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Request for Proposals -
Political Party Training Roster

Issue Date: May 19, 2026


Application Review Cycle: Rolling submissions; quarterly review


Contact: admin@competitiveelections.org

Overview

The Alliance for Competitive Elections (ACE) invites proposals from trainers, facilitators, consultants, practitioners, and subject-matter experts interested in joining ACE’s Political Party Training Roster.

ACE works to strengthen democratic competitiveness and expand meaningful voter choice by supporting political parties, independent movements, and civic stakeholders through practical capacity-building initiatives. This RFP is designed to establish a flexible roster of qualified trainers who may be contracted on an as-needed basis for virtual and in-person political training engagements.

ACE expects to select multiple trainers across a range of specialties. Inclusion on the roster does not guarantee a contract, engagement, or minimum level of work.

Purpose

ACE is building a standing roster of trainers to support timely, practical, and coordinated training opportunities for political parties and related organizations.

The roster will allow ACE to:

  • Identify qualified trainers across core party-building disciplines

  • Respond quickly to training requests from parties and partners

  • Maintain access to specialized political expertise

  • Build long-term institutional training capacity

  • Strengthen the broader ecosystem of available political trainers and subject-matter experts

  • Coordinate complementary programming across issue areas

Roster members may be invited to participate in periodic coordination meetings or training committee discussions to support alignment across ACE programming.

Scope of Services

ACE seeks trainers capable of delivering practical, applied training in one or more of the areas below. Applicants may propose services in multiple categories.

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Fundraising and Donor Development

  • Small-dollar fundraising programs

  • Major donor cultivation and stewardship

  • Fundraising planning and goal-setting

  • Donor communications and follow-up systems

  • Event-based fundraising

  • Recurring donor programs

  • Fundraising compliance basics

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Political Party Development and Campaign Operations

  • Grassroots organizing

  • Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) operations

  • Volunteer recruitment and management

  • Campaign planning and strategy

  • Political party strategy and organizational development

  • Youth political engagement and organizing

  • Membership recruitment and retention

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Digital Organizing and Online Engagement

  • Digital organizing strategy

  • Online presence and voter engagement

  • Social media campaign operations

  • Digital volunteer coordination

  • Online supporter acquisition and retention

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Data and Voter Engagement

  • Practical campaign data utilization

  • Publicly available voter and election data analysis

  • Voter targeting and segmentation

  • Voter relationship management systems

  • Systematic voter engagement pipelines

  • Voter base identification, solidification, and expansion

  • Strategic outreach to under-engaged constituencies

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Leadership, Governance, and Coalition Building

  • Leadership development

  • Strategic decision-making

  • Internal party governance structures

  • Organizational management and operations

  • Coalition building and inter-party collaboration

  • Internal communications and stakeholder management

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Legal and Compliance

  • Campaign finance compliance

  • Ballot access requirements

  • Election law fundamentals

  • Political committee compliance

  • Reporting and regulatory obligations

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Applicants may also propose additional training areas that align with ACE’s mission and programmatic needs.

Applicant Qualifications

Applicants should demonstrate:

  • At least two (2) years of experience in the proposed area of expertise

  • Relevant professional, political, campaign, civic, or operational experience

  • Ability to translate subject-matter expertise into practical training content

  • Capacity to deliver clear, actionable, and participant-centered instruction

Prior training or facilitation experience is preferred but not required. ACE recognizes that qualified practitioners may not have formal training backgrounds and welcomes proposals from both experienced and emerging trainers.

Eligible applicants may include, but are not limited to:

  • Independent consultants

  • Campaign professionals

  • Political practitioners

  • Former candidates or party officials

  • Civic engagement professionals

  • Training firms or organizations

Anticipated Deliverables

Deliverables will be determined for each engagement. Depending on the scope of work, trainers may be asked to provide:

  • Participant pre-test or baseline assessment

  • Training agenda and session plan

  • Virtual or in-person training delivery

  • Presentation materials and participant resources

  • Slide decks, worksheets, templates, or toolkits

  • Post-training evaluation or participant post-test

  • Brief post-training summary and recommendations

Specific deliverables, timelines, and compensation will be confirmed before each engagement.

Compensation and Availability

Applicants should provide enough pricing and availability information for ACE to assess potential future engagements.

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Virtual Trainings

Applicants should provide a flat rate for a standard virtual training session.

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In-Person Trainings

Applicants should provide a daily or multi-day facilitation rate for in-person trainings.

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Travel

Applicants should specify:

  • Geographic areas of availability

  • Willingness to travel for trainings

  • Travel reimbursement expectations

  • Typical travel lead-time requirements

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ACE may reimburse approved travel expenses separately, where applicable and agreed in advance.

Submission Requirements

Applicants should submit materials through ACE’s online submission form.

Each application should include:

  1. Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
    Uploaded as a separate document.

  2. Proposal Document
    Uploaded as a single PDF and including:

    • Brief statement of expertise and training interests

    • Summary of relevant work experience

    • Sample training outline, curriculum, or workshop concept, if available

    • Proposed pricing structure

    • Geographic availability and travel preferences

    • References or examples of relevant prior work, if available

Submission Instructions

ACE uses an online submission form to streamline the application process and reduce duplicative document preparation.

Applicants should:

  1. Review this RFP in full

  2. Prepare the required materials

  3. Complete the online submission form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPqz24cPB1DEitWhLlREt3vyT6EeYoQmcsH4ipvc5H2GbSWw/viewform?usp=publish-editor 

  4. Upload a separate resume or CV

  5. Upload one PDF proposal document containing the remaining requested materials

The online form is the official submission portal. Applicants should not submit materials by email unless specifically instructed by ACE.

Evaluation and Selection

ACE may review applications on a rolling basis, with formal review cycles approximately once per quarter. ACE may select multiple trainers across different areas of expertise.

Applications may be considered based on:

  • Alignment with ACE’s mission and programmatic needs

  • Subject-matter expertise

  • Practical political, campaign, civic, or operational experience

  • Quality and clarity of the proposed training approach

  • Cost and overall value

  • Availability, flexibility, and responsiveness

ACE retains discretion to select, decline, or follow up with applicants based on organizational needs.

Roster Administration

Selection to the roster does not constitute a guarantee of future work, contract award, or minimum engagement level.

ACE reserves the right to:

  • Accept or reject any application

  • Request additional information from applicants

  • Engage trainers directly based on program needs

  • Modify the roster structure, review process, or scope of services at any time

Any future engagement will be governed by a separate scope of work, agreement, or contract.

Equal Opportunity Statement

ACE encourages applications from individuals and organizations with diverse professional, political, geographic, and lived experiences.

ACE is committed to building a broad and competitive ecosystem of political training expertise within the United States.

Questions

Questions regarding this RFP may be directed to:

admin@competitiveelections.org
competitiveelections.org

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@2026 ACE All Rights Reserved

This content is for educational and informational purposes only. ACE is a 501(c)(4) organization and does not support or oppose any candidate for elected public office.

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