In the event you have questions concerning project specific details or need clarification on any details mentioned in the Supporting Documentation of a project, the best course of action is to reach out directly to the Project Owner. Bonfire Support isn't able to provide direct contact information, but there are a few steps you can take to contact them! 

Step 1: Vendor Discussions

You can contact the Project Owner with questions regarding the project's specifications using Vendor Discussions. You'll want to first check if Vendor Discussions are available on the Project. To check, log into the organization's Bonfire Portal. From there, click the View Opportunity button next to the opportunity you have questions about. From the Project Details page, you can check if the Questions Due Date has passed or not.

If the Questions Due Date has not yet passed, click the Ask A Question button, which will automatically scroll to the Messages heading and select the Vendor Discussions tab:

If you don't see the Vendor Discussions tab, or the due date for questions has passed, move to Step 2.

If Vendor Discussions are available, you can click Start a New Discussion to begin the process of submitting your questions:

On the right-hand side, be sure you fill out the Subject and type your questions into the Message field. Once finished, click Send.

There are multiple ways you might receive a reply to your question. You may receive a direct (non-public) response to your question which will show up under the Vendor Discussions tab, in which case you'll receive a notification via email.

In some situations, the Project Owner will post a Public Notice or an addendum/Q&A file to answer multiple vendor questions at once, which can be viewable via the Supporting Documentation section on the project page.

What If the Discussion Period Is Closed?

In some cases, Project Owners and Vendors may need to communicate outside of the Discussion period, or in regards to bid details such as multiple stages, or Best and Final Offer scenarios. In these cases, Project Owners can selectively allow vendors to communicate or send documentation. You can check to see whether your conversation thread is still open (meaning you can still message the Buyer) by checking the lock icon. If it is unlocked, you can send a message. If it is locked, you can no longer send messages in that thread.

Step 2: Contact Information via Project Details

If the Discussion period is closed or unavailable, organizations may choose to provide additional contact information in the Project Details section. 

Step 3: Supporting Documentation 

If you do not see the Vendor Discussions tab, Contact Information, or the deadline to ask questions has passed, there may be contact information for the Project Owner available in the Supporting Documentation for the Project. 

Step 4: Public Information

If you have confirmed that there is no Vendor Discussion on the project and you were also unable to find any means of contact information on Bonfire, the next step is to see if their information is posted externally (ex. the organization's website).