Are we wasting precious time and money chasing “best practices” that don’t serve us?

In the non-profit world, every dollar and every hour counts. Yet, many organizations still default to formal procurement processes like RFPs, believing they’re always necessary or the gold standard. The truth? They’re not. And misusing them can drain limited resources, delay progress, and even lead to worse outcomes.

This session will challenge the status quo and offer a fresh, strategic lens on supplier selection. We’ll explore:

• When supplier selection is truly necessary (and when it’s not).
• Why RFPs can be powerful tools (but only in the right context).
• How to avoid the trap of over-engineered procurement processes.
• Smart alternatives that save time and money like VORs and ONPHA Enterprise group purchasing.

Whether you’re a procurement lead, executive director, or program manager, this session will help you make confident, efficient, and mission-aligned decisions without getting bogged down in bureaucracy.

Let’s stop doing things just because “that’s how it’s always been done.” Let’s start doing what actually works.

This session will be presented as a live podcast.

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