• About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Download App
  • Virtual Summit
  • Benefit Hub for Subscribers Only
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Disability
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
Find/Post Jobs
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Disability
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good
No Result
View All Result
Home Nonprofit

Gary Wexler on RFP and Institutionalizing Nonprofit Dysfunction

Gary WexlerbyGary Wexler
August 7, 2013
in Nonprofit
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on PinterestShare via EmailShare on Reddit

Their work is important, and nonprofits believe they are doing the right thing. However, are they defeating their success by issuing a delusional RFP (Request for Proposal) that reflects the ineffectiveness of their processes and marketing strategies?

The RFP sets out a list of requirements.

1. An investigation of the communications strategies of each of the five coalition members.

2. An investigation of other coalitions throughout the country and their communication strategies.

3. Outlining costs and benefits of such a program. (Means you actually have to create the program.)

The list went on, requesting analyses, creative work, evaluations, training sessions, branding, public relations, media strategies and a host of others tasks. To reach excellence, the work would require the labor of a professional team over many months. The RFP was long, complex and convoluted. The budget for all of it? $15,000 .

Photo Credit: http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/
Photo Credit: http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/

Then a document followed from the funding foundation with pages of requirements, stipulations, hoops to jump through, reports to be made and handstands to be performed.

The irony is that the labor poured into creating this RFP probably exceeded this project’s budget by at least three to four times.

I declined to compete or explain that I would need to apply for aid from their organizations to work my way out of the poverty imposed upon me by accepting their proposal.

I offered the one question that experience has taught me needs to be asked of a nonprofit when determining if there is a chance at success. What kind of milestones and approval process will you be establishing while this work is ongoing? (One client, alone, is complex enough.) In this case, there are five clients and a foundation, each with its own agenda and internal committees and boards. There are deep complexities reflecting the causes each are tackling. What will be the process for them to reach consensus and move forward at each stage?

While they were posing a thousand questions, they had no answer to this essential one. Along with all their other impossible demands, they were setting up a dysfunctional nightmare. The foundation, big and national, has a responsibility to know better.

The marketing RFP process that has evolved in recent years, is often implemented with hubris, intimidation, unrealistic demands—and no consideration for the finances of the small businesses that service them. It is one of those practices borrowed from business that has no place in the nonprofit world. RFPs in business are issued for multi-million dollar budgets—not for $15,000.

This kind of action wastes millions of donor dollars and causes severe dysfunction. It has been institutionalized, with a whole system built around it. It must be taken down, brick by brick and replaced with marketing education and a practice of excellence.

If ever there was a need for The Revolution, this proves it. Tell us what you think. Make your comment below.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Have Millennials Abandoned Yes We Can?

Next Post

Obesity And A Cooking Lesson With Jamie Oliver! Double Whammy!

Gary Wexler

Gary Wexler

Gary Wexler  is a former Ad Executive that has helped to create television commercials for products such as Apple and Coca-cola. Now, Gary uses his powers for good to help nonprofit agencies maximize their marketing strategies instead of wasting donor dollars on ineffective tactics. You can visit him on his blog at http://nonprofitrevolutionnow.com/

Related Posts

What We Could Learn From The Sierra Club’s Self-Reckoning
Global

What We Could Learn From The Sierra Club’s Self-Reckoning

October 30, 2020
Operation Surf Uses Surfing to Help Veterans
Mental Health

Operation Surf Uses Surfing to Help Veterans

November 15, 2018
Why Efforts to Hire and Maintain the Best Staff Can Be Critical for Nonprofits
Employment

Why Efforts to Hire and Maintain the Best Staff Can Be Critical for Nonprofits

April 7, 2019
Your Group Wants to Become a Nonprofit — What Now?
Nonprofit

Your Group Wants to Become a Nonprofit — What Now?

April 7, 2019
The Y Wants Everyone to Take a #SelfieWithSomeoneNew
News

The Y Wants Everyone to Take a #SelfieWithSomeoneNew

September 28, 2017
How Disability Culture Can Inform Mentoring Girls with Disabilities
Disability

How Disability Culture Can Inform Mentoring Girls with Disabilities

April 7, 2019
Next Post
Obesity And A Cooking Lesson With Jamie Oliver! Double Whammy!

Obesity And A Cooking Lesson With Jamie Oliver! Double Whammy!

WWE Superstar John Cena’s Heroic Dedication To Charity

WWE Superstar John Cena's Heroic Dedication To Charity

Leave Comment
ADVERTISEMENT
What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

June 24, 2022
What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

June 19, 2022
Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

April 7, 2019

Connect With Us

Twitter
FlipboardInstagram
ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram TikTok
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good

  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Buy Merch
  • Download App
  • Terms of Service
https://youtu.be/jWzjyPoSjtw

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Politics
    • Criminal Justice
    • Social Work
    • Education
    • LGBTQ
    • Technology
    • Disability
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Webinars
  • Virtual Summit
  • Career Center
  • Download App
  • Subscriber Benefit Hub
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version