Respond to each peer initial post with a response about 3-4 sentences long.
Peer# 1
Components of a RFP for Nonprofit Services
A request for proposal, or RFP, is a document that describes a project's needs and asks for proposed solutions from qualified vendors (Peters, 2011).
A good RFP can help confirm you have suitable vendors and your project is finalized as scheduled. Though some of the components may vary form proposal to proposal here are some of the main components used in a request for proposal for nonprofit services:
Purpose overview: Purpose & Objectives with summary statement of what are you looking to do
Org Background and mission
Project Background: Stakeholders and history of need.
Project Goals
Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach, include primary, secondary, tertiary stakeholders
Existing Challenges: Share an overview of any skeletons and internal issues that might impact the process
Feature Requirements: Describe major required features from the perspective of the user (short user stories).
Design requirements: How much is needed, is there an existing style in place? Will it be mobile and tablet friendly?
Technical Requirements: Integrations with existing databases/systems/CRMS, Existing tech, desire for specific platform, Ability to manage the platform (Content Management System), Hosting needs.
Reporting and analytics needs: Google Analytics configured with goal tracking, Web forms that are stored online/emailed
Timeline: Proposal due date, decision date, and estimated project completion date.
Budget: This can be an expected range or not stated. Note that you will probably waste folk's time if you are giving no hint on cost as prices can range wildly based on functionality expectations. Adding a range let's firms get a better idea of the level of complexity you think the project will have (Weiner, 2018)Strategies and
Techniques That Should be used to Respond Effectively to a RFP or Grant Announcement
Give the funders what they want. "It is therefore essential to pay very close attention to this document. Those who pay closest attention to the rules are the ones who get awarded. It is, after all, the funding source's money. If you want their money, you have to play by their rules (Bradley, 2017)!" Surveys amongst team members is a good way to respond effectively to RFP's or grant announcements as you can score them based off of everyone's opinions.
Ways Nonprofits can be Assured the Grant Proposal Effectively Addressed all Aspects of a RFP or Grant Announcement
Nonprofits can be assured the grant proposal addressed all aspects effectively in the following ways:
Following all directions
Well-organized proposal sections that are integrated and easy to comprehend (for example, a clear table of contents, nice layout and graphics, etc.)
Well researched and documented statement of the problem (provide narrative and statistical detail, and reinforce the message with graphs or charts to persuade the reviewer)
Statement of the problem or need in a way that explicitly addresses the funder's priorities
Creative or innovative strategies for addressing the need / problem
Feasible goals and objectives (e.g., "Decrease by 2% the number of adolescents ages 15-17 who report cigarette smoking over two years" as opposed to, "Decrease by 50% the number of adolescents ages 15-17 who report cigarette smoking over two years")
Measurable objectives (e.g., "Implement a five minute provider-patient education protocol for heart disease prevention for primary care visits among men ages 30 - 50 in Coronary County from January 2004 - January 2005" as opposed to, "Educate men in Coronary County about the risk of heart disease")
A sound evaluation plan. Have you shown that you have the capacity to access primary data [data that you collect via interviews, surveys, or focus groups] or secondary data [existing data such as census data]? Have you clearly indicated whether or not you will be evaluating implementation versus short- versus long-term outcomes, or all three? Have you allocated a proportion of the budget line items for evaluation (Section 5. Writing a Grant, 2018)?
Even with the perfect proposal there is no guarantee that the grant will be awarded. There is always more grant proposal submitted than there are actual grant funds available.
Peer#2
An RFP offers your organization the invaluable opportunity to recruit the best possible vendors for your particular project. An RFP must always begin with an introduction and overview of the organization issuing the request and the problem or project where help is needed.
The introduction is usually no more than a paragraph or two, and must also include the due date for the project and the proposed budget. Including this information helps firms make a decision about whether to respond to the RFP. Element of an RFP are Organizational background which Provide a short description of your organization's mission and projects. This gives the vendor some background and focus as to the needs of the project.
Also, a short project description, Project requirements and project objectives. The requirements and objectives is often the lengthiest section of the RFP, as it describes the characteristics that define a successful outcome in your estimation. Keep in mind that, in general, specific, closed questions are easier to evaluate and score than open-ended ones.
Try to include your audience, list required and desired features, add any system integration needs and indicate any preferred tools or systems. Be sure to include the project budget, milestones and deadlines ,contact information and lastly, deadline for submissions (fivepaths, 2018).
The most important is to make sure that the program qualifies for the grant. The single most common reason for a grant application to be denied is failure to follow instructions. Good, comprehensive reading skills are required to be an effective grant writer. There is a lot of information you must locate, identify and consider when developing any grant application.
When properly utilized, this information becomes the building blocks for developing the application to match the funding source's goals and objectives. It also prevents you from making an unintentional error, which would get your application denied. Lastly, be sure to edit and revise. The goal of this process is uniformity and accuracy. Be sure to correct punctuation errors, spelling errors, pronoun agreements, verb agreement and umbers (Deeb, 2015).
To be assured the grant proposal effectively addressed all aspects of a RFP or grant announcement. The writer must follow the directions!
This instruction cannot be repeated enough. This means not only following the subject matter requirements, but the formatting ones as well.
Do not underestimate the importance of following instructions; proposals have been discarded because an applicant didn't sign the original with blue ink. Plan your program thoroughly and make sure you give as much information as possible. Proofreading is very important.
The more the RFP is filled with typos and is internally inconsistent, the greater the likelihood you won't get any money. One way to avoid this is to proofread several times and have someone read behind you. The goal is to be as efficient as possible, eliminating surprises or problems as you move along.
While there are no guarantees that what you write will be funded stay positive and follow directions. If the grant gets rejected, ask the funder what needed improvement and try again at a later time (Paisner).
Peer#3
Components of a RFP for nonprofit services.
Organizational background. This is very crucial and should entails full, legal name, the location, a history of nonprofit, mission and achievements and roles played in the community among others.
A short description of the project. This will include the project title, explanation and justification of its existence, evaluation of benefits, the approach to be used and time schedule for the project.
The Project requirements and project objectives. The part of the RFP is quite length, it requires a clear and specific statement of the objectives without leaving bringing along any misinterpretation. They have to meet the SMART criterion, they have to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. The project requirement should be clearly categorized and organized indicating the sources, constraints and the cost of acquisition.
Project budget. Under this component it has to be indicated again that the service is non profit. Two sections have to be provided the income and expense sections. For the income section the revenue and contribution from grants have to be clearly stated. In the project budget one has to indicate to the granters why the specified nonprofit project is better than others and what difference it will make in the community.
Milestones and deadlines. When writing the milestones specific time frames are indicated like when the project will commence duration it will take and all the content plan of the nonprofit service. This deadline indicates when the service will come to an end.
Questions and required information. Depending on the nature of the service to be provided, questions and more information about the granter is asked under this section.
Contact information and deadline for submissions. Under this section contacts for granters to send their proposals are provided and also could service the purpose of seeking further information. The deadline will indicates the latest time the proposal can reach the organization.
Strategies and techniques to be used to respond effectively to a RFP or grant announcement?
Use list styles to break the monotony of narrative text whenever possible.
For every point, state and support just as required without too much explanation, however do not assume the reader is familiar with the subject of discussion.
Avoid stating unreasonable promises and unsupported arguments to the granter. State what is achievable with the project and has been approved to be true.
Use internal summaries and transitions to help the reader with the follow up of the RFP
Ensure the components of the proposal should be written; grammatically correct, carefully reviewed, edited and proofread.
In particular situation use visuals to enhance the description of abstract concepts and relationships.
The style used should be consistent throughout the text and the proposal should be readable in a logical sequential manner; not missing any particular page.
How are nonprofit assured the grant proposal effectively addressed all aspects of a RFP or grant announcement?
By ensuring that the structure of the RFP was clear. The components of the proposal should be well organized in a sequential manner.
The statement of the problem which entails the short description of the project should be well researched and documented. Granters invest where there exist enough information regarding the problem
The project objectives have to must prove creativity and innovation in solving the existing problem.
This objectives and goals should also be possible and realizable for both the organization and the granter.
The plan of this particular nonprofit service should be sound bringing forth a workable foresight.
The objective of the nonprofit service should measurable. That is the objective can be quantitatively described and statistically tabulated.