A Nonprofit RFP Portal Is Officially In The Works

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Thanks to everyone for taking the time to submit your interest in a Request For Proposal (RFP) resource site that nonprofit arts and culture orgs could use, free of charge, to post RFPs and solicit bids from providers that specialize in nonprofit orgs.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and in great enough numbers to justify the effort. As such, I’m happy to announce that it’s officially in development with a target launch of no later than March 20, 2020, which coincides with the Nonprofit Technology Network conference in Baltimore, MD.

Executive Summary

Adaptistration People 030The goal is to connect more high-quality providers with nonprofits that need their services. Functionality will be very straightforward:

  • RFPs will be free for arts orgs to submit.
  • Providers will purchase subscriptions to access RFP details such as org name, project description, application info, etc.
  • Nonprofits will be able to create a user account where they can manage listings.
  • Providers will be able to bookmark listings.

We’ll Need RFPs

In addition to getting site functionality up and running, we will need some RFPs at the time of launch. To that end, I’m looking for some organizations who have an active RFP we can include at the site. It can be for a wide range of projects including, but not limited to:

  • Web/App development
  • IT services
  • Graphic Design & Branding
  • Grant Writing
  • Strategic Planning
  • Marketing Consulting
  • Fundraising Consulting
  • Board Development
  • Ticketing/Fundraising CRM

…you get the picture. The only requirement is the RFP needs a deadline later in April 2020 or later.

I Have An RFP You Can Use

We’ll Need Providers

It takes two to tango and we’ll need providers to connect with all these nonprofits. By “providers” I mean everything from big budget agencies and firms through single practitioners. You can sign up for pre-launch information and a notification when the site becomes open for registration.

The first 50 subscribers get a special discount. Why? Because discounts are awesome…and early birds deserve something besides worms.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

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