This section of the RFP serves to introduce your organization and clearly articulate the context and purpose of the project. It provides potential vendors with the foundational information they need to understand your organization’s needs and goals.
Begin by providing a brief description of your nonprofit organization. This should cover your mission, history, and scale.
Example:
“HopeBridge International is a mid-market, faith-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved communities through clean water, education, and healthcare initiatives. With a 20-year history and active donor base across the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa, we are focused on expanding our reach through scalable digital fundraising infrastructure.”
Clearly state the purpose of issuing this Request for Proposal. Highlight the core objectives, which typically include:
Also include the specific needs to:
The overarching goal is to reduce administrative burden and achieve a unified view of donor data.
Example:
“This RFP seeks to identify a digital giving platform that will replace our fragmented donation tools, automate manual workflows, and provide a seamless donor experience. Our goal is to unify online and offline giving data and prepare our infrastructure for long-term scalability.”
Provide vendors with insight into your existing technology landscape. Include either a high-level diagram or a narrative description of your current stack.
Be sure to cover:
Importantly, describe any existing data flow challenges or manual processes that the new platform needs to address.
Example:
“Our current environment includes Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud as our primary CRM, Mailchimp for email campaigns, Drupal as our CMS, and Stripe for payment processing. However, these tools operate in silos with limited data sync, requiring extensive manual reconciliation that inhibits real-time reporting.”
Define the geographical scope of your operations and where the digital giving platform must be operational.
Include:
Example:
“The platform must support donors in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, with full localization for currency (USD, GBP, CAD), bilingual capability (English and French), and compliance with GDPR and GiftAid requirements.”