Request for Proposal (RFP) Paid Social & Digital Media Buying Services for English-speaking audiences in Canada
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Job Summary
Request for Proposal (RFP): Paid Social & Digital Media Buying Services for English-speaking audiences in Canada
RFP Issue Date: 02 March 2026
Proposal Deadline: 20 March 2026
Amnesty International is a global movement of over 10 million people in more than 170 countries working together to protect and promote human rights. Amnesty is an authoritative voice on human rights. For over 60 years we have provided reliable and accurate information about human rights violations and international human rights laws and standards.
This RFP pertains exclusively to English-language digital advertising targeting English-speaking audiences in Canada.
Purpose of this RFP
Amnesty International Canadian Section English Speaking is seeking a media-buying agency partner to support and scale our paid digital advertising efforts across key platforms.
We are seeking an agency partner with strong performance marketing expertise and a proven track record for ad management and audience building in advocacy nonprofit or political organizations. The ideal partner will demonstrate deep familiarity with platform compliance requirements and political advertising policies and be able to navigate complex multi-audience environments with strategic precision.
Above all we are looking for an agency that upholds rigorous ethical standards and prioritizes brand safety in all aspects of media planning and execution.
The selected agency will act as a strategic and operational partner to our in-house digital fundraising and engagement team.
Current State
Platforms Currently Used
Meta (Facebook & Instagram)
WordPress Website
Google Ads
YouTube
Testing: TikTok LinkedIn
Ad Types
Lead generation (hand-raisers petitions actions)
Fundraising (campaign-specific general appeals micro-donation campaigns)
Brand awareness and list growth to new and current audiences
Website advertising
Campaign mobilization (event webinar book club)
Approximate Media Investment
Please assume:
A steady monthly spend range of 7000 CAD
Increased spending during peak moments (e.g. Giving Tuesday year-end campaigns emergency appeals)
Annual spend in the six-figure range (Exact figures will be shared with shortlisted vendors)
In-House vs Outsourced Responsibilities
In-House Team:
Creative development
Campaign strategy and messaging
Landing pages and conversion flows
Data analysis (CRM integration fundraising reporting)
Agency Partner (Expected):
Paid media strategy and channel planning
Platform execution and optimization
Budget pacing and bid management
Audience development
Performance reporting and insight generation
Key Challenges
We are seeking a partner to help address:
Scaling into new platforms and formats (e.g. TikTok Reddit Roku LinkedIn)
Strengthening and diversifying online brand awareness among English-speaking audiences in Canada
Managing multi-audience complexity (activists donors new supporters diaspora communities youth audiences)
Navigating platform policy constraints on political/advocacy advertising
Maintaining performance during algorithm changes or policy shifts
Scope of Work
Core Services
The selected agency will provide:
Paid Media Strategy & Planning
Channel recommendations
Budget allocation strategy
Funnel architecture (awareness action donation)
Platform Buying & Optimization
Campaign setup and management
A/B testing
Bid strategy management
Ongoing optimization
Budget Pacing & Forecasting
Monthly pacing reports
Spend forecasting aligned with fundraising goals
Creative Testing Support
Structured testing frameworks
Creative performance feedback
Collaboration with in-house creative team
Audience Development & Targeting
Interest lookalike contextual and privacy-safe targeting
First-party data usage strategy
Privacy-compliant audience modeling
Platform Policy Monitoring
Ongoing monitoring of policy updates
Guidance on compliance risks
Proactive alerts regarding changes affecting advocacy or political content
Strategic alignment with organic social media
Platforms
Required Expertise:
Meta
Google
WordPress
YouTube
LinkedIn
TikTok
Roku
Reddit
Nice to Have:
Pinterest
Emerging or alternative platforms relevant to English-speaking Canadian audiences
Please describe how you:
Manage sudden policy changes and message pivots
Respond to rejected ads
Navigate political ad restrictions
Embed ARAO and ethics into your work
Out of Scope:
Organic social media management
Advocacy Human Rights & Political Advertising Experience
Given the nature of our work we require demonstrated experience managing issue-based campaigns advocacy advertising and political or public affairs advertising. Agencies should also have a strong understanding of regulated content categories and the unique compliance platform policy and reputational considerations that accompany this type of work.
Please address:
Platform Knowledge & Compliance: Your familiarity with platform political advertising policies verification and authentication processes identity confirmation requirements and regional ad disclaimer rules.
Crisis & Enforcement Experience: Your experience handling sudden ad takedowns account suspensions or freezes and instances of content suppression or shadow banning.
Risk Mitigation & Escalation: How you proactively prevent account risks monitor compliance exposure and manage escalation procedures with platform representatives.
Relevant Case Examples: Redacted examples of advocacy or sensitive-issue campaigns including situations involving platform pushback or ad disapproval and the outcomes and learnings from those experiences.
Brand Safety Ethics & Risk Management: Please describe your brand safety frameworks internal risk review processes for controversial or sensitive content how you ensure alignment between performance optimization and organizational values your data privacy practices and compliance with Canadian regulations (including privacy law considerations).
Measurement Reporting & Learning
Please outline recommended KPIs for:
Advocacy impact (actions engagement quality downstream conversion)
Fundraising performance (ROAS CPA LTV modeling donor retention signals)
List growth and supporter acquisition
Include:
Reporting cadence (weekly monthly campaign-based)
Sample reporting format
How insights drive optimization and strategic recommendations
How performance insights inform creative and audience evolution
We are particularly interested in how you translate reporting into strategic action not just dashboards.
Account Team & Governance
Please include:
Proposed account team structure
Day-to-day point of contact
Senior oversight structure
Escalation and crisis response protocol
Experience of team members with nonprofit or advocacy accounts
Turnover rates on similar accounts
Tools Technology & Transparency
Please clarify:
Whether ad spend is managed via:
- Amnesty-owned accounts (preferred)
- Agency-owned accounts
Transparency of spend markups and fees
Any minimum spend thresholds
Additionally:
Your use of automation and AI tools
Governance safeguards for responsible AI usage
Data security protocols
Access levels and ownership of ad accounts and data
Ad accounts will remain Amnesty-owned.
Pricing & Commercial Structure
Please provide:
Fee structure (percentage of spend flat fee hybrid)
Minimums or volume thresholds
One-time onboarding costs
Ongoing fees
Contract term options
Exit clauses and termination terms
Optional but preferred:
A sample budget allocation for a hypothetical campaign including:
Lead generation (action campaign)
Fundraising appeal
Brand awareness component
ARAO Accessibility & Values Alignment
Amnesty International Canada prioritizes anti-racism anti-oppression (ARAO) equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work. As such we ask that you outline your organizations ARAO commitments and internal policies including representation within your team and leadership.
Please also describe how accessibility considerations are integrated into your media planning and buying processes how you approach campaigns involving marginalized diaspora or global communities and the language and cultural sensitivity practices you apply to ensure respectful inclusive and contextually informed advertising.
Proposal Submission Requirements
Please include:
Agency overview
Relevant client experience
Proposed approach and strategy
Team structure
Pricing
Case studies
References
Sample reporting
Please ensure that proposals are no more than 10 pages in length.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
Demonstrated experience with advocacy/political advertising
Strategic thinking and scalability
Risk mitigation expertise
Transparency and compliance practices
Measurement rigour
Cultural and values alignment
Cost-effectiveness
TIMELINES
RFP Issued: 02 March 2026
Vendor Q&A Period Opens: 02 March 2026
Deadline for Vendor Questions: 13 March 2026 (5:00 PM ET) - Consolidated FAQ sheet will be made available upon request post this deadline
Proposal Submission Deadline: 20 March 2026 (5:00 PM ET) - Please ensure the proposals are no more than 10 pages.
Shortlist Notification: Week of 30 March 2026
Agency Presentations (if shortlisted): April 6 - 10
Reference Checks: Week of 13 April 2026
Final Selection & Notification: Week of 20 April 2026
Contract Finalization: By 30 April 2026
Anticipated Onboarding Start: Early May
Submission Instructions
Proposals must be submitted in a single PDF file to:
Deadline: 20 March 2026
Key Skills
- Business Consulting
- Anti Money Laundering
- Health
- Gynaecology & Obstetrics
- Actuary
About Company
Amnesty International works across Canada and worldwide to tackle human rights violations. Join us to ensure everyone enjoys human rights!
