The Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to lead a comprehensive strategic planning process and deliver an actionable plan to guide the Museum’s next phase of growth (3–5 years, with a 10-year horizon).

SRM has operated for 55 years and has been at its current Duluth campus for 26 years. We were voted “Best of Gwinnett” in 2024 and 2025 in multiple categories. Portions of our collection are listed on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2025 Places in Peril. We welcome visitors from more than 93 Georgia counties, 43 states, and 26 countries each year.

Our organization includes a dedicated volunteer corps, a growing education department, an active Board of Trustees, and a strong focus on guest experience. We face challenges common to outdoor, collection-heavy museums: time, weather, competition, staffing, awareness, and sustainability.

At minimum, the strategic planning process should:

• Strengthen SRM’s long-term sustainability and impact (local, regional, and national).
• Clarify our vision, mission, and strategic priorities.
• Provide realistic paths for visitor and revenue growth.
• Address long-term collections care and site development.
• Assess readiness for a future capital campaign and recommend next steps.

Proposals should address, at minimum, the consultant’s approach to:

• Discovery & Assessment
• Strategic Framework & Priorities
• Implementation & Capital Campaign Readiness
• Including but not limited to capacity,revenue enhancement, career-development, and capital needs.
• Community, Market & Partnership Positioning

Please limit proposals to 10 pages (excluding resumes and sample work) and include:

• Firm overview and relevant experience with museums, cultural organizations, transportation/industrial heritage sites, or complex volunteer-driven nonprofits.
• Project team (roles, brief bios, and anticipated level of involvement).
• Methodology and work plan, including proposed stakeholder engagement, meeting/retreat structure, and anticipated on-site work.
• Draft timeline that begins in early 2026 and concludes with Board adoption of the plan.
• Deliverables, including (at minimum) an environmental scan/assessment, strategic framework, measurable goals, implementation/action plan, and a capital-readiness summary.
• Fee proposal and budget (including optional add-on services).
• Three references from comparable projects completed within the past five years.
• A brief statement describing your firm’s ability and interest in transitioning from strategic planning to capital campaign counsel and/or implementation support, if engaged.

This RFP is open to consulting organizations with demonstrated experience in nonprofit strategic planning. Preference will be given to firms based in metropolitan Atlanta or those with a branch office or regular presence in the region.PDF proposals due December 31, 2025 to: execdirector@train-museum.com No phone calls, please; clarifying questions may be submitted via email. We anticipate inviting a short list of finalists for on-site tours and discussions in mid-January 2026, with selection to follow. Thank you for your interest.