Video Production RFP Template for Nonprofits & Public Agencies

Why your RFP decides the quality of your proposals

Most video RFPs ask for "a video about our work" and a price. What comes back is three quotes that can't be compared — different deliverables, different assumptions, different definitions of done — and a decision made on the number alone. The fix costs an afternoon: an RFP that names the deliverables, the timeline, the decision process, and the budget range. Filmmakers answer the RFP you write. Write the one that gets you comparable proposals.

The ten sections a video RFP needs

1. Who you are and what the film is for. Two or three sentences: the organization, the audience, and the one thing the film must accomplish (fill a gala room, recruit, explain a program to a board).
2. Deliverables — exactly. Number of films, lengths, formats (HD or 4K), social cutdowns if any, session edits if an event, and voiceover or music licensing if the film needs them. "One 3-minute film, one 60-second cut, captions included" is a deliverable; "a highlight video" is a wish.
3. What you'll provide. Locations, interviewees, archive photos or footage, brand assets, a staff contact on shoot day. What the client supplies changes the price more than almost anything else.
4. Shoot days and locations. How many days you expect, where, and any access constraints (secure facilities, minors, patients — say so now).
5. Timeline with real dates. RFP deadline, decision date, shoot window, delivery date — and the event the delivery serves, if there is one. Work backwards from the event: a gala film needs to exist before the gala.
6. Accessibility. Captions (burned-in or caption files), and any Section 508 / WCAG requirements if you're a public agency. Ask for them in the RFP or pay for them as a surprise later.
7. Revisions. Ask each bidder to state their revision structure: how many rounds, and what counts as a round. (Mine: two rounds, from one consolidated list of notes per round — the structure that keeps approvals from becoming a thread of forty emails.)
8. Usage rights and raw footage. Who can use the film, where, for how long — and what happens to the raw footage. Ask; don't assume. (My practice: raw footage is archived six months and available for purchase after.)
9. Budget range — publish it. The range you can actually get approved. Bidders self-select, proposals arrive scoped to your money, and nobody wastes a cycle. A range is not a target: a good bidder will tell you what the top of it buys and what the bottom leaves out.
10. How you'll decide. Criteria (relevant samples, references, approach, price), who decides, and when they'll hear. Ask for two or three references and samples of similar work — and say you'll check them.

What to do with the template

Download the one-page template (Part B), fill the brackets, and send it as your RFP. It takes under an hour and it will save you weeks of un-comparing quotes. If you're earlier than an RFP — still deciding what kind of film you need — the companion guide, How to Choose a Documentary Filmmaker, walks the decision itself. And if the open question is budget rather than process, How Much Does a Documentary Film Cost? walks the numbers.

Questions every RFP writer asks

Should we publish our budget range in the RFP?

Yes. The range you can actually get approved. Bidders self-select, proposals arrive scoped to your money, and nobody wastes a cycle. A range is not a target: a good bidder will tell you what the top of it buys and what the bottom leaves out.

What should a video RFP include?

The ten sections above: who you are, exact deliverables, what you'll provide, shoot days and locations, real dates, accessibility requirements, the revision structure you'll accept, usage rights and raw footage terms, a budget range, and how you'll decide.

How long should we give filmmakers to respond?

Two to three weeks is a workable window for a proposal with samples and references. Shorter, and you mostly get whoever had a template on the shelf; longer, and the good ones book up in the meantime.

How many proposals should we expect?

Fewer, better ones. A clear RFP with a published budget range draws a small number of serious, comparable proposals instead of a pile of guesses — which is the point. Judging three comparable proposals takes an afternoon; judging ten incomparable ones takes a month.