2025-LBN-0081 Constituent Mgmnt - Online Fundraising Draft.docx

Constituent Management and Online Fundraising Solution – DRAFT

C.1 Project Description

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, serves a dual role as both a library and a symbolic custodian of American heritage. While the Library is funded by the U.S. Congress, private philanthropy extends the Library’s capabilities to collect, preserve, and increase access to our nation’s treasures through acquisitions and digitization efforts, internship and research opportunities, public events and exhibits, and innovative pilot programs across all areas of the Library.

The Librarian of Congress is authorized under 2 U.S.C. § 160 (Disbursement of gifts, etc., to Library) to accept “gifts or bequests of money for immediate disbursement in the interest of the Library, its collections, or its service.” Gifts may be used only for the purpose(s) specified; disbursement is either unrestricted (for the Library’s general use) or restricted to specific programs or activities. Congress also authorized the creation of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board (2 U.S. Code § 154) to “accept, receive, hold, and administer such gifts, bequests, or devises of property for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Library, its collections, or its service” (2 U.S. Code § 156) for donations not intended for immediate disbursement.

In recent years, new donor programs such as Friends of the Library of Congress (FLOC), Alumni Network, and Planned Giving, have played a critical role in extending the Library’s donor base. With more than 800 FLOC members and more than 900 alumni participating in the first 2 years, the potential for growth is substantial. Along with existing programs for institutional partners (LIBN briefing) and James Madison Council members, each program area – under the auspices of dedicated program officers – has established robust strategic objectives to realize the full potential of philanthropic giving.

Gifts to the Library are made through direct and indirect appeals and take different forms including one time donations, pledged agreements, grants, approved endowments, and bequests. Gifts may be received in-person, via mail, online through credit/debit card transactions and through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

Electronic transactions underpin most gifts to the Library, accounting on average for almost 75% of all payments and 80% of all gift dollars received through credit/debit card activity, ACH transfers, and other means. Against this backdrop, the scalability of internal capacities to support constituent management, engagement, gift cultivation, and donation processes at a higher volume is a critical concern. At the same time, assessments on how to best meet the needs of new donors of different ages and charitable giving expectations highlight gaps in the current infrastructure, beginning with the ability to support automatic recurring giving and extending to the use of digital wallets and varying payment modes.

Utilizing the same core systems for the past twenty-plus years, the Library recognizes the need to modernize its fundraising and donation processing systems to address these gaps and leverage new opportunities including capabilities to:

· Better integrate data across constituent management and donor payment systems

· Support recurring gifts

· Develop and deploy targeted web pages and donations forms to specific constituents

· Monitor and analyze impact of email and online marketing on gift giving

· Support the use of digital wallets and other emerging payment tools

Early market research identifies a plethora of commercial-off-the shelf vendors such as Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, Engaging Networks, Classy, GiveButter, DonorBox, and others offering comprehensive online tools for fundraising organizations from constituent record keeping to marketing tools to ultimate payment processing accompanied by robust data analysis functions. However, not all solutions may be able to meet all the legal and regulatory requirements pertinent to a federal agency ensuring appropriate management of personally identifiable information or receipt, warrants, and accounting all government funds. Of particular significance to the Library’s fundraising functions are the rules and operational mandates set forth by the Department of Treasury (Treasury) regarding electronic payment transactions, transaction level limitations, timely deposit of payment, use of authorized depositaries only, audit requirements, and more as delineated in the Treasury Financial Manual (TFM).

Currently, federal agencies can use services such as Pay.Gov and Card Acquiring Services (CAS) programs, developed and maintained by the Bureau of Fiscal Services, that enable online transaction services and processing through WorldPay which facilitates the flow of payments to authorized depositaries and the flow of information to the Fiscal Service’s Collections Information Repository (CIR). However, these systems primarily address the financial transaction, collections, and deposit aspects of fundraising. As government systems built primarily for bill and fee payment, available tools for communication, customer interface, and data analysis do not meet the broader needs of a fundraising organization. While initial research has identified that vendor software can ultimately connect to and utilize Pay.Gov and/or CAS services on the Library’s behalf, the level of complexity to build and maintain that connection can vary significantly depending on individual vendor circumstances especially as relates to the operability of vendor platforms with WorldPay for payment processing.

C.1.1 Constituent Management

The Library’s Development Office is responsible for maintaining Library records of fundraising activities and the constituent database system, maintained by the Development Office, is the central repository for all prospect/donor management, solicitation, pledge, and gift information, per Library regulation.

Key operations in the Library underlie the needs for a constituent management system:

· Fundraising. The Library’s Development Office will rely on the constituent management system to document, analyze, plan, and report on interactions with individual and organizational constituents - donors, prospects, library management, and special events participants, as well as key liaisons at foundations, corporations, and government partners. Any system should present an effective and convenient method to store and track information related to portfolio management, prospect research and qualification, constituent contact information and relationships, cultivation activities, solicitation efforts including proposals and gift agreement negotiations, donor gift transactions and giving histories, and a wealth of other relevant information including biographical information and documents.

· Event management. In conjunction with the Development Office and the Congressional Relations Office, the Library Events office utilizes constituent management system tools to manage and track special events held at the Library, including Library-hosted special events sponsored by members of Congress as well as non-Congressional events held at the Library. In addition to creating and tracking invitations, registrations, and attendance, the Library maintains event budget, vendor payment, and other needed event information within the system. As a general rule, the Library does not charge fees for event attendance.

· Communications. As permitted, Library offices draw on the constituent management system to develop needed lists to provide information on Library initiatives and special events via email and mass mailings, and to generate targeted engagement invitations and campaigns.

· Reporting and Record-Keeping. The constituent management system will serve as an official subsidiary system for the Library’s financial system to track all pertinent documentation regarding pledges, grants, and gifts made to the Library of Congress, including contact and gift information for individual online donations. As such, the system would include reporting tools to support financial audits, performance monitoring and reports, and strategic planning from multiple perspectives - profiles and directories, gift and financial analysis, prospect assignments, fundraiser actions, proposal activity and success, statistical information, and more.

C.1.2 Current Technical Environment

The Library utilizes multiple systems to manage aspects of fundraising and gift management:

Constituent Management System. The Development Office currently uses Raiser’s Edge NXT (RENXT), a cloud-hosted commercial software for managing and reporting constituent information and fundraising activities.

Financial System. The Library’s financial system of record is CGI Federal’s Momentum® version 7.8 software, a web-based system which provides the tools to manage financial and administrative operations. The system is hosted by CGI using the Microsoft Azure FedRAMP cloud. The Library provides financial and management reporting functionality through the LC Reporting System (LCRS) a data warehouse updated daily with financial data and utilizes Business Objects for report distribution. It is also hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud and maintained by CGI Federal.

Payment processing. The Library utilizes the Pay.gov Hosted Collection Page Service, an offering the Bureau of Fiscal Service, to accept online transactions such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) debits and plastic card collections. After payments are processed and deposited in authorized accounts, pertinent tracking and audit information is delivered to the Collections Information Repository (CIR).

Web pages and donation forms. LOC.gov serves as the Library’s main donor interface, with the fundraising team working with the Library’s IT Design & Development directorate to create and manage appropriate web pages and donation forms connecting to Pay.Gov. See https://www.loc.gov/programs/support-the-library-of-congress/about-this-program/

Communications/Email. The Library primarily relies on email marketing tools within Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT and also uses GovDelivery, the web-based e-mail subscription management system allowing a member of the public (user) to subscribe to news and information from Library websites.

Currently, all systems operate independently with no automated integration or information share of constituent or donation information. However, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) do connect current donor systems with Library systems to support compliance with electronic record management requirements as well as event planning.

C.1.3 Payment Management and Financial Controls Environment

The Financial Services Directorate (FSD) provides policy direction, review, and coordination of all budgetary and financial activities of the Library, including the management of financial management systems.

The Library abides by relevant federal rules and policies regarding financial transactions, reporting, and transparency including: Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA); Federal Records Act; Data Privacy / Protection –Privacy Act of 1974; Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA); Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations; and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

The Library also follows the rules and policies as set forth in the Treasury Financial Manual, the Department of the Treasury’s official publication of policies, procedures, and instructions concerning financial management in the federal government. Of particular interest to the Library’s fundraising interests are:

· Rules and policies addressing revenue collections such as Cash, Check, Credit and Debit cards, Automated Clearing House (ACH), Fedwire settlements, and Digital Wallets.

· Authorized depositaries

· Required reporting

C.2.0 Areas of Inquiry

C.2.1. Approach Overview

Please provide in your response a description of your approach to modernizing the Library’s constituent management and fundraising operations, either directly or in conjunction with 3rd party providers, to meet the Library’s needs as described in Section C.1 and further detailed in Attachment C. The narrative should clarify for each element of their approach whether they are describing a commercially available system such as an Off-the-Shelf product or SaaS (Software as a Service), a system requiring customization, or a bespoke solution. Responses should illustrate how the proposed solution would address key drivers:

· Support effective and efficient constituent management, including solicitor portfolio management and donor cultivation and solicitation

· Enable one-time and recurring online giving transactions including card and ACH transactions, digital wallets, and other digital options

· Optimize data integration and minimize manual intervention across business and financial systems

· Support scalable growth in donor and transaction level volumes

C.2.2. Capability Areas and Matrix

Please complete the attached matrix found in Attachment A – Capability Matrix for each of the capability areas identified below and provide specific functional and technical information underpinning the ability to provide requested support. More detailed requirements for each capability area are included in Attachment B – Baseline Capabilities. The Library acknowledges that component solutions may not support requirements outside their focus.

CAPABILITY AREA SAMPLE MATRIX - Use Attachment A – Capability Matrix for submission purposes

Brief Explanation

-Configurable -Custom Development -3rd party product/service

SaaS On-premise

Description of functional/technical Information:

Capability Areas

Constituent Management. System will support monitoring, analysis, and reporting drawing on information about prospects, donors, giving histories, and associated activities such as administrative tasks, communications (including email or web form), solicitor activity and moves management, prospects and proposals, and event planning and participation.

Online Fundraising/Payment Processing. In compliance with federal regulations and practices, system will facilitate both tailored and general solicitation, monitoring, and reporting of online and “analog” one-time and recurring gifts (with or without a defined end period) as well as pledges, planned gifts, and agreements utilizing common mobile and online communication channels, forms, and other tools. Additionally, system will support the flow of deposits and information to the Collections Information Repository (CIR) and thus the Library’s financial system of record, Momentum.

Technology Standards. Meet accepted technology standards related to security, continuity, system consolidation and interoperability. See also Doing Business with the Library: Information Technology Related Business https://www.loc.gov/about/doing-business-with-the-library/information-technology-related-business/

For each capability area, identify the:

Ability to provide identified capabilities [Yes / No with a brief explanation]

Type of support provided by the described solution [List all that apply] Standard/Out of the Box: a solution or functionality made directly available to Library business users Configurable: solution or functionality that can be tailored to Library needs using inherent features and settings

Custom Development: solution that relies on changes to the code of an existing out-of-the box solution and/or creation of new code to add new features, change its behavior, or integrate with other applications 3rd Party product or service: solution relies on the use of a product or service offered by a third-party provider

Complexity of described solution [High, Medium, Low,]

High Complexity: This effort is expected to take over six months to complete, test, and deploy. There are risks of unanticipated complications that can result in a highly complex effort. Multiple complex updates to data structures, processes, screens, workflows, or reports are required. Optimization for performance may be necessary.

Medium Complexity: This effort is expected to take one to six months to complete, test, and deploy. Certain changes to data structures, processes, screens, workflows, or reports are required. Performance optimization needs will be limited.

Low complexity: This effort is expected to take less than a month to complete, test, and deploy. Few changes to data structures, processes, screens, workflows, or reports are required. Performance is unlikely to be impacted.

Hosting. Identify whether solution would rely on cloud-based, software-as-a-service, and on-premises environment.

Any cloud solution must be FedRamp certified.

C.2.3 Lifecycle

Please discuss your approach to ongoing functional and technical improvements, including major upgrades, on-ramping, or off-ramping of customer/client such as the Library, ongoing enhancements, maintenance for production issues, and performance tuning. Please also discuss your approach to integrated quality assurance, including testing regimes, testing cycles, user acceptance, deliverable quality, and support for independent verification and validation.

C.2.4 Fees and Estimated Costs (ROM)

Provide information on any per transaction fees or costs associated with payment processing identifying any relevant distinctions according to payment method, volume, or other factors.

Attachment C of this document provides a template for a rough order of magnitude cost estimate for implementation and operational costs. Please provide estimates for the relevant cost drivers listed in that template, across a 5-year timeline.

Note: The timeline begins with “Year 1” and runs through “Year 5”. The Government anticipates requiring a “Year 0” for internal activities including budget preparation, program planning, and solicitations. Assume that “Year 1” would be no earlier than FY 2026.

For “Implementation” costs, assume an implementation of and migration to your solution for all customer agencies beginning in Year 1. The Government recognizes that implementation and migration may occur over multiple years.

For “Operations and Maintenance” costs, include ongoing costs for full system operation and support, as well as estimated costs for quarterly maintenance releases to production.

As needed, please indicate additional cost areas not identified in the template.

If the Government’s understanding of an estimate would benefit from additional explanation, please include that information in the “Notes and Assumptions” column.

The Government understands that this is a rough order of magnitude (ROM) response. Please fill in costs where applicable for your solution; if any cost is not applicable, or is bundled with another category, please enter “$0”, along with a note in the "Notes and Assumptions" column.

C.2.5. Federal Clients. Please identify in your response any relevant experience of similar work with other federal clients (up to three examples). Please provide the name and email address of your primary federal contact at the agencies which you cite.