Request for Proposal: Raiser’s Edge Assessment and Expansion Project

Organization Overview: Who We Are

Founded in 1974, the Open Space Institute (OSI) is a national conservation leader, partnering in the protection of more than 2.5 million acres across the Eastern US and Canada.

OSI protects land for clean drinking water, public recreation, healthy communities, and wildlife habitat. Additionally, the intact forests and floodplains we protect capture and store carbon and protect against extreme weather events.

OSI is in a phase of significant organizational growth, including recent additions to our Development Team which now totals 12 members with roles in Leadership, Individual Giving, Institutional Giving, and Development Operations and Events.

OSI’s Raiser’s Edge / NXT (RE/NXT) system is actively used across our Development Team to manage constituent relationships, track gifts and proposals, and support strategic fundraising efforts. With 25 active users, the system currently holds 13,268 constituent records, 21,627 gifts, and thousands of related entries including 5,091 actions, 2,059 notes, and 795 proposals. As we continue to grow and refine our operations, we’re seeking expert guidance to ensure our RE/NXT setup is optimized for both day-to-day efficiency and long-term planning. We are currently accepting proposals and bids for this project until Friday, October 17, 2025. The project will last approximately three to four months in total.

We offer a thoughtful and collaborative partnership with our constituents, including vendors, and we are excited to begin talking with project candidates to find the right fit for our needs and working style.

Project Scope: What We Need

• Assessment of OSI Development Team’s use of Blackbaud’s RE/NXT, including:
  • Database view vs. web view
  • Gift processing and reporting
  • Analytics and business insights needs and capabilities
• Evaluation of the structure and use of RE/NXT, including gifts, actions, opportunities and attributes, , as well as external systems and processes involving OSI’s philanthropy data
• Exploration of opportunities to integrate OSI’s open-source environmental data maps with donor and prospect data
• Recommendations for enhancements to native tools where feasible, while prioritizing custom, non-native builds using OSI’s current data structure. Recommendations may include:
  • Minimum to maximum builds either in volume or type for:
    • Leadership-level dashboards and reporting options
    • Dashboard design options for OSI’s evolving Portfolio and Pipeline Management processes
  • Day-to-day best use procedure(s) for NXT for all Development team members

Submitting Your Proposal: Next Steps

Proposal Outline

• Team Overview
• Working Style
• Initial Approach & Methodology
• Relevant Sample Work
• References

Questions to Consider

1. What are the requirements for you to begin and complete your work?
   1. Data & System Access
   2. Vendor & Client Collaboration Hours
2. What would be your proposed budget and timeline?
3. Please draft and initial approach and methodology you’d likely adopt to meet our needs and goals as we’ve described them here.
4. How do you work with “hands-on” clients?
5. How easy is it for clients to build on your work?

Proposal Deadline & Response Time

The deadline for this OSI RFP is end of business Friday, October 17, 2025. Please email bwilliams@osiny.org with your application materials.