As a nonprofit consultant, you may be familiar with the term “Request for Proposal” or RFP as it’s used in fundraising. For nonprofits, an RFP usually means that a funder is requesting grant proposals through an open application process. But RFPs aren’t just for grant applications.
Many nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies also put out RFPs when seeking specific consulting services.
But is it worth searching out and applying for these RFPs as a nonprofit consultant?
To answer that, we decided to review the pros and cons of participating in RFP processes—and how to choose the right RFPs if you do decide to apply.
What Are Consulting RFPs?
Consulting RFPs are “requests for proposals” to provide a specific set of services or deliverables. The RFP outlines the specifics of the project and invites vendors to submit bids for consideration.
RFPs share some similarities but can be very different from other types of solicitations, such as requests for quotes or qualifications (RFQs), requests for information (RFIs), and terms of reference (ToRs).
Pros and cons of consulting RFPs
Many consultants are not fans of applying for RFPs.
There is good reason for this! Writing a custom application for an RFP takes an incredible amount of time (think 5-20 hours). Then, despite all that work, most applicants are awarded less than 30% of the RFPs they apply for. Securing even 50% is considered an incredibly high success rate.
But there are some scenarios where RFPs might be worth considering for your consulting business:
- If you’re looking to significantly scale up your business and build a consulting client pipeline, successful RFPs can often lead to long-term engagements and provide consistent revenue over multiple years with options for extending or adding on work.
- Applying for RFPs can help you break into new sectors. For example, if you’re looking to add for-profit clients to your nonprofit consulting business, RFPs can provide a relatively accessible entry point (as compared to building out an entirely new marketing strategy).
- Responding to RFPs can also help you test out new business strategies, pricing models, and service offerings to see what works best. Plus, the materials you create for RFPs can be re-used with other clients, when creating new website or marketing content, and even in your email newsletters.
Finding Consulting RFPs
Finding RFPs to apply for as a consultant often feels ad-hoc. You might spot an RFP announcement on LinkedIn or shared on an email list. Here at Funding for Good, we’ve even had organizations reach out to us directly and request that we apply for their RFP.
However, just like with grant research databases, new RFP databases are popping up. So it’s worth doing an online search to see which databases might catalog the types of RFPs you are looking for.
Evaluating Consulting RFPs
Not all RFPs are worth applying for. Common signs of a “good” RFP include:
- Clear and upfront budget ranges in the RFP, indicating the organization has set aside adequate funds and understands the market for the services they need.
- Specific and realistic dates for the RFP process itself and the project timeline. This suggests the organization takes the process seriously and will be accountable for meeting its responsibilities during the project.
- Opportunities for engagement before the application deadline, meaning you’ll have the chance to be sure the RFP is a good fit and start building potential relationships.
- Well-written rationale and scope for the RFP, suggesting the organization understands what they need but also values what potential consultants or vendors can bring to the mix. How an organization communicates in their RFP tells you a lot about how they will communicate as a client.
There are also some red flags to watch out for when evaluating RFPs, including:
- Extremely short timelines for proposal submission, turnaround, or other deadlines. This suggests the organization is rushing and may not fully grasp the amount of work required to accomplish the proposed scope.
- Lack of an explicitly stated budget in the RFP. If the organization doesn’t provide a budget range upfront or suggests an extremely low budget, either ask follow up questions or step aside. This sort of organization may expect a lot—above and beyond scope—without wanting to pay for it.
- Specifications or details in the RFP that conflict, don’t make sense, or are poorly conceptualized. Trust your own expertise and gut here. If it seems like an organization’s RFP is jumbled or ill-informed, imagine what working with the group may be like.
- Lack of availability for questions or follow-up. For example, if you email the RFP contact and they are out of the office until the final deadline, it’s unlikely the process and project will be a positive experience.
- An RFP that is so oddly specific it could be written for one individual consultant or firm. When you see this, it often means the organization already has a vendor in mind and is running the RFP process just to check a box.
