Project Overview
ELCR is a non-profit dedicated to the protection of equine land by equipping communities with the educational and advocacy resources, tools, and support needed to protect and conserve the land and places where horses live, work, and inspire. We have recently undertaken steps to strategically assess, refresh, and realign our brand to increase support and impact to our core cause, and focus on overall growth as a non-profit. Our website is a key area for improvement to become more visible, consistent, relevant and interactive with our key audiences. We are seeking a digital agency to design and develop a modern, responsive website that serves two primary goals:
Education
Becoming the most trusted destination of information and resources to support individuals, communities, advocates, and policy makers with an interest in equine land conservation.
Conversion
Elevate the brand and online destination to become a high-performance engine for donor acquisition and retention.
Strategic Objectives
Storytelling
Use immersive visuals (maps, galleries) to show the impact of our work.
Fundraising
Create a frictionless donation experience, including recurring giving and campaign-specific landing pages.
Ease of use
Implement a CMS that allows non-technical staff to update content, blog posts, and project maps quickly.
Integration
Seamlessly connect our website to our CRM, email marketing, and social media platforms.
Information Resource
Easy visibility of case study content (for site visitors and search traffic)
Scope of Work & Technical Requirements
Content Management
User-friendly CMS (e.g., WordPress, Webflow, or Craft CMS) with modular “drag-and-drop” page building.
Experience
Seamless user experience, including navigation, mobile responsiveness, and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.
Fundraising Tools
Integration with a best in class recommendation platform. The core need is for ease of use (ELCR administrators and the donation audience). We are seeking recommendations with rationale. Must support “In Honor Of” gifts and employer matching.
Interactive Maps
A “Protected Lands” map showing project locations, acreage, and descriptions (e.g. Mapbox or Google Maps API). This map should be CMS managed and pending complexity and cost, we would prefer search capability based on terms but is not a requirement. This function and feature is open to consultation if it is considered a significant impact on cost. A static map may be alternate.
Case Content
Develop cast study templates which house a consistent form and flow of relevant information that is easily found/searched by site visitors.
Connectivity
API integration with recommended email platform such as Mailchimp or other less complex platforms.
Social Media
Automated social sharing previews and live feeds.
SEO
SEO-friendly architecture, AI-assisted search for AEO/GEO.
Analytics
Robust GA4 tracking setup and additional performance visibility tools that easily communicate all aspects of site audience data, actions taken (pages visited, materials downloaded, calls/contact requests, journey from/to our site, etc.)
Budget
Budget expectation and range is $50,000 $60,000.
Target Audience
Current/Prospective Donors
Seeking transparency, ease of giving, and proof of impact.
Landowners
Looking for information on easements, tax benefits, and stewardship.
Local Community
Interested in public access trails and volunteer opportunities.
Partners
Government agencies and other NGOs looking for collaborative data.
Like-minded Associations & Advocacy Groups
Interested in supporting the mission and sharing relevant information.
Submission Requirements
Please include the following in your proposal:
Portfolio
A minimum of 3 full-site builds. Please show at least one example of non-profit or conservation-focused websites.
Project management & Collaboration
Outline your firm’s project management approach including timelines, milestones, and communication protocols. Describe your firm’s experience working with small staff clients. ELCR envisions a collaborative approach to editing down unneeded pages/content and ELCR will take lead on the deep dive for outdated and irrelevant content within the current site.
Quality Assurance & Testing
From implementation forward, describe any quality assurance processes your firm uses (including accessibility, componentry, and documentation) and meeting cross-browser/device compatibility standards.
Technical approach
ELCR is open to recommendations in responses for the website’s overall technical ecosystem (if that’s true), but responses should include projected pricing for recommended options. Your recommended CMS and integration strategy for fundraising.
Timeline
A phase-by-phase schedule (Discovery, Design, Dev, Launch).
Budget
Detailed breakdown of costs, including any recurring maintenance fees.
Case Studies
Three case studies of similar work; one example should exemplify where your work directly increased digital conversions or donations.
References
Provide at least three (3) client references for similar services, including organization name, contact name (title, email, and phone), a description of the services provided, and project timeline and outcomes.
Timeline
rfp distribution: May 15, 2026
Deadline for Questions
May 25, 2026 (Questions may be submitted later than date however proposal submission date will not change unless a scheduled addendum is issued by ELCR)
Proposal Submission Deadline
June 12, 2026
Finalist Interviews (estimated)
Week of June 22, 2026
Award
July 6, 2026
Note: Our goal is a “Launch Date” no later than November 1, 2026
Equine Land Conservation Resource
4037 Iron Works Parkway, Suite 120
Lexington, KY 40511
(859) 455-8383
info@elcr.org
Source: Website Redesign RFP ELCR
ELCR Responses to Website RFP Questions
updated: May 5, 2026
A significant update which will cover many questions about the interactive map: ELCR will NO LONGER seek a map for this website.
Questions & Answers
To clarify: Does ELCR currently have a preferred CRM or donation platform in place, or are you looking for agency guidance and recommendations as part of this engagement?
Currently we us Donor Perfect as its donation platform and Constant Contact to distribute monthly eblasts. We have become familiar with these platforms but open to recommendations for something different if it is economical AND user friendly (not too complex).
Does ELCR currently have an established library of professional photo and video assets available for the redesign, particularly for storytelling and fundraising efforts?
We have a very limited amount of professional photos and will make those available. Stock imagery will be acceptable and/or some cost effective “professional” shots may be considered in this project and budget – please be sure to identify and describe at high level the production plan if that is suggested.
Along those lines, has ELCR ever developed a brand film or mission-focused video piece? If not, would the organization be open to exploring a focused media component if it could fit responsibly within the overall project budget?
We have but it is dated. https://youtu.be/zqmDznPPcwo?si=a0M3NONwzrkt17lE. We’d ask for the proposal to be based upon ability to build this new site without a new video being produced but welcome a separate line item on offering it.
Approximately how many pages or content types are expected to migrate into the new site experience?
ELCR expects to work collaboratively with the partner to help manage this breadth of page scope. We will work to identify significantly old/dated material that can be archived but still assume much of the pages will need to carry over.
Will copywriting and content strategy support be needed from the selected agency, or does ELCR plan to provide finalized copy internally?
Some copywriting should be planned – for example compelling page headlines and subheads, function navigation language, etc. We would look to the agency for content strategy support in service of our most important objectives which we would discuss in better detail with selected partner however serving access to helpful information AND attracting donations would be key to guiding the content strategy.
Do you currently use a CRM? If so, which platform?
Currently we us Donor Perfect as our donation platform. We have become familiar with it but open to recommendations for something different if it is economical AND user friendly (not too complex).
Beyond “In Honor Of” gifts and employer matching, do you require:
- Recurring donations
- Donor-covered fees
- Campaign-specific landing pages
No
Will any existing donor or transaction data need to be migrated into the new system?
Only if we decide a new platform other than Donor Perfect is required.
Are there any fundraising tools you’ve used previously that you prefer or want to avoid?
Other than Donor Perfect, no.
Which email marketing platform are you currently using?
We use Constant Contact and distribute monthly eblasts through this platform. We have become familiar with it but open to recommendations for something different if it is economical AND user friendly (not too complex).
Beyond basic integration, is there interest in ongoing digital support such as:
- Website hosting, security, and/or maintenance
- We don’t require this but would be open to a separate line item to be proposed.
- Email marketing support
- No.
- Campaign landing page creation
- No.
- Analytics reporting
- No.
- Donation platform support
- No.
Content Structure & Case Studies
To Answer all of the below questions: We believe a new page template and consistent format is important for case studies. We would work with selected partner to complete these with our information but look to the partner to give ELCR a page template design with best SEO/AEO recommendations so that we develop these smartly and they are formatted consistently.
- Do you have an existing library of case studies, or will new content need to be created or rewritten?
- Should case studies follow a standardized template for consistency and SEO/AEO?
- Should case studies be filterable by region, conservation type, or audience?
- Will case studies require multimedia (photos, videos, PDFs)?
Do you have updated brand guidelines, color palettes, typography, and image libraries?
We have performed a basic design update which is visible on the site currently and like that style of color and font direction however we have not had deep design resources in past and are open to creative recommendations that expand this aspect by the selected partner.
Are there specific equine-industry audiences you want to prioritize visually or structurally?
No. In fact, we want to make sure we are not too focused on any type of equine audience. From protected lands for trail rides to competitive aspects (showjumping, racing, etc) to farms and ranches.
Do you have a preferred hosting provider, or are you open to recommendations?
We are open to a recommended provider switch, but it is not a requirement.
Are there any specific security requirements beyond industry standards?
No.
Beyond GA4 and Search Console, do you need custom dashboards for board reporting or fundraising KPIs?
No, we don’t believe so however we are open to exploring options that enhance our visibility into performance. The key is ease of use and cost conscious.
Should dashboards include CRM, email marketing, or social media data?
See previous answer.
Do you require automated monthly or quarterly email reports?
No.
Are there specific equine-industry stakeholders you want to prioritize (landowners, policymakers, donors, conservation groups)?
These are all important audiences. Because they are all looking to us (or we are looking to surface on their radar) for different things at different times – one audience is not priority (though keeping in mind we need donors to be functional is important).
Do you have partnerships with other equine organizations that should be featured or integrated?
Very few at this time but we envision this to expand and would like to have that considered in the future of the website design. We don’t expect to make partnerships a massive or dedicated category, but how they are treated will be something to consider.
Are there upcoming events, campaigns, or initiatives the new site should support?
No. As a small organization we are limited with how much we do around events and campaigns. But considering that we do things like webinars and will want to feature our efforts around opportunistic fundraising times of year (especially year end for tax considerations) – that should be thought through.
Will answers to all submitted questions be shared with all RFP respondents to ensure proposals are evaluated on equal footing?
Yes.
