This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections.
We're seeking an experienced fundraising professional to help Unruled Masses assess our current fundraising readiness and build a strategic roadmap for the next 6–12 months. This is the first phase of a longer-term fundraising initiative, and it's meant to lay the strategic groundwork before we move into donor engagement and systems work in a later project. Specific tasks we're hoping the volunteer can help with: - Conducting a fundraising readiness assessment and identifying key gaps in our current approach - Developing a fundraising strategy tailored to a small, volunteer-driven nonprofit like ours - Providing a high-level overview of relevant funding source types for our organization (foundations, grants, individual giving, corporate sponsorship) — not deep prospect research, just a landscape to inform strategy - Helping us prioritize which fundraising activities will have the greatest impact over the next 6–12 months The volunteer would work primarily with our Executive Director through virtual meetings and collaborative document review. We've already gathered key organizational materials (mission, strategic goals, current programs, volunteer structure, existing fundraising efforts) so the volunteer can get oriented quickly. By the end of the project, we're hoping to have a written fundraising assessment and a clear, prioritized roadmap we can act on immediately.
As a volunteer-driven nonprofit, our ability to create impact is directly tied to our ability to secure sustainable funding. Right now, our fundraising efforts are largely ad hoc — this project will help us move from short-term, reactive fundraising to a strategic, prioritized approach that supports real long-term growth. The assessment and roadmap this volunteer helps us build will directly shape how we invest in our mission going forward: expanding our programs, recruiting and supporting more volunteers, deepening community outreach, and strengthening our civic engagement, human rights, and democracy-focused initiatives. A clear-eyed look at our fundraising gaps — and a concrete plan to close them — means more resources behind the work that matters most: helping people participate meaningfully in democracy and advocating for human rights in the communities we serve. This volunteer's time and expertise won't just produce a document — it will help build the financial foundation that lets Unruled Masses grow its reach and deepen its impact for years to come. We're excited to partner with someone who wants to see their strategic skills translate into real civic and community impact.
We have full internal support for this project — our leadership team, including our Executive Director, recognizes fundraising as one of our highest organizational priorities, and everyone is committed to acting on the recommendations that come out of this engagement. To prepare, we've already gathered and organized key organizational information, including our mission, strategic goals, current programs, volunteer structure, and existing fundraising efforts, so the volunteer can get oriented quickly. We can also provide access to relevant documents and materials as needed throughout the project. Our Executive Director will be the volunteer's primary point of contact and is prepared to meet regularly, provide timely feedback, and complete any follow-up tasks between sessions to keep the project moving. This project is intended to drive real action, not just produce a report that sits on a shelf. The fundraising assessment and roadmap developed through this engagement will be incorporated directly into our operational planning and will inform the next phase of our fundraising work, including donor engagement and systems development.
Unruled Masses Mission: Our mission is to build public civic intelligence and direct-action infrastructure that exposes abuses of power, maps networks of corruption, organizes nonviolent resistance, and rebuilds democratic strength from the ground up. We work to make systemic corruption easier to track and combat—from housing and healthcare to workplaces and schools.