Coral Gables Community Foundation Website RFP

REQUEST FOR WEBSITE PROPOSALS

Introduction

The Coral Gables Community Foundation is seeking proposals from qualified web design firms to redesign its website, located at www.gablesfoundation.org. 

Purpose: The Community Foundation’s enduring commitment to our community makes us a trusted entity for delivering nimble and powerful philanthropy via partnerships and Donor-Advised Funds.  The website is a  critical communication tool to connect with donors, professional advisers, students, grant recipients, volunteers, and the community.

Target Audiences

  • Donors and potential donors to Merrick Society
  • Fund holders, or those seeking info to open a fund.
  • Local professional advisors – estate attorneys, accountants, wealth managers
  • Event attendees – folks search to buy a ticket or sponsorship to our events
  • Non-profit groups who might apply for a grant
  • Students who might apply for a scholarship.
  • Incidental audiences such as Coral Gables residents, or media producers seeking logos or history.

Objectives

  • Develop a user-friendly and visually appealing website that reflects the Community Foundation’s mission, brand identity and close connection to the community’s history and institutions. 
  • Reuse and recycle content where possible, while removing zombie pages and discovering new areas of content that need development.
  • Improve website navigation and information architecture to ensure easy access to essential information for all audiences. Make popular content easy to avail from the home page.
  • Enhance the website’s functionality:
    • Easy to find links with contextual info, leading to Foundant platform including donation portal, event campaigns, scholarship and grant portals.
    • Facilitate common transactions such as uploading bank payment info, W9 forms.
    • Merrick Society donor service page. 
    • Volunteer sign-up form
    • Compelling storytelling elements showcasing the Foundation’s impact
    • News and events section
    • Responsive design for optimal viewing on all devices (desktop, mobile, tablet)
  • Implement best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) to improve website visibility in search engine results.
  • Ensure website accessibility compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards. 
  • Retain the current WordPress foundation, Gravity Forms plugin. WPBakery or similar layout function. Ensure that the site can be fully self-maintained, upgraded and updated or modified by the Foundation’s team. There should be no “black-box modules,” proprietary code, or  dependencies on custom code that cannot auto-upgrade with future versions of WordPress or WP themes. Licenses for sliders, WPBakery, Gravity Forms, image sliders, should be in the Foundation’s name. Retain the current SiteGround hosting account. 

Deliverables

  • A fully functional, mobile-responsive website design
  • New content or redeveloped content published on site.
  • User and administrator documentation where needed.
  • Service level agreement for revisions for one year, including monthly site maintenance.

Qualifications

We are seeking proposals from web design firms with experience in designing and developing websites for non-profit organizations. Your proposal may include or demonstrate:

  • A strong understanding of non-profit website best practices
  • Experience in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design
  • Proven expertise in WordPress and WordPress templates. 
  • A portfolio of successful website redesign projects for non-profit organizations
  • References or testimonials from satisfied clients
  • A clear understanding of SEO principles
  • A commitment to accessibility compliance
  • Competitive pricing and a clear project timeline

Proposal Submission

Please submit your proposal electronically (contact info below), by December 2, 2024. Your proposal should include the following information:

  • A cover letter outlining your firm’s qualifications and experience, and highlighting your team members who will work specifically on this project if accepted.
  • A detailed project plan outlining your approach to the website redesign, including timelines and milestones
  • Links to client websites
  • A creative brief showcasing your design vision for the website
  • A breakdown of your proposed costs including initial and any (hopefully none) ongoing fees
  • References we can call

Selection Process

The Coral Gables Community Foundation will review all proposals carefully and select a shortlist of qualified firms for presentations. We will then conduct interviews and due diligence before selecting a final partner for this project.

Contact Information

For any questions regarding this RFP, please email Robertson Adams, robertson@gablesfoundation.org. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is needed for Donations? Events? Forms? Foundant pages?

The Foundant portal manages event registrations and tickets, as well as accepting donations and receiving applications for grants and scholarships. There are no Foundant related design needs that are in the scope of this project.

What is the budget range for this project? 

We’re seeing early proposals already that range from $10k to $50k. We’re price sensitive (donations are precious) but also know the value of great design.

What technology choices have been made? 

The RFP mentions that this will remain a WordPress site hosted at SiteGround. There are some expectations regarding layout (WPBakery or Gutenberg, etc.) or functional plug-ins. Please see above.

What vendors will get priority? 

We are primarily searching for a vendor within the United States. We look for a track record of experience with non-profits, and experience with a geography-based funder (community foundation) in the U.S. would be really appreciated.

What design changes are you seeking?

We need a visual refresh. Websites we like are all over the map regarding design. Our design favorite is “United Arts CFL” below. The navigation is great on CollierCF.

What architecture and UX needs to be addressed?

The primary UX needs a revamp. Currently we have a single main navigation strip. This could become up to three strips of main navigation and supporting nav.  Maybe like this

  • About / Funds / Events / Professional Advisors / Programs  (sub links to History, Board, Staff, Scholarships, Grants etc.)
  • Donate / Contact / Fund Holder Portal
  • Subscribe to Newsletter / Social links

This is a small site. We wouldn’t go crazy with a big study about architecture. There’s really only about 15 pages here, plus blog items that need to show on the Events/News index page.

Would you consider a different CMS and alternatives on hosting?

Not interested in anything but WordPress on SiteGround. We’ll host it and we’ll have 100% admin permissions. We can lose “WPBakery” but then we want Gutenberg with special sauce.

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