Volunteer: Sponsorship & Strategic Partnerships Development

This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections. We are transitioning from program development toward initial implementation and need to establish sponsorships & strategic partnerships to help provide the resources, materials, equipment, expertise & participant incentives necessary to support our child empowerment initiatives. gep Magazine, our first child-based initiative, is a developing remote mentorship program that engages young people through challenges across 8 developmental territories, including personal well-being, creative expression, nature, community, culture & relationships. Challenges may require materials, tools or equipment participants may not have, and access to these resources should not become a barrier to participation. Participants also earn tokens redeemable for prizes, creating opportunities for product & brand partnerships. We are exploring partnerships for resources such as instant-film cameras & film to support offline participation. Plot Twist, our first community-based initiative, is a developing youth gardening program that will require partnerships across gardening, horticulture, STEM, growing supplies & related areas. These are the beginning of a broader model through which gep plans to develop child- & community-based initiatives that create fun, rewarding opportunities for kids & teens to take meaningful action & build agency. We need professional guidance on identifying, prioritizing, approaching & developing financial sponsors and in-kind/product partners while establishing a partnership network capable of supporting both our initial initiatives & future growth. We are looking for a volunteer with Fundraising & Business Development expertise, particularly in corporate sponsorships, brand partnerships, cause marketing or nonprofit partnership development, to help gep develop a foundational sponsorship & strategic partnership strategy. The volunteer will: Help us identify and articulate the most compelling sponsorship and partnership opportunities within gep and our developing initiatives, including financial, product/in-kind and expertise-based support. Develop a framework for positioning and presenting these opportunities to prospective sponsors and brand partners, including value propositions, potential partnership benefits and messaging considerations for different partner types. Recommend appropriate sponsorship and partnership structures for our current stage, including when sponsorship packages, customized partnerships, product/in-kind partnerships or other approaches may be most appropriate. Develop a strategy for identifying, qualifying and prioritizing prospective sponsors and partners based on mission alignment, initiative needs and partnership potential. Provide guidance on which types of organizations, industries and partners we should prioritize as we begin developing our partnership network. Deliver a documented sponsorship & strategic partnership strategy with prioritized next steps that gep can use as the foundation for future materials development and outreach. golden eyes project Mission: golden eyes project (gep) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit harnessing the power of art & design to raise funds, increase awareness & uplift children around the world. Through our initiatives, we’re developing regenerative approaches to child empowerment through art, STEM, total well-being, culture, community & nature.