The Grassroot Project (TGP) seeks its first-ever Director of Development and Communications to join the leadership team. Reporting to and working closely with the Founder & Executive Director, the Director of Development and Communications leads the Development & Communications Team, which includes the Communications Manager and the Finance Manager, to engage individual and institutional funders in supporting the work of TGP. This role will also partner with the Director of Programs to promote an organizational culture of collegiality and philanthropy.
The ideal candidate will bring a passion for our mission paired with a high-level of expertise and strategic thinking to drive revenue and build long-term and exponential growth opportunities for TGP as we enact our strategic plan to expand to a new city.
This position is both strategic and tactical, as it is responsible for managing, evolving, and executing both the annual development and communications plans. The ideal candidate has a clear grasp of all core components of development, including individual contributions and stewardship, annual and online giving campaigns, corporate partnerships/funding, special events, and grant writing. This role also requires experience managing development operations, including CRM management, budget-building, and gift-processing.
The Director of Development and Communications can expect his/her/their work to include:
Leadership and Development Strategy:
- Participate in overall management of the organization as a leadership team member, contribute positively to TGP’s organizational culture, reflect TGP’s values, and actively engage in TGP programs
- Manage and execute TGP’s development, stewardship, and communications plans to achieve annual revenue goals. Update plans annually with evolving new ideas, industry best practices, and data-driven analysis.
- Ensure TGP’s development and communication plans align with and are in service of the evolving organizational goals as specified in the organization’s strategic plan
- Ensure a robust gift pipeline big enough to hit annual revenue goals by actively managing prospective and current individual donors, foundations and other funders solicited via proposals, grant applications, appeals, and other fundraising activities
- Serve as the staff leader and liaison to the Board of Directors’ Development Committee and cultivate relationships with all Directors to support their development efforts
- Monitor and report regularly on the progress of the development plan, provide actionable analysis for the Executive Director and Board of Directors
- Identify suspected revenue gaps and develop tactics to generate new leads
- Manage full-time Communications Manager and Finance Manager, including supervision, training, coaching, and annual performance reviews.
Fundraising and Donor Relations
- Manage and develop existing initiatives, appeals, and campaigns focused on targeting new donors and stewarding existing donors
- Research and design the moves management plans for all major donors/funders and support the Executive Director in the execution of those plans
- Serve as the primary point of contact for individual donors of all size
- Think creatively about the donor stewardship plan and update it annually with new and meaningful ways to connect donors and foster a sense of community
- Project manage the ED’s fundraising work, directing him where and how best to spend his time and efforts on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis
Communications
- Work with the Communications Manager to develop creative and mission-focused fundraising messaging that effectively articulates the special role and impact of TGP in the field of health education, as well as its impact on the community
- Update annual communications plan/calendar to support development goals and work with the Director of Programs to ensure both programs and development are elevated through TGP’s communication channels
- Supervise, direct, and edit all designs and written materials produced by the Communications Manager
Government, Foundation and Corporate Funding
- Ensure TGP has a robust pipeline of local, regional, and national grant opportunities to pursue
- Create and manage a grant calendar to track all upcoming applications and reports
- Collaborate across teams to gather materials and requirements for grant applications and reports
- Clearly and effectively draft dynamic, reader-friendly, and high-quality writing free of typos, jargon, and lackluster prose
- Assist ED and Board in building personal relationships with foundation and corporate funders
- Track all grant work in Little Green Light (LGL), TGP’s CRM, to ensure all grant opportunities and tasks are current and well-detailed
Fundraising Event Management
- Determine best combination of fundraising events to support program and organizational goals
- Work with staff to plan and execute events, leading all development and revenue components
- Create and execute pre- and post-event constituent communications plans
Managing Development Operations and Revenue Tracking
- Establish and monitor annual and long-term revenue goals and budgets
- Design and update a regular progress-to-goal report and development dashboard for the Executive Director and work with the Finance Manager for regular updates
- Ensure accuracy in all development input, records, and reports in LGL
- Routinely update how-to documentation to codify and safeguard systems
- Work closely with Director of Programs, Communications Manager and Finance Manager to ensure data integrity
To be maximally successful in this role, you need to be:
- A born project manager with a knack for working backwards from a deadline to create a plan
- Accustomed to working on multiple projects with different deadlines simultaneously
- A natural people person who appreciates that everyone has an important story to tell
- A reliable and friendly communicator who reaches out and follows up
- A practiced public speaker who can think on your toes
- Looking for an opportunity to help an organization grow exponentially
- A stickler for details and quality
- A caretaker of sensitive information about donors, volunteers, TGP’s community, etc.
- A strong self-motivator
- A creative thinker willing to test out new ideas
You need to have:
- A minimum of seven (7) years of nonprofit development experience
- A minimum of two (2) years of experience in a managerial role leading a team of young professionals
- Demonstrable experience as a fundraising generalist, with hands-on practice at institutional giving/grant writing, major gifts, annual giving, corporate partnership building, special events, and online giving campaigns
- The proven ability to organize and motivate a diverse team that will include TGP’s staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers.
- An excellent working knowledge of Development CRMs for donor and revenue management
- Experience managing and improving development operations, ranging from CRM management to budget monitoring to gift processing
- Enthusiasm to propose fresh ideas without prompting by leadership, openness to feedback on those ideas, and a persistence to bring those ideas to life
- A clear passion for health equity, innovation, volunteer-led community work, and youth development.
- 20 days (160 hours) of PTO per year, in addition to federal holidays, December 26-31, the day after Thanksgiving, and Juneteenth
- Health and/or dental insurance premium reimbursement up to $400 per month
- 401(k) match up to 3%
- Free use of on-site state-of-the-art gym facility, including shower, locker, and towel service
- This position is based in Washington, DC. We are currently operating with remote work, though our office is available to use with a maximum of two staff in the office at a time. We will amend these options in accordance with DC guidelines on safe work environments in light of COVID-19.
- Salary range is $85,000 - $100,000 commensurate with experience
Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter, and writing sample representative of development work to jobs(at)grassrootproject.org with “Director of Development and Communications” in the subject line.
The Grassroot Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, gender, marital status, disability, or status as a US veteran.
Black, Indigenous, and people of color are encouraged to apply.