Background

Meals on Wheels America is requesting proposals for a direct response fundraising agency of record. Next year will mark 10 years since we launched our direct mail fundraising program. Now that it has grown and begun to mature, we are looking ahead to the next phase of evolution and growth in this fundraising channel to support greater segmentation, deepen sophistication and leverage our data with cutting edge modeling and technology. We are seeking an agency partner for a three-year renewable term, with onboarding in the latter half of 2026 to support efforts received by donors beginning in January 2027.

Scope of Work

The core component of this proposal is direct mail for regular donor acquisition and cultivation, mid-level cultivation and major gifts stewardship. Proposals may also include, at the agency’s discretion: SMS, paid digital media, email, planned giving marketing (print, web, email), DXO, telemarketing.

Meals on Wheels America has existing systems and partners for caging, gift processing and database management. Our website was redesigned for 2025. These areas of work should not be included in this proposal.

Organizational Overview

Meals on Wheels America is the national organization representing and supporting a network of over 5,000 independent community-based providers across the country delivering nutritious meals and moments of connection to those who need it most. We are a membership association for these local providers, who operate as independent 501c3 organizations and do their own fundraising in their local communities.

Meals on Wheels America has two distinct direct mail programs designed to help both the association and its members raise awareness and needed financial resources.

• The Meals on Wheels America Direct Mail Program is designed to generate revenue for the association. In order not to compete with our members, acquisition mailings are sent only to zip codes outside of any member service areas. Members are given the opportunity three times per year (before each acquisition mailing) to update their service area zip codes and to submit a list of their current donors residing outside of those zip codes for suppression from our mailings.

• Meals on Wheels Donor Drive is designed to provide members with the opportunity to start or expand an existing direct mail program in their service area zip codes without any upfront investment on their part. This is an opt-in program, with about 85 members participating. Meals on Wheels America distributes 60% of the net proceeds after expenses from a participating member’s service area zip code to that organization. Meals on Wheels America retains 40% of the net proceeds to cover the administrative costs of managing the direct mail program and donor files. All donor data is owned and retained by Meals on Wheels America. We will be seeking perspectives and recommendations on the structure and future trajectory of this program as part of this RFP.

We actively work to ensure that our direct mail solicitations clearly convey that every dollar donated to Meals on Wheels America fortifies the nationwide network of Meals on Wheels providers in local communities across America, and that the association is not a direct service provider. Further, Meals on Wheels America’s board reviews all acquisition mailings for message clarity.

Email, social media and our website are currently managed by our in-house digital engagement team.

Current partners:

• MissionWired: Paid media strategy
• StoryCause: Mid-level and planned giving cultivation by phone
• VeraData: Data suppression process for direct mail
• Engage USA: Caging, gift processing and acknowledgement
• Bonterra: EveryAction CRM, email and fundraising pages
• Chariot: DAFPay integration and electronic payments
• Public: Creative campaigns, including the End the Wait™ platform
• Hunter: Public Relations
• Pilot: Celebrity and Influencer Engagement
• Aperio Philanthropy: Major Gifts and Planned Giving strategies
• Altrata: prospect research data via WealthEngine and RelSci

Donor File Profile

Meals on Wheels America launched our direct mail programs in 2017 with True Sense Marketing, which has continued to be our agency of record through 2026. The spotlight on issues of senior isolation and hunger during the pandemic led to dramatically accelerated growth in both direct mail and digital fundraising for Meals on Wheels America in 2020-2021.

In 2025, the Meals on Wheels America direct mail program had over 40,000 active donors contributing nearly $3.6M. Acquisition appeals had a 0.93% response rate with an average gift of $34.84. Existing donor appeals had a 4.72% response rate with an average gift of $54.96 (excluding mid-level and major donor appeals). Proportions of both multi-year donors and reactivated donors are growing as the file matures. Multi-year donors have approximately a 60% retention rate.

Donors are nationally distributed, with slight concentrations in the mid-Atlantic, Florida and California. Average age is 76, skewing about 60% female.

Process and Anticipated Timeline

By April 6, 2026, we request that interested partners:

Submit a formal email response indicating intent to participate in the RFI process to Christina.Ritchie@mealsonwheelsamerica.org.

Respond to the RFI questions outlined below.

We intend to invite full proposals by April 9. Invited partners will be asked to sign a mutual NDA at that time. Finalists will be invited to interview approximately the week of May 26.

RFI Questions

• What is your company’s history and experience in the nonprofit fundraising sector, particularly with organizations similar to ours in size, mission, and target audience?
• What kinds of missions do your clients have? Are there any mission areas that you will not work with? Does your firm have a political affiliation or take on partisan clients?
• Please share a summary of clients you've supported who are most similar to our organization and the scope of your work with them.
• Outline your fee structure and approach to pricing.
• Describe your agency’s view on direct response fundraising. Knowing what we have shared so far, what differentiates your offerings?