🧭 The Nonprofit’s Guide to Digital Giving Platform RFPs

Welcome to your step-by-step guide for upgrading your nonprofit’s digital giving infrastructure through a strategic RFP (Request for Proposal) process.

This guide is built for mission-driven organizations navigating the full lifecycle of platform evaluation—from understanding why an upgrade is needed to confidently selecting the right solution and vendor.

💡 Why Upgrade Your Digital Giving Platform?

Your online giving experience isn’t just a payment gateway—it’s the backbone of your fundraising strategy and donor engagement efforts. Upgrading your infrastructure can help you:

🌟 Enhance the Donor Experience

Create frictionless, intuitive journeys for your supporters with:

• Mobile-first donation forms
• A secure, self-service donor portal
• Clear, timely communications

A better experience = higher engagement and retention.

🔁 Strengthen CRM Integration & Achieve a Unified Donor View

Seamless, bi-directional sync with your CRM (like Salesforce NPSP or Nonprofit Cloud) eliminates silos and ensures:

• Real-time data updates
• Accurate segmentation
• A single source of truth for your team

⚙️ Streamline Operations & Reduce Admin Burden

Automate repetitive tasks and empower donors to manage their own preferences. A simple admin interface means non-technical staff can:

• Build campaigns
• Update content
• Manage data with ease

📈 Improve Fundraising Performance

Boost your impact with tools that help you:

• Customize forms and ask strings
• Optimize for recurring giving
• Use real-time reporting and analytics to refine your approach

🔒 Ensure Security and Compliance

Trust is everything. Your new platform must:

• Meet PCI-DSS standards
• Use encryption and role-based access
• Comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations

🚀 Support Growth and Agility

Be ready for peak traffic on Giving Tuesday or during a major appeal. The right system can scale fast, and flex to meet new needs—no dev team required.

🧠 Bottom line: Your technology should align with your mission, freeing your team to focus on what really matters—serving your community and increasing your impact.

🗺️ What’s in This Guide?

This guide is divided into key sections that mirror the full lifecycle of a giving platform upgrade:

• 📌 Part 1: Understanding the Need
• Discover why organizations choose to upgrade and how to assess your current state.
• 📌 Part 2: The RFP Process
• A roadmap from internal planning to platform launch.
• 📌 Part 3: Defining Your Requirements
• Identify what your nonprofit truly needs from a new system.
• 📌 Part 4: Writing Your RFP
• A breakdown of every section your RFP should include.
• 📌 Part 5: Deep Dive – Detailed Requirements
• Explore all the functional and technical must-haves.
• 📌 Part 6: Evaluating Vendors
• Learn how to assess proposals and choose the right partner.
• 📂 Resources
• Access templates, checklists, and tools to simplify the process.

Feel free to jump into the section that fits where you are today—or browse the entire guide for a full picture of what a successful upgrade looks like.

You’ve got this. 💪