The OpenAustralia Foundation is a small charity with a big footprint. We build free, open-source tools that help Australians understand what their government is doing and exercise their democratic rights.
Our key projects are:
- PlanningAlerts – get email alerts when something is planned to be built or knocked down near you, covering 194 planning authorities across Australia
- Right To Know – make Freedom of Information requests to Australian public authorities, with over 10,000 FOI requests made through the site
- They Vote For You – see how your MPs and Senators actually vote in Parliament, so you can check their claims against their record
- OpenAustralia – track what your representatives are saying in Parliament, with speeches searchable back to 2006
These tools are used by thousands of people every week. But keeping them running – and improving them – takes resources we don’t always have.
That’s why we’re looking for someone with fundraising experience to help us plan and run a fundraising campaign.
What we need
We need someone who can help us figure out the best way to raise money and then make it happen. That might mean grants, individual giving, corporate partnerships, crowdfunding, or something we haven’t thought of yet. We’re open to ideas.
Specifically, we’re hoping for help with:
- Assessing our fundraising options and recommending an approach
- Creating a campaign plan with realistic targets
- Writing compelling fundraising copy and materials
- Executing the campaign alongside our small team
Who we’re looking for
You don’t need to be a developer or know anything about civic tech. What matters is that you’ve done fundraising before – for a nonprofit, a community organisation, a political campaign, or something similar – and you want to use those skills for something that matters.
We’re a distributed team, so you can be based anywhere in Australia (or beyond, for that matter). Most of our coordination happens asynchronously.
Volunteering and paid work
This is primarily a volunteer role. We’re a charity, and our budget is limited. That said, we recognise that professional skills deserve compensation, and we’re open to discussing paid arrangements with the right person. If budget is the only thing standing between us and a great fit, let’s talk about it.
Why this matters
Transparent government isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s how citizens hold power to account. The tools we build make it easier for everyday Australians to find out what’s being planned in their neighbourhood, exercise their right to government-held information, check how their representatives actually vote, and follow what’s said in Parliament on their behalf.
But tools don’t sustain themselves. We need a solid funding base to keep this work going for the long term, and we need help getting there.
Interested?
If this sounds like something you’d like to be part of, we’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form below to express your interest, and we’ll be in touch.
You can also reach out to us via email.
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