Request for Proposals (RFP) Cooperative Community Campaign (CCC)

Request for Proposals (RFP) Cooperative Community Campaign (CCC)

 

1. Background

The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) is the apex association for America’s cooperative businesses. We represent 30,000 cooperatives and 120 million members across all sectors of the economy—from credit unions and rural electrics to food, housing, worker, and purchasing cooperatives.

In 2025, designated the UN International Year of Cooperatives, NCBA CLUSA will launch the

Cooperative Community Campaign (CCC). The campaign’s goal is to inspire at least 150,000 individual contributors over three years (35,000 in Year 1, 60,000 in Year 2, 75,000 in Year 3). Beyond fundraising, the CCC is about building a stronger cooperative identity across the U.S. and connecting individual co-op members into a national community.

2. Purpose of the RFP

NCBA CLUSA seeks proposals from qualified firms with expertise in cause marketing, donor acquisition, and grassroots engagement to design and implement a national campaign that:

• Builds broad awareness of the cooperative business model and its community impact.
• Acquires both recurring and one-time individual contributors at scale.
• Creates a cost-effective donor acquisition pathway with transparent reporting.
• Strengthens long-term donor engagement and cooperative identity through storytelling.

NCBA CLUSA has held exploratory discussions to clarify campaign needs (including paid media, U.S. story capture, and data/CRM protocols). To ensure fairness and compliance, we are now issuing this open RFP to solicit competitive proposals.

3. Scope of Work

The selected firm will be responsible for:

 Campaign Structure

The campaign must include two distinct phases:

1. Pilot Phase (approx. 90 days):
   • Test multiple approaches to donor acquisition and engagement with a subset of audiences.
   • Run A/B testing on messaging, creative assets, and targeting strategies.
   • Provide bi-weekly dashboards reporting key metrics (e.g., cost-per-acquisition, conversion rates, donor retention indicators).
   • Deliver clear recommendations for scaling based on pilot results.
2. National Rollout Phase (9 months):
   • Launch a nationwide, multi-channel campaign informed by pilot results.
   • Integrate paid media, cooperative partner communications, and digital donor funnels.
   • Produce creative assets and a full-year content calendar to sustain engagement.
   • Deliver monthly performance reporting and ongoing optimization toward Year 1 donor acquisition goals.

 Additional Requirements

 Creative Development: Produce emotionally compelling, human-centered storytelling content that reflects cooperative values and the diversity of cooperative members.

• Donor Acquisition & Engagement:
  • Manage an integrated social media ad buy within the campaign budget.
  • Optimize funnels for both one-time and recurring giving.
  • Propose strategies for capturing authentic U.S. cooperative stories with minimal NCBA staff burden (e.g., remote interviews, guided self-recordings, vetted freelancers).
• Data & CRM Integration:
  • Collect, verify, and transfer donor leads in a format compatible with NCBA CLUSA’s CRM.
  • Apply strict data quality protocols (verification, deduplication, consent tracking).
  • Provide options for interim data management if not working directly in NCBA’s CRM.

4. Deliverables

 Pilot Phase Deliverables (90 days):

• Pilot campaign strategy and creative assets for testing.
• Donor acquisition funnel design.
• Bi-weekly dashboards with CPA and performance analysis.
• Recommendations for scaling to a full campaign.

 Rollout Phase Deliverables (9 months):

• National campaign strategy and 12-month content calendar.
• Full production of creative assets (video, graphics, social content, email, partner toolkits).
• Paid media execution and cooperative partner engagement.
• Optimized donor funnels with recurring giving pathways.
• Monthly performance reports with actionable insights.

5. Vendor Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in cause marketing and donor acquisition at scale.
• Experience designing pilot-to-scale campaigns with transparent CPA reporting.
• Proven ability to capture authentic U.S. stories with minimal client workload.
• Expertise in data compliance, CRM integration, and donor engagement.
• Familiarity with cooperative principles or community-based economic development (preferred).

6. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on:

• Strategic approach and creativity (25%)
• Relevant experience and past performance (15%)
• Capacity to deliver at national scale, including pilot-to-scale adaptability (15%)
• Understanding of NCBA CLUSA’s mission and cooperative values (25%)
• Cost effectiveness and value (20%)

7. Proposal Submission

Proposals must include:

• Organization profile and relevant experience. (1 page)
• Proposed methodology, work plan, and timeline. (10 pages)
• Sample creative outputs (optional but encouraged). (6 pages)
• Staffing plan and bios of key personnel. (2 pages)
• Budget proposal (submitted as a separate annex).
  • Budget should contain detail on unit costs and number of units
  • Budget should provide detail on proposed labor.
• If selected, applicant may be asked to provide supporting documentation of their current legal registration and information on organization principals to comply with Executive Order 13224.

8. Timeline

• RFP Release: August 27, 2025
• Questions Due: September 2, 2025
• Proposals Due: September 5, 2025
• Selection/Notification: September 12, 2025
• Anticipated Start Date: As early after September 15, 2025 as practicable

 IMPORTANT: For consideration, please email your proposal to chammerdorfer@ncba.coop with “CCC RFP” in the subject line.

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