Development Consultant | Healing to Action

Details

Request for Proposals (RFP)Development Consultant: Comprehensive Fundraising Strategy
Organization: Healing to Action (HTA)
Release Date: July 14, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline: August 21, 2026
Project Timeline: 9/30/26-12/30/27

Introduction & Background

Healing to Action (HTA) is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence (GBV) by building the leadership and collective power of the communities most impacted. Through leadership development, grassroots organizing, peer-to-peer outreach, and field-building, HTA is transforming the narrative of survivors from “victims” to powerful and indispensable leaders in the movement to end gender-based violence.

As a small, rapidly growing grassroots organization (with a current annual budget of approximately $1.2M), HTA has successfully secured grants from gender justice, community organizing, and public health funders, primarily at the state and local level. HTA has an individual donor program including two annual campaigns, donor cultivation dinners, personal stewardship and board giving. HTA is looking to take these strategies to the next level, creating a more resilient, sustainable, and high-impact fundraising plan. We are seeking a seasoned Development Consultant to help us build and execute a sophisticated, diversified fundraising strategy.

Project Overview & Objectives

The objective of this engagement is to design and launch a comprehensive fundraising strategy that increases total revenue, reduces reliance on any single revenue source, and activates a broader base of individual and institutional support.
The selected consultant will lead strategy development and actively support initial execution, ensuring that HTA's internal team acquires the knowledge and skills necessary to continue strategy execution post-engagement.

Key Objectives:

• Diversify Revenue: Shift HTA's financial model toward a healthier mix of individual giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, and institutional philanthropy. Specifically, raise individual giving to 25% of HTA’s revenue share (currently around 8%) and increase the number of national funders in HTA’s philanthropic revenue portfolio.
• Establish Major Donor Architecture and Pipeline: Build a systematic process for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding high-net-worth supporters, and develop a pipeline of major donor prospects.
• Expand Sector Profile and Integration: Position HTA to attract funding from larger philanthropic and public institutions operating at the intersections of gender justice, public health, and public safety.
• Mobilize Volunteer Ambassadorship: Assist in developing a structured volunteer program designed to activate community members as core assets in fundraising, advocacy, and network expansion.
• Staff Empowerment: Provide high-quality, actionable coaching to increase the development team’s impact and results over time.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be expected to deliver on the following interconnected components:

Phase I: Strategy Development

• Comprehensive Fundraising Plan: Create a multi-year fundraising roadmap detailing clear actionable goals, phased timelines, and key performance indicators.
• Major Donor Pipeline & Engagement Strategy: Building on HTA’s individual donor strategy, develop a tailored plan for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding high net-worth donor prospects both inside and outside of HTA’s existing network.
• High-Impact Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Fundraising Program: Building on the community-centric fundraising strategies HTA has developed, design a P2P fundraising program that aligns with HTA's grassroots values and leverages our network of allies, partners, and supporters.
• Integrated Volunteer Program Strategy: Create a plan for the launch of a structured volunteer program that directly supports fundraising goals. This includes assisting in designing volunteer roles (e.g., event committees, digital ambassadors, outreach teams), outlining pathways to transition highly engaged volunteers into donors, and creating a scalable recruitment and retention plan.
• Institutional Funder Strategy: Conduct a landscape analysis and develop a targeted approach to reach, cultivate, and pitch large and national institutional funders specifically
  prioritizing the intersections of gender justice, grassroots organizing, public health, and public safety.

Phase II: Execution & Implementation Support 

• Prospect & Pipeline Research: Segment existing donor base and identify at least 10 new major donors and 10 new foundation programs outside of HTA’s current pipeline.
• Volunteer & P2P Activation Toolkits: Develop foundational materials, onboarding guides, and messaging toolkits to equip volunteers and peer-to-peer fundraisers to advocate effectively on behalf of HTA.
• Staff Coaching & Capacity Building: Provide hands-on coaching and mentorship to HTA leadership and the Development Manager to build efficacy in developing long-term strategic pipelines for funding sources, utilizing leadership time in high-impact areas, and confidently pursuing larger gifts and grant opportunities.

Consultant Qualifications

We are seeking an experienced fundraising partner who aligns with our social justice values and possesses a track record of tangible success. Applicants must demonstrate:

• Extensive Fundraising Strategy Experience: A minimum of 10 years designing and executing successful resource development plans.
• Proven Results with Small Nonprofits: Demonstrated capability to significantly increase and diversify revenue streams specifically for organizations with budgets under $3M.
• Sector Alignment: Deep familiarity and documented experience working within gender justice, gender-based violence (GBV), or intersectional social justice movements.
• Volunteer Management Expertise: Experience designing volunteer structures that successfully intersect with fundraising campaigns, grassroots organizing, or event execution.
• Values-Driven Approach: Understanding of trust-based philanthropy, community centric fundraising, grassroots community organizing dynamics, and ethical fundraising principles.

Proposal Requirements

Interested consultants should submit a proposal containing the following elements:

• Executive Summary: A brief overview of your approach, philosophy, and why you are uniquely qualified for this project.
• Proposed Methodology & Work Plan: A description of how you will approach the scope of work, including general milestones, deliverables, and a breakdown of Phase I (Strategy) and Phase II (Execution).
• Staffing/Bio: Resumes or profiles of the principal consultant(s) who will be executing the work.
• Case Studies/Track Record: At least two brief examples of how you have successfully diversified revenue or built major donor pipelines for an organization of similar scale.
• Cost Proposal/Fee Structure: A transparent breakdown of costs, including hourly or project-based rates, and any estimated direct expenses.
• References: Contact information for two recent nonprofit clients (preferably in the gender justice or advocacy space).

Timeline & Selection Process

HTA will evaluate proposals based on qualifications, methodology, alignment with organizational values, and budget feasibility.

• RFP Released July 14, 2026
• Deadline for Proposal Submission August 21, 5:00 PM
• Interviews with Shortlisted Candidates August 31-September 11
• Consultant Selection & Onboarding September 15
• Project Kickoff September 30

Submission & Contact Information

Please submit your proposal via email in a single PDF file to admin@healingtoaction.org with the subject line: "RFP Submission: Fundraising Strategy Consultant - [Your Name/Firm]".