Request for Proposals: Digital Marketing and Communications Consultants
ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION:
Name: Address: Contact:
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.
6 Herndon Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403
Madeline Farrell, Communications Operations Associate, mfarrell@cbf.org
ISSUE DATE: March 21, 2024
Due Date: We request that your proposal is delivered electronically to CBF staff member Madeline Farrell no later than 5 p.m. on April 10, 2024.
Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:1ced7ae0-0868-4faa-ac10-3f0118c88024
SUMMARY OF NEED:
(Brief Overview)
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization is working to save the
Chesapeake Bay and restore clean water to its rivers and streams.
The effort to save the Bay is one of this country’s oldest, most- studied, and politically robust
environmental restoration movements. Although the Bay is showing signs of recovery, there is still
far too much pollution reaching our waterways as our 2022 State of the Bay report shows. And
climate change and other challenges are making our job that much harder. The Chesapeake Bay
now stands at a decisive moment: The Bay will either continue to get healthier and more naturally
resilient or slide backward. How we respond right now will determine its fate.
For more than 50 years, CBF has been fighting to save the Bay. Now more than ever, we must
accelerate our efforts by expanding our reach, engaging new audiences, and reinvigorating current
supporters. To truly succeed in the next chapter of Bay-saving, we’re going to have to go beyond
conservation’s historically narrow lens. The Bay is more than its molecules and more than a piece
of water in Maryland and Virginia. It’s the more than the 18 million people who share its
watershed—from Cooperstown, New York to Norfolk, Virginia.
THE PROJECT:
CBF’s Digital Marketing and Communications team is seeking the
expertise of a digital agency or other consultants to help us navigate an ever-changing digital
world and capitalize on opportunities to achieve the unique goals of a nonprofit environmental
organization. Specifically, we’re looking for partners to help reinvigorate our digital
fundraising, advocacy, acquisition, and engagement efforts. Given recent challenges across the
industry, we are looking for new solutions to build our list of engaged, qualified supporters and
inspire them to do more with us—volunteer, take advocacy action, give.
SCOPE OF WORK:
With a constant eye on industry trends and innovation, support
CBF’s Digital Marketing and Communications team with the following:
• Developing and aiding in the implementation of a comprehensive and measurable digital media
strategy to:
o Increase online fundraising (in coordination with direct mail efforts where appropriate) with an
eye toward growing our sustainer program, acquiring new donors, and supporting other program
priorities;
o Increase online engagement, particularly with regard to cbf.org, to grow our supporter base and
better educate and prime them for priority asks;
o Enhance our online advocacy program, potentially using new tools to have greater impact;
o Identify, target, and recruit new, qualified supporters—donors, advocates, volunteers, and
others;
o Thoughtfully expand our growing SMS program;
o Meaningfully grow and maintain the health of our data and email list.
• Developing said strategy to include but not be limited to the creation, execution, and ongoing
management of the following components:
o Forecasting and objective setting.
o Tentpole campaign development, including determining what works, where we can find
efficiencies, and what we need to refresh with big, compelling ideas and tactics campaign-to-
campaign or year-to-year;
o Optimizations to existing automations and evergreen promotions (e.g. Welcome Email Series to
new users, Reengagement Email Series to reactivate lapsed users);
o Copywriting (emails, advertising, and web components as needed);
o Designing (when needed, adhering to CBF’s style guide and in collaboration with our Creative Services Team);
o Channel optimization and testing;
o Measurement and reporting;
o Technical trainings when needed.
• Paid Media Management and Optimization
• Strong Project Management
o Provide ongoing consulting support in support of said digital strategy and other moments to make
the most of last-minute opportunities as they occur;
o Host weekly meetings to check in on current campaigns, paid media performance, and other efforts;
o Host longer debrief and planning meetings at mid- year and end-of-fiscal year, at minimum, to
present comprehensive reviews and recommendations to CBF stakeholders and executives;
o Follow-through on program recommendations and optimizations;
o Shared use of collaborative tools when possible (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Box, Asana)
• Analytics and Reporting
o Establishing appropriate KPIs;
o Measuring, reporting, and analyzing said key metrics on a monthly basis (and more frequently
during active campaigns);
o Analysis of program performance against past campaigns as well as industry trends.
• Program Optimizations
o SEO optimizations, when necessary;
o Testing—web, email, etc.;
o Evaluating CBF’s existing digital platforms, channels, and tools to provide recommendations
around optimization and identify whether changes in software are warranted. If so, providing
guidance on software alternatives and how best to go about migrations to new systems.
• Technical Assistance, including but not limited to:
o GA4
o Blackbaud’s LCMS
o WordPress
o SMS tools like Mobile Commons
o Luminate Online expertise
o Salesforce NPSP
o Advocacy platforms such as Phone2Action
When submitting a bid, please break down costs and timeline.
THE SCHEDULE:
We request that your proposal is delivered electronically to CBF staff member Madeline Farrell no
later than 5 p.m. on April 10, 2024.
CBF intends to make a selection no later than May 30, 2024. We will notify you once a decision for
award of the bid is made.
The initial contract will run July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 with
potential for annual extension up to a total period of 3 years.
