Request for Proposals: SaaS Online Community Platform & Learning Management System 

1. Project Overview & Background 

1.1 About Together SC 

Together SC (TSC) serves thousands of South Carolinians dedicated to community service, leadership, and caring through nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.  

Together SC is comprised of 1000+ member organizations that consist of thought leaders, agents of change, and trusted, vital community advocates. 

Our mission is to strengthen and unite South Carolina’s nonprofit network.  

Together SC works in the areas of advocacy, promotion of the nonprofit sector, education and training, leadership development, and volunteer management tools for the nonprofits in the state of South Carolina. 
 

1.2. Funding Contingency 

Together SC does not, at present, have definite funding for this project. We are actively seeking funding for it and need quotes in order to do so. This Project is contingent on securing funding. 

1.3 Purpose of this RFP 

Together SC is seeking quotes and proposals from qualified technology vendors to provide a modern, enterprise-grade, integrated solution featuring:  

1. An Online Community Platform to foster member engagement, peer-to-peer networking, and collaborative knowledge sharing.  

2. A Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver, manage, track, and monetize our professional development, continuing education credits, and certification programs.  

We are open to a single vendor offering an all-in-one suite, or a partnership/best-of-breed approach where two platforms are pre-integrated. 

1.4 System Ecosystem & Users 

• Active Members: 4000 persons among 1066 Organizations 

• Expected LMS Users / Year: ~2000 

• Primary Database / CRM: NoviAMS (https://www.noviams.com)  

• System Currently in Use:  

• OCP: Groups.io (https://www.groups.io) 

• LMS: None  

• Identity Management: Single Sign-On (SSO) is a mandatory requirement. 

2. Core Functional & Technical Requirements 

2.1 Online Community Platform Requirements 

The proposed community platform must provide an intuitive, modern user experience that keeps members engaged. 

• Discussion Forums & Groups: Ability to create open, private, and invite-only sub-communities (e.g., by chapter, committee, or interest group). 

• Member Directory: Searchable member profiles synced automatically with our CRM database. 

• Resource Libraries: Document libraries where both staff and members can upload, tag, and search files (PDFs, templates, slide decks). 

• Engagement & Gamification: Badges, reputation points, "most active" leaderboards, and member-to-member direct messaging. 

• Daily Digests: Customizable email digests of community activity sent directly to members' inboxes. 

• Contributions By Email: Members should be able to post and reply to messages via email, in the style of a LISTSERV. 

2.2 Learning Management System (LMS) Requirements 

The LMS must support our educational strategy, continuing education (CE) tracking, and non-dues revenue generation.  

• Content Delivery: Support for SCORM, xAPI, interactive video, webinars (Zoom integrations), live events, and PDF resources.  

• Learning Pathways: Ability to bundle courses into structured learning paths, curricula, or specific certification programs.  

• Certificates & Credit Tracking: Automated generation of customized completion certificates and automatic calculation/tracking of CE credits.  

• E-Commerce: Built-in storefront with member vs. non-member pricing, promo codes, subscription packages, and corporate bulk purchasing OR the ability to connect and refer to the eCommerce platform on NoviAMS. 

• Assessments & Surveys: Native quizzing, course evaluations, and feedback surveys. 

2.3 Integration & Technical Requirements 

A seamless user experience is our top priority. The solution must support: 

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Members should log in once via NoviAMS and be automatically authenticated in both the Community and LMS. 

• Two-Way CRM Integration: 

• Real-time sync of member contact records, membership status, and committee groups. 

• Writing course completion data, earned credits, and purchase history back to the NoviAMS. 

• Community-LMS Connection: The ability to feature discussion boards directly inside courses, and conversely, recommend LMS courses to members discussing related topics in the community. 

• Responsive Design: Native-feeling mobile browser experience or dedicated mobile application. 

3. Scope of Services Required 

We expect the selected vendor(s) to assist with the following phases: 

• Implementation & Configuration: System setup, visual branding customization to match our website, and SSO integration. 

• Data Migration: Migrating active forum archives from our legacy systems. 

• Training & Onboarding: Comprehensive administrator training for staff and train-the-trainer sessions for our volunteer leaders. 

• Ongoing Support: Tier-2 technical support, regular system maintenance, and software updates. 

4. Proposal Submission Requirements 

Vendors are asked to submit their quotes and proposals to Benjamin Bullock at benjamin@togethersc.org in the format they are most accustomed to. Your proposal must include:  

4.1 Executive Summary 

Brief company overview, history, and why your solution is the ideal fit for our association. 

4.2 Proposed Solution & Feature Match 

A detailed overview of your platforms, explicitly confirming how you meet the requirements outlined in Section 2. 

4.3 Integration & Implementation Methodology 

Explain your approach to integrating with NoviAMS, your project management timeline, and estimated staff hours required from our team.  

4.4 Pricing Model 

Provide a complete cost breakdown (annual and multi-year options) including: 

• One-time implementation, configuration, and migration fees. 

• Recurring annual licensing costs (please clarify if pricing is per-seat, per-active user, or flat-rate). 

• Support and maintenance costs.  

• Payment gateway transaction fees (if applicable). 

4.5 References & Case Studies 

Provide contact information for at least two (2) professional associations of similar size currently utilizing your platform in an integrated fashion. 

5. Timeline & Evaluation Criteria 

5.1 Project Schedule 

• RFP Release: 7/20/26  

• Deadline for Vendor Questions: 8/31/26  

• Answers to Questions Provided: 9/11/26 

• Proposals Due: 9/30/26 

• Vendor Demonstrations: As needed. 

• Vendor Selection & Contracting: 10/15/26 

• Project Kick-Off: 11/2/26 

The above schedule is advisory, and Together SC reserves the right to modify or extend the above schedule as necessary. 

5.2 Evaluation Criteria 

Proposals will be reviewed by an internal task force and scored based on: