Fundraising/Donor Mgmt Software RFP

I am new to the development field (long-time volunteer previously) and need to write an RFP for fundraising/donor managment software. Can anyone share a copy of an RFP so that I can start off on the right foot? I have tried to research how to properly write a technical RFP but I am not a tech person and would much prefer using someone else's sample as a starting point. Administration wants to get moving on this quickly since we currently do not have a database in place. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Dear ldunham,

Welcome to TechSoup!

I am skeptical of most RFPs for donor databases. I've seen many examples of RFPs that did not repay the amount of time and effort that went into them. Vaguely worded RFPs yield vague responses. You need to phrase your questions so that they mean the same thing to all readers and yield unambiguous answers (which is hard to do). And you need think about how you will evaluate each answer. What does it mean when a vendor says their system supports matching gifts? Is that specific enough? Are any questions deal-breakers that will disqualify a vendor? Are some questions worth more points than others?

Start by describing your organization and the problems you are trying to solve. Then focus on mandatory and high-priority requirements that will allow you to compare vendors. Don't ask general questions like "can your system process gifts?" Ask specific questions, like "can gifts be split between funds in a single transaction?", or "can soft credit be split between several parties?", or "can fundraising credit be split between several fundraisers?" (these are meant as examples -- they may not apply to you). Try to think of questions that will distinguish one vendor from another.

And remember, if your RFP is 30 pages, the responses will be at least as long, and you’ll have to read and rate every one.

As far as how to write an RFP, it should come out of a list of your requirements. NPower has a great how-to guide called Four Steps to Selecting Donor Management Software. It includes a worksheet that has examples of how to rate features (here) and an example of functional requirements (here). Once you know what you're looking for, you can ask a pool of vendors whether they can provide those features, and at what cost.

You can also ask the vendors you're considering whether they can provide a sample RFP. Many of them will. Get several, since each vendor will provide one that's tuned to their system.

Robert

Thanks for the tips. We do have a list of specs and will try to shape the RFP around them. Because this is so new to us, I fear missing something critical due to lack of knowledge regarding these systems. I appreciate your advice and that of anyone else who can chime in! Thanks for helping this newbie!

When you interview vendors individually, it's often helpful to ask a vendor what questions you should be asking the other vendors. They will normally give you some really good things to ask the other guy. You must, of course, ask and listen carefully so that you can separate the smoke from the fire.

Another thing you should discuss with vendors is whether they have other clients in the same field, or whose operations are similar to yours. Once you narrow down a list of potential vendors you'll want to do some reference checking including some very specific questions about how the product works, to make sure that it does what the salesperson says it will do.