Operations & Development Consultant (Independent Contractor, Remote)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Operations & Development Consultant

Independent contractor engagement | Remote, United States

• Type: Independent-contractor professional-services engagement. Not an employee position; no employee benefits or payroll withholding.
• Term: Fixed 90-day term, renewable only by written agreement after review.
• Effort: Approximately 10-12 hours per week on average. Consultant determines methods and schedule within agreed deliverables and check-in cadence.
• Fee: $6,000 per month retainer; $18,000 total for the initial 90-day term. Compensation is never a percentage of gifts raised.
• Client contact: President, American Diabetes Society.
• Due: October 16, 2026. Reviewed on a rolling basis; ADS may engage a consultant before the deadline.
• Submit to: ken@americandiabetessociety.org | Subject: Operations and Development Proposal

ABOUT THE AMERICAN DIABETES SOCIETY

The American Diabetes Society (ADS) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to changing how diabetes is understood, prevented, and managed. ADS focuses on evidence-based education, lifestyle intervention, advocacy, research, and practical resources for people affected by type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

A central part of the ADS approach is carbohydrate restriction. ADS promotes evidence-based low-carbohydrate and ketogenic nutritional approaches as important tools for glycemic control and metabolic health and for helping people with type 2 diabetes achieve reversal or remission. ADS also works to improve management and outcomes for people with type 1 diabetes.

Independence is part of ADS governance: the organization does not accept corporate funding from major food or pharmaceutical companies. ADS is early-stage, with an engaged six-member Board, a public-facing physician-founder serving as President, professional support resources, a functioning website and donation platform, and meaningful early philanthropic support. Core operating systems, donor infrastructure, reporting, and board-support processes now need to be professionalized.

THE ENGAGEMENT

ADS is seeking an experienced independent consultant to diagnose what is missing, install the operating spine of a young nonprofit, and build a disciplined major-donor and institutional fundraising system that the President and Board can use. The consultant will work with substantial autonomy. ADS is seeking executive judgment and measurable results, not day-to-day supervision.

The President will be available for a scheduled weekly working session and for donor meetings, approvals, and material decisions as reasonably needed. No travel is anticipated. Any later employed leadership role would be a separate decision after the consulting engagement and is not part of this contract.

90-DAY DELIVERABLES

Days 1-30 | Diagnose

• Deliver a written gap assessment by Day 21 covering governance, compliance, financial controls, records, operations, and fundraising infrastructure.
• Deliver a 12-month operating and compliance calendar by Day 30 covering required filings, insurance, Board dates, recurring obligations, and fundraising milestones.
• Recommend what work should remain with leadership, what should be outsourced or delegated, and what can reasonably wait.

Days 31-60 | Install the spine

• Stand up a secure central repository for governing documents, policies, contracts, financial records, Board materials, and institutional records.
• Put Board packet, agenda, minutes, resolution, and follow-up templates into use.
• Create or improve the donor/prospect tracking system, with stage, owner, next action, and follow-up discipline. Initial target: at least 15 qualified prospects, subject to refinement after the Day-30 assessment.
• Draft financial-control and approval workflows in coordination with ADS bookkeeping/accounting support.

Days 61-90 | Make the organization fundable and scalable

• Deliver a prioritized 12-month operating roadmap and a simple Board-ready operational, financial, and fundraising dashboard.
• Refine the case for support and produce two practical donor-facing materials appropriate for cultivation or solicitation.
• Maintain a live major-donor pipeline with a defined next cultivation step or ask for each qualified prospect.
• Support substantive donor and funder cultivation with the President and selected Board members. Initial target: at least four meaningful donor/funder meetings or asks supported by Day 90, subject to refinement after the Day-30 assessment.
• Deliver a 12-month development plan and recommendations for the next staffing, contractor, vendor, and systems priorities.

Ongoing systems maintenance and later fundraising work are outside the initial 90-day scope unless added by written agreement.

FUNDRAISING ETHICS AND DONOR INFORMATION

ADS values consultants with established professional relationships in philanthropy, health, medicine, nutrition, entrepreneurship, foundations, family offices, or adjacent fields. Appropriate introductions based on relationships the consultant may ethically use are strongly valued.

• Do not submit, transfer, or reference confidential donor or prospect files belonging to a current or former employer or client.
• Donor and prospect information created for ADS belongs to ADS and must remain in ADS-controlled systems.
• Compensation is fixed and is never based on a percentage of contributions raised or a finder's fee.

WHO SHOULD SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

Required

• At least five years of progressively responsible nonprofit experience, or equivalent senior-level consulting/fractional leadership experience serving nonprofit organizations.
• A demonstrated example of building or substantially improving nonprofit operating, governance, financial, donor, or development infrastructure.
• Meaningful fundraising experience that includes donor cultivation, significant gifts, institutional fundraising, or development strategy.
• Strong written communication, sound judgment, and the ability to work without a day-to-day manager in an early-stage organization.

Preferred, not required

• Experience professionalizing or scaling an early-stage nonprofit.
• Ethically usable relationships in philanthropy, health, medicine, nutrition, entrepreneurship, foundations, family offices, or adjacent fields.
• Familiarity with low-carbohydrate or ketogenic approaches to diabetes and metabolic health.
• Experience working with a visible founder, physician leader, or public-facing Board.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

Email the following to ken@americandiabetessociety.org with the subject line "Operations and Development Proposal":

• A résumé or CV (two pages preferred, if practical).
• Answers to the four required questions below. Combined response: 750 words maximum. A conventional cover letter is not necessary.
• Two professional references will be requested from finalists.

1. Leadership and operations. Identify one nonprofit you have worked with, its approximate annual operating budget or budget range, your title or consulting role, and the three responsibilities you personally owned.
2. Building infrastructure. Describe one system or infrastructure build you personally led. What was missing, what did you implement, and what changed as a result? Include one measurable result if available.
3. Fundraising and relationships. Describe up to two significant gifts or institutional grants you helped advance, using dollar ranges rather than donor names. What was your personal role, and what types of funders or philanthropic networks could you ethically help a young national health nonprofit access?
4. First 30 days. If engaged by ADS, what three areas would you investigate first during the initial 30 days, and why? Please do not provide a generic nonprofit audit checklist.

Optional mission statement (150 words maximum): Why does the ADS mission interest you personally or professionally? Please do not provide personal medical information.

Proposals are due October 16, 2026 and are reviewed on a rolling basis; ADS may engage a consultant before the deadline.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

ADS considers proposers based on qualifications, demonstrated work, and mission alignment. ADS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any status protected by law. Personal medical information is neither requested nor required.

americandiabetessociety.org

Independent contractor: no employee benefits or payroll withholding.