Terms of Reference
Individual Giving Consultant — Domestic & International Fundraising
Issuing Organisation: Ubongo
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
1. Background & Organizational Context
Ubongo is Africa's leading edutainment company, producing educational media content for children across Sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding, Ubongo has reached tens of millions of children through television, radio, mobile, and digital platforms, delivering curriculum-aligned learning content in local languages. Peer-reviewed research demonstrates measurable improvements in literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning among children who engage with Ubongo content.
To date, Ubongo's funding base has relied heavily on institutional grants, foundation support, and earned/licensing income. As Ubongo matures, there is a significant opportunity to diversify revenue through individual giving — cultivating a base of recurring donors, mid-level givers, and major individual donors, both within Africa and among the global African diaspora.
The African diaspora sends tens of billions of dollars in remittances to the continent annually, and diaspora communities have shown strong willingness to support African-led organisations they trust. Similarly, a growing African middle and upper class represents an underdeveloped domestic philanthropy market. Ubongo is well positioned to build a meaningful individual giving programme, but this requires dedicated strategy and donor cultivation expertise not currently in-house.
Ubongo is seeking an experienced Individual Giving Consultant to design and launch a comprehensive individual giving programme spanning domestic African donor markets and international Africa diaspora communities.
2. Objectives
The consultancy will pursue the following objectives:
- Conduct comprehensive research on successful individual donor infrastructures and align the available options with Ubongo.
- Design a comprehensive Individual Giving Strategy with clear donor segments, channels, and revenue targets
- Develop the donor acquisition, retention, and stewardship frameworks needed to sustain a growing programme
- Identify and prioritise international, diaspora markets and African communities with the highest propensity to give to Ubongo
- Design at least one pilot fundraising campaign to test approach and generate early proof of concept
- Recommend appropriate digital fundraising tools, payment infrastructure, and CRM systems
- Build internal team capacity to manage and grow the individual giving programme after the consultancy concludes
3. Scope of Work
Phase 1: Assessment & Readiness Review (Weeks 1)
- Conduct market research on domestic giving trends in Ubongo's core countries of operation (Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and others as relevant)
- Conduct international and diaspora landscape research: priority geographies (e.g. US, UK, Canada, Europe, Gulf states) and giving behaviours
- Benchmark individual giving programmes of comparable African and global nonprofits
Phase 2: Donor Segmentation & Strategy Design (Weeks 2–3)
- Define priority donor segments: recurring/grassroots donors, mid-level donors, and major individual donors
- Develop differentiated value propositions and messaging for different donors
- Design the donor journey and engagement pathway from first contact through to recurring and major giving
- Set realistic revenue targets and growth projections over a 1–3 year horizon
- Recommend the optimal channel mix: digital giving platforms, mobile money, peer-to-peer fundraising, direct mail/email, events, and diaspora partnerships
Phase 3: Infrastructure & Systems Recommendations (Weeks 3–4)
- Assess and recommend donor CRM and database systems suited to Ubongo's scale and budget
- Recommend digital giving and payment infrastructure, including mobile money (e.g. M-Pesa) for domestic donors and international processors (e.g. Stripe, PayPal) for diaspora donors
- Advise on compliance and tax-efficient giving structures relevant to priority diaspora markets (US 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship, UK Gift Aid, donor-advised funds)
- Design donor stewardship touchpoints: acknowledgement processes, impact reporting, and retention communications
Phase 4: Pilot Campaign Design & Launch Support (Weeks 5–6)
- Design at least one pilot fundraising campaign targeting a priority donor segment
- Develop campaign messaging, creative direction brief, and donor communications materials
- Support the launch and initial execution of the pilot campaign, including monitoring of early results
- Identify and engage potential diaspora ambassadors, community partners, or affinity groups
Phase 5: Capacity Building & Handover (Weeks 6–8)
- Conduct a capacity-building workshop for Ubongo's development team on individual giving best practices
- Develop a 12–24 month Individual Giving Implementation Roadmap with milestones, resourcing needs, and KPIs
- Provide templates and tools for ongoing donor communications, reporting, and campaign planning
- Deliver a final report consolidating findings, strategy, and recommendations
4. Deliverables
Deliverable 1: Inception Report — refined scope, methodology, and work plan (Week 1)
Deliverable 2: Landscape Assessment Report — individual donor market research and readiness review (Week 1)
Deliverable 3: Individual Giving Strategy — segmentation, value propositions, channel mix, revenue targets (Week 3)
Deliverable 4: Infrastructure & Systems Recommendations — CRM, payment platforms, compliance guidance (Week 4)
Deliverable 5: Pilot Campaign Brief and Launch Support (Week 5)
Deliverable 6: Donor Stewardship Toolkit — templates for acknowledgement, reporting, and retention (Week 6)
Deliverable 7: 12–24 Month Implementation Roadmap with KPIs and resourcing plan (Week6)
Deliverable 8: Capacity-Building Workshop for Ubongo's Development Team (Week 7)
Deliverable 9: Final Consultancy Report (Week 8)
5. Duration & Timeline
The consultancy runs over eight (8) weeks from contract signing.
6. Qualifications & Experience Required
Essential Requirements
- Minimum 8 years of experience in individual giving, donor development, or fundraising strategy for nonprofit organisations
- Demonstrated experience designing or growing individual giving programmes, ideally spanning both grassroots/recurring and major donor segments
- Direct experience with diaspora fundraising — understanding of diaspora donor motivations, trust-building, and engagement channels
- Familiarity with digital fundraising platforms, donor CRM systems, and online/mobile payment infrastructure relevant to African and diaspora markets
- Strong donor segmentation and campaign strategy skills, with a track record of translating strategy into measurable results
- At least 3 verifiable references from comparable individual giving or diaspora fundraising engagements
Highly Desirable
- Experience working with African nonprofits, media organisations, or education-focused social enterprises
- Existing relationships with diaspora community networks, affinity groups, or diaspora philanthropy platforms
- Understanding of mobile money fundraising mechanisms (e.g. M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa) for domestic African donor markets
- Knowledge of tax-efficient giving structures in priority diaspora markets (US, UK, Canada)
- Experience designing peer-to-peer or community-based fundraising campaigns
7. Evaluation Criteria
Technical Approach, Methodology & Work Plan: 25%
Relevant Experience — Individual Giving & Diaspora Fundraising: 30%
Team Qualifications & Depth of Expertise: 20%
Financial Proposal & Value for Money: 15%
Understanding of Ubongo's Context & Donor Markets: 10%
8. Proposal Requirements
Proposals must include the following:
- Technical Proposal — detailed approach, methodology, phased work plan, and team composition (maximum 20 pages)
- Financial Proposal — itemised budget with daily rates, estimated days per phase, total fees, and payment schedule (submitted separately)
- Firm/Consultant Profile — overview, credentials, and relevant client portfolio
- Case Studies — minimum 2 detailed examples of prior individual giving or diaspora fundraising engagements, including approach, channels used, and results achieved
- Sample Deliverables — examples of prior individual giving strategies, segmentation frameworks, or campaign materials (may be anonymised)
- References — minimum 3 professional references from comparable engagements
- Conflict of Interest Declaration
9. Ethical & Compliance Requirements
The selected consultant will be expected to:
- Maintain strict confidentiality of all Ubongo donor data, financial information, and strategic plans
- Comply with relevant data protection regulations in all markets addressed, including donor consent and data handling requirements
- Disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest, including relationships with recommended platform vendors or service providers
- Operate in accordance with Ubongo's safeguarding, anti-corruption, and ethical fundraising policies
- Adhere to recognised donor rights and ethical fundraising principles in all campaign and messaging recommendations
10. Submission Details
Submission Deadline: Friday, September 4th, 2026
Submission Method: Email to [email protected]
Email Subject Line: RFP Response: Individual Giving Consultant — Domestic & International Fundraising — Ubongo
Clarification Questions Deadline: Monday, 31st August 2026
Questions Contact: Email to [email protected]
Contract Currency: USD
Contract Type: Fixed-price or time-and-materials (propose preferred structure)
