institutions because we’ve worked with them for over twenty-five years. Our vast experience offers unparalleled insight into how to handle challenging situations and how to execute projects successfully. 

Agencies like ArcStone can also be instrumental in helping come up with the technical requirements for the RFP.

Dedication to Accessibility and Inclusivity – With expertise in WCAG standards and a dedication to inclusive design, ArcStone ensures that all our projects meet accessibility requirements. Accessibility is particularly relevant for government and educational institutions that must adhere to accessibility guidelines.

Technical Chops and Expertise – At ArcStone, technology is in our DNA, and our core value, evolution, drives us forward. We combine deep technical expertise, human-centered design, and pragmatic solutions tailored to your needs. By leveraging the latest technology, we optimize functionality and enhance user experience to deliver impactful results.

Doing the Right Thing – ArcStone is proud to be a Certified B CorporationTM! Our B Corp status shows a commitment to people and the planet while staying transparent and accountable. 

For us, it isn’t just about making money but balancing profits with purpose. 

We understand that the RFP process can be confusing, but for large projects, the work upfront will pay off.

Contact us today if you have an RFP opportunity.