» OVERVIEW

This Tutorial explains how to use our unique website to get in touch with more potential customers, access more bidding opportunities, and save time and money, too. Keep in mind that we use the acronym RFP loosely to mean any listing for anything a nonprofit has posted on this site. It’s the new way for nonprofits to ‘shop’ and for businesses to generate leads. It’s easy, just search, choose and download.

» STEP-BY-STEP

When you first enter the site and click on BUSINESS, you are taken to the Business Home Page. From here you can Search and review RFP summaries, register, or login.

SEARCH

We invite you to take a few minutes to explore the RFP search function. It is easy to use and helps you find Requests For Proposals posted by all kinds of nonprofits, including state and local government agencies, medical, educational, and religious institutions, charities, and others. NonprofitRFPExchange.com can help you expand your customer base, secure more contracts, and make more sales.

The search function can be accessed from the Home Page, your account page, or from the Search Results Page. There are two types of searches - basic and advanced. The only difference is the number of options you can choose. Basic allows only one per category. Advanced Search allows multiple options in each category and has a keywords box. You do not need to have a subscription to have a Saved Search and it will save you time when you visit the site.

Before you create your first Saved Search, your default search criteria is the Industry you chose when you registered. To search using the basic search, just choose options from the drop down lists. You can only choose one from each category. You can leave Location and Budget unspecified if you want but you must choose an Industry. If you want to create a Saved Search with these criteria, just press the [Save Search] button on the Search Results page.

To search using the Advanced Search feature, click that button on the top left hand side of the Search box. First type in a word or words which reflects aspects of the goods and/or services your business provides or specializes in, for example, 'library shelving' or 'commemorative plaques'. Then from each drop down box, choose a Location, the general Industry that your business is in, and a Budget range for the project you are seeking if that is appropriate. You must choose an Industry but the location, budget, and keywords can be blank.

There are two additional options at the bottom of the search criteria both of which deal with special situations. The first inquires if you are interested in bidding as a minority-owned business. The second refers to government-restricted-funds contracts. If either of these two items are important to the nonprofit, they will have checked the item and should have given more specifics in the RFP itself.

CHOOSE

The Search Results Page will list the RFPs that match your criteria. Only RFPs with Deadline Dates in the future will be listed. The number of RFPs listed and the number of pages for you to review are at the top and the bottom of each page of Search Results. After you have reviewed the summaries, you can choose which one you would like to download by clicking on the File Icon or word Download in the upper right corner of the RFP posting you want.

DOWNLOAD

You must be registered and logged on in order to download an RFP. The one-time registration only takes a few minutes and has no obligations. First, fill in your email and create a password. Your email address will always be your User ID. Be sure to write down your password. Then click "Next Step" and fill in the basic information about you and your business.
When you are finished creating your account, you will be brought back to the search results list of RFPs that you were reviewing. Click on the File Icon or the word Download in the upper right corner of the RFP posting you want. You will be given the following four options.

EMAIL ALERTS

Monthly or annual subscribers automatically receive the RFP Alerts Feature which sends daily email notices when new RFPs are posted that match Saved Search criteria.
If you are a new subscriber, this feature is activated for 30 days for free. To get the most benefit from email alerts, you should create a thoughtful Saved Search using keywords and all the Industry Categories that apply to you and your business. To create a Saved Search, perform a search normally, then click the [Save Search] link.
If you do not wish to receive email alerts, you can deactivate this feature by editing your Profile. To continue receiving the RFP Alerts after the first 30 days, you must become a subscriber.

REGISTER

Click on the word “Register” at the bottom of the LOGIN box. A screen asking for Basic Information appears. Fill in your Email Address and verify it. Then create a Password and verify it. Next, choose an Industry. You can choose multiple options by holding down the CTRL key as you click on each choice. Next, please tell us how you heard about the website. Then, click “Next” to continue.

The next screen is the User Profile form where you fill in information about you as the contact person and your nonprofit organization. The required items are designated by an asterisk (*). Finally, please tell us how you heard about this site. Click “Next” to continue.

You will see a welcome screen and now you can access the tabs across the top. Whenever you log in from now on, you will first see this welcome and information page until you post an RFP. From that point forward, when you log in, a list of the RFPs that meet your Saved Search criteria will appear as your ‘home’ page. This is also the same as what appears when you click on the ‘Search’ tab.

NAVIGATION TABS

After you have registered and when you log in, you will have access to the tabs at the top of the page.

Let’s review each of the navigation tabs.

SEARCH - (see explanation of Search above)

SAVED SEARCH

This tab shows you what your current Saved Search criteria are. Keep in mind more keywords and multiple options in each of the criteria will help pinpoint those RFPs which are most appropriate for your company.

DOWNLOADED RFPS

This tab shows you a list of the RFPs you have downloaded. You can choose to re-download any RFP even if they are currently archived.

PAYMENT HISTORY

This tab reviews your purchases on this site.

RESOURCES

This tab leads to a blog with postings and links to articles, information, and other websites of interest. We encourage you to submit resources you feel others would benefit from. We thank you in advance.

HELP

The Help tab offers two forms of assistance. There is a step-by-step tutorial (which you are reading now) and a Frequently Asked Questions section. Please let us know if you felt this was helpful or if you have suggestions.

PROFILE

This is the page lets you edit your account information. Please check it now and again to update any changes that may have occurred in your job status, address, etc. Incidentally, if you wish to log in on another page, i.e. Job Seeker, Grantmaker or Nonprofit, you will need to use another email address as your email is used as the unique identifier for your account.

 

» OVERVIEW

NonprofitRFPExchange can connect you with the things your organization needs – goods and services, employees and volunteers, or funding sources. You register once, post as many listings of what you need as you like, and let us do the work contacting those who can provide what you need. Using this free service, you can reach more qualified bidders to secure maximum value for your nonprofit dollars, expand your pool of employee applicants and volunteers, and connect with funding sources you might not have otherwise sought out.

» STEP-BY-STEP

When you first enter the site and click anywhere in the NONPROFIT quadrant, you are taken to the Nonprofit Home Page. From here you can register and login.

REGISTER

Click on the word “Register” at the bottom of the LOGIN box. A screen asking for Basic Information appears. Fill in your Email Address and verify it. Then create a Password and verify it. Next, choose an Account Type. This is very important and affects what you will be asked on the next screen, in which section of the site your home page will be and what options you have using this site. ONLY NONPROFITS CAN POST RFPS. Click “Next” to continue.


The next screen is the User Profile form where you fill in information about you, as the contact person, and your nonprofit organization. Finally, please tell us how you heard about this site. Click “Next” to continue.


You will see a welcome screen and when you are logged in you can access all the tabs across the top. Whenever you log in from now on, you will first see this welcome and information page until you post an RFP. From that point forward, when you log in, a list of the RFPs you have posted will appear as your ‘home’ page. This is also the same list as will appear when you click on the ‘Manage RFPs’ tab.

Let’s review each of the tabs across the top.

POST RFPs

This tab brings up a form which will create a unique RFP which we call a ‘listing’ or just ‘RFP’. Search results display the deadline, industry, location, budget, title, and summary. When an RFP is chosen and downloaded by interested parties, RFPs also display complete contact and organization information as well as the full RFP. How you fill out the Post an RFP Form will determine who sees it.


TYPE OF RFP - The first piece of information required on the “Post an RFP” form is what Type of RFP you want to post. The type of RFP determines what information you will need to post, what category lists will be available, and who will be able to search for it when it’s posted. The RFP itself can be a .pdf file, which you upload OR you can type (or cut and paste) text into the online form. If you choose to create the text for the RFP online, we will create the .pdf file for you. All RFPs are .pdf files when they are downloaded. Having the RFP be a .pdf file ensures that all those who download your RFP are getting the same information and that it cannot be altered.

The types of RFPs you can choose from are:


RFP CONTENTS – Next you are asked to choose if you will upload an existing .pdf file or if you would prefer to create your content online by typing directly into the form or cutting and pasting your text from another file. If you choose the latter, a .pdf file will be created for you as all RFPs are .pdf files when they are downloaded.

RFP Status – This is where you tell us when you want your RFP posted by giving a deadline and an Active or Inactive status. The deadline date is the last day on which your RFP will appear in the search results and creates the status of Archived when an RFP is withdrawn on that date. If at any time you need to withdraw it temporarily, change the Status to Inactive.

We suggest that you allow plenty of time for people to find your listing, i.e. a minimum of 2 weeks. We also suggest that you choose a Deadline that is a minimum of a day before your organization’s actual deadline for receipt of bids. Postings are automatically archived at midnight at the end of the Deadline Date day. You can extend or move up the Deadline Date by Editing the RFP. If you wish to repost an RFP that has been archived for some time, we suggest that you change the title slightly to signal businesses that it is a re-posting.

RFPs appear in the Search Results within the first 24 hours. When you begin to post an RFP, the Status is 'Active' by default. If you need to suspend the posting process, you can set the Status to 'Inactive'. This will allow you to come back later to finish the posting if needed or edit the RFP.

In the rare event that your posting does not appear, just use the Contact Us feature and Customer Care Representatives will be able to help you within 24 hours.

MANAGE RFPS

When you chose the MANAGE RFPs tab, your RFPs appear in a list for you to review and edit. You can change the Deadline date and whether it is Active or Inactive. You can chose to review Archived RFPs, too. And, if you click on (Details) on the right side of the RFP, you will see a report listing the names and contact information of each party that has downloaded your RFP in the order they downloaded it.

SEARCH FOR GRANTS

As a nonprofit using this website, you are allowed to create an RFP to give OR receive a grant. This tab allows nonprofits to search for funders who might have posted an RFP looking for grant recipients. It is up to you to contact these potential grantmakers directly.

RESOURCES

This tab leads to a blog with postings and links to articles, information, and other websites of interest. We encourage you to submit resources you feel others would benefit from. You can also comment on any resource posting and this feature can be used as a blog. We thank you in advance for posting resources and your opinions about them.

HELP

The Help tab offers two forms of assistance. There is a step-by-step tutorial (which you are reading now) and a Frequently Asked Questions section. Please let us know if you felt this was helpful or if you have suggestions.

PROFILE

This is the page on which you can edit your account information. Please check it now and again to update any changes that may have occurred in your job status, address, etc. If you wish to log in on another page, i.e. Grantmaker, you will need to use another email address as this is used as the unique identifier for your account.

 

» OVERVIEW

This Tutorial explains how to use our unique website. Keep in mind that we use the acronym RFP loosely to mean any listing for anything a nonprofit has posted on this site. It’s the new way for nonprofits to find employees and volunteers and for you to get in touch with nonprofits that need your skills.

» STEP-BY-STEP

When you first enter the site and click on JOB SEEKER, you are taken to the Job Seeker Home Page. From here you can Search and review RFP summaries for job opportunities, register, or login.

SEARCH

We invite you to take a few minutes to explore the RFP search function. It is easy to use and helps you find Job Opportunities (Requests For Proposals) posted by all kinds of nonprofits, including state and local government agencies, medical, educational, and religious institutions, charities, and others. NonprofitRFPExchange.com can help you expand your employment and volunteer opportunities.

The search function can be accessed from the Home Page, your account page, or from the Search Results Page. There are two types of searches - basic and advanced. The only difference is the number of options you can choose. Basic Search allows only one choice per category. Advanced Search allows multiple options in each category and has a keywords box. You have to be registered to have a Saved Search.  It will save you time when you visit the site.

Before you create your first Saved Search, your default search criteria is the Position you chose when you registered. To use the Basic Search, just choose options from the drop down lists. You can only choose one from each category. You can leave Organization and Location unspecified if you want but you must choose a Position Wanted. If you want to create a Saved Search with these criteria, just press the [Save Search] button on the Search Results page.

To search using the Advanced Search feature, click that button on the top left hand side of the Search box. First type in a word or words which reflects aspects of the position you want, for example, 'research’ or ‘grant writer'. Then from the drop down boxex, choose a Location and Type of Organization for the job you are seeking if that is appropriate. You must choose a Position, but the location, organization, and keywords can be blank.

CHOOSE

The Search Results Page will list the Job Opportunities (RFPs) that match your criteria. Only RFPs with Deadline Dates in the future will be listed. The number of RFPs listed and the number of pages for you to review are at the top and the bottom of each page of Search Results. After you have reviewed the summaries, you can choose which one you would like to download by clicking on the File Icon or the word ‘Download’ in the upper right corner of the RFP posting you want.

EMAIL ALERTS

Job Seekers automatically receive the RFP Alerts Feature which sends daily email notices when new Job Opportunities are posted that match your Saved Search criteria.
To get the most benefit from the email alerts, you should create a thoughtful Saved Search using keywords and all the Industry Categories that apply. To change or create a Saved Search, perform a search normally, then click the Save Search button.

Another option you have is to receive RSS feeds when a new posting in your category occurs. When you do a Search, the RSS option will appear at the top of the list.

If you do not wish to receive email alerts, you can deactivate this feature by editing your Profile.

REGISTER

Click on the word “Register” at the bottom of the LOGIN box. A screen asking for Basic Information appears. Fill in your Email Address and verify it. Then create a Password and verify it. Next, choose the Account Type that fits you - Job Seeker. Then, click “Next” to continue.

The next screen is the User Profile form. This information is only used by this site to communicate with you regarding job opportunities. Finally, please tell us how you heard about this site. Click “Next” to continue.

You will see a welcome screen and now you can access the tabs across the top. Whenever you log in from now on, you will first see this welcome and information page until you have a Saved Search. From that point forward, when you log in, a list of the RFPs that meet your Saved Search criteria will appear as your ‘home’ page. This is also the same list that will appear when you click on the ‘Search’ tab.

NAVIGATION TABS

After you have registered and you log in, you will have access to the tabs at the top of the page.  Let’s review each of the navigation tabs.

» OVERVIEW

This Tutorial explains how to use our unique website Keep in mind that we use the acronym RFP loosely to mean any listing for anything a nonprofit has posted on this site. It’s the new way for Grantmakers to find employees and volunteers and for you to get in touch with nonprofits that need your help.

» STEP-BY-STEP

When you first enter the site and click on GRANTMAKER, you are taken to the Grantmaker Home Page. From here you can Search and review RFP summaries for funding opportunities, register, or login.

SEARCH

We invite you to take a few minutes to explore the RFP search function. It is easy to use and helps you find Requests For Proposals posted by all kinds of nonprofits, including state and local government agencies, medical, educational, and religious institutions, charities, and others. NonprofitRFPExchange.com can help you find current projects to fund in the areas of your interest.

The search function can be accessed from the Home Page, your account page, or from the Search Results Page. There are two types of searches - basic and advanced. The only difference is the number of options you can choose. Basic Search allows only one per category. Advanced Search allows multiple options in each category and has a keywords box. You must be registered to have a Saved Search. It will save you time when you visit the site.

Before you create your first Saved Search, your default search criteria is the Type of Organization you chose when you registered. To change your Saved Search criteria, just do another search with all the criteria you want, then press the [Save Search] button on the Search Results page.

To search using the Advanced Search feature, click that button on the top left hand side of the Search box. First type in a word or words which reflects aspects of the position you want, for example, 'research’ or ‘grant writer'. Then from each drop down box, choose a Location and the type of Organization for the project you are seeking if that is appropriate. You must choose an Organization Type for what you want to fund but the location and keywords can be blank.

It is particularly important for you to use the Keywords feature since this will help the search pinpoint projects that are of interest to you. You use this just like you do with a Google search.

CHOOSE

The Search Results Page will list the RFPs that match your criteria. Only RFPs with Deadline Dates in the future will be listed. The number of RFPs listed and the number of pages for you to review are at the top and the bottom of each page of Search Results. After you have reviewed the summaries, you can choose which one you would like to download by clicking on the File Icon or the word ‘Download’ in the upper right corner of the RFP posting you want.
Downloads are free. You must, however, be registered. The organization which posted the RFP will be notified of your download.

EMAIL ALERTS

Grantmakers automatically receive the RFP Alerts Feature which sends daily email notices when new RFPs are posted that match Saved Search criteria. The email alerts are sent out at midnight and contain a list of the RFPs you might be interested in that were posted that day. If no RFPs were posted that day for you, then no email is sent.

To get the most benefit from email alerts, you should create a thoughtful Saved Search using keywords and all the categories that apply to you and your business. To change or create a Saved Search, perform a search normally, then click the [Save Search] link on the Search Results page.

If you do not wish to receive email alerts, you can deactivate this feature by editing your Profile.

REGISTER

Click on the word “Register” at the bottom of the LOGIN box. A screen asking for Basic Information appears. Fill in your Email Address and verify it. Then create a Password and verify it. Next, choose an Industry. You can choose multiple options by holding down the CTRL key as you click on each choice. Next, please tell us how you heard about the website. Then, click “Next” to continue.

The next screen is the User Profile form where you fill in information about you as the contact person and your nonprofit organization. The required items are designated by an asterisk (*). Finally, please tell us how you heard about this site. Click “Next” to continue.

You will see a welcome screen and now you can access the tabs across the top. Whenever you log in from now on, you will first see this welcome and information page until you have a Saved Search. From that point forward, when you log in, a list of the RFPs that meet your Saved Search criteria will appear as your ‘home’ page. This is also the same as what appears when you click on the ‘Search’ tab.

NAVIGATION TABS

After you have registered and you log in, you will have access to the tabs at the top of the page.

Let’s review each of the navigation tabs.

SEARCH

There are two types of searches - basic and advanced. The only difference is the number of options you can choose. Basic Search allows only one per category. Advanced Search allows multiple options in each category and has a keywords box. Use keywords the same way you do a Google search. To capture more than one option in each category, hold down the CTRL key as you choose them. Then press the Search button at the bottom. The results of your search will show up as a list of RFPs matching your search criteria.

SAVED SEARCH

You must be registered to have a Saved Search. It will save you time when you visit the site. This tab shows you what your current Saved Search criteria are. Keep in mind more keywords and multiple options in each of the criteria will help pinpoint those RFPs which are most appropriate for your company.

DOWNLOADED RFPS

This tab shows you a list of the RFPs you have downloaded. You can choose to re-download any RFP even if they are currently archived.

RESOURCES

This tab leads to a blog with postings and links to articles, information, and other websites of interest. We encourage you to submit resources you feel others would benefit from. We thank you in advance.

HELP

The Help tab offers two forms of assistance. There is a step-by-step tutorial (which you are reading now) and a Frequently Asked Questions section. Please let us know if you felt this was helpful or if you have suggestions.

PROFILE

This is the page lets you edit your account information. Please check it now and again to update any changes that may have occurred in your job status, address, etc. Incidentally, if you wish to log in on another page, i.e. Business, Job Seeker or Nonprofit, you will need to use another email address as your email is used as the unique identifier for your account.