The Development Director will lead 18MR’s institutional and grassroots fundraising efforts to ensure that we cultivate strong relationships with our donors and have the resources we need to meet our goals.
*Please note that our team will be offline 12/18 – 1/8 and will respond to all inquiries when we return.
A strong candidate for this position will have a proven track record of success in meeting ambitious fundraising goals through a combination of grantseeking and grassroots fundraising. They will be a highly relational, effective communicator – adept at building trust and partnership across lines of race, gender, and other identities. They will be deeply rooted in equity and justice, with the belief in the stake Asian Americans have in collective liberation, and the possibility and necessity of cross-class and multiracial movement building.
The Development Director will report to Irma Shauf-Bajar, the Executive Director of 18MR.
Responsibilities
Lead 18MR’s fundraising strategy and implementation (~25%)
- In partnership with the Executive Director, develop goals, strategies, and a comprehensive fundraising plan to meet the annual operating budget needs;
- Lead and manage the execution of the plan and ensure development goals are met; Track ongoing progress to fundraising goals, assess progress and troubleshoot as needed;
- Serve on the leadership team and contribute to guiding overall organizational strategic direction and decision-making, ensuring all fundraising activities are in alignment;
- Galvanize, organize and coordinate staff, volunteers and Advisory Board members to actively participate in 18MR fundraising efforts, creating a culture of fundraising in alignment with overall organizational values;
- Develop and maintain strong systems to track donor data and grant management processes.
Institutional fundraising (~60%)
- Manage the grant cycle from research, funder cultivation, application to reporting stages to ensure 18MR stays on track with all funder commitments;
- Find, pursue, and secure new funding opportunities through proactive research, outreach, and relationship building;
- Serve as primary point of contact to foundation partners, ensuring responsiveness, strengthening relationships, and keeping partners informed of our work;
- Represent 18MR at key donor and foundation meetings and events;
- Collaborate with the Executive Director and program staff to design briefings for foundations and other external stakeholders;
- Serve as a thought partner and support to the ED to ensure their time is best leveraged in fundraising, primarily around donor cultivation and stewardship;
- Own all grant writing, reporting, and other materials to keep our funders informed and engaged in our work.
Grassroots fundraising (~15%)
- Develop and implement strategies to expand grassroots fundraising, with a particular emphasis on strengthening 18MR’s monthly sustainer program and donor cultivation;
- Collaborate with 18MR program staff to proactively seek out & pursue online grassroots fundraising opportunities.
Required Skills and Work Experience
To be successful in this job, you will excel in four areas:
- Fundraising expertise: You bring a proven track record of raising $1M+ annual budget, with experience developing and managing fundraising strategies and plans for a large program and/ or organization through a combination of grantseeking and individual donor fundraising. You have successfully recruited and secured new foundation partners and possess the knowledge and comfort to oversee all aspects of the grantseeking process.
- Project management: You have the ability to develop goals and plans that engage multiple stakeholders, juggle multiple complex streams of work in a remote work and campaign environment, make smart judgment calls on where to prioritize and when to pivot, all while keeping the big picture in mind. You are grounded in a strong sense of ownership, adaptability, and resilience.
- Relationship building: You have a track record of building strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, across race, gender, and other identities. You bring an enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with people, listening closely to understand needs or concerns, and seeking out opportunities for collaboration. You build trust through consistently showing up and following through with commitments.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills: You are an adept storyteller with the ability to develop a compelling pitch (both written and verbally) tailored to the interests and needs of a particular audience or stakeholder. You have the ability to capture the “voice” of 18MR and produce high-quality written materials with sharp attention to detail.
- Mission & values alignment: You are motivated by 18MR’s mission, vision, and values. You are grounded in justice and equity, recognizing how race and other identities intersect in the work, especially with communities we serve. You actively work to minimize inequities in work products, decisions, policies, processes and are comfortable working in a highly collaborative organization, with shared leadership.
Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience
- Pre-existing knowledge of and relationships with progressive funders
- Understanding and experience with grassroots peoples movements
- Experience working with online campaigns and fundraising tools, such as Action Network or ActionKit
- An understanding of Asian American social movements historically and in the current moment
- An understanding of digital organizing landscape
Salary & Benefits
This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position. The 18MR team works a four day work week. The salary range for this position is between $85,000 and $105,000 annually, commensurate with experience and your local cost of living.
As we are a distributed team, your primary residence may be located anywhere in the United States. 18MR’s current staff are based in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Occasional organization-sponsored travel for conferences and face-to-face staff gatherings will be required.
Through our fiscal sponsor, Allied Media Projects, we offer a competitive benefits package including generous vacation; full health, dental, vision and flex benefits; 403b program with employer match; short and long term disability; provided life insurance with the option for additional coverage; ongoing training opportunities; wellness stipend and allowances for co-working space in your area and other incidental costs.
We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity as central to our work serving underrepresented communities, and we encourage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.
This position will be open until filled, however, there is a priority deadline of January 15, 2024. We are aiming for this position to have a start date in March 2024.
Send resume, 1-2 page cover letter, and three relevant work examples (could include writing samples of grant proposals/reports, fundraising appeals, or other development related documents) in PDF form to jobs@18millionrising.org by 11:59 pm on January 15, 2024.
Please respond to these three questions in your cover letter:
- What interests you in this role and why do you think you’re a good match?
- What is an ambitious fundraising goal that you have successfully achieved and how did you do it?
- What is your approach to foundation prospecting?
