Volunteer: Fundraising Strategy for a Year-One Grassroots Nonprofit

This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections. CollabED is a free, educator-led professional community for K-12 teachers across the country. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in our first year of operations. I am the founder and sole leader. I receive no salary. We have a platform, a podcast, a resource library, a mobile app, and a growing volunteer team across 10 states. What we do not have is a real fundraising plan or a properly built budget. I am looking for a skilled volunteer to help me with the following over 2 to 4 weeks: Review our current draft budget and help me build a fundraising strategy that is realistic and functional for a year-one nonprofit operating under $50K annually. Help me identify the right funding lanes for an organization at our stage, including small foundations, corporate giving programs, and individual donors. Give me a 90-day fundraising action plan I can actually execute with limited time and no development staff. I am a full-time 5th grade teacher who built this from scratch. I do not need someone to hand me a template. I need someone who has done this before and is willing to think through it with me. Teachers are leaving the profession at a rate that should alarm all of us. They are overwhelmed, isolated, and under-supported. CollabED exists because that is not acceptable. We built a free professional community for K-12 educators across the country. No paywalls. No fees. Just a real place where teachers can connect, grow, and feel less alone in one of the hardest jobs in the world. We launched our main platform in April 2026. We have a resource library, a podcast, a self-paced course platform, a mobile app, and a volunteer team across 10 states. All of it was built by educators, for educators. The only thing standing between where we are and the impact we know we can have is sustainability. We need a real fundraising foundation. Without it, everything we have built sits on shaky ground. A skilled volunteer who helps us build a working budget and a 90-day fundraising plan is not just helping one nonprofit get organized. They are helping thousands of teachers across the country keep access to something that was built specifically for them. That is the impact. Real educators. Real support. And a mission that does not quit. CollabED is ready for this work. Here is what we have in place. Our draft budget is built and documented in our board Google Drive folder, along with all financial records, receipts, and compliance documents. Our accounting is managed through Aplos, a nonprofit-specific platform, with receipts attached to every transaction. Our 990-N is filed for our first operating year. Our Board of Directors is active and includes a member with finance and governance experience who has already begun reviewing our budget. Any recommendations from this project will go directly to the board for review and implementation. I am fully committed to this partnership. I am responsive, organized, and I will show up prepared for every session. I am not looking for someone to hand me a finished product. I want to learn, ask questions, and build something I can sustain and grow on my own. The outcomes of this project will be presented to our board, used to guide our next 90 days of fundraising activity, and incorporated into our grant applications and donor outreach. This is not a shelf project. It will be used immediately. Educator Development & Collaboration Alliance Inc. Mission: To create equitable, accessible spaces where educators connect, share best practices, and engage in meaningful professional development through collaboration, mentorship, and shared ideas that help teachers grow and students thrive. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job