Development Lead (Volunteer, Path to Paid)

ABOUT ORCASOUND

Orcasound is an open-source network that connects anyone, anywhere, to live underwater microphones so they can listen for and help protect the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales of the Pacific Northwest. We are a community of volunteer developers, designers, researchers, and scientists.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Orcasound runs entirely on volunteers, and our biggest constraint is funding. We are recruiting a Development Lead to build our fundraising from the ground up so that, over time, Orcasound can fund its operations and pay the people who make it run. We are honest about the starting point: this is a volunteer role today, and the first salary the fundraising you build will support is your own.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Build a fundraising strategy across individual giving, recurring donors, major gifts, grants and foundations, and corporate or technology partnerships.
• Help establish a tax-deductible giving pathway with our partner charities or a fiscal sponsor.
• Stand up a simple development operation: a donor list and CRM, a giving page, gift acknowledgment, and light reporting.
• Identify and pursue the first grants and major gifts, and build a repeatable pipeline.
• Tell Orcasound’s story with the team, turning our mission and data into a compelling case for support.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• A genuine pull toward the mission and a desire for real ownership and impact.
• Fundraising or development experience welcome at any level, from an early-career fundraiser who wants to build a function end to end, to an experienced or recently retired development professional who wants flexible, high-impact work.
• Comfort building from scratch, self-direction, and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Helpful but not required: grant writing, major gifts, donor relations, or a network in philanthropy.

COMMITMENT

Remote and flexible, shaped around your schedule. We are an all-volunteer team and work at a pace that fits people’s lives.

COMPENSATION

Volunteer to start, with a concrete, funded path to a paid position. The development function you build is intended to fund this role first, and we agree the specific path and terms with you up front.