RFI Online Fundraising Solution.docx

Online Fundraising Solution – Request for Information C.1. Introduction THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(c)(7). The Library is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. This RFI is issued solely for market research to identify commercially available solutions for support. There is no solicitation at this time and no award will be made from this RFI. This RFI does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service now or in the future.

Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in the preparation or submittal of responses to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future request for proposal or quote (RFP/RFQ), if any is issued.

The Library of Congress reserves the right to cancel this Request for Information, any corresponding solicitation issued in the future or use another Government-wide contract vehicle or open market solicitation for these services.

See Section C.4.0 Submission Instructions for full details.

C.2 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. In recent years, new donor programs such as Friends of the Library of Congress (FLOC) and Alumni Network 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.

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 engagement, gift cultivation, and donor processes at a higher volume is a critical concern. At the same time, assessing and meeting the needs of new donors of different ages and charitable giving expectations highlights 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 online fundraising and donation processing systems to address these gaps and leverage new opportunities including capabilities to:

Better integrate data across donor payment systems and constituent management 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, 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 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).

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.

This RFI seeks information regarding vendor capabilities to deliver an online fundraising solution and support services suitable for the complete activity cycle from donor cultivation to solicitation to the ultimate processing and deposit of gift transactions as required by federal rules and policies. See Section C.3.0 Areas of Inquiry for full details.

C.2.1 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.

C.2.2 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.3.0 Areas of Inquiry C.3.1. Approach Overview Please provide in your response a description of your approach to modernizing the Library’s online fundraising and payment processing operations, either directly or in conjunction with 3rd party providers, to meet the Library’s needs as described in Section C.2. 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 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.3.2. 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 C – 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

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

SaaS On-premise

Description of functional/technical Information:

Capability Areas Donor Relationship Management. Support monitoring, analysis, reporting, and email or web form communications, drawing on information about donors and associated gift transactions.

Donation Management. Facilitate both tailored and general solicitation, monitoring, and reporting of one-time and recurring gifts (with or without a defined end period) utilizing common mobile and online communication channels, forms, and other tools.

Gift Payment Processing. Support end-to-end payment options for online transactions (including card transactions, ACH and other EFT, and digital wallets) in compliance with Treasury rules and policies.

Library Financial Management and Accounting. Support information flow 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 defined capabilities [Yes / No] 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.

C.3.3 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.3.4 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 B 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.3.5. 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.

C.4.0 Submission Instructions C.4.1 Questions about this RFI The Government will accept questions regarding this RFI. Questions regarding this RFI must be submitted to Brian Curl, Contracting Officer at bcurl@loc.gov no later than 12/09/2024 at 12:00 Noon EST.

C.4.2 Submission Instructions / Responses Please provide any response or inquiry electronically (limited to 20 pages) no later than 01/03/2025 at 12:00 Noon EST to Brian Curl, Contracting Officer at bcurl@loc.gov.

Responders to this RFI must provide the following with their submission:

a. RFI Response Volume A document, in Acrobat PDF or Microsoft Word format, addressing the Areas of Inquiry (Approach, Lifecycle, and Federal Clients) listed above in Sections C.3.1, C.3.4, and C.3.5 respectively. The document must be in 8½ x 11-inch format, in a minimum 11 pt font, with 1-inch margins, and easily readable or printable by the government. This volume is subject to the 15-page limit.

b. Capability Matrix A completed response to the requirements matrix, using the guidance listed in Section C.3.2. Responses to the requirements matrix do not count toward the 15-page limit.

c. Cost Estimates A completed response to the cost estimate template, using the guidance listed in Section C.3.4. Responses to the cost matrix do not count toward the 20-page limit.

d. Relevant Marketing Materials (Optional) Responders may include relevant marketing materials, such as system walkthroughs and screen captures, if those materials would enhance the Government’s understanding of their solution’s capabilities, technology, or costs. Marketing materials do not count toward the 20-page limit.

Responders to this RFI must also provide the following with their submission:

Corporate Information Please include the following information in your response:

The Point of Contact should be an individual with the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives.

List of Attachments:

ATTACHMENT A –

See MS Word file Attachment A - Capability Matrix

ATTACHMENT B –

See XLS file Attachment B - RFI Cost Estimate Model

ATTACHMENT C –

See MS Word file Attachment B – Baseline Capabilities