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Request for Proposals for Website Re-Design (January 2024)

RFP for Website Re Design

Request For Proposals:
Website Re-Design
(January 2024)

Due: February 23, 2024, 5 PM 

PURPOSE

The purpose of this RFP is to identify the appropriate agency to re-design the website for Samaritan Daytop Village (SDV).The purpose of this RFP is to identify the appropriate agency to re-design the website for Samaritan Daytop Village (SDV).

We are seeking a website design firm that will ensure that our primary SDV website is modern and user-friendly for potential clients and families, donors, employees, and key stakeholders in the fields of health, housing, and human services. SDV is the premier holistic provider in providing behavioral health care, shelter and supportive housing, and other health and wellness services that address social determinants of health for thousands of individuals each year. We are eager to re-design our primary SDV website to bring it up to today’s standards for a large non-profit social services agency.

The firm we select will also work with our newly hired PR firm, who will provide guidance specifically around how to maximize ways that we can highlight and amplify media hits, newsletter articles, events and program activities, and other SDV news, while also driving traffic to the site.

The newly re-designed website must position SDV as a leader in areas related to: homelessness, migrants and asylum-seekers, veterans, seniors, supportive housing, harm reduction, overdose prevention, substance use, mental health, and other health and wellness related issues and human needs throughout New York City, the surrounding areas, across other parts of New York State, as well as nationally and internationally.

The new website must also help us increase fundraising through modern layout, design, content and maximizing the user experience in a way that drives new and recurring donors to give.

ABOUT SAMARITAN DAYTOP VILLAGE

For over 60 years, Samaritan Daytop Village (SDV) has been improving the quality of life for New Yorkers. The nonprofit is nationally recognized for the treatment of substance use disorder, as well as for the veteran-specific approach it pioneered. Our continuum of services also includes health and mental health care, transitional and supportive housing, educational and vocational assistance, peer-assisted recovery, and specialized programs for adolescents, families, and seniors. Annually, Samaritan Daytop Village serves over 33,000 people at more than 60 facilities throughout New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley.

OBJECTIVE

This RFP provides an opportunity for SDV to re-design our primary organizational website, which was originally designed more than 10 years ago: www.samaritanvillage.org

It is important for applying website design firms to demonstrate clearly how you will ensure that we strategically design the new SDV website to drive users to Samaritan Daytop Foundation, which has its own website where we can receive donations here: https://samaritandaytopfdn.givecloud.co/.

We are issuing this RFP at a time when we are bringing on the services of a new PR firm to support our overall strategic communications, media, and public relations efforts. This will ensure that the work of the firm selected for our website re-design project will optimize our ability to communicate clearly and boldly about the work of SDV to key audiences, including clients and their family members, employees, donors, and other key stakeholders in the field.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Technical expertise: Proven experience in designing and re-designing modern websites for non-profit organizations that operate in the fields of housing, homelessness, substance use disorder, health care, behavioral health and related human services areas.

  • Communication and autonomy: Ability to manage projects effectively and collaboratively; strong ability to meet established timelines.

  • Partnership: Ability to act as a partner throughout the project and to take the lead in managing the project from start to completion.

  • Flexibility: Ability to adapt when needed to unforeseen project changes.

  • Vision: Ability to provide ideas for the project beyond what is presented initially based on strong expertise and successful experience in the field.

  • User interface design: Ability to create user-centered design, making the user’s experience as seamless, accessible, and user-friendly as possible, while also driving traffic to the website.

  • Strong success with similar clients, especially in receiving positive feedback on impactful website design for similar non-profit service providers with a broad array of programs and services reaching at least thousands of clients and visitors per year.

  • Extensive knowledge of website design best practices in the modern multi-media landscape.

BUDGET

Proposer must submit an appropriate and realistic budget, outlining each of the duties.

SCOPE OF WORK

The following categories represent core responsibilities of the firm in support of SD’s mission:

1.  Discovery

  1. Meet with agency executives and program staff to become familiar with the organization, its people, and wide array of service offerings.
  2. Identify most important needs for the website, with a focus on the key target audiences: potential clients and family members, employees, donors, and other key stakeholders in the fields of behavioral health, housing, and human services.
  3. Establish primary goals for the website and establish methods to ensure that that the SDV brand is captured effectively and consistently in the plan for the website design.

2. Website Re-Design

  1. Create a new, fully modernized website for SDV that centers the SDV brand, programs and services in a way that is engaging, user-friendly, and visually appealing.
  2. Ensure that the new website will raise awareness of SDV’s programs and services, bring in new potential clients, new potential employees, and new potential donors, along with other key stakeholders from government agencies and private companies who may be interested in learning more about our work.
  3. Ensure that the new website is a designed in a way that will likely increase the number of newsletter subscribers and donors by drawing visitors to pages where they can sign up for updates and donate.
  4. Ensure that there is a way the new website can feature pop-ups with key information that will change frequently, depending on the urgent events and priorities.
  5. Update all of the website content to ensure that the information is current and ensure that the program flyers are easily accessible and downloadable for all visitors.

3.  Sitemap & Navigation

  1. Develop a sitemap to illustrate all information and the hierarchical structure of all website content.
  2. Provide a complete list of all website pages with the specific content that will be placed onto the pages, and the plan for how to update the content moving forward.
  3. Ensure that the sitemap is also mobile compatible and user-friendly across all platforms, including desktop computers, mobile pads, mobile phones.
  4. Provide training to executives and key staff on how best to utilize the website and receive feedback on how to optimize its features during the design process.

4.  Wireframes

  1. Develop a visual guide to inform where content is positioned on the website.Develop a visual guide to inform where content is positioned on the website.
  2. Create wireframes to show the layout and structure of the website, including navigation, branding elements and features, content area components, and ways that visitors can search the website for specific content.

5.  Forms

  1. Standard contact forms with integration into a Contact Management System.
  2. Ability to easily add custom forms to site pages and manage content produced by the forms.
  3. Create ad hoc reporting based on form submissions.

6.  Social Media/News/Donation platform/Constant Contact Integration

  1. Recommendation and execution of best practices to integrate social media platforms, news, donation, and email messaging into the website.
  2. Integration of social media feed(s) (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram) within the homepage and other key pages, including hashtag strategy.

7.   Coding

  1. Establish a development and staging environment for the review, approval, and implementation of the site and any ongoing updates.
  2. Ensure that the Google Analytics code is properly implemented on the new site.

8. Quality Assurance

  1. Conduct tests of the new website on all browsers and devices.
  2. Conduct QA testing for any issues with the website links, images, formatting, etc.

9. Technical Requirements

  1. Provide three Web Hosting options, this should include hosting company, monthly/yearly costs, security features, uptime guarantee, HIPAA compliance and customer service options.
  2. Describe the software licensing model of the solution, including any required third-party licensing. Describe how the Bidder maintains licensed software no more than two supported versions behind the latest release and updated with latest security patches.
  3. Provide the type of content management system and tools available for the site. Include what content that SDV staff can update.
    1. Describe the programming languages used for the site.
    2. Describe the CMS software’s version control of content and rollback to the previous versions of content and documents/pages.
    3. Provide a detail recovery plan for the site.

d. Describe how the proposed solution conforms to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and any other appropriate State or federal disability legislation.

e. Describe how the proposed solution is scalable and flexible enough to accommodate any changes required by the State and/or federal statute, mandate, decision, or policy.

f. Describe what browsers and devices will be supported. Include how the proposed solution is responsive to mobile technology and works with mobile devices such as smart phone or tablets.

g. Describe user management and specify access rights for staff.h. Describe website support and maintenance options. Include performance and load testing metrics, SEO, and potential website changes. Proposal should include estimate of services for support beyond one year post launch, and for ad-hoc changes.

TIMELINE

SDV seeks to begin work on this project by the end of March 2024 and complete the plan by Fall 2024. We anticipate guiding the project through a small committee of key staff, our communications consultant, and our PR firm representatives.SDV seeks to begin work on this project by the end of March 2024 and complete the plan by Fall 2024. We anticipate guiding the project through a small committee of key staff, our communications consultant, and our PR firm representatives.

SDV will conduct interviews with the top 3-4 finalist website design firms submitting the best proposals during the month of March 2024 to provide additional information.

SUBMISSION – Please submit the following electronically only.

Please include a Cover Sheet with the following information:

  • Name of Proposer/Company
  • Contact Person
  • Mailing Address
  • Telephone 
  • Email Address
  • Website
  • Authorized Signature

All proposals should include a clear, concise narrative. Proposal format is open to presentation style, but must include the following:

  1. Project Brief: Provide an issue brief and messaging document with an overview of your firm’s relevant skills, experience, qualifications, and overall vision for the work to be done. 
  2. Agency Experience: Provide information about your agency’s experience working within New York and the NY metro region, non-profit sector, and the health and human services field, with specific experiences, if any, with designing websites for non-profit organizations working in the field of substance use, mental health, and homelessness. 
  3. Organizational Capability: Provide information demonstrating your agency’s capability to successfully perform the scope of work.
  4. Website Project Plan: Describe how your agency will approach the website re-design process, including each component of the Scope of Work:
    1. Discovery
    2. Website Re-Design
    3. Sitemap & Navigation
  5. Consultant Bios: Provide short bios of the consulting team members who will be working with the SD team, including their experience with NY metro area and nationally, as well as with the non-profit sector, preferably with substance use treatment, mental health, housing, and health-related human services issues.
  6. Case Study/Work Samples: Provide relevant work example(s) of websites newly designed or re-designed for other non-profit organizations. 
  7. Current Non-profit Client List: Provide a list of other non-profit organizations that your agency has provided website design services, including relevant website links.
  8. References: Provide at least 3 references from among current clients or previous clients from within the last 3 years.
  9. Budget: Provide total fees for services proposed.
  10. Additional Information: Provide any additional pertinent information about your agency that was not already included in the information above.

EVALUATION, SELECTION, AND RFP MANAGEMENT

SDV will evaluate all proposals received based on the submission guidelines, as requested above. All proposers should submit their proposals by email to Jill Poklemba, VP of Development and Communications at: jill.poklemba@samaritanvillage.org.

PROPOSAL DUE DATE: February 23, 2024 by 5:00PM

NOTE: SDV reserves the right to modify deadlines, change the scope of work, amend the RFP, reject any or all submissions for any reason without incurring any cost or liability, negotiate with any firm, and select the firm that best meets the needs of the organization.

Download a PDF version of this RFP.