Deputy Director of Donor Organizing

Position Title: Deputy Director of Donor Organizing

Tier / Category: Tier 6 / Deputy Director

Reports to: Director of Development & Donor Organizing

Employment Status: Full Time

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Remote - Anywhere in the US

NLRA: Management Role

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national organization that brings white people into fights for racial and economic justice. We work to undermine the power of the Far Right and build the white flank of multiracial majorities fighting for the things all communities need. We organize white people by engaging their shared interest-- what they stand to gain by joining alongside people of color. We do this through roughly 100 local organizing formations across the US and Canada, a National Membership base, and local base building projects in the South.

Development Department

Our work in development at SURJ is based in the belief that every donor has a shared stake in racial and economic justice. Their donations are helping them get free in addition to funding critical work. We see fundraising as organizing, and see our calls with funders, donors, and fundraising messaging as opportunities to organize people into a much-needed role in movement as well as unlock resources necessary for our work. We organize donors and funders through a relational organizing model that helps donors get clear about their own self-interest in growing the multi-racial movements for racial and economic justice. We bring an open-hearted curiosity to meet people where they’re at, while inviting them into the next phase of their political development to deepen their positional impact and grow their leadership as part of multiracial movements for liberation.

We see fundraising from diverse sources as one of the primary structural mechanisms allowing SURJ to be responsive and accountable to working class communities and BIPOC movement leaders. We intentionally cultivate a variety of different funding streams including foundations, major donors, grassroots fundraising, shared fundraising with other organizations, and fees for service as well as strive to expand the number of funders and donors in each stream, so that the impact of any one funder pulling funding is reduced. Because dependence on large grants can be devastating to organizations if funders priorities change, we strive to raise 70% of our budget from individuals who may give less, but often give longer term support with fewer restrictions.

Summary of Position:

The Deputy Director of Donor Organizing is responsible for supporting SURJ’s donor organizing work among a team of solicitors by bottom lining donor political education and leadership development, donor-focused programming, and collaborative experiments with partners to resource SURJ and the broader movement.

A successful person in this role is deeply relational and politically developed with the ability to speak clearly about both race and class. The Deputy Director of Donor Organizing will understand that wealthy white folks have a shared stake in the fight for racial and economic justice, and desires to cultivate that shared stake among SURJ’s base of donors. They approach work creatively and collaboratively and aren’t afraid to try new things and break the mold of traditional fundraising. The Deputy Director of Donor Organizing is an excellent supervisor and project manager who will be a “team captain” supporting other solicitors in their fundraising and donor organizing work to deliver the bulk of SURJ’s budget. They will be energized by representing SURJ at external engagements like conferences and donor gatherings. This role will also hold an individual donor portfolio (totalling ~$1.4M).

This position will report to the Director of Development and Donor Organizing and will work closely with the Director of Development and Donor Organizing to build out donor organizing programming, support staff in their fundraising work, keep solicitors on track for their deliverables, lead the creation of work plans, and expand political education offerings. The Deputy Director of Donor Organizing will supervise two+ staff on the development team.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES — Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

Priority 1: Supervision and Support of Development Staff (30%)

• Supervise members of the Donor Organizing Team, including but not limited to the Impact Team Organizer and the National Membership Organizer. This includes weekly supervision check-ins as well as facilitation of Donor Organizing Team meetings, and other meetings as needed.
• Manage annual and quarterly work plans for the Donor Organizing Team members of the Development Team and support each staff member in reaching their monthly deliverables and quarterly goals.
• Design and lead two yearly Donor Organizing Team in-person meetings to project plan, strategize, and generate quarterly goals.
• Work with the Director of Development and Donor Organizing to bring the long term vision for development at SURJ into the day-to-day workflows of each member of the Donor Organizing Team.
• Lead hiring and onboarding of new Donor Organizing Team members, including building new workflows and adjusting inidivudal responsibilities as the team grows and shifts.

Priority 2: External Facing Donor Programming (30%)

• Build out programming for folks with access to wealth that offers political education, leadership development, and belonging
• Strengthen the Impact Team by supporting recruitment, training, and ongoing coaching of members as they conduct outreach, build relationships with donors, and raise funds for SURJ and the progressive movement
• Support Peer to Peer fundraising efforts led by our National Membership Organizer including recruitment to grow the ranks of volunteer donor organizers
• Establish and maintain relationships with key individuals at various donor networks and, when appropriate, co-create collaborative programming that further develops donors around race, class, and taking bold action.

Priority 3: Direct Donor Organizing (40%)

• Build and maintain authentic and meaningful relationships with donors, bringing a relational approach to fundraising
• Refine and grow our individual giving and donor organizing strategy for donors who contribute over $25,000 in collaboration with the Director of Development and Donor Organizing
• Develop appropriate list segments for each fundraising campaign and cultivation piece
• Craft messaging appropriate for renewals, appeals, and reinstatement efforts, given organizational priorities and focus
• Establish timelines and adhere to deadlines for solicitation efforts; make direct asks for funding throughout the year
• Identify donors with major or planned giving capacity and greatest likelihood to increase their financial support
• Support donors in making solidarity contributions to SURJ’s movement partners
• Bring a self-directed approach to managing a donor list, including seeking new donors, leveraging personal relationships, and mapping new ways to bring supporters closer to SURJ’s work

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years of experience supervising individuals and teams
• 10+ years demonstrated leadership in fundraising or some combination of fundraising and organizing experience
• Experience with CRM database systems, including Every Action and complex spreadsheets.
• Experience working with and supervising a wide range of people, from volunteers to Board members to donors.
• SURJ policy requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodation under federal, state, and local law. Accommodations may be not possible for positions that require in-person contact with other staff or members of the public.

KNOWLEDGE:

• Experience supporting people across a range of class identities in donor relationship-building and communication.
• Familiarity with the large donor progressive networks and philanthropic ecosystem
• Experience with and commitment to SURJ's work, and a commitment to racial and economic justice.
• Class consciousness and the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully with members, partners, board, and staff from diverse class backgrounds, communities, geographies and cultures.

SKILLS:

• Ability to represent development and SURJ in internal and external meetings.
• Excellent supervision skills, including the ability to both blend to a variety of work styles and create a cohesive work culture on a team.
• Strategic and systems thinking.
• Facilitation design and implementation across a range of needs, i.e. hosting an in-person donor retreat or putting together an online donor briefing
• Excellent relational and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent time management skills and experience prioritizing tasks amidst competing demands.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to be highly relational as well as hold people accountable and create a culture of compassion and rigor on a team.

BENEFITS:

• Annual Salary: $110,000
• Health, dental and vision insurance including available employer contribution toward spouse, children and family coverage
• 401K retirement plan with up to 6% employer match
• Twenty (20) days paid time off per year (prorated)
• Twenty (20) days of health and wellness leave per year (prorated)
• Thirteen (13) paid holidays per year
• Three additional paid weeks off for organization-wide shutdown summer & winter breaks ● Employer paid short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Employer paid life insurance
• All staff works remote from home
• Monthly $150 technology support stipend (internet, phone)
• Professional development resources each year
• Paid parental leave
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years

APPLICATION PERIOD:

Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled.

SURJ is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.