Volunteer roles at Americas Plan

Americas Plan is an all‑volunteer effort. There is no paid staff, no investors, and no profit motive. This project exists so people living these issues can build power together, not to make money off anyone’s work. If we ever accept donations or grants in the future, we will explain clearly how that money is used and publish simple reports.

Everyone here is giving their time because they’re living these issues or care deeply about them. These roles are unpaid, but they are real, meaningful ways to shape how this project works and who it serves.

In every role, we ask people to do three things: do the work, help host and moderate conversations in their area, and turn what they learn into simple tools and lessons that others can reuse. The goal is to put power and skills in the hands of people living the issues, not concentrate them in a small staff.

Right now, we especially need:

Issue Facilitators for specific issues,
An AI Tools & Training Lead,
A Social Media & Training Lead,
An Internet Security & Privacy Advisor, and
A Communications & Media Relations Lead.

In the future, we will also need volunteer specialists such as an illustrator/visual designer, a nonprofit/501(c)(3) attorney, an accountant or bookkeeper, a webmaster/technical admin, and anyone else with relevant skills (research, data, translation, accessibility, etc.) who wants to contribute to the plan. If you see yourself in those future roles, we’d still like to hear from you, but the four roles below are our most urgent needs.

Volunteer Issue Facilitators (people living the issue)

We’re looking for volunteer Issue Facilitators who are directly affected by an issue and want to help others get organized around it. As a facilitator, you:

Bring people together in our community forum for your issue (for example, Media Reform or Healthcare Access).
Help new people feel welcome, ask good questions, and share what they’re seeing on the ground.
Reach out to helpful experts when needed and invite them into specific conversations as advisors, not decision‑makers.
Guide the group through a simple process: understand the problem, map what’s causing it, explore possible solutions, and choose concrete next steps.
Work with us to turn strong ideas from the forum into clear guides, tools, or campaign plans on the main Americas Plan website.

We especially welcome people who are living with the impacts of this issue in their own lives, families, or communities, and who want to help others move from frustration toward action.

Volunteer AI Tools & Training Lead

We’re looking for a volunteer AI Tools & Training Lead who believes AI can help ordinary people do more with less, without replacing their judgment or lived experience. In this role, you:

Explore and test AI tools for research, drafting, summarizing, and organizing information that can support issue work.
Create clear, accessible guides, example prompts, and “do/don’t” checklists that show people how to use AI safely and effectively on their own issues.
Host occasional threads or sessions in the forum where people can ask questions and get help using AI for their campaigns.
Design and deliver simple trainings (live sessions, short videos, or step‑by‑step guides) that show volunteers how to use AI tools safely and effectively for research, drafting, and analysis in their issue work.
Help us use AI internally for Americas Plan (for example, drafting, organizing, and summarizing), then turn what works into lessons the whole community can reuse.

The goal is to put AI power in the hands of people living the issue, not to centralize it with a few specialists.

We’re also looking for a volunteer Social Media & Training Lead who cares about the issues Americas Plan tackles and wants to help campaigns use social media well. In this role, you:

Run Americas Plan’s own social channels, sharing new tools, stories, and updates and inviting people into the site and forum.
Create simple how‑to guides, examples, and post templates that issue groups can adapt for their own campaigns.
Host occasional Q&A threads in the forum where people can share draft posts, ask questions, and get feedback on their outreach.
Help keep messaging aligned with our values and focused on empowering affected people rather than chasing clicks.

This role is about teaching others how to use social media as a tool for change, not being the only person who ever posts.

Internet Security & Privacy Advisor

We are also looking for a volunteer Internet Security & Privacy Advisor who understands online risks and wants to help protect people working on sensitive or controversial issues. In this role, you:

Help us choose safer tools and practices, and reduce unnecessary data collection wherever possible.
Work with us to harden the website, forum, and accounts against common attacks and data‑breach risks.
Write clear, plain‑language guidance for users on how to protect themselves (for example, strong passwords, safer communication options, and understanding surveillance and “big brother” risks).
Advise on policies and defaults that balance openness with safety, especially for people challenging powerful interests.

The goal is to make it as safe as reasonably possible for people to participate and organize through America’s Plan.

Communications & Media Relations Lead

We’re looking for a volunteer Communications & Media Relations Lead who can help America’s Plan speak clearly to the outside world. This role is for someone with experience in media, public relations, and email outreach who wants to support a mission‑driven, citizen‑focused project.
In this role, you:

Develop and refine our core messaging so journalists, allies, and the public quickly understand what America’s Plan is and why it matters.
Identify and reach out to relevant media outlets, podcasts, bloggers, and influencers; draft simple press notes or releases when there is real news to share.
Build and maintain basic media and email contact lists, and help design respectful email updates for people who opt in.
Coordinate with our Social Media & Training Lead so that press, email, and social channels reinforce each other instead of working in silos.
Help design and deliver simple trainings (live or recorded) that teach volunteers and partners how to talk about America’s Plan consistently and effectively across email, media, and social channels.

Work with our Internet Security & Privacy Advisor to make sure our outreach respects privacy, minimizes risk, and avoids unnecessary data collection.

This is a good fit for someone who knows how media and email actually work in practice, and who is comfortable helping a small project “punch above its weight” without overpromising or spinning.

In the future, as the project grows, we’ll also be looking for:

Volunteer Illustrator / Visual Designer – to create diagrams, icons, and visuals that explain the model and make complex issues easier to grasp.
Volunteer Nonprofit / 501(c)(3) Attorney – to advise on US nonprofit and advocacy rules if/when we formalize a legal entity.
Volunteer Accountant / Bookkeeper – to help set up simple, transparent financial systems and reporting.
Volunteer Webmaster / Technical Admin – to help maintain and improve the website, forum, and integrations over time.
Other skilled volunteers – researchers, data and visualization people, translators, accessibility specialists, and others whose skills can strengthen the plan.

A platform that outlives any one person

Americas Plan started as one person’s attempt to solve a problem, but the goal is to build an organization that does not depend on any single individual. I’m older, and I want this platform to outlast me. Over time, the vision is to grow this into a 501(c)(3) or similar nonprofit structure that can be run by the people who are living these issues and using these tools, so the work continues even when I’m no longer here. If you volunteer here, you’re helping build something that belongs to the community and is meant to survive its founders.

If you’re interested in any of these current or future roles, there will be a simple way to reach out and tell us about yourself.

This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and edited, directed, and verified by the author.