We Are Autism, Inc. is a growing 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting families navigating autism and developmental disabilities through parent education, family support, resource navigation, workshops, and community partnerships.
We have successfully begun delivering programs and building community partnerships and currently use shared community spaces to provide our services. We are now at a critical stage of growth. Our goal within the next 6–8 months is to establish our own physical Family Support Center, where families can access education, navigation, support, resources, and community in one place.
Our biggest challenge is developing a sustainable funding strategy to support this next stage of growth. As a small nonprofit, we currently do not have a dedicated development professional on our team. We need an experienced volunteer who can help us evaluate realistic funding opportunities, determine which funding sources we should prioritize, and create a clear strategy for moving from an emerging nonprofit toward sustainable operations.
We are not looking for someone to simply identify one grant. We want to build a strong funding foundation that can guide our organization over the next 6–12 months and help position We Are Autism for sustainable growth.
By the end of this project, we would like to have a practical 6–12 month funding and development strategy that provides We Are Autism with a clear path toward sustainable growth and supports our goal of establishing our own Family Support Center.
The consultant will help us:
• Assess our current funding readiness and identify any major gaps we should address.
• Identify and recommend realistic funding streams appropriate for our organization, programs, and stage of growth.
• Develop a prioritized funding pipeline that includes relevant foundation grants, corporate giving, sponsorships, government funding opportunities, and other potential revenue sources.
• Identify which funding opportunities we should pursue immediately and which should be part of a longer-term strategy.
• Create a basic funding calendar and action plan with clear next steps for the next 6–12 months.
• Provide recommendations on how to position our existing programs and planned Family Support Center for potential funders.
• Help us identify what systems, documents, data, or organizational infrastructure we need to strengthen our ability to successfully pursue funding.
Success would mean that We Are Autism finishes this project with a realistic funding roadmap—knowing what funding opportunities to pursue, what to prioritize, what we need to strengthen internally, and what steps to take toward sustainably funding our programs and Family Support Center.
