Request for Proposals for Website Development Services

DOWNLOAD RFP: Word | PDF

Vision Maker Media, the nation’s leader in the creation, promotion and distribution of Native media, is seeking a consultant for the purpose of securing website development services.

Organizational Overview
Vision Maker Media was founded as the Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium in 1976 as part of a system-wide effort to empower minority voices in public broadcasting. NAPBC changed its name in 1995 to Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT), as its mission broadened to meet the needs of its constituents and the changing technological environment. In 2012, a rebranding process started to change from NAPT to Vision Maker Media. Vision Maker Media receives major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Vision Maker Media serves as an umbrella for seven main services:

“Watch” – We offer promotional trailers, as well as short and long-form documentaries as embeds or links to sites hosting our content.
“Listen” – We offer downloadable podcasts of Native filmmakers, activists and musicians.
“Interact” – We support multiple initiatives such as the Election and American Graduate initiative, Social Media, Blogs, Donations, Investments/Sponsorships
“Stations” – We cater to Public Television stations across the U.S. to increase carriage of our films.
“Educators” – We offer national standardized curricula and assorted digital learning objects for grades K-12 and higher.
“Filmmakers” – We offer an annual open call for proposals to receive funding from us, as well as resources for technical training and assistance.
“Shop” – We own and operate the premier source for quality Native American educational and home DVDs for domestic and global markets.

Vision Maker Media is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) governed by an eleven-member nationally-based Board of Directors, with a majority of directors from Native American Tribes.

Mission
Vision Maker Media shares Native stories with the world. We advance media that represents the experiences, values, and cultures of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Tagline
Native Stories for Public Broadcasting

Target Markets
Because our website needs an overhaul, we have adopted this cohesive brand with an anticipated hard launch date of February 11, 2013, on the web and in print that represents our services to many market segments. A co-branded soft launch will commence in August 2012 in electronic and print materials.

Market Segments

American Indians & Alaska Natives producing quality Public Broadcasting programs.
Public Broadcasting System, including more than 350 Public Television stations across the country.
Tribal Nations, Indian organizations and Native communities.
Educators and students.
General public and global audiences.

Work Scope
Vision Maker Media has completed preliminary work in the development of a landing page and internal pages that would be utilized in the planning and creation/transition of the content management system selected (open source only). Our current platform is Drupal and is housed on the servers of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After internal review, we have decided to convert the membership database to a LinkedIn Group—thus, it will not be moving over to the new site. The CMS site chosen will still need to allot for multiple user login information to support the creation/editing of content pages and submissions of blogs. The selected developers will also need to provide a remote training session with staff prior to launch, as well as provide an electronic PDF Training Guide (at minimum). We currently use Semkhor for our online shopping cart, but we are open to other shopping cart solutions. We use Constant Contact for our e-newsletters and Network for Good for online donations. We use Microsoft Access for our database.

Submissions

The proposal must contain at least the following information:

A cover letter.
A summary and statement of understanding the Work Scope.
A technical response demonstrating how the Applicant meets the criteria set forth in this RFP.
The Applicant’s proposed approach for conducting knowledge transfer to the Vision Maker Media staff.
A summary of all documentation that will be delivered during this project.
A high-level project plan including, but not limited to, the requirements as outlined in our full RFP PDF document
Applicant must include a short demo or direct Vision Maker Media to an Internet site which demonstrates your organization’s capabilities.
Submit at least three professional references (nonprofit and Native American organizations preferred) along with proposal bid.

Time Line and Review Process

Submit your proposal via email as a single PDF attachment to jessica.kinser@unl.edu by Friday, August 10, 2012.
All proposals will be reviewed objectively based upon the qualifications, experience, and sustainability for this project. Any questions regarding this RFP should be sent by email to Jessica Kinser, Marketing Director, at jessica.kinser@unl.edu by the submission deadline with the subject line: “RFP Inquiry.”
Proposals will be reviewed by staff and the Marketing and Development Committee of the Vision Maker Media Board of Directors.
Proposal Finalists will be interviewed in early September, 2012.
The final Work Scope may change at the time of selection, and any changes will be incorporated into the final contract.
All work should be completed by February 13, 2013, and the contract closed by April 30, 2013.

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