I. Organization Background 

Civic Nebraska is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a more modern and robust democracy for all Nebraskans. Since our founding in 2008, we have worked to ensure that every Nebraskan has a voice in their communities and the democratic process. We have faith in the present and future of American democracy and through education, direct engagement, and advocacy programming, we focus on empowering communities and strengthening civic health across Nebraska. Civic Nebraska envisions a democracy whereby citizens of all ages and backgrounds understand their inherent power and exercise it. We employ a diverse team of experts, including advocates, educators, organizers, policy, and communications specialists, who work together to address the complex challenges facing our state. Whether we are working to educate new voters on their right to cast a ballot, embolden civic education initiatives in K-12 spaces, create civil discourse programming to help regular Nebraskans solve local community issues, enhance civic engagement and leadership in rural Nebraska communities, or uplift resident voices to navigate systems of policy change; our work is rooted in our values of community, learning, power, optimum, and innovation.

We serve the entire state of Nebraska implementing programs and initiatives that promote civic engagement, community leadership, and a more inclusive democracy. We serve thousands of individuals each year through 3 core program areas:

• Voting Rights: Protecting and expanding the rights of all Nebraskans to participate in fair and accessible elections; Learn more here.
• Youth Civic Leadership: Cultivating the next generation of engaged citizens through education and leadership programs in schools and through extended learning opportunities across the state; Learn more here.
• Civic Health Initiatives: Strengthening civic health by promoting participation in public life and fostering connections among diverse communities; Learn more here. 

II. Purpose 

Civic Nebraska is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to assist in the development of our 3-year strategic plan that aligns with our organization’s vision, mission, and values. This will include facilitating activities with the organization’s staff and Board of Directors, conducting additional data collection with impacted community members and key organizational partners, and using the information gathered to facilitate the creation of a strategic plan for 2026-2028.

The ideal final product is a 3-year strategic plan that: 

• Is actionable (broad, high-level goal statements that cut across programs/organization that can be used to focus/build out our work over the next 3 years); 
• Allows all staff to see/visualize their work within the broad goals; 
• Includes an equity, inclusion, and belonging lens; 
• Lifts up the work of our diverse programs and all types of staff; 
• Demonstrates the power of our multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary work;
• Incorporates feedback from a core group of organizational partners and community members; 
• Is user-friendly i.e. something that is visually accessible that staff and others will reference and use; and 
• Includes outreach recommendations for internal and external communication strategies to ensure engagement and alignment with staff, board members, partners, and the community.
• Includes a dashboard or similar tracking tool to help us assess progress on the plan.

III. Scope of Work

The consultant will work closely with Civic Nebraska’s Planning Work Group throughout the months of May 2025 – November 2025 on the following activities and tasks. Below is a sample timeline and we can finalize when the firm is selected: 

• Kick-Off Meeting (May – 2025): Meet with members of Civic Nebraska’s Strategic Planning Work Group to learn about the organization, our strategic plan needs, the results and draft goals arising out of our initial internal visioning sessions, and leadership’s suggestions for the data collection phase. 
• Data Collection & Analysis (June – July 2025): Develop means for staff and Board to provide input/feedback throughout the process. Help to design and manage a process to gather feedback from impacted community members and key organizational partners identified by the Strategic Planning Work Group. After data collection is complete, the consultant will synthesize the information in a format that can be presented to staff and inform the final strategic plan. 
• Engage Board and Staff in Development of the Plan (Aug-Sept 2025): Use the information gathered through the kick-off meeting, internal visioning sessions, and data collection phase to facilitate strategic planning conversations with Staff and Board. 

• Strategic Plan Document (Initial draft in early October, final draft by end of November): Create a concise, visual, and actionable strategic plan document that can serve as an anchor for Civic Nebraska and our staff over the next 3 years and facilitate the development of subsequent work plans/operational plans that include more detail. 

IV. Application Information 

Please provide the following: 

• Name of consultant/organization 
• Contact information (name, address, phone number, and email address)
• Qualifications/prior experience with nonprofit strategic planning, particularly with multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary organizations 
• Describe any of your organization’s internal policies or programs intended to address discrimination. 
• Facilitation experience 
• Capabilities/experience relating to: 
  • Inclusion, Engagement, and Belonging 
  • Working with multi-issue, multi-strategy organizations 
  • Working with organizations that conduct grassroots organizing 
  • Prior experience gathering community input to inform strategic planning 
• Sample strategic plan developed by consultant (visual examples preferred) or any sample evaluation tools (i.e. dashboard, Gantt chart, theories of change, logic models, human-centered design etc.), describing their use, input needs, and functionality. 
• Project budget (including all costs payable by Civic Nebraska) Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider all costs to be incurred to complete the work and include those costs in their proposal, including staffing costs, overhead, and any direct expenses. Please clearly indicate when invoices would be due so we can plan costs per fiscal year budget.
• Include references from similar previous clients
• Resume may be attached if helpful. We welcome applicants with a wide range of experiences and expertise, including applicants who are newer to this field of work. 
• Civic Nebraska is an equal opportunity organization. People of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, local Nebraska organizations and consultants, and those from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Civic Nebraska does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

V. Process for Responding 

Please respond to this RFP with the application information listed above by April 21, 2025, to Sarah Walker at sarah.walker@civicnebraska.org

Questions? Please contact Sarah Walker, Director of Operations at office phone 402-904-5191 or email sarah.walker@civicnebraska.org. Thank you for your interest!