--- title: OCIO RFP Process Tips for Nonprofits | Verger description: Use Verger’s OCIO RFP template tips to customize questions, apply AI thoughtfully, and help nonprofit endowments evaluate providers clearly. image: https://blog.vergercapital.com/hubfs/verger-rfp.png --- This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. ![](https://blog.vergercapital.com/hubfs/Group%20427324955%20(1).svg) - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. - [INVESTOR PORTAL](https://vergercapital.seiinvestorportal.com/CoreAuth/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F) - [CONTACT US](https://vergercapital.com/contact-us/) [![Verger Capital Management ](https://blog.vergercapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/VergerCapital_January2021/images/verger-logo-black.png?width=500&height=60&name=verger-logo-black.png "Verger Capital Management ")](https://vergercapital.com/) - [OUR APPROACH](https://vergercapital.com/non-profit-investment-strategy/) - [OUR PROCESS](https://vergercapital.com/outsourced-chief-investment-officer/) - [OUR TEAM](https://vergercapital.com/outsourcing-investment-management-services/) - [NEWS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news/) - [INSIGHTS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights) - [ABOUT US](https://vergercapital.com/verger-capital-management/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. ![](https://blog.vergercapital.com/hubfs/Group%20427324955%20(1).svg) - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. - [INVESTOR PORTAL](https://vergercapital.seiinvestorportal.com/CoreAuth/Login?ReturnUrl=%2F) - [CONTACT US](https://vergercapital.com/contact-us/) [![Verger Capital Management ](https://blog.vergercapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/VergerCapital_January2021/images/verger-logo-black.png?width=500&height=60&name=verger-logo-black.png "Verger Capital Management ")](https://vergercapital.com/) - [OUR APPROACH](https://vergercapital.com/non-profit-investment-strategy/) - [OUR PROCESS](https://vergercapital.com/outsourced-chief-investment-officer/) - [OUR TEAM](https://vergercapital.com/outsourcing-investment-management-services/) - [NEWS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news/) - [INSIGHTS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights) - [ABOUT US](https://vergercapital.com/verger-capital-management/) Search for: - [OUR APPROACH](https://vergercapital.com/non-profit-investment-strategy/) - [OUR PROCESS](https://vergercapital.com/outsourced-chief-investment-officer/) - [OUR TEAM](https://vergercapital.com/outsourcing-investment-management-services/) - [NEWS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news/) - [INSIGHTS](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights) - [ABOUT US](https://vergercapital.com/verger-capital-management/) [‹ Back to Insights](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights) ![](https://blog.vergercapital.com/hubfs/verger-rfp.png) Thursday, October 1st, 2026 [Resources](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights/tag/resources) [OCIO](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights/tag/ocio) # OCIO RFP Template & Tips for Navigating the Endowment Management RFP Process ### Related Posts: 2026 Fiscal Year End Review \> 2026 Q2 Market Review & Outlook: Class Is In Session \> Whether you’re searching for a new endowment management partner, transitioning to the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) model, or simply collecting data on the endowment management landscape to fulfill compliance or governance requirements, creating and analyzing a Request for Proposal (RFP) is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.  For nonprofit endowments and foundations, a strong OCIO RFP should help boards, investment committees, and staff compare providers consistently, evaluate fit, and understand how each respondent approaches governance, portfolio management, liquidity, spending policy, reporting, fees, and long-term stewardship. Use these tips to simplify the process without sacrificing the quality of your search. ## Tip #1: Harness Professional Expertise with an RFP Template Since 2014, [the Verger team](https://vergercapital.com/outsourcing-investment-management-services/) has responded to many RFPs from institutions and search consultants. From experience, we can say with certainty that they are not all created equal. Starting with a well-organized, thoughtfully constructed template cuts out the guesswork and allows you to focus on getting the results you’re looking for.  Drawing on our knowledge, we have created a comprehensive OCIO RFP template for nonprofit endowments and foundations to help you create an efficient and effective endowment management RFP, based on the following resources: - The wide range of RFPs we’ve received over the years - Insights from our experience as RFP respondents - Proficiency from our team’s experiences working with clients and serving on non-profit Boards - [Common questions](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights/seven-rfp-questions-ocio-providers) and evaluation considerations for boards, investment committees, and nonprofit leadership team. [![DOWNLOAD VERGER'S OCIO RFP TEMPLATE](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7740228/28b1bd1c-1f38-4352-990a-a620694adb29.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/7740228/28b1bd1c-1f38-4352-990a-a620694adb29) ## Tip #2: Give Respondents the Context They Need We know that clarifying what your institution, committee, and staff value and prioritize in an investment partner is no easy task. But the better your respondents understand your mission and what you want to achieve, the more likely they are to include the key information you need to evaluate OCIO providers fairly and efficiently. In our 12+ years of experience responding to RFPs of every kind, here are the top things we believe you should know before you get started: - Confirm your organization’s values, objectives, and mission from both a financial and a governance perspective. - Examine your organization’s risk tolerance, historical vs. ideal spending rates, liquidity needs, and growth goals. - Review your governance structure, internal time and resource capacity, and your desired division of roles and responsibilities among the investment office staff, board members, and the endowment management partner. - Confirm the type of endowment management partner you are looking for. We recommend issuing an RFP only to providers that offer the specific service model you want, such as an OCIO, investment consultant, or discretionary investment manager, to help you save time in the next phase. - Make sure to clearly share the answers to these questions in a cover letter and any related RFP communications. ## Tip #3: Use AI Thoughtfully, Not Automatically AI can be a useful tool in the RFP process. It helps summarize information, organize thinking, compare responses, and turn a strong template into a more customized first draft. But its usefulness depends on the quality of the prompts, context, and review behind it. Yes, you can ask AI to ‘just create’ a questionnaire. But that won’t help it ensure the result reflects your institution’s real needs. Without clear guardrails, AI-generated RFPs can become too broad, too generic, or too disconnected from the governance structure, investment objectives, liquidity needs, spending goals, and decision-making realities of a nonprofit endowment or foundation. That is why a human-crafted template and input matter. You want your RFP to be read, evaluated, and answered by people — it should be created by people too. It must have a logical flow, [relevant questions](https://blog.vergercapital.com/news-and-insights/seven-rfp-questions-ocio-providers), and enough institutional context to help respondents provide the information you actually need. Verger’s OCIO RFP template can be used alongside AI as a foundation for prompts, customization, and internal discussion. It was created by professionals with direct experience responding to RFPs, working with nonprofit institutions, and understanding the questions that matter most in an OCIO search. Used well, AI can make the process more efficient. Used without enough direction, it can create more work than it saves, especially when it comes time to review replies, as the quality of the responses will match the quality and thoughtfulness of the RFP questions. Take time to review, refine, and confirm that every question serves a clear purpose. [![DOWNLOAD VERGER'S OCIO RFP TEMPLATE](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7740228/28b1bd1c-1f38-4352-990a-a620694adb29.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/7740228/28b1bd1c-1f38-4352-990a-a620694adb29) ## Frequently Asked Questions About OCIO RFPs ### What is the difference between an RFI and an RFP? An OCIO RFP is a “request for proposal” and an RFI is a “request for information”. Both are used by institutions to evaluate outsourced chief investment officers or other types of investment management providers. For nonprofit endowments and foundations, each can help boards and investment committees compare service models, investment approaches, fees, governance support, reporting, and overall fit. RFIs are often shorter questionnaires utilized as a first step to identify differentiating qualities of a larger universe of providers, while RFPs tend to be more extensive and might be issued to a smaller subset of targeted, qualified firms in response to a specific mandate or assignment. While, there is no hard and fast rule to what distinguishes these documents, in most cases, they are interchangeable. If creating a lengthy and extensive RFP feels daunting, an OCIO RFP template can be useful for nonprofit endowments, foundations, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and other mission-driven organizations evaluating an outsourced investment management partner. ### How many OCIO firms should I include in my RFP search? How many firms to include in your endowment or foundation RFP depends on several factors, including legal or governmental requirements, and the bandwidth and expertise of the group running the search process. Some institutions choose to hire search consultants to distribute and evaluate RFPs on their behalf; while others rely on their staff, investment committees, and/or working groups to issue and evaluate RFP questions and responses. Aside from nonprofits that are required to issue open or public requests, it’s important to consider the time and resources  available to those tasked with reviewing the responses. While AI tools can summarize and compare documents, we believe that it’s important (and may be required through fiduciary obligation) to have the full group participating in the evaluation read each response. Much insight can be gathered from the attention to detail, tone, completeness, customization, and flow of a response. Whether you choose to issue an RFI and then an RFP, or issue an RFP and then narrow down the responses to a list of finalists, in our experience, three is usually an ideal number of finalists to interview. We have found that three tends to provide enough variety while keeping the time spent interviewing finalists, following up, and communicating manageable and fair to all.  ### How long should I give an OCIO to respond to an RFP? The typical timeline given to an OCIO or consultant to respond to an RFP for an endowment or foundation is 4 to 6 weeks. We have seen both shorter and longer timeframes, but this range generally allows the responding firm to thoughtfully gather the requested information, including performance data, operational due diligence requests, custom recommendations, IPS reviews, portfolio analysis, etc., and follow up with any clarifying questions. It is also best practice to expect questions, provide a deadline to receive them, and give a date when responses will be provided to all respondents. ### Can AI help create an OCIO RFP? Yes. AI can help summarize information, organize ideas, and customize a first draft. However, the final RFP should still be reviewed by people who understand the institution’s governance structure, investment objectives, liquidity needs, spending goals, and decision-making process. ### What makes an OCIO RFP effective? An effective OCIO RFP gives respondents enough context to provide relevant answers. It should clearly explain the institution’s goals, governance structure, service expectations, evaluation criteria, and key questions for comparing providers. 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