UDP Events Management RFP
Events Management, Fundraising, and Donor Development
Issuer: Utah Democratic Party (UDP)
RFP Release Date: 10/15/2025
Questions Due: 10/31/2025
Proposal Due: 11/08/2025
Anticipated Interviews: 11/17/2025 - 11/28/2025
Award Notification: 12/12/2025
Contract Start: 1/12/2026
Primary Contact: Jade Velazquez, Executive Director
Background and Objectives
The Utah Democratic Party seeks an experienced partner to plan and execute a portfolio of events and fundraising initiatives throughout the state of Utah that advance voter engagement, raise revenue, and elevate the party brand statewide. The selected applicant will manage flagship events, produce small to mid-size candidate fundraisers throughout the state of Utah, support major donor acquisition and stewardship, and deliver end-to-end event production and programming.
Primary Goals
Grow net revenue and diversify revenue streams.
Increase attendance, donor conversion, and retention.
Expand major donor pipelines and sponsorships.
Partner with the UDP leadership team to produce fresh, exciting, fun events.
Deliver high-quality, on-brand, accessible events that reflect Utah values.
Ensure strict legal and financial compliance.
Detailed project planning and timeline with milestones.
Scope of Work
Applicants may propose for all services or a defined subset. Indicate clearly which modules you are proposing.
Flagship Events and Galas
Annual and seasonal signature events, 200 to 500+ attendees.
Concept, branding, catering, creative, and theme.
Venue sourcing and contracting.
Sponsorship package design and fulfillment.
Ticketing and registration builds, discount codes, seating charts, VIP holds.
Run of show, stage management, emcee prep, speaker selection.
A/V, lighting, livestream, recording, accessibility.
Vendor management: catering, décor, rentals, security, photography, videography.
Day-of staffing plan that includes volunteers and vendor crew.
Accessibility and safety plan.
Green event practices where feasible.
Candidate and Caucus Fundraisers
Turnkey playbooks for 30 to 150-person events.
Rapid-deployment toolkits: invites, run of show, pledge cards, follow-up scripts.
Host committee formation, training, and weekly cadence.
Budgeting, ROI targets, split funding arrangements, and post-event reconciliation.
Thank you cards and correspondence.
Major Donor and Sponsorship Development
Moves-management plan and 12-month calendar.
Prospecting and research, tiering, and call time support.
Sponsorship prospect lists and pitch materials.
Benefit fulfillment and stewardship touchpoints.
Pledge tracking and collections plan.
Communications and Promotion
Integrated campaign per event: email, SMS, social, press, website landing pages.
Asset creation: copy, graphics, press kit, talking points, scripts.
Media list coordination with UDP staff; on-site press management if needed.
Post-event content: photo sets, short video reels, thank you messaging.
Compliance, Data, Reporting, and KPIs
Provide dashboards or reports for each event and monthly rollups that include:
Gross, net, cost per dollar raised, sponsorship totals.
Attendance, check-in rate, conversion rate from RSVP to show.
New donors, upgrades, retention signals.
Digital metrics: open rate, click-through rate, page views, ticket funnel.
Post-event debrief with lessons learned and next steps.
Adhere to all federal, state, and local campaign finance laws, including contribution limits, in-kind valuations, disclaimers, and reporting needs.
Track in-kind value and contributions with documentation.
Union-friendly preference for printing and labor where available.
Accessibility compliance: ADA venue access, seating, restrooms, wayfinding, interpreters or captioning on request, dietary accommodations.
Data privacy: protect donor and attendee data; no data sharing or resale; comply with UDP data retention policies.
Conflicts of interest: disclose any political clients that may conflict with UDP.
Deliverables
For each major event:
Event brief with goals, audience, creative concept, and program outline.
Workback schedule with milestone dates and owners.
Itemized budget with quotes and final reconciliation.
Sponsorship deck and rate card with benefit matrix.
Communications plan and content calendar.
Production book: run of show, stage cues, scripts, diagrams, seating, contact list.
Accessibility and safety plan.
Post-event report and asset folder.
For ongoing program:
Quarterly donor and large sponsor pipeline report.
Monthly portfolio KPI dashboard.
Template kits for small fundraisers that UDP staff or volunteers can run.
Term, Budget, and Fee Structure
Initial term: 12 months with option to renew.
Budget: propose fee structure and illustrative budgets at three scales: small, mid, flagship.
Acceptable models: project fee, monthly retainer with project add-ons, percentage of revenue with caps and floor, or hybrid.
Payment schedule: propose milestone billing tied to deliverables.
Include travel policy, reimbursables, and cancellation terms.
Vendor Qualifications
3+ years producing political, nonprofit, or mission-driven events.
Demonstrated success raising five-figure or higher totals via events or sponsorships.
Experience in Utah preferred or a clear plan to partner with Utah vendors.
Knowledge of campaign finance compliance and political event norms.
Strong creative portfolio and references.
Proposal Instructions
Limit to 20 pages excluding appendices. Combine into a single PDF.
A. Cover Letter
Statement of interest, services proposed, and primary contact.
B. Approach
Your methodology for strategy, production, and fundraising.
How you will partner with UDP staff and volunteers.
Accessibility, safety, and risk management philosophy.
C. Team and Experience
Bios, roles, and availability.
Three relevant projects with outcomes.
Two client references with contact info.
D. Event Fundraising Strategy
Sponsorship and major donor plan, sample prospecting workflow, sample pitch.
E. Pricing
Fee structure options, sample budgets, and assumptions.
F. Internal Vs External Synopsis
Include a value proposition for why the Utah Democratic Party should hire an external vendor as opposed to hiring internally for this role.
Optional Appendices
Portfolio samples, press clips, work samples, templates.
Evaluation Criteria and Scoring
Strategy and approach to revenue growth and ROI: 25 points
Relevant experience and past results: 20 points
Production and logistics capabilities: 15 points
Donor and sponsorship development plan: 20 points
Accessibility, DEI, and Utah vendor plan: 5 points
Compliance, risk, and data privacy: 5 points
Pricing clarity and value: 10 points
Total: 100 points
UDP may invite finalists to present and may make one or multiple awards. UDP reserves the right to negotiate scope, request best-and-final pricing, or cancel this RFP at any time.
Requirements
Branding and message discipline: follow UDP brand guidelines.
Ethical standards: respectful, non-discriminatory conduct; no harassment.
Sustainability: Reduce waste where practical.
Photography consent and media releases managed at check-in.
All creative assets produced under this contract are work for hire and owned by UDP.
Submission
Email proposals to jobs@utdem.org with subject line “RFP Events Management – [Vendor Name]” by 11/08/2025.
Send questions to the same address by 10/31/2025.
Answers will be posted to all bidders by 11/05/2025.