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Committee of Seventy focuses on a variety of issues affecting voters in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Browse the issues we're currently working on, or review our archive for ongoing and past issues.
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About
About

The Committee of Seventy was established in 1904 to combat corruption in Philadelphia, playing a major role in the adoption of civil service reforms and the passage of the 1919 and 1951 Home Rule Charters. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, Seventy does not endorse candidates or represent any special interests.
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For over one hundred years, the Committee of Seventy has been the voice of good government and reform. For press inquiries, please contact us at 617-785-6991.
Interactive Voter Guide

Website RFP

Website Redesign for the Committee of Seventy

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Issued by: The Committee of Seventy
Website: https://seventy.org
Contact: Brisa Diaz-Zorrilla
Email: [email protected]
Issue Date: 09/10/25
Submission Deadline: 10/13/25

Expected Timeline: 4-6 months

About the Committee of Seventy
The Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has worked for over 120 years to strengthen democracy and advance good government in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania. Through civic education, nonpartisan election initiatives, and public policy advocacy, Seventy empowers residents to become more informed, engaged participants in our democracy.

Our current website (built in Apostrophe CMS) is no longer meeting our content, design, or usability needs. We are seeking a creative, experienced partner to lead a full website redesign and rebuild to elevate our digital presence and advance our mission.

Project Overview
We are issuing this RFP to identify a web development agency or firm to design and develop a new website, moving us from Apostrophe CMS to WordPress (preferred). This new site should be visually compelling, content-forward, accessible, and easy to navigate, especially for users looking for election information, civic education tools, and ways to get involved. This website index may be a useful resource for preparing your proposal.

The finished product should:

Promote civic knowledge.
Support engagement and action across audiences: voters, educators, students, donors, policymakers, media.
Be flexible and easy for our internal team to update and manage with minimal technical expertise.
Be mobile-first and fully responsive.

Key Objectives

Platform Transition: Migrate from Apostrophe CMS to WordPress (or comparable open-source CMS).
User Experience (UX): Streamline and simplify the user journey to improve engagement, retention, and discoverability.
Content Strategy: Implement a system for organizing large volumes of dynamic content (news, reports, toolkits, partner programs, interactive data analysis/maps).
Event Management: Provide a robust, user-friendly events calendar and registration system with filtering and archive features and integrate with Bloomerang.
Donation Integration: Seamlessly integrate with Qgiv (our current donation platform), with flexibility to add others.
Media Handling: Strong support for embedded video, high-resolution photography, and interactive tools like our voter guide.
Accessibility & Compliance: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.resolution photography, and interactive tools like our voter guide.
Search & SEO: Advanced search capabilities and SEO-optimized architecture.
Analytics: Google Analytics and data tools to track engagement and performance.

Core Features & Functionality Requirements

Customizable Page Templates (e.g., landing pages for campaigns, programs, press releases)
Modular CMS for easy content creation and updates
Qgiv Integration for donations and membership
Event Management Tool with registration, calendar view, tagging
Robust Blog/News Hub
Video & Photo Gallery Integration
Third-Party Tool Embeds (e.g., Ballot Ready, Airtable)
Forms and Surveys (e.g., volunteer signups, contact forms)
Searchable Resource Library
Email Marketing Integration (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact, automatic archive of newsletter)
Social Integration (e.g. Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.)
Multilingual support (built-in functionality for that on the new site, something like WPML or Polylang).

Deliverables

Sitemap & wireframes
UX/UI design mockups
CMS development in WordPress
Full site build with all content migrated
QA/testing, performance optimization
CMS training & documentation
Post-launch support period (minimum 3 months)
Plan for ongoing support

Proposal Requirements
Please include the following in your proposal:

Agency Overview
- Team bios, relevant experience, and client list
Approach & Methodology
- Timeline, communication strategy, and client collaboration
Budget Estimate
- Detailed cost breakdown (design, development, support)
Technical Details
- Hosting recommendations, plug-ins, third-party integrations
Examples of Similar Work
- Live URLs and brief descriptions
References
- Two recent clients we can contact

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The Committee of Seventy actively seeks to engage with partners who share our commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Vendors are encouraged to describe how their organization:

Demonstrates commitment to diversity and inclusion in its workforce, leadership, and subcontracting relationships.
Incorporates equitable practices into its operations and service delivery.
Supports diverse suppliers, contractors, and community partners.

Vendors may be asked to provide information on existing policies, initiatives, or certifications that reflect this commitment. While not a requirement for selection, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion will be considered as a value-added component in the evaluation process.